Why do we need data sharing?

Data is rarely shared. Today's problem is that individuals and companies are incentivized to build gated data lakes, to keep their users captive and to restrict access to data and information, primarily because of the following:

• Risk (Lack of trust between participants, the fear of loss of competitive advantage),
• Complexity (interoperability and governance issues),
• Costs (Lack of infrastructures, R&D),
• Lack of incentives (unclear business models, incentives, and benefits).

Data is the limiting factor in the creation of knowledge. Thus, data sharing will help find answers to societal, business, policy, and legal issues.

Organizations will only be able to maintain their competitiveness by innovating with others. It is necessary to think about models that allow collaboration and innovation that answers collective and individual interests. These new models must be intimately linked to trust between actors and data sovereignty.

Data sovereignty — which enables sustainable data-sharing ecosystems — refers to the ability of a natural or legal person to determine and enforce the rights to use its data.

Data, and therefore Data Spaces, are thus at the heart of the ongoing digital transformation — meaning the end of data monopolies in their current form — and are already influencing how we do business, consume, and live.

OKP4 enables anyone (organizations, individuals, public administrations, NGOs or communities) to build and join an infinite number of highly customizable data spaces where they can generate value from data sharing.