The European Commission’s new Industrial Data Alliance, Edge (“Peak”) and Cloud (“Cloud”), was officially launched on Tuesday (December 14th). With 39 members, the initiative brings together some of Europe ‘s leading technology companies to collaborate on next – generation IT technologies.
“Data will transform the way we produce, consume and live,” said Home Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who chaired the inaugural meeting.
“With energy-efficient, highly secure and interoperable solutions, we will enable the adoption of new digital technologies, provide businesses and public administrations with a reliable data processing framework, and strengthen the position of EU industry,” he added.
The new alliance is in the works from last year’s European data strategy. It aims to create innovative synergies between European IT and technology companies and to advise the Commission on its industrial strategy and investment plans.
In particular, the alliance will receive consulting support for the drafting of the regulatory manual for the cloud, which is expected in 2022.
The initiative is part of a broader push for digital dominance, aimed at reducing dependence on foreign technology providers.
“This is an important opportunity to enhance collaboration between users and technology providers, promote the European Cloud and Edge infrastructure and create new market developments through data sharing, data spaces, digital data platforms and, ultimately, services. added Pierre Barnabé, interim co-executive director of the French technology giant Atos.
A total of 39 European companies have signed up to join the organization, including major manufacturers such as Airbus, Dassault Aviation and Siemens, telecommunications providers such as Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Telecom Italia (TIM), and ICT companies such as Nokia and Ericsson, and of course cloud service providers such as OVHcloud, Clever Cloud and Scaleway.
Heavy names also came from other sectors, in particular SAP software company, security company Leonardo and consulting firm Capgemini.
The first working group will meet on Thursday (December 16th) to determine priorities and deadlines for Alliance deliverables, according to EURACTIV.
There will also be a general assembly consisting of all members, a steering committee appointed by the Commission and a forum open to all stakeholders in the industry, including non-members of the alliance.
Not a “Gaia-X 2.0”
The Alliance does not pursue the same goals as “Gaia-X”, the European flagship project for the Cloud, nor will it have a similar governance structure, some members stressed.
Instead, it is intended as a “discussion forum” for the major issues facing the cloud and edge technology industry and not as a “standardization body” aimed at harmonizing technical requirements, Scaleway’s Lucas Bathion told EURACTIV.
Scaleway was at the center of a controversy over “Gaia-X” last month, as the French cloud provider withdrew from the project, citing foreign influence.
“Compared to other initiatives like Gaia-X, this alliance has started from a public authority, which gives it a ‘legitimacy,'” Bathion added. The European Commission should play an “interesting role in concentration and arbitration”.
The idea behind “Gaia-X” was to achieve “a cloud in Europe, not a European cloud, which was probably misunderstood from the beginning,” Guillaume Sambo, Clever Cloud’s head of public affairs, told EURACTIV.
“This new alliance aims to ‘bring European manufacturers together to create a European innovation so that we no longer have to depend on American and Asian giants in the cloud and edge,'” he said. should not be diverted from the possible arrival of GAFAMs, especially in the context of the forum.
“Clever Cloud” will also emphasize “paying attention to the entire cloud ecosystem, not just infrastructure operators,” said Sambo, stressing that the cloud is a whole value chain and that what creates the greatest value is the software “.
euractiv.gr
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