Information technology is so established in the European economy that it has driven, directly or indirectly, much of the region’s economic and social growth during the last decades (for instance, through digital transformation and the upheaval of modern financial trading). The increasing ubiquity of computing devices, empowered and connected to each other via high-bandwidth Internet - recording every aspect of life, from private households to multi-national corporations and government - is driving a new industrial revolution. This revolution is centred around the availability of, and access to, ever increasing amounts of data.
Handling digital data in all its forms (textual, geographical, financial, photographic/video, etc.) is now a core competence for any modern organisation. This is because data, in particular when available in very large quantities, makes things possible that could not be done before: improving supply chains, improving patient treatment, identifying emerging businesses, enabling multi-modal transport - all challenges companies accelerated by Data Pitch are working on.
To do this, we are enabling reuse of data by re-thinking access and creating opportunities for data owners to work together with other organisations (in particular startups and SMEs as engine of growth and creativity) to explore new, data-driven business models, products, and services. As the time to market accelerates, rapid disruptive changes are unlikely to come solely from within, but from collaboration and coordination with a diverse range of actors.
Data Pitch has addressed this critical gap by creating a transnational, Europe-wide data innovation ecosystem that brings together data owners with startups and SMEs with fresh ideas for data-driven products and services, in particular those that solve crucial challenges for both the data providers and for Europe. Open innovation and sustainable business is therefore at the heart of Data Pitch.
