A hub of the European cloud computing technology development project Gaia-X was launched in Poland on 2 September on the second day of the CYBERSEC 2021 conference held in Krynica Zdrój. The Polish arm is to work on developing efficient, competitive and secure data infrastructure in hybrid cloud computing. In Poland, the project is overseen by the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications and the Digital Poland Association.

The basic premise is that Gaia-X represents the next generation of data cloud infrastructure: an open, transparent and secure digital ecosystem, where data and services can be made available, collated and shared in an environment of trust. The Gaia-X mission centers on design and implementation of data provision architecture, made up of the common standards for sharing the data, best practices, and data management tools and mechanisms.

The Gaia-X project was created by 22 organizations based in Germany and France. The initiative, which set itself the main objective of building a European cloud computing ecosystem, gained the official support of the German and French governments and support in Brussels. Government institutions and firms in other European countries were also invited to join in. The architecture of Gaia-X is based on the principle of decentralization. For more information go to: https://www.gaia-x.eu/

The Gaia-X ecosystem is intended to support growth of European IT firms and the European economy, and act as a counterbalance for cloud computing platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, as well as Chinese providers.

The national hubs have the task of building the appropriate ecosystem of cloud computing providers and users, with an element of support from the authorities in the country in question, and of drawing up new cloud computing standards and best practices.

Members of the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (PIIT), an organization that was accepted into Gaia-X in May 2021, stress that the project attempts to draw on the existing initiatives that drive development of new business models and data space in the EU and EU member states, and that is why joining the project and the sharing of know-how between various organizations is exceptionally important in the process of development of national services.

“Anyone who wishes to perform services and become a party to the standards defined by Gaia-X, in accordance with EU laws, is welcome to work with us. We encourage active participation in the ongoing work of the Gaia-X hub in Poland, especially as this is an opportunity for Polish providers to enter EU projects” PIIT vice-president Xawery Konarski said.