Pontus-X: The backbone of the Gaia-X ecosystem

Pontus-X is a core ecosystem within Gaia-X. It was one of the first publicly available Gaia-X ecosystems with a large number of participating projects and companies from multiple countries. This has made it a crucial catalyst for the development and deployment of Gaia-X technologies. By connecting CONTACT Elements to Pontus-X, we enable federated data exchange that boosts operational efficiency and improves data governance. In this article, learn how companies can operate confidently in a world of distributed data.

Technically, Pontus-X is built on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for the decentralized and trustworthy management of data and services. A key element of Pontus-X is the Ocean Protocol by Ocean Protocol Foundation, which puts data control in the hands of data owners and service providers.

One of Pontus-X’s most relevant features for ensuring data sovereignty is Compute-to-Data.

Compute-to-Data – Data flow while maintaining data sovereignty (© deltaDAO)

With the help of Compute-to-Data, data never leaves its owner’s infrastructure, thus remaining more effectively under their control. Instead, it allows algorithms to be brought to the data, extracting valuable insights without revealing the data itself. One exemplary use case is Federated Learning, which involves training AI models with distributed data. In this process, users receive only the trained model but no direct access to the sensitive training data.

Through this combination of various technologies, Pontus-X provides a solid foundation for secure, transparent, and sovereign data exchange within the Gaia-X ecosystem.

CONTACT Elements: Your data in Gaia-X

CONTACT Elements enables companies to seamlessly integrate their data into the Gaia-X ecosystem. A practical example is our partner GMN, a leading manufacturer of high-tech motor spindles. GMN uses sensor data from its spindles to offer data-driven services.

We’ve integrated CONTACT Elements to link quality data from a spindle on the shopfloor with the results of an end-of-line test bench. This data allows GMN to offer its customers comprehensive data-driven services, such as verifying correct assembly or performing digital commissioning.

Example of the vibration velocity of a grinding spindle as part of quality inspection measurements at GMN

We realized this data offering through the Pontus-X ecosystem. CONTACT Elements collects the relevant data from the spindles, aggregates it, and publishes it in the Pontus-X ecosystem. This process is largely automated and uses the AAS integration module as well as the data space integration of the Elements platform.
Through this integration, we empower companies like GMN to securely, reliably, and sovereignly share their data in order to develop new business models and innovative services.

Federated data exchange: Added value for your business

Federated data exchange offers significant advantages to companies. Unlike centralized platforms, data remains at its original storage location. Each organization retains control over its own data and determines who can access which data.

Increased operational efficiency:

  • Faster data availability: Access to real-time data without long transfer times or complex integration projects accelerates decision-making processes and responses to market changes.
  • Improved collaboration: Secure and controlled data exchange supports cooperation with partners, suppliers, and customers. This leads to more efficient processes, shorter lead times, and higher quality.
  • Process automation: Automated data exchange between different systems and organizations reduces manual tasks and errors.

Improved data governance:

  • Transparent data origin: Understanding data provenance is particularly important for companies operating in regulated industries or those that need to meet strict compliance requirements.
  • Controlled data access: Companies retain control over who can access their data and how it is utilized. This enables them to protect sensitive data and adhere to data protection regulations.
  • Meeting compliance requirements: Federated data exchange supports companies in meeting compliance requirements by ensuring adherence to defined rules and guidelines for data exchange.

Specific use cases:

  • Supply chain management: Data exchange between suppliers, manufacturers, and logistics providers enables transparent and efficient supply chain management.
  • Engineering: The exchange of design data between various engineering departments or external partners accelerates the development process and improves product quality.
  • Production: Exchanging production data between different production sites enables more efficient resource utilization and optimizes production planning.

Our approach: “Bring your own connector”

Building and operating proprietary infrastructure can be complex. That’s why we support companies with our “bring your own connector” approach, which adheres to the Gaia-X principle of portability. This avoids vendor lock-in by giving companies the freedom to choose which connector they integrate into their existing or new infrastructure and where they operate it.

