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Simpl FOSDEM 2026 ​

Valentina Staveris Cloud and Software Unit – DG CNECT European Commission

Slide 1

European Single Market (Simpl Essentials) ​

Slide 2

Data legislation ​

  • Data Act
  • Data Governance Act
  • Open Data Directive
  • GDPR
  • NIS Directive

Common European Data Spaces ​

See slides

European Data Innovation Board ​

  • Facilitate sharing of best practices
  • Prioritisation of cross-sector interoperability standards

Data Spaces Support Centre ​

  • Development of blueprints, glossary, etc
  • Support of data space projects

Technical infrastructure ​

  • Standards
  • Digital Identity (eIDAS)
  • Smart Middleware Solutions (Simpl)
  • High Performance Computing
  • Testing & Experimentation Facilities

Simpl in the Data Union Strategy ​

Slide 3

“Simpl cloud middleware will enable interoperability across initiatives through an open-source, modular, and secure set of components. This lowers barriers for SMEs and creates faster links between ecosystems.”

Simpler EU digital rules and new digital wallets to save billions for businesses and boost innovation ​

  1. Digital Omnibus simplifying rules on data, cyber and AI

  2. Data Union Strategy unlocking more high-quality data for AI

  3. EU Business Wallets cutting paperwork and easing regulatory burdens

Impacts of the Data Union Strategy

  • Scales up access to high-quality data for AI
  • Streamlines and simplifies data rules while protecting fundamental rights
  • Protects Europe’s data sovereignty

What is Simpl? ​

Slide 4

Simpl is the open-source smart middleware that enables cloud-to-edge federations and all major data initiatives funded by the European Commission

Simpl Essentials ​

  • open-source = built-in trust & security, flexibility to deploy, simplicity to customise
  • middleware = software that lets applications and databases work seamlessly together

Cloud-to-edge federations ​

Put together resources across cloud and edge computing environments as a cohesive system, creating a seamlessly integrated infrastructure that combines the strength of both cloud and edge computing.

All major data initiatives ​

In particular the development of Common European Data Spaces in a modular and interoperable way.

Data space fundamentals influencing Simpl-Open ​

Slide 5

The data space context ​

  • Data spaces are data & service sharing ecosystems
  • Technology and contracts need to work hand-in-hand to enforce proper data sharing
  • Simpl-Open brings new features that allow stronger technology-based enforcement

Diagram meaning ​

  • Participants (organisations) connect inside a Data Space
  • A Governance Authority defines rules
  • Simpl-Open helps govern standards for interoperability
  • Simpl-Open enables seamless interactions between participants

Simpl is made of three products ​

Slide 6

Simpl-Open ​

The open-source smart middleware

Simpl-Labs ​

Playground environment for Simpl-Open

  • Interoperability test for existing data spaces

Simpl-Live ​

Distinct instances of Simpl-Open software stack deployed within specific sectoral data spaces and initiatives

Simpl-Open Architecture Principles ​

Slide 7

Key architecture principles

  • Resilience
  • Federation
  • Modularity
  • Loose coupling
  • Openness & agnosticism
  • Composability & extensibility
  • Interoperability
  • Scalability & elasticity
  • Security, privacy & trust
  • Discoverability

Simpl-Open State of Play: 2025 Evolution ​

(She Skipped this slide) Slide 8

Business Processes ​

  1. Role of governance authority
  2. Catalogue, Vocabulary & Trust setup 3a. Onboarding providers & consumers 3b. Onboarding end users 5b. Managing resource descriptions
  3. Searching resources
  4. Establishing a usage contract
  5. Using an infrastructure resource 9a. Consuming data 9b. Consuming data via an app 12b. Single node logging & monitoring
  6. IT administration

Legend:

  • BP’s covered in the MVP in 2024
  • BP’s extended in 2025
  • BP’s being worked on

Simpl-Open Extensions ​

Slide 9

New AI/ML capabilities & integration with EuroHPC Federation Platform ​

AI services for Data Spaces

  • Generative AI and Large Language Models
  • Computer vision
  • Data anomaly detection
  • Automated data extraction and analysis

Simpl-Open enables data spaces and initiatives to access AI factories and compute resources via the EuroHPC Federation Platform

ML pipelines and AI services are executed on top of EuroHPC Federation Platform

Connection with DOME Marketplace ​

  • New Simpl-Open AI services published in DOME catalogues
  • DOME products available in Simpl-Open catalogues

Monetisation — Simpl Governing Authority ​

Business models and strategies for the Simpl Governing Authority role

What is Simpl-Live? ​

Slide 10

Simpl-Live is the journey of data initiatives towards Simpl-Open adoption.

Each data initiative follows two phases:

  1. Feasibility Study
  2. Integration

Collaboration with common European data initiatives ​

Simpl-Live runs in parallel with grant agreements and follows a standard journey:

  • Preparatory action
  • Deployment action
  • Feasibility study
  • Integration of Simpl-Open

LinkedIn group and extra slide ​

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