
HPE backs Gaia-X for the European cloud
Gaia-X is an emerging federated data infrastructure supported by more than 300 organizations in Europe and globally that aims to be an alternative to the Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Alibaba clouds.
The European Commission expects 80 percent of the overall data volume to be processed in a decentralized manner by 2025 and Gaia-X is emerging as a focal point for this architecture by connecting centralized and decentralized infrastructures to strengthen the ability to both access and share data securely and confidently. The technology is now entering its operational phase with first flagship projects, and the first Gaia-X-compliant systems are expected to be certified in December 2021.
The HPE Framework for Gaia-X was designed for companies, service providers and public organizations that want to get ready to participate in Gaia-X. It supports virtually all capabilities that are required to both provide and consume data and services in a decentralized, federated environment.
The framework is based on a reference architecture, leveraging key components of HPE’s software portfolio, third-party software, and the HPE Cloud28+ business platform, a marketplace for the monetization of data and services. HPE also announced the HPE Roadmap Service for Gaia-X which helps customers assess their Gaia-X readiness and develop a roadmap.
“Gaia-X is an answer to the key question of the next wave of digital transformation: How can we create network effects without centralizing all the data? This is perfectly in line with our company strategy which is focused on unlocking the value of data distributed across locations and clouds,” says Johannes Koch, Senior Vice President, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, HPE. “However, Gaia-X does not do the job alone. It requires a range of capabilities to benefit from this platform. In essence, you must know how to monetize data and put it to work. That’s exactly what we help customers achieve with our Gaia-X solutions.”
The European Union’s data economy is predicted to triple between 2018 and 2025 to reach a value of €829bn.
A key partner in Gaia-X is CSC in Finland which is hosting Europe‘s first pre-exascale supercomputer, called LUMI. This will be part of the Gaia-X capabilities. “We are working with HPE to provide trustworthy, secure and efficient supercomputing for research and industry. CSC is happy to provide its solid expertise in handling sensitive data, e.g. for the purposes of health research,” says Pekka Manninen, Director, LUMI Leadership Computing Facility, CSC.
HPE is an active contributor to the Gaia-X architecture and standards, and the German government is backing a E190m competition for Gaia-X projects over the next 18 to 36 months. The project deadline is June.
The HPE Solution Framework for Gaia-X and the HPE Roadmap Service for Gaia-X are available in Europe. Individual solution components and entire solution environments are available via HPE GreenLake cloud services. Gaia-X interfaces and connectors will be made available as soon as Gaia-X specifications are final.
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