Abstract
The majority of companies in the EU are categorized as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). They are a key employer and driver of economic growth and innovation. As the global economy is becoming more digitised, companies are increasingly deriving more value from the use and analysis of data.
For SMEs there are barriers to data sharing including: legal uncertainties and difficulties defining the parameters of data access and re-use, a lack of control once the data is provided, insufficient uptake of cloud computing, weak bargaining positions of SMEs in traditional contracts for data sharing and ultimately, a lack of trust.
This paper outlines how Gaia-X tackles all these issues including providing legal certainty, control and sovereignty over data, providing the necessary cloud infrastructure, levelling the playing-field and creating trust.