Brussels, 13/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 October, the European Commission announced that together with Europe's data industry, it had committed to invest €2.5 billion in a public-private partnership (PPP) that aims to strengthen the data sector and put Europe at the forefront of the global data race. Mastering big data could mean: up to 30% of the global data market for European suppliers; 100,000 new data-related jobs in Europe by 2020; 10% lower energy consumption, better health-care outcomes and more productive industrial machinery. The European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, said, “Data is the motor and foundation of the future economy. Every kind of organisation needs the building blocks to boost their performance, from farm to factory, from the lab to the shop floor”.
On Monday, a Memorandum of Understanding to set up the PPP on big data was signed by European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes and President of the Big Data Value Association, Jan Sundelin, who acts on behalf of companies including ATOS, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Orange, SAP, Siemens, and research bodies such as Fraunhofer and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. The EU has earmarked over €500 million of investment over 5 years (2016-2020) from Horizon 2020 which private partners are expected to match at least four times over (€2 billion). The PPP, due to start on 1 January 2015, is one of the first outcomes of the European Commission's recent policy and action plan to accelerate the development of Europe's data-driven economy (EUROPE 11113). (IL)