On October 30, 2024, the "Global Data Space Roundtable Forum", hosted by the International Data Space Association (IDSA) and jointly organized by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and the IDSA China Competence Center, was successfully held during the 2024 GDTC Global Data Technology Conference. Industry leaders, technology experts, and corporate representatives from over ten countries including China, Germany, the United States, and Spain shared the latest progress, practical approaches, and commercial products and services related to data spaces. This event sparked in - depth discussions and widespread exchanges within the industry. As a milestone in the development of international data spaces, the forum accelerated the maturation of the data space industry, promoted global data circulation and sharing, and supported the prosperity of the global digital economy.

Fig:Global Data Space Roundtable Forum

Exchange of Ideas Paves the Way for the Development of Data Spaces

In his address, Reinhold Achatz, Chairman of the International Data Space Association (IDSA), emphasized the significance of the conference and the positive role of numerous guests. He reviewed the evolution of data spaces, pointing out that advanced technologies have propelled data spaces into a new phase. This requires innovation and implementation based on existing technologies, expedited standard - setting, and promotion of sustainable and innovative development of data spaces. Gan Bin, Vice President of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., noted in his address that October 2024 is a milestone for the data field. The official release of the draft "Action Plan for the Development of Trusted Data Spaces (2024–2028)" for public consultation marks a consensus on the top - level design of China's data space construction. The successful convening of the Data Standards Committee founding conference signifies that trusted data spaces will transition from a vision and concept phase to a stage of standard - setting, product definition, commercial pilots, and application exploration, moving towards industrialization. Both China and Europe are showing positive momentum in data space construction, with policies and technologies serving as powerful drivers. He put forward three suggestions: first, to further accelerate the design of the data space standard system architecture to guide the orderly and scientific development of data space standards; second, in the construction of trusted data space standards, to pace the process according to the importance of requirements and the maturity of technologies; third, to actively carry out data space pilot projects to promote development through practice. Liu Dong, Director of the Next - Generation Internet National Engineering Center and Director of the IDSA China Competence Center, mentioned in his address that data spaces are a key technological approach to promoting data circulation and sharing. Through practical applications in multiple countries and regions, a consensus has gradually been formed. In the future, data spaces will form a broad and open data space network, a circulation network for data authorization, processing, exchange, trading, and aggregation. This network will include multiple operational platforms, massive access points, and numerous professional data processing and application programs, established on consensus - based management rules, data standards, and interfaces, to safeguard data sovereignty. It will enable upstream and downstream industries to conduct trusted data interactions in a flexible, secure, and efficient space, achieving data assetization.

Data Space Development and Latest Progress

Lars Nagel, CEO of the International Data Space Association (IDSA), stated in his speech that the development of data spaces is spiral - shaped, and it is essential to enhance scalability and interoperability. Different regions may have different designs, but it is crucial to seek common ground while reserving differences and achieve interconnection. He called on all parties to take action, embrace data space agreements, and realize global data sharing. Boris Otto, Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering in Germany, introduced the relevant content of the EU data strategy in his speech, including the main roles of the Data Governance Act and the Data Act. He explained the business logic of building data spaces, outlined the multi - field coverage and development stages of the European Data Space, emphasized key points related to the technical infrastructure and standard - setting of data spaces, and proposed priorities for the future development of the European Data Alliance (user - centricity, standardization, scalability, etc.), to promote global collaboration and compatibility. Zhao Zhihai, Big Data Director of the Institute of Informatization and Industrial Integration at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, mentioned that China's data space is currently mainly advancing along three pathways: "upstream and downstream enterprise data collaborative sharing, large - scale application of industry - specific data in common scenarios, and public data driving industrial data integration." These correspond to the layout of enterprise, industry, and urban data spaces. He also explored two models: "personal data development and utilization, and cross - border data circulation," which correspond to the layout of personal and cross - border data spaces. Markus Spiekermann, head of the Eclipse Foundation's EDC open - source project, said in his speech that open - sourcing data space technology is crucial as it represents an innovative way of software and data sharing. Open - source projects feature technical coherence, scale growth, and good adoption rates. They require open standards to connect data space silos and expand scale. Meanwhile, when building data spaces, it is necessary to consider application scope and protocol negotiation, with the ultimate goal of achieving business - level integration with backend office systems. Peter Koen from the cloud computing industry stated in his speech that the interoperability and global standardization of data spaces are crucial. He emphasized that data space agreements are disruptive, ensuring data security and sharing. He also mentioned the situation of trust frameworks in different regions (such as Europe) and their importance for cross - border transactions, and encouraged interested institutions and individuals to participate in open - source projects and related agreement creation.

Diverse Practices Driving Innovation in Data Space Applications

In the global construction of data spaces, diverse practices across different fields and dimensions have emerged, achieving remarkable results. Sven Löffler, Director of the Data Space and Data Product Department at T - Systems, introduced industry - specific data space practices, highlighting the role of data spaces in global data exchange collaboration and their key role in projects such as Catena - X, Robg - X, and Manufacturing - X. He also presented T - Systems' data space - related products and services, including user interfaces, development toolkits, and identity management functions, as well as how these services promote participation in data spaces and data exchange. He stressed the importance of open - source technology, inviting users to jointly define and enhance standards to form a reliable and secure architecture for better data sharing.

Joseba Laka, Director of Digitalization at Tecnalia Research and Development Center, shared practices in urban data spaces, particularly cases related to urban data sharing in Spain. He outlined the current state and challenges of urban data sharing, including limited data availability, lack of standards, and governance and trust issues. He also introduced relevant business cases, such as the data consumption model of Madrid City Council and the use of Boot - X for urban data sharing. His presentation covered technical architecture, data space participants, and processes.

Reinhold Achatz, Chairman of the International Data Space Association (IDSA), presented a user case of cross - border data exchange in emission scenarios. He noted that against the backdrop of global promotion of the IPv6 protocol, data security transmission at the network technology level is no longer an issue. The biggest challenge in cross - border data exchange is the need to clarify different data - sharing rules, definitions, standards, and scopes, as well as data space application and exchange methods. He proposed the importance of collaborating with global supply chains to monitor cross - border data exchanges and standardizing relevant content. He also suggested communication with Chinese regulatory authorities, hoping for more successful cases in the future.

Xuang Liang, Deputy General Manager of the Digitalization Department at China Southern Power Grid Company, shared the company's exploration and practices in the energy industry data space. He presented the carbon emission data application system case of Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau, including achievements in data collection, integration, and application. He pointed out the issues in cross - entity and cross - industry data sharing and believes that data spaces are the solution. He introduced the company's industry - specific data space construction (in terms of building, managing, serving, and operating) and its value and achievements. He also stated that China Southern Power Grid has fully launched industry - specific data space construction and looks forward to collaborating with more institutions to jointly build an energy data industry ecosystem.

Ma Yun, Huawei's Chief Data Architect and Chief Data Expert, introduced Huawei's enterprise - specific data space practices. Huawei's business spans over 170 countries and regions globally. Through efficient connectivity and controllable circulation within data spaces, Huawei achieves global collaboration in complex business operations. Huawei's understanding of data spaces is that data - specific connectors enable controllable data exchange, with clearance operations focused on exchanges between entities. The underlying logic of data spaces is that data exchange requires a set of standardized business flows, translating real - world exchange protocols into technical means to achieve controllable data circulation. He also introduced the concept of key objects in controllable exchange. By designing data exchange resources, exchange units, data offers, and exchange contracts, Huawei enables digital management of key objects in data exchange. He elaborated on the value flow between data providers and consumers, explained the usage guidelines, management entities, and usage methods of data spaces, and advocated for strengthened international communication and collaboration to accelerate the development of data spaces.

Commercial Products and Services Emerge, Driving Rapid Industrial Maturation

As industry consensus on data spaces forms and practices accelerate, related products and services are constantly emerging. At the conference, Jin Wei, Director of the Huawei Cloud aPaaS Service Product Planning Department, introduced Huawei's products and solutions surrounding data spaces. Based on Huawei Cloud and with the data space product EDS at its core, a four - horizontal and four - vertical solution system has been built. The data engineering layer includes data collection capabilities, while the data circulation layer product EDS comprises centers such as authentication and connectors. Higher - up, it involves the data application layer to form an ecosystem layer. He stated that the goal is to build an open ecosystem platform to achieve interconnectivity of data spaces.

At the roundtable forum, the International Data Space Association (IDSA) officially authorized the Next - Generation Internet National Engineering Center to establish a testing and certification laboratory. This makes it the first and only international data space (IDS) certification and evaluation institution in China. It will officially provide IDS data space testing and certification services to the industry, comprehensively promoting the interoperability and security - trustworthiness of international data spaces. Zhang Hao, Senior Manager of the Testing and Certification Laboratory at the Next - Generation Internet National Engineering Center, introduced the IDS certification program, which covers comprehensive evaluation from key components of data spaces to operational environments. This ensures the security - trustworthiness and interoperability of data spaces. The program includes component certification, assessing aspects such as functionality, security, and interoperability; and organizational certification, evaluating the overall environment from physical environment, organizational structure, and processes. He stated that the laboratory also provides testing and evaluation services for industry - specific data spaces, enterprise - specific data spaces, local data groups, and data exchanges. Throughout the evaluation process, close communication and collaboration with the International Data Space Association will be maintained to fully incorporate opinions from all parties, ensuring that each evaluation precisely meets the actual needs of the industry.

As Thorsten Hülsmann, Managing Director of the International Data Space Association (IDSA) and host of the forum, said, this Global Data Space Roundtable Forum provides an important international platform for the exchange and cooperation of data spaces. It will promote the construction of global data spaces and indicate the direction for the future. It is believed that through this exchange, all parties will enhance their confidence in development, further strengthen cooperation, jointly explore application models of data spaces in different industries, and enable data spaces to play a more critical role in the digital transformation of the global economy, becoming an important engine for driving industry - specific innovation and development.