Online register for the procurement of European software
A new register is to help with the procurement of European software and IT services in the future. It will be free of charge for providers and users.
The Europe Cloud.
(Image: Bild erstellt mit KI in Bing Designer durch heise online / dmk)
On the sidelines of the Digital Summit in Berlin, Dennis-Kenji Kipker and Michael Littger from the Frankfurt Cyberintelligence