The EU data market has been analysed in the past years by several studies and reports. The estimate of the overall value of the data market in EU28 had a growth rate of a 9.5% between 2015 and 2016. Despite of this growing bottom-line market, there are some barriers: •Europe has been slow to adopt data technologies compared to the US. •Data skills gap. Between demand and supply of data workers, almost 400k jobs go unfilled. •Standardization. Increasing complexity and variety on standards can slow innovation. •Privacy and data protection. A reliable legal framework, like GDPR, is complex but can guarantee success of the companies. •Reaching all sorts of SMEs and start-ups. Companies emerging from entrepreneurial ecosystems like accelerators or incubators are usually not so linked to EU initiatives. Data Market Services is born to overcome the barriers of data-based SMEs and start-ups in Europe in data skills, entrepreneurial opportunities, legal issues and standardisation, thanks to the provision of free support services for them. To achieve this a 100-data-based companies portfolio in 3 different cohorts from 2019 to 2021 will be built. 12 free support services, in 5 categories, will be offered to them. These will be monitored and analysed every year to update them and keep a high-level on the delivery. All of this considering the consortium will have The Next Web Conference as its own flagship event to assure major impact on dissemination. Consortium is comprised by: ZABALA, an innovation firm working on several of data-based programmes as FINODEX and EDI. Univ. Southampton, owner of their data science academy and leading ODINE and Data Pitch. Kings College London, a highly ranked British university. Private accelerators/incubators like Spinlab (DE), Spherik (RO), Bright Pixel (PT) to assure presence in all corners of EU. Ogilvy as expert on communication, currently in charge of FIWARE and BDV PPP comms. IPTector as IPR expert. TNW as owner of our flagship event and the tq.co incubator; and W3C as main standards body.

The mission of BDVe is to support the Big Data Value PPP in realizing a vibrant data-driven EU economy or said in other words, BDVe will support the implementation of the PPP to be a SUCCESS. Behind that mission, there are multiple goals to achieve, which should be taken into full consideration when defining the directions of the PPP. Some of the most challenging ones are: (1) achieving a more competitive landscape of European Big Data providers, leading to bigger market share; (2) creating the context for a more competitive EU industry (transport, manufacturing, public sector, agrifood, media, energy…) in the advent of a data-driven revolution where many traditional players will have to transform their processes and re-think their business if they want to remain completive –or in some cases, just to survive-; (3) ensuring the sustainability of the investments and actions triggered by the PPP. BDVe has broken down those high-level goals into 7 major priorities for the project: • Being accurately informed about most important facts in Big Data so that we have a solid basis to support the decision-making process in the PPP • Supporting the implementation of the Big Data PPP from an operational point of view • Developing a vibrant community around the PPP • Supporting the development of a European network of infrastructures and centers of excellence around Big Data • Setting-up a professional Communications strategy • Setting up a framework that supports the acceleration of data-driven businesses, and • Ensuring the sustainability of the investments and actions triggered by the PPP. The BDVe consortium includes a set of partners that have shown commitment and dedication to the success of the PPP for several years. They have already invested and they have committed to invest along the coming years. We believe that this CSA cannot be a neutral action that offers operational support without further commitment.