Germany Launches GAIA X: A Connected Data Infrastructure for a Vibrant European Ecosystem

Germany Launches GAIA X: A Connected Data Infrastructure for a Vibrant European Ecosystem

This IDC Market Note analyzes the initiative launched by the German Ministry for Education and Research — together with the Ministry of Economics — to set up GAIA-X, a connected cloud-based data infrastructure for Europe to win back sovereignty over European citizen and company data, reduce dependency and risk of lock-in with global hyperscalers, encourage cloud-skeptic organizations particularly SMEs to take advantage of cloud while maintaining control of their data, and foster a European ecosystem for innovation."For GAIA-X to succeed, its stakeholders must design an action plan that addresses questions regarding vision, service portfolio, reference architecture, and governance by 2020. Otherwise, it may be seen only as a restrictive move toward hyperscalers," said Carla Arend, Senior Program Director, European Software; Chris Pennell, IDC Government Insights Research Director; and Massimiliano Claps, IDC Government Insights Research Director.

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