What CONTACT Elements offers:

  • Integration into existing infrastructures: CONTACT Elements focuses on seamless integration into existing or new infrastructures required for participation in Gaia-X.
  • Interfaces to various data spaces: Whether it’s Pontus-X or Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC), CONTACT Elements provides interfaces to both technologies. This allows companies the flexibility to choose which data space best suits their needs.

With our “bring your own connector” approach, companies leverage the benefits of the Gaia-X ecosystem without compromising on flexibility, portability, or data sovereignty.

CONTACT Elements paves the way for sovereign data exchange in the Gaia-X ecosystem

The vision of Gaia-X to create an open, secure, and trustworthy data ecosystem is drawing closer. By connecting CONTACT Elements to Pontus-X and through the “bring your own connector” approach, we give companies the flexibility and portability they need.

Federated data exchange offers companies a multitude of benefits: from increasing operational efficiency and improving collaboration to unlocking new business models.

We are convinced that Gaia-X has the potential to fundamentally transform the European economy and drive innovation across all industries. With CONTACT Elements, companies are well equipped to seize these opportunities and actively shape the future of data exchange.

Increasing competitiveness with product-centric ESG reporting

ESG compliance is no longer a nice-to-have. It has become essential for competing in an increasingly sustainability-conscious market, saving resources and costs, and meeting ever-stricter regulatory requirements. Regulations such as the European Commission’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or the Supply Chain Act require companies to report ESG data transparently. While many organizations still rely on document-centric approaches and struggle with isolated solutions, a strategic competitive advantage is emerging elsewhere: product-centric ESG reporting.

What is ESG reporting?

Sustainable business practices have many facets. The ESG approach breaks them down into three core dimensions:

• E = Environmental
• S = Social
• G = Governance

In an ESG report, companies provide information on all three areas. This includes data such as CO2 footprints, energy consumption in production and operations, as well as information on promoting biodiversity and reducing waste. It also covers aspects like compliance with fair labor conditions and human rights, ensuring diversity, implementing effective risk management and compliance practices.

Data management is key in ESG reporting

This data – especially environmental KPIs – are often scattered across multiple sources: internal IT tools, external environmental databases, or supplier and partner systems. For many companies, preparing an ESG report therefore comes down to one central question: How can reliable ESG data from diverse sources across the entire value chain be collected and analyzed?

A bar chart with three bars on the topic
Companies consider the multitude of data sources and the varying data quality to be among the biggest challenges in ESG reporting. (BARC GmbH 2024)

One key solution lies in anchoring ESG reporting directly within product development – specifically, in the PLM system. This is where crucial data across the entire product lifecycle is stored: information about the product portfolio, the materials used and their sourcing, emissions from production and the supply chain, as well as data from later lifecycle phases such as use, disposal, and recycling. With this structured and traceable data foundation, a PLM system provides the ideal basis for a precise, transparent, and strategically valuable sustainability assessment.

Product-centric single source of truth as an enabler

An open integration platform like CONTACT Elements offers another crucial advantage for ESG reporting: it seamlessly incorporates information from a variety of internal and external sources. Through APIs, it exchanges data with third-party systems such as ERP tools. Supply chain information can be integrated via standardized exchange formats like the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) or data ecosystems (such as Pontus-X or Catena-X). This makes the platform a single source of truth for company-wide ESG reporting.

A schematic representation of ESG reporting based on the CONTACT Elements platform.
ESG reporting powered by CONTACT Elements.

Ideally, such a solution comes with built-in capabilities to assess and analyze the data. For example, CONTACT Elements uses AI methods to evaluate data quality. In the next step, powerful modules – such as for calculating the Product Carbon Footprint – then generate a compliant ESG report. This creates a comprehensive, audit-ready reporting that meets all market-specific requirements.

From ESG reporting to a sustainability strategy

Companies that rely on product-centric, integrated solutions like CONTACT Elements don’t just tackle the mandatory task of ESG reporting – they have the chance to strategically embed sustainability across the organization. For example, ESG data in CONTACT Elements can be directly linked to product structures and development processes. This allows developers to make early assessments of potential CO2 emissions across the product portfolio or in specific manufacturing processes, and to optimize them in a targeted way.

