Interested in setting up your own dataspace? We’re happy to think along with you. The DMI ecosystem is one of the first in the Netherlands, but every dataspace should be built to the specific needs of those users. Below are a few options you can take into account when considering whether you need your own dataspace.
Federated vs. centralized
By nature, a dataspace is federated. Each participant manages their own data until an agreement is made, after which data is exchanged peer-to-peer.
A dataspace authority may want to exercise more control over certain aspects. This can be achieved by centralize some dataspace functionalities. Doing so can unburden participants, as the alternative is that they have to build or procure these functions themselves.
Consider the following elements:
Participant Registry
A participant registry stores information about participants and how they can identify themselves. Agreements on this are made within a dataspace. This is often centralized because everyone needs to use it, making it more cost-efficient.
Authorization Registry
This registry keeps track of who has access to which data source, and who is allowed to perform which actions on behalf of whom. If this is decentralized, agreements are needed so that participants can read and trust each other’s registries. Within DMI, each marketplace has its own authorization registry.
Identity Provider
Many organizations already have their own identity provider, such as Microsoft Entra ID. However, to ensure proper interoperability with other identity providers, agreements are required. Within DMI, it has been decided—for now—to organize this centrally.
Catalog
When a participant has data offerings, these can be shared within the dataspace. This often involves a catalog, although there are scenarios where machine-to-machine (M2M) communication alone is sufficient. It is also possible for the dataspace authority to leave this to the participants, setting up a catalog only when there is a need. Within DMI, multiple catalogs are available, as market transparency is one of its objectives.
Clearing Module
Potential transactions may come with conditions that need to be validated. This validation takes place in the clearing module. In case of an agreement, the result is that evidence is added to the authorization registry. This functionality is therefore closely related to the authorisation registry.
Dataspace Connector
For the exchange of data, every participant must know how data can be retrieved. When retrieving data, identification is required, the authorization registry must be checked, proper logs must be kept, and it may be necessary to specify which calls can be made. This can become quite bothersome, so our partner Luminis has build a dataspace connector that does all that. Dexes and Luminis adhere as closely as possible to the European guidelines for this: IDSA.
For a free introduction, contact us at: support@dexes.nl