• New initiative to accelerate mass adoption of trusted data networks across sectors from automotive to pharma by overcoming the cost, time and technology barriers that have proved difficult for SMEs until now.
• Data Space Adoption Forum (DSAF) members have co-developed open-source software projects to enable this breakthrough, including a new multi-tenant architecture implementation of the Eclipse Dataspaces Components.
• SMEs form the backbone of increasingly complex supply chains and their integration into trusted data networks is essential to continued strategic growth, strengthening collaboration, and boosting competitiveness in global industries.

10^th February 2026, London - Today, at Data Spaces Symposium, European cloud providers, managed service providers (MSPs), and industry data spaces working together as the Data Space Adoption Forum (DSAF) announced an initiative, tools and go-to-market strategy to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) join trusted data spaces at scale. The initiative aims to onboard 10,000 SMEs into existing and new data spaces within the next 18 months, strengthening innovation, competitiveness, and regulatory compliance across Europe and globally.

Trusted industry data spaces are becoming essential for visibility, efficiency, innovation and sustainability across complex global value chains. Yet most SMEs – which form the backbone of many sectors from automotive to pharma – struggle to participate due to high integration costs, specialised skill requirements, and fragmented onboarding processes. The automotive industry alone has over 800,000 suppliers, the vast majority of which are companies with fewer than 250 employees, highlighting the scale of the SME enrolment challenge. The DSAF initiative addresses this through an open-source, low-cost onboarding tool, making participation simpler, faster, and economically viable for smaller companies.

The Data Space Adoption Forum members have co-engineered open-source software projects that accelerate the scaling of data spaces with SME engagement. The common underlying technology is a new, multi-tenant architecture and implementation of the Eclipse Dataspaces Components coupled with new innovations in resource management and supplier onboarding technologies.

The Eclipse Dataspaces Components are also integrated with the OPC UA architecture to extend value even further for manufacturing firms. These tools collectively break down technical and financial barriers that have limited SME accessibility to data spaces. The DSAF is targeting the enablement of 10,000 new SME participants in data spaces in the next 18 months as a proof-of-concept for this new model.

A scalable solution for SMEs

Data Space Adoption Forum members have co-developed a new approach designed to simplify access to data spaces:

• Technical Innovation. The group has created open-source elements that deliver Data Space Onboardingas-a-Service capabilities. These include EDC-V – A highly optimised variant of the Eclipse Foundation’s Dataspace Component (EDC) architecture tailored for Cloud Service Providers. Connector Fabric Manager (CFM) – A multi-tenant resource manager and orchestration platform enabling automated deployment and lifecycle operations of EDC-V services. And JAD – A demonstrator for Cloud Service Providers that assembles all components required to run EDC-V and CFM, providing a ready-to-install reference for custom offerings.
• Distribution. Cloud service providers act as a critical scalability layer, enabling rapid and large-scale deployment. Alongside Cloud Exchange Points and federated cloud infrastructures, this ecosystem leverages the widespread footprint of local providers to extend these technologies to SMEs across all geographies and industries.
• Commitment. DSAF brings together every layer of the data space ecosystem – from cloud providers and systems integrators to OEMs, trust framework providers, and SMEs themselves. This collaboration enables end-to-end support, secure data sharing, and a standardised onboarding experience across multiple data spaces.

The new solution benefits:

• SMEs benefit from managed services that remove the cost and technology barriers to joining data spaces. Working with existing trusted service providers to run their data space participation as a service will reduce time and cost overheads.
• Managed Service Providers gain a simple-to-deploy value-added service that can increase revenue and deepen engagement with their existing customers, as well as create new business opportunities.
• Cloud Service Providers can offer an additional hosted ‘as-a-service’ product to MSPs and potentially a wider array of data space-related services.
• Data Spaces: Standardised onboarding accelerates adoption, opening access even to the smallest supply chain participants.

The pilot demonstration and collaborative workshop, held with Catena-X, highlights how this approach is already showing value in the automotive sector. However, it can be applied across industries and multiple data spaces simultaneously. Organisations across the data space ecosystem – including SMEs, managed service providers, cloud providers, industry data spaces, and systems integrators – are invited to engage with the Data Space Adoption Forum to explore collaboration, participation, and adoption opportunities.

For more information contact: Tiegan Pascall, aruba@rlyl.com, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry for Aruba