The result: sustainable innovations, more attractive products, streamlined processes, and lower costs. The foundation for this is always a software platform like CONTACT Elements: open, scalable, and equipped with powerful business applications.

Learn in this article by consulting firm CIMdata how companies can systematically embed sustainability in PLM to reduce their environmental impact across the entire product lifecycle.

Trustworthy data exchange with Gaia-X

In today’s data-driven world, secure and efficient data exchange is a crucial competitive advantage. Companies must be able to integrate and share data from various sources without losing control over their own data. This is where Gaia-X comes in: a flagship project of the European Union that creates a secure, trustworthy, and sovereign data infrastructure for Europe.

In our Research Area Data & Service Ecosystems at CONTACT, we’re working to make the vision of Gaia-X a reality. A key part of this is seamlessly connecting data management systems to Gaia-X-based data spaces.

What is Gaia-X, and why is it important?

In an increasingly globalized and data-driven world, it’s crucial for companies to maintain control over their data while still benefiting from data exchange. Gaia-X provides the framework for this: its core concept for a federated data infrastructure allows platform providers, cloud services, and data holders to communicate and exchange data securely and in compliance with legal requirements.

Gaia-X doesn’t aim to replace existing data infrastructures; instead, it connects them to create an open, interoperable ecosystem. To understand the significance of this shift, it helps to look at the differences between data platforms and data ecosystems:

Data platforms typically operate on a centralized model. Data is copied and uploaded to the platform, allowing other parties to download and use it. The problem with this is that copies of the data exist everywhere, and all participants must trust the platform operator to manage the data securely and correctly.

In contrast to a centralized data platform, in a data and service ecosystem, the operator’s role shifts to that of a federator. This federator offers “federation services” that enable participants to find each other, establish trust, and exchange data directly without a central entity managing or controlling the data.

The core pillars of Gaia-X form the foundation for a trustworthy and future-proof data ecosystem:

  • Trust & transparency: Gaia-X establishes clear rules for data governance, security, and data protection. The system is designed from the ground up to be compliant with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), ensuring user privacy and data security.
  • Interoperability: By adhering to open standards and interfaces, data and services move freely between compliant providers.
  • Portability: Businesses can easily move their data and applications between different Gaia-X-compliant providers without vendor lock-in. This fosters competition and gives companies the flexibility to choose the solutions best suited for their operational needs.
  • Sovereignty: Data sovereignty remains with the owner at all times. Businesses retain control over the access and use of their data, in strict compliance with European laws and values.

Gaia-X is thus an important step towards Europe’s digital sovereignty, offering companies the opportunity to drive innovation, develop new business models, and simultaneously retain control over their valuable data.

Requirements for participating in the Gaia-X ecosystem

Participating in the Gaia-X ecosystem opens up numerous opportunities for companies but also requires fulfilling certain demands.

  • Compliance with the Gaia-X Trust Framework: This includes adherence to rules and guidelines for data governance, data security, data protection, and interoperability.
  • Operating your own infrastructure: Typically, operating your own infrastructure is necessary to ensure full data sovereignty. This might include running an object storage (like S3), a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) solution, or other necessary services.
  • Implementation of security measures: Companies must implement appropriate security measures to protect their data and systems from unauthorized access, loss, or damage.
  • Adherence to standards: Gaia-X relies on open standards and interfaces for interoperability between different systems and platforms.

Conclusion

Gaia-X is Europe’s strategic response to the challenges of the digital era. By creating a trustworthy, interoperable, and sovereign data ecosystem, Gaia-X enables companies and organizations not only to securely store their data but also to share it in a controlled manner and use it intelligently.

This not only fosters innovation and new business models across industries but also ensures a fair competitive landscape where even smaller players can benefit from the potential of data-driven value creation. Users and companies regain control over their data, forming the basis for transparency and trust in the digital space.

Discover in our next blog article how we are laying the foundation for federated data exchange by connecting CONTACT Elements to Pontus-X.