February - the year is no longer just starting, priorities are being defined, strategies refined, and digital initiatives moved from ideas to action. Across industries and public institutions, one question keeps coming back - how to use data more effectively, securely, and collaboratively.

Data has become one of the most valuable resources of the digital economy. Yet in practice, it remains fragmented. Data is locked in systems, organisations, and platforms that were never designed to work together. Sharing data across company boundaries remains complex, risky, and often relies on bilateral agreements that do not scale.

This is where Data Spaces enter the picture - and why we at Tiko Pro decided to put this important topic in the spotlight of our February newsletter - not as an abstract concept, but as a concrete building block of Europe’s digital future - one that is already shaping funding priorities, industrial collaboration, and innovation strategies for the years ahead.

What Are Data Spaces?

The growing importance of Data Spaces reflects a simple reality - today’s most valuable insights often emerge when data is combined across sources, organisations, and sectors. Yet without trust and clear rules, data sharing remains limited.

At its core, a Data Space is not a single platform or database. It is a shared framework that allows different organisations to exchange and use data in a secure, controlled, and trustworthy way. Unlike traditional data sharing models, where data is copied, transferred, or locked into centralised systems, Data Spaces are designed to respect data sovereignty. This means that organisations remain in control of their data at all times, deciding who can access it, under which conditions, and for what purpose.

Data Spaces bring together several key elements: technical infrastructure for data access, common standards to ensure interoperability, and governance rules that define trust, rights, and responsibilities. Data providers and data users interact within this framework without the need to give up ownership of their data. Rather than creating a single large data pool, Data Spaces enable data to remain where they are while still being discoverable, accessible, and usable across organisational and sectoral boundaries. This makes them scalable, flexible, and well-suited to complex ecosystems.

By enabling secure data sharing at scale, Data Spaces unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and value creation. They turn data from a fragmented resource into a strategic asset that can be shared responsibly and used to drive real impact.

Across Europe, this approach is already taking shape through so-called Common European Data Spaces. These are being developed in strategic domains such as health, mobility, energy, agriculture, finance, public administration, skills, and manufacturing. Together, they form the foundation of a single European data market where data can flow across sectors and borders under shared rules and values.

In this context, we would like to draw particular attention to Data Spaces in manufacturing, which we will focus on in the next chapters of this article. Manufacturing Data Spaces are especially important because they connect complex value chains, enable secure collaboration between many different actors, and play a key role in Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and digital transformation.

Data Spaces in Manufacturing

Manufacturing is one of the most data-intensive sectors in Europe. From machines and production lines to supply chains and logistics, vast amounts of data are generated every day. Yet much of this data remains underused, locked within individual factories, systems, or organisations.

Manufacturing Data Spaces aim to change this by creating a trusted environment where industrial data can be shared securely across company and sector boundaries. They enable manufacturers, suppliers, technology providers, and service partners to exchange data while keeping full control over how their data is accessed and used.

In practice, Manufacturing Data Spaces support collaboration across complex value chains. They enable improved supply chain transparency, optimised production processes, predictive maintenance, and support quality control and sustainability reporting. Data can be shared in real time or near real time, helping companies respond faster to disruptions and changing market conditions.

An important aspect is inclusiveness. Manufacturing Data Spaces are designed to benefit not only large industrial players but also small and medium-sized enterprises. By relying on common standards and interoperable frameworks, they lower the barriers for participation and allow smaller actors to become part of larger digital ecosystems.

As Europe moves towards smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable industry, Manufacturing Data Spaces play a central role. They provide the data foundation needed for advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, while aligning with European principles of trust, fairness, and data sovereignty.

Strategic Importance for the European Union

Manufacturing is a strategic backbone of the European economy, and its future competitiveness increasingly depends on how well data can be shared, combined, and transformed into value. Manufacturing Data Spaces directly support key European priorities such as industrial competitiveness, digital sovereignty, supply chain resilience, and the uptake of trustworthy artificial intelligence.

By enabling secure and sovereign data sharing across borders and value chains, Manufacturing Data Spaces help reduce Europe’s dependence on non-European platforms and strengthen a common European data economy aligned with EU values.

This is not just a policy ambition, but an area of active implementation. One example is the UNDERPIN project, in which Tiko Pro collaborated as an equal partner. The project focused on advancing trusted data-sharing frameworks and practical Data Space concepts, contributing to the broader European vision of interoperable, sector-specific Data Spaces.

Initiatives like UNDERPIN show how European collaboration, supported by EU funding, can turn strategic goals into concrete solutions that benefit industry, technology providers, and the wider ecosystem.

While the UNDERPIN project itself has already concluded, the work on Manufacturing Data Spaces in Europe is far from finished. On the contrary, there are still open and upcoming opportunities for companies, consortia, and innovators who are developing or planning projects in the area of Data Spaces in manufacturing.

In particular, we would like to highlight the AI Continent open call under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), which directly supports the further development and deployment of Data Spaces and AI-ready data ecosystems.

💡TikoBits: AI Continent open call under the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL)   This open call supports the further expansion of the Data Space for Manufacturing as a foundation for Generative AI in industry. It funds projects that collect large, high-quality datasets from real industrial environments and make them securely accessible for training AI models addressing concrete manufacturing challenges.   Up to three projects will be funded, with around EUR 3 million in EU co-funding per project. The call targets consortia bringing together manufacturers, technology providers, AI developers, and data intermediaries, with a strong focus on trusted data sharing, interoperability, and long-term sustainability.   Deadline: 3 March 2026

Ready to Act on Data Spaces?

Data Spaces are becoming a cornerstone of Europe’s digital and AI strategy. They enable trusted data sharing, support collaboration across complex ecosystems, and play a critical role in turning industrial data into real economic value. In manufacturing, Data Spaces are already proving their importance by strengthening value chains, supporting innovation, and enabling AI solutions grounded in real-world data.

With EU funding accelerating the development of Data Spaces, now is the right moment to move from strategy to action.

Tiko Pro brings extensive experience in EU funding programmes and hands-on expertise gained through the successfully concluded UNDERPIN project. We support you in securing EU funding by shaping your Data Space idea and building strong consortia