NEWS
European cloud providers launch initiative to bring 10,000 SMEs into trusted data spaces
European cloud providers, managed service providers and industry data spaces collaborating through the Data Space Adoption Forum announced a joint initiative to enable 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises to join trusted data spaces within the next 18 months. Revealed at the Data Spaces Symposium in London on 10 February 2026, the initiative introduces new opensource tools and a coordinated go-to-market strategy designed to remove the cost, time and technical barriers that have historically prevented SME participation at scale.
Trusted industry data spaces are increasingly essential for visibility, efficiency, innovation and sustainability across complex global value chains. Yet many SMEs, which form the backbone of sectors ranging from automotive to pharmaceuticals, struggle to engage due to high integration costs, limited specialist expertise and fragmented onboarding processes. In the automotive sector alone, more than 800,000 suppliers operate worldwide, the vast majority employing fewer than 250 people, underlining the scale of the challenge.
Members of the Data Space Adoption Forum have co-developed open-source software projects to address these barriers directly. At the core of the solution is a new multi-tenant architecture based on the Eclipse Dataspaces Components, combined with innovations in resource management and automated supplier onboarding. The technology enables Data Space Onboarding-asa-Service models delivered by cloud and managed service providers, significantly reducing complexity and cost.
By standardising onboarding and leveraging the reach of European cloud ecosystems, the initiative strengthens collaboration, supports regulatory compliance and enhances competitiveness across industries.
A pilot underway with Catena-X demonstrates the model’ s viability, with the approach designed to scale across multiple sectors and trusted data spaces globally.
European IT leaders embrace AI to boost productivity and cybersecurity
European IT leaders are positive about AI according to new findings from Building Core Resilience, a research study from European mid-market technology partner Advania.
The survey, conducted by Censuswide, polled 1,236 senior IT decision makers across the countries where Advania operates and highlights confidence in AI driven transformation.
Seventy one percent of respondents view AI as a positive force while concerns around job losses are limited. Only 8 % believe in
house IT headcount is at risk as a result of AI adoption, suggesting leaders see augmentation rather than replacement.
Across mid-market organisations AI is delivering value. It is being used to strengthen cybersecurity, improve customer satisfaction and boost productivity by reducing time spent on routine tasks.
Nearly half of respondents measure AI success through customer satisfaction and time saved, showing a focus on both external outcomes and internal efficiency.
Application development is a key area of change in the current vibe coding era. Previously off the shelf software accounted for around half of all mid-market codebases. That figure has now fallen to 16 % while AI assisted or AI generated code is used by 46 % of organisations.
Despite this momentum, caution remains. Seventy six percent of IT leaders say they lack a clear strategy to connect business outcomes with AI benefits.
Chris O’ Brien, CTO, Advania UK, says mid-market organisations have embraced AI pragmatically. He adds that while confidence is high, closing the gap between AI potential and delivery remains the priority. www. intelligentcio. com
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