European regulation
The Data Act and European sectoral data spaces establish sharing frameworks that organisations must be ready to comply with.
Data space · Context
What is a data space and why it matters more every day
Data spaces aim to facilitate access to and reuse of data in trusted and secure environments, with control retained by the data owner. Understanding what they are and how they differ from traditional integration is the first step to making informed decisions.
Why it matters now
Data Act
European regulation in force
CEDS
Common European Data Spaces
EDP
Eclipse Dataspace Protocol
The problem they solve
Data sharing is still chaotic, insecure and poorly governed
Organisations need third-party data and third parties need theirs, but current mechanisms create technical dependencies, legal risks and absence of control.
01
Ad hoc integrations
Every sharing is resolved differently, without standards, without traceability and with high technical dependency.
02
APIs without governance
APIs open data but do not establish usage conditions, versions or semantic quality control.
03
Files without context
File exchange loses lineage, semantics and any possibility of governed updates.
The differentiator
Governed sharing is not the same as traditional integration.
One preserves context. The other loses it.
What changes
Governed sharing versus traditional integration
A data space is not a bigger API or a shared data lake. It is a formal model of trust, identity, policies and traceability between participants.
Traditional integration
Point-to-point, no standard
No usage control or formal conditions
No access traceability or evidence
Technical dependency between systems
Inconsistent semantics between organisations
Governed sharing
Based on interoperable standards
With formal, negotiated usage policies
With auditable access records and evidence
Technically decoupled via connectors
With metadata and semantics agreed between parties
Data sovereignty
Sharing with sovereignty means controlling external use of your data
Sovereignty does not disappear when you share. It is operationalised: you define what data, for what purpose, for how long, under what conditions and with what evidence.
Preserved ownership
Shared data continues to have a defined owner in the source organization. The transfer is of use, not of title. What is shared is not delivered: it is authorized.
Policies bound to the asset
Each shared data product carries its usage conditions. What can be done, for what purposes, for how long. They are living rules, not PDF clauses.
Verifiable participant identity
Whoever accesses data is who they claim to be. Federated identity is the foundation of trust between organizations sharing sensitive assets.
External usage traceability
Every access, every consumption, every operation leaves auditable registry. Sovereignty is not asserted: it is demonstrated with evidence.
Why it matters now
Regulation, market and competition are accelerating governed sharing
Common European Data Spaces, the Data Act, sectoral ecosystems and competitive pressure are making governed sharing a strategic capability, not optional.
Sectoral pressure
Banking, healthcare, retail and insurance are building data ecosystems where governed interoperability is a condition of participation.
Competitive advantage
Organisations that master governed sharing will be able to monetise their data, access valuable external data and participate in collaborative ecosystems.
Connection with DATUM
DATUM does not substitute a data space. It prepares your organisation to participate in one in a governed way.
Without internal data governance, without active metadata, without data products and without real ownership, participating in an external data space is impossible. DATUM builds that foundation.
DATUM does not replace internal data governance; it extends it outward.
Keep exploring
Connect with the next layer
dsg.que_es.related.lead
Next step
Is your organisation ready to share data in a governed way?
The governed sharing maturity assessment answers that question in weeks.