No one owns the internet. Let’s take the same approach to digital innovation
The whole world depends on it. If it didn’t work, it would be disastrous. Yet no one owns or even governs the internet. When you think about it, that’s pretty amazing: Thanks to a free and open framework and the hardware and open source software that connects us all, you can start your own online business in minutes. You can set your own rules and keep or share your data with the world. In theory, the sky’s the limit. But how do you scale your internet business in a digital ecosystem?
Well, you can take a range of different approaches. The tech giants have mastered the art of turning data into brilliant customer insights, continuous customer-driven innovation, and business optimization by acquiring massive amounts of data and monopolizing their space. Another approach taken by some countries is to protect their own local heroes by restricting access from international players. Both of these, in my view, limit the innovation potential for us all.
“What if we found a new way to enable virtual innovation, where small, medium and large companies can collaborate on shared projects and still set their own rules?”
What if there was another way? What if, instead of the monolithic or protectionist models, we took a shared approach to innovation by enabling a new kind of open data space? Not a single cloud, or multiple clouds that each have their own rules, but a networked system of different players sharing a set of common rules, which sits on the internet where small and medium sized companies (SMEs) from different countries can collaborate on shared projects alongside multinationals and research institutions. This federated model would enable players to choose who stores their data and where, how that data is processed, who it can be exchanged with, and for what.
In Europe, we have sophisticated value chains in many industries including the automotive sector, aerospace, life sciences, energy, finance, and agriculture. But we lack the digital underpinning. And despite thousands of initiatives, the results are scattered and have created a fragmented landscape with substantial limitations to scale.
We need to be able to upgrade these ecosystems for the digital economy. The engine of Europe runs on SMEs. We all speak different languages and have different laws and regulations, yet we work together, as well as with the rest of the world. In the EU digital economy we need the ability to share, exchange, aggregate, and analyze data. We have to deploy the feedback loops and insights that will shorten cycles, remove friction, and increase access to markets.
In other words: We need an internet for data and create scale through federation. So how would that work in practice?
Shared goals. Independent choices.
First, let’s look at car manufacturers and mobility innovators: Imagine if all traffic lights, cameras, connected cars, and traffic data could be accessible in one data space. This will provide invaluable information to the automotive industry about where and how people move, which could in turn help to improve how we manage traffic flow both in real time and over time. And if all suppliers to the car industry could share anonymized data and have easy access to markets, this would improve traceability, quality, and sustainability. By exchanging data along the full value chain, every participant in the federation gains insights in their impact on the final product that no individual could ever have on their own.
Healthcare is another industry that would benefit hugely from shared data spaces. For me personally, this could be life changing. In a previous blog, I talked about my recent experience with disjointed healthcare, which resulted in four months of high blood pressure and many redundant tests with multiple trips to providers. Extrapolate my experience to millions of patients and you’ve got a huge amount of waste in a healthcare system that cannot afford it.
Having a digitally-underpinned network of health providers, researchers and innovators would bring both clinical and cost advantages. Even within one hospital, data is not aggregated longitudinally for a patient, let alone across a health system or multiple health systems. Yet the burden of disease is equally pressing across the EU. Costs and demand continue to rise, and capacity is constrained.
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“As long as you’re on board with secure, open, and sovereign use of data, then you’re welcome from wherever you are in the world.”
Gaia-X: An internet for data
Enter the Gaia-X project, a consortium that represents over 310 organizations in 22 countries founded with the aim to create a federated open data infrastructure based on European values for data and cloud sovereignty. The initiative combines individual platforms and different ecosystems that all follow a common set of rules and policies. This model works in any sector and across them. It would help bringing health data together in a federated model. It would allow IoT data sources to fuel a new wave of innovation.
I work with Gaia-X as their vice chairman responsible for data spaces, and also represent Philips. This month, I attended their second summit in person. It drove home to me how this federated model is the best way for Europe to fully leverage the power of data. I am proud and energized to be contributing to the initiative. However, it hasn’t come without its fair share of challenges.
Innovation is never a straight line
Some members initially thought that Gaia-X would be a vehicle to put a wall around Europe’s cloud business. But the project is founded on the principle of being open and inclusive. As the CEO of Gaia-X, Francesco Bonfiglio, said at the summit: “Anybody who believes that the solution for European digital trust is to close the doors to non-Europeans doesn’t understand what’s happening with global data.”
Despite the complexity of the stakeholder landscape, we are making tremendous progress. As the economist Theodore Levitt once said: “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” It’s time for us to start doing. The automotive industry has already launched Catena-X and a similar initiative for healthcare will follow suit, alongside agriculture and energy.
A digital future that’s both open and fair
In my career, I’ve worked for big players like Philips as well as my own startups. So, I know how powerful an ecosystem like Gaia-X could be to both. What we need now is more hands on deck.
“Gaia-X represents the beginning of a new movement for data ethics in Europe,” Francesco said. I totally second that, and truly believe we can make the difference for all European citizens. The more people who join the movement, the faster we can create a digital future that’s both open and fair. Personally, I cannot wait until we ride the next wave of data innovation. But first let’s get the data spaces up and running. Spaces that – just like the internet – are owned by no one and open to everyone.
Portfolio Manager and Biotech Podcast Host
2yInnovation is the lifeblood of progress. When a new technology or process comes along, it can make our lives easier and more efficient. That's why it's important to support digital innovation in your company. In today's fast-paced world, companies must stay on top of new developments in order to remain competitive. And the first step towards making that happen has to be developing an open-minded culture that encourages new ideas and creativity. Impressive post!
Genentech I Executive Leader I Strategic Operations I Founder & CEO I Board Member I Investor I Life Sciences & Healthcare
3yZain Ismail Priya Bathija
Founder and CEO | Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy
3ylike it, very happy with the Gaia X initiative
Part of the team at Bit Studio & Bit Traineeship & Bit Academy x Certified B Corp x TEDx speaker x Lecturer at TU Delft and VU Amsterdam
3yVery insightful! Thanks for sharing 👍
IT en Bedrijfsvoering
3yGreat read. Relevant point of view. Critical mass in a federated model will create a new power balance in the data eco system.