First European Gaia-X Community Event in Vienna
The European Association for Data and Cloud (AISBL) of the European Gaia-X Initiative, in collaboration with Gaia-X Hub Austria, hosted the first European Market-X Community Event at the Aula of the Sciences in Vienna. At this event, Market-X brings together stakeholders from different industries to shape the digital future of Europe.
Market-X Conference & Expo is an unbeatable networking event to discover and understand Gaia-X standards, build exciting Gaia-X communities and participate in X-industry projects. / Picture: © Gaia-X Hub Austria / Agnes Jodkowski
Market-X took place in the context of the recently launched implementation phase of Gaia-X, which aims to support digitalization across industries in Europe. The aim was to inform participants about the latest trends and developments in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), and to highlight solutions and ways to create new business models and opportunities.
Austria's innovative companies, which are successful today thanks to their outstanding technological capabilities, can use data-based business models to secure their existing market positions on the one hand and increasingly generate new added value on the other. Public administration organizations in various fields such as security, education, transportation, healthcare or even citizen services can develop effective and modern services through innovative data exchange and processing models. Gaia-X is designed to massively accelerate and comprehensively support these projects.
At the same time, it brought together companies, organizations and policymakers from across Europe to promote data sovereignty and sharing, which are key factors for innovation and growth in the digital economy.
The event was opened by Brigitte Lutz, City of Vienna, Member of the Board Gaia-X Hub and Maria Ulmer, Head of the Digitalization and E-Government Section at the Ministry of Finance. Afterward, Florian Tursky State Secretary for Digitalization and Telecommunications emphasized the importance of this event during his speech. "The way we will deal with data in the future will determine how competitive Austria & Europe will remain. Gaia-X provides the right answers for this!"
Francesco Bonfiglio the CEO of Gaia-X AISBL kicked off the intense morning with many exciting speeches and the following statement: "2023 will be the year of growth for Gaia-X: The Digital Clearing House will ensure that trust and interoperability are guaranteed." The afternoon was used for collaboration and exchange, as well as for visiting the exhibition and project booths through various tours. Meanwhile, breakout sessions were also held.
About Gaia-X
The Gaia-X initiative is supported by companies and research institutions, but also by politics and administration - not only on a national but also on a European level, which is a clear statement for increased collaboration. The resources for financing Gaia-X Hub Austria are provided by BMF and BMK based on a financial plan prepared by the Management Board.The Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) was chosen as the legal entity and central coordinating body to handle legal transactions, conclude memberships and hire staff for the Gaia-X Hub Austria.
The resulting ecosystem enables companies to share and process data securely and efficiently without relinquishing control over it. This lays the foundation for flexible business processes and new digital products in distributed data spaces. Against this backdrop, Market-X featured some 60 projects and companies in a special exhibition.
On a national level, implementation is carried out by the Gaia-X Hubs, which serve as contacts for data room initiatives on a regional and national level. The Gaia-X Hub Austria positions itself as a service organization for Austrian companies. It provides information and knowledge, communicates new technologies and business models and supports networking to national or EU-wide connections.