Technology providers get a direct line into DSSC guidance
The Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC) is opening a dedicated forum for the companies that build and run data space technology. The Open Technology Suppliers Forum brings European data space software and service providers into direct exchange with the DSSC.
A collaboration environment for technology providers
The Open Technology Suppliers Forum is a structured collaboration environment within the DSSC for providers of data space software and services. It gives these companies a place to follow DSSC guidance as it develops, to make their solutions visible and discoverable and to feed practical experience back into the DSSC.
The exchange runs in both directions. The forum keeps providers informed about updates to the DSSC Blueprint and Toolbox and about relevant standardisation activities. In return, it collects the operational challenges providers meet in real deployments and carries them back into the DSSC's work.
The missing link between guidance and implementation
The first phase of the DSSC produced guidance assets that the Common European Data Spaces build on today, including the Blueprint, the Glossary and the Toolbox. The next phase puts the focus on implementation at scale. That brings the companies building data space technology to the centre of attention.
These companies supply the software and services that data spaces run on, from connectors to fully managed offerings. Data spaces scale once the market can deliver interoperable tools at a cost and level of complexity that participants can handle. Being the data spaces ecosystem so rich and with so many moving pieces, guidance creates impact when the companies writing the code apply it. The forum gives these companies a direct line into the DSSC to be up to date with the latest news and to make specific requests for extended information in particular topics.
Orientation, voice and support
Finding the right place to engage. The European data space landscape is busy. The Gaia-X Open Source Community, the Tractus-X Accelerator, the Data Spaces Adoption Forum run by the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), the Eclipse Dataspace Working Group, Simpl and the EU Business Wallet all address adoption from different angles, and their scopes overlap. The forum is conceived to act as entry point to understand these initiatives (and others that might be relevant for data space scale up) and will help providers understand what each one does and where their own contribution fits best.
A voice in the next generation of the Toolbox. The DSSC is developing the Toolbox in two steps. The first improves the taxonomy and the submission experience for providers. The second introduces evaluation criteria for technical tools, including which interoperability protocols a tool supports. The forum gives providers the opportunity to review those criteria before they apply. This is its first concrete task.
Hands-on support for SME teams. Smaller companies often work with limited resources when they join data sharing federations. The forum has the ability to organise technical workshops where SME teams work directly with code and leave with a working Toolbox entry.
Open to providers across Europe
The forum is open to companies active in data space technology across Europe. It is especially relevant for:
Managed service providers offering connector operation or data space as a service
Specialised solution providers, for example in policy enforcement or auditing
European cloud service providers
Any company with a tool listed in the DSSC Toolbox
SMEs and integrators adopting data space technology, including those already active in the initiatives named above
Webinars, workshops and an annual event
The forum plans to host webinars several times per year. Each session takes a deep dive into one topic and reserves ample time for questions and feedback. Technical workshops can also take place on demand, when a technology or tool is detected as interesting for the audience. Once a year, the forum is expected to organise its own session at the Data Spaces Symposium event, bringing providers together for keynotes, panels and public recognition of tools that meet the Toolbox criteria.
Join the kick-off webinar on 21 October
The Open Technology Suppliers Forum launches with an online session on 21 October 2026 at 11:00 CET. The agenda covers a presentation from Simpl with their hopes for the forum, news on the DSSC Toolbox, the principles and plan of the forum and a first draft of the Toolbox evaluation criteria. Participants can comment on the criteria during the session or in writing afterwards.
Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8Oqdv5DwTma988vDmTOvuQ