On November 27, the European Council finally approved the final text of the EU Data Act.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/11/27/data-act-council-adopts-new-law-on-fair-access-to-and-use-of-data/

The purpose of the EU Data Act: unlock the huge economic potential of connected products' data

The purpose that guided our EU institutions in forming this new law is to unlock the huge economic potential hidden in data generated by connected products, create a solid and fair data-driven economy and lead to new, innovative services and more competitive prices for aftermarket services and repairs.

What products? Simple answer: any product connected through IoT technologies. This means connected cars, appliances, professional equipment, medical devices, industrial machines, etc.

As providers of a Cloud-based DPS (Digital Product-Service) software that enables the delivery and monetization of Connected Services, we welcome this new law with enthusiasm.

The most interesting principles from our point of view

In the law's 199 pages there are many interesting principles. The first 2 that caught our interest are:

1. Users of a connected product have the right to access, free of charge, the raw data generated by the product. Consequently, suppliers of the connected product have a duty to give access to this data. However, this regards only raw data, and not data processed by the manufacturer using technologies external to the product.
2. Users of a connected product have the right to share raw data with third parties who intend to use the data to offer related services. In this case, the suppliers of the connected product have the right to demand "reasonable" compensation from the third party.

This last principle is a game changer for all players (manufacturers and service providers) who are serious about harnessing the enormous amount of data generated by connected products (according to EU studies, 80% of data generated by connected products lies unexploited).

Beyond Europe

The Data Act is a European law, but since it affects all connected products that are sold and used on European soil, including imported ones, its effects reverberate far beyond European borders.

20 months to comply

The new Regulations will apply 20 months from its effective date (August 2025), with some requirements for which time is extended to 32 months (August 2026).

Does that sound like a long time? It may be, but when compared to the long cycles of change in manufacturing, it will seem like very little!

Impact on software, and DPS systems

This law directly impacts any software that support connected products and services, including DPS systems.

We will, of course, build into our software all the features needed to ensure compliance with the EU Data Act for our customers.

But we are even more interested in giving equipment manufacturers and service providers the right software tools to exploit all the business opportunities generated by the EU Data Act, and in this way fulfill its own promise: capture the huge economic potential hidden in data.

‍

Are you already a Servitly DPS customer? Relax, we'll handle everything.

Do you have a custom DPS to maintain and adapt? We can help. We will cover in detail all the implications of the Data Act on DPS systems in future articles.

Stay tuned!