- Go-ahead given for open-source reference implementation
- Foundations are being laid for joint data processing and data utilisation for many industries
- 9-page white paper explains Gaia-X Federation Services
Milestone for Gaia-X: The implementation phase for the Federation Services has now started. The first partner companies are now starting to implement the technical specifications drawn up at the beginning of the year. Starting with the lots from the Compliance set of services, all Federation Services will be launched by the end of 2021. These form the technical basis of the Gaia-X ecosystem. The Federation Services are created as open-source services. This offers all interested parties the opportunity to become part of the new digital ecosystem. The Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL will make the programme code available for all to see via the GitLab platform, right from the start of the implementation phase.
“The implementation of the Federation Services is an important milestone for Gaia-X,” said Pierre Gronlier, Chief Technology Officer of Gaia-X AISBL. “The Federation Services provide the foundation for trust, interoperability and data sovereignty for all participants within the Gaia-X ecosystem.”
A nine-page white paper has been published to further explain the features and benefits of Federation Services as the foundation of Gaia-X. This is now available to all interested parties for download from the GXFS website.
Basis for a reference implementation
Andreas Weiss, Head of Digital Business Models at the eco Association and the Head of Gaia-X Federation Services says: “With the implementation of the Federation Services, we have come a big step closer to our goal of collaborative data processing and data utilisation. We will be creating an open-source reference implementation over the next few months. This will be available as a basis for specialised services in various industries. Use cases include decentralised processing mechanisms for data products and data services at the edge, such as for Smart City or Smart Mobility use cases.”
The Federation Services will link existing data and infrastructure ecosystems. Companies benefit from full sovereignty and control over their growing data volumes and decide independently on which platforms and cloud resources they want to use to collaborate with partners. The result is a federated and interoperable overall ecosystem in which participants can confidently use data and services across sector-specific data spaces. All data and service offers are transparent and the dependencies on individual providers, so-called lock-in effects, are reduced.
Open-source services create the basis for Gaia-X
The following four services will provide the technical foundation for building federated and sovereign Gaia-X data infrastructures starting in mid-2022: Identity & Trust Services include authentication and authorisation, credential management, decentralised identity management, and verification of analogue credentials. The Federated Catalogue bundles all services offered by the providers and enables Gaia-X users to find the best possible offer for them. The Data Sovereignty Services regulate the negotiation of data contracts over the network and thus enable the enforcement of data usage policies. The Compliance Services enable the verification of the conformity of the individual services offered with Gaia-X principles such as cyber security or data protection, as well as their continuous monitoring.
An integration layer was also specified in addition to the four Federation Services. The Gaia-X Portal supports, for example, the onboarding and accreditation of participants as well as the orchestration and provisioning of services. The project partners have defined lots for the implementation of these services, which are now being awarded in an EU-wide tender.
