Vienna (OTS) – On March 14 and 15, the European Association for Data and Cloud (AISBL) of the European Gaia-X initiative and the Gaia-X Hub Austria hosted the first European Market-X Community Event at Aula der Wissenschaften in Vienna. Experts from various industries and all across Europe came together with political actors to discuss the opportunities and challenges of building a secure, transparent, and open European data ecosystem.

Market-X took place in the context of the recently launched implementation phase of Gaia-X, which aims to support digitalization across European industries. The event intended to inform participants about the latest trends and developments in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as presenting solutions and ways to create new business models and opportunities. At the same time, companies, organizations, and political decision- makers were brought together to promote data sovereignty and data sharing – key factors for innovation and growth in the digital economy.

Brigitte Lutz of the City of Vienna, a board member of the Austrian Gaia-X Hub, and Maria Ulmer, Head of the Digitization and E-Government Section at the Ministry of Finance, opened the event. Secretary of State for Digitization and Telecommunications Florian Tursky emphasized the importance of the event in his address: “How we handle data in the future will determine how competitive Austria & Europe will remain. Gaia-X provides the right answers for this!”

Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO of Gaia-X AISBL, began the intense morning featuring numerous exciting speeches with the following statement: “2023 will be the year of growth for Gaia-X: The Digital Clearing House will ensure trust and interoperability.” The afternoon was used for collaboration and exchange as well as for visits to the exhibition and project stands as part of various tours. Meanwhile, breakout sessions were also offered.

In her talk on innovation, Henriette Spyra, Head of Innovation & Technology at BMK, stated succinctly: “The green transition will only be successful if we exchange data under defined conditions and create an ecosystem that we work on together and create added value for society in cooperation with various stakeholders.”

The Gaia-X initiative is supported by companies and research institutions as well as by politics and administration entities – not only at the national but also at the European level, a clear appeal for increased cooperation. The resulting ecosystem enables companies to share and process data securely and efficiently without losing control over them. This creates the foundation for flexible business processes and new digital products in distributed data spaces. Against this background, around 60 projects and companies were presented in a special exhibition as part of Market-X.

At the national layer, implementation is carried out by the Gaia-X Hubs, which serve as contact points for data space initiatives at the regional and national levels. In addition, the Gaia-X Hub Austria positions itself as a service organization for Austrian companies. It provides information and knowledge, communicates new technologies and business models, and supports networking with national or EU-wide connections.

© Renate Medwed