On 29 January 2026, Sopra Steria proudly took part in the SIMPL Annual Community Event in Brussels as lead partner of the InfrateX consortium. The event brought together the entire Simpl community including European institutions, Member States, data space initiatives, industry players and researchers to share status and next steps for Simpl-Open, Simpl-Labs and Simpl-Live, three key initiatives supporting data interoperability in Europe.
As a lead player in the field of digital transformation, Sopra Steria is highly involved in shaping and deploying the Simpl programme. Through its leadership in contracts preparing the future with studies on Simpl-Open deployment in data spaces and EuroCloud initiative or through the development of Simpl-Open modules, the Group is actively contributing to the technical development of the open-source middleware, as well as its governance, industrialisation and large-scale adoption.
Simpl: A European Response to interoperability challenges
With public and private organisations managing ever-growing volumes of data, interoperability remains a strategic challenge: enabling services, platforms, data sources and heterogeneous infrastructures to work together while ensuring security, trust and compliance. The Simpl programme addresses this challenge by providing an open-source solution designed to facilitate cloud-to-edge federations and secure data exchange at European scale.
Sopra Steria involvement: From experimentation to industrialisation
Sopra Steria is working with DG Connect in the Simpl programme, focussing on designing the deployment of Simpl-Open to the concrete needs of Common European Data Spaces, particularly in the Green Deal, Energy, Agriculture and Mobility sectors. The project also supports the EuroCloud initiative, which lays the foundations for a trusted cloud infrastructure for the European public sector and is already backed by ten EU Member States.
Building on this foundation, we are moving into a phase of consolidation and scaling through 2028. The aim is to transform Simpl-Open into a robust, feature-rich platform, interoperable with major digital ecosystems such as EuroHPC and AI Factories, capable of activating federated AI services and exploring new deployment and monetisation models via the DOME marketplace.
“As Sopra Steria’s scope of involvement continues to expand, so do the opportunities and challenges we embrace. I am very proud to lead the teams working across this broad scope within the Simpl Programme. Together, we fully understand DG CONNECT’s expectations and are deeply committed to delivering on them.”
Aziz ZARIOUH,
Sopra Steria programme director.
Sharing expertise and shaping the future
This ambition was demonstrated during the event through high-level discussions on the platform’s future evolution. Dammini Maravelakis, EU Director at Sopra Steria, took part in the panel discussion ‘Building the Future: Augmenting Simpl-Open' through AI Extensions, reflecting upon Simpl’s broader role in the European data sharing ecosystem, and presenting the project on the enhancement of Simpl-Open with the various modules such as AI services, EuroHPC, DOME and monetisation. The event also hosted discussions on governance, scalability and collaboration across European data spaces, bringing together experts from across the InfrateX consortium.
A Shared Commitment to Europe’s Data Future
Through its collaboration with DG Connect, Sopra Steria reaffirms its commitment alongside European institutions to building trusted digital infrastructures. Simpl-Open is now positioned as a key technological backbone, supporting Common European Data Spaces and the EU’s ambition for digital sovereignty. Many thanks to all the participants and organisers for their contribution to this event, which focused on collaboration and innovation in the field of European data interoperability.
Exciting challenges ahead for Sopra Steria, looking forward to the next Simpl Community Annual event foreseen in November 2026 to share progress