What is Gaia-X?

The point of departure for Gaia-X is the increasing challenge for businesses to keep up with the dynamics of digitalization in all areas of the economy while remaining competitive.

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Definition

On the one hand, control over data is often lost when they are processed by other organizations. On the other hand, the opportunity to participate in new business models and innovations is hampered by the current monopoly structures on the global digital market. These along with other concerns pertaining to data security and the enforceability of European laws and regulations represent a recognized fundamental threat to data autonomy and value creation within the economic space of the EU.

The project Gaia-X addresses this challenge by establishing a framework in which all involved organizations from the various sectors can agree on a uniform ruleset, thereby ensuring that essential values are upheld and observed: data sovereignty, data privacy, confidentiality, security, technology neutrality, and interoperability.

This is the project Gaia-X

The goal of the Gaia-X project is to allow organizations, businesses, and users to process and exchange data efficiently and economically while still maintaining control over them – not only in terms of where those data are stored but also in terms of who may use them for which purposes. Gaia-X is therefore neither a new European data centre nor a new cloud service.

The Gaia-X project was originally initiated by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs, but in the meantime has become a broad initiative promoted by stakeholders in multiple EU Member States. Its organization comprises three fundamental pillars: the Gaia-X Association at the EU level, the national Gaia-X Hubs in the EU Member States and beyond, and the Gaia-X Community.

Gaia-X was established as a not-for-profit association in Brussels under the name Gaia-X Association internationale sans but lucratif (AISBL) and currently has around 340 members (as of 06/2022).

Gaia-X Hubs are the central, country-specific contact points for businesses, stakeholders, initiatives, industry associations, and public institutions. Their task is to ensure the implementation of the Gaia-X strategy in the member states and to help projects initiated by the local industry achieve success. Gaia-X Hubs currently exist in the majority of EU countries as well as in several countries outside the EU.

The Gaia-X Community encompasses all organizations interested in Gaia-X or involved in the Gaia-X AISBL or one of the Gaia-X Hubs as members.

In order to realize the principles and values of Gaia-X, appropriate software components referred to as Gaia-X Federation Services (GXFS) are currently being developed under the coordination of the Gaia-X Association. Their purpose is to allow organizations to exchange data with one another while maintaining control over their use. Examples of specific GXFS are the identification of participating organizations, the presentation of available data services, automated monitoring of the observation of Gaia-X rules, or notarial services for the preparation of contracts.

The Gaia-X Association publishes all GXFS specifications and makes the entire software code available to everyone via open source: industrial enterprises, SMEs, start-ups, research facilities, public administration organizations, developers, and IT and cloud service functions. All of these stakeholders can present their products and services, exchange data, and jointly develop innovative business models on the basis of the Gaia-X principles and with the help of the GXFS.

The Gaia-X project is intended to promote innovation in all economic sectors and mitigate the increasing dependence on a handful of monopolistic organizations. While Europe may have already lost the race for dominance on the cloud infrastructure market, the cards for dealing in data are only just now being shuffled.

Gaia-X provides a framework embracing fundamental European principles: sovereignty, openness, fairness, security, and trust. It will therefore serve not just a scant few major players but instead allow countless companies and organizations worldwide to participate in the digital market more easily.

Terminology

Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL is an independent organization established as a non-profit association in Brussels that currently has around 340 members (as of 06/2022). It is funded through membership fees.

Gaia-X was founded with the goal of overseeing the technical development of the necessary central software components (Federation Services, GXFS). The Association publishes all specifications and compliance rules and makes the entire software code of the Federation Services publicly available via open source. The members of the AISBL are committed to upholding the values of data protection, transparency, openness, security, and respect for data rights.

The Association has no business interest of its own, and its decision-making bodies include only European members.

Gaia-X Hubs are the central and country-specific points of contact for businesses, stakeholders, initiatives, associations, and public institutions. Their purpose is to help the Gaia-X initiatives of the respective local economies achieve success. There are currently Gaia-X Hubs active in 15 countries within Europe and beyond (as of 06/2022).

The term “Federation” refers to a set of multiple actors jointly adhering to the Gaia-X rules and using the same standards and defined interfaces to ensure secure and sovereign exchange of data. A Federation thus also describes transactions between different IT systems. It reduces uneconomical island solutions and monopolization while supporting interoperability and the building of trust.

Organizations may agree to establish any number of Federations defined according to Gaia-X standards. They do so on the basis of mutually agreed rules and with the help of the technical Federation Services (GXFS) provided by Gaia-X. This allows them to connect their IT services in a trustworthy manner to mutually exchange data and use them securely.

Gaia-X enables the interconnection of all actors in the digital economy according to European values and norms. A set of policy rules and guidelines and a standard architecture framework are defined to further promote portability, interoperability, and connectivity of infrastructure, applications, and data.

Gaia-X standards are entirely based on existing standards for data and sovereignty as well as applicable infrastructure components. They include regulatory standards, industry-specific standards, and technical standards.

Currently, the Gaia-X ruleset is comprised of the following documents:

  • Gaia-X Architecture
  • Gaia-X Trust Framework
  • Gaia-X Policy Rules Document
  • Gaia-X Labelling Criterias

In addition, there are detailed specifications on the Gaia-X Federation Services.

In order to realize the values and principles of Gaia-X, software components referred to as Federation Services (GXFS) are being developed. They consist of various basic components serving e.g. to identify participating organizations, present available data services, monitor the observation of Gaia-X rules, or exchange data smoothly. The Gaia-X Association makes the entire software code of the Federation Services publicly available via open source.

You can learn more about the Gaia-X Federation Services in the following videos:

The term “data space” refers to a type of data relationship between trusted partners adhering to the same high standards and guidelines regarding data storage and exchange. However, a critical aspect of the data space notion is that data are not stored centrally but rather at their source, and are thus only transferred as necessary.

A data space is the sum of all its participants – which may be data providers, users, and intermediaries. Data spaces can be nested and overlapping, so that a data provider, for instance, can participate in several data spaces at once. Data sovereignty and trust are essential for data spaces to work and support relationships between participants. Each data space provides specific data and thereby forms a solid ground for each ecosystem. The software required to implement data spaces runs on cloud/edge cloud infrastructures.

When organizations establish a Gaia-X Federation, an associated data space is created. Gaia-X-compatible data spaces facilitate cooperation between different actors, thereby generating innovation opportunities and enabling value creation.

Overview of the values on which Gaia-X is based

Gaia-X creates a framework that lives up to fundamental European values: Sovereignty, Openness, Fairness, Security and Trust. Gaia-X will thus not only benefit a few, but will give many companies and organizations worldwide a fair chance to participate more easily in the digital market.

Innovation

Innovation

Gaia-X is an ecosystem of innovation in which new concepts like decentral architectures, distributed consensus, digital ledgers, verifiable credentials, compute-to-data, and other new technologies are ground-breaking in the world of digital trust and data ethics. Gaia-X is an ongoing project that will be adapted over time, with the best technologies in the industry being incorporated. These technologies will be developed further with the help of Gaia-X, thus ensuring Europe’s competitiveness on the global market.

No charges

No charges

The open-source code and the specifications of Gaia-X are made available free of charge. The Gaia‑X Federation Services represent a toolkit that can be used to implement Gaia-X Federations. These Federation Services determine the conformity of a specific service with the Gaia-X standards. No additional costs are incurred. This reduces the obstacles for the introduction of Gaia-X to a minimum, making it solely dependent on the willingness of providers to adhere to the Gaia-X model.

Transparency

Transparency

Transparency in the Gaia-X context means that users have the possibility to verify the correctness of the information provided on certain service features with the help of the GXFS. Gaia-X therefore allows users to make informed decisions when selecting services, they wish to consume (purchase or use) based on their features.

Sovereignty

Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the ability to practice self-determination. It can have multiple different meanings: political, economic, digital, and technical. Gaia-X offers no political or economic interpretation of sovereignty; instead, it offers a framework for constructing sovereignty from the digital and technical perspective.

Openness

Openness

Gaia-X is a new paradigm for cloud and data services that is based on a high level of openness and transparency. The notion of openness consists of two key elements: open specifications and open-source code made available to everyone for the implementation of Gaia-X-compliant services. Gaia-X stipulates open controlling and steering levels that ensure objective visibility and control over various service features independent of the technology used by the individual provider.

Fairness

Fairness

Gaia-X creates a fair, competitive environment and a level playing field by enabling a new generation of cloud and data services that focus on transparency and control over data independently of the employed technology. Gaia-X thereby also promotes the principles of data ethics and freedom of choice in terms of technology while reducing elements inducing strong dependence on proprietary black-box technologies.

Inclusivity

Inclusivity

Gaia-X is open to all members of any type and from any country within and outside Europe at the national, international, or global level who are willing to join in its mission. The Association is guided by strict, unwavering principles. Its Board of Directors is elected exclusively from organizations whose primary seat is in Europe. This enables a clear mandate in accordance with the interests and principles of the European economy and civil society.

Independence

Independence

Gaia-X AISBL is a completely independent organization that is funded through the contributions of its members and has no obligations toward any private or state entities. The association’s broad and representative membership ensures that Gaia-X AISBL provides a strong common voice towards the outside. The regional centres (Hubs) in the EU countries coordinate the initiatives in the respective countries and cooperate with each other as well as with the Association.

Development

Development

Gaia-X follows the principle of continuous improvement and development on the basis of objective validation and feedback loops. Continuous interaction between the problem and solution teams forms the foundation for agile development and continual improvement. Gaia-X has a professed intent to avoid self-validation, decrease dependence on limited competencies, and unleash the full potential of open innovation.

Federation

Federation

Gaia-X implements and promotes the concept of Federations. Federations allow service providers to connect their infrastructures in a trusted fashion in order to offer a distributed cloud model. Federations enable data owners to exchange data amongst each other and utilize them. They do so on the basis of mutually agreed rules and with the help of the possibilities for technical control provided by Gaia-X.