OP kickoff meeting in Athens!

26—Jan—2020, by Spiros Athanasiou

OpertusMundi had its kickoff meeting in Athens! For two days (January 21-22, 2020), Athena RC welcomed all project partners in the heart of Athens, to set the foundations for three years of extremely interesting collaboration and work.

The meeting was the first opportunity for most project members to meet in person, share their experiences in geospatial data trading, analysis, and value-added service provision, identify common innovation goals, as well as development directions.

The first day was a chance for everyone to focus again on the goals and ideas behind the OpertusMundi project. After a first introduction of the 10 partners, we reinstated and discussed the significant agenda of the project; create and operate the first EU data marketplace for industrial geospatial assets. The partners reviewed the current policy and industry landscape, identified best practices in data marketplaces, and acknowledged the dominant market trends in geospatial data trading. After this discussion, the partners revisited the planned work, deliverables and timeframe for each work-package, identifying the specific areas of focus for the first year of the project. Our and legal counsel partner CMG continued with a presentation of the underlying legal framework setting the foundations for the sustained operation of data marketplaces. Specific emphasis was placed on the need for clear terms and conditions for data providers and consumers, as well as the process for developing homogenized contracts for asset trading across EU. At the end of the day, another critical aspect of the project was discussed, it’s coherent visual identity. Commercial-grade UI/UX and engaging communication instruments are paramount for achieving our goals for assembling a critical mass of geospatial asset providers and consumers across EU, a critical differentiation of the project and a common theme across all industrial data marketplaces.

During the second day, our discussion focused around the architecture of the OpertusMundi industrial data marketplace, resulting to a first specification of the major software components, dependencies, and development priorities. In addition, we conducted a thorough discussion of the various use cases that need to be supported by the platform, emphasizing its cross-domain, cross-sector and cross-border coverage. A brainstorming session followed where all participants gave their individual comments, insight and ideas on the platform.

Finally, the meeting ended with a rendez-vous for Delft in summer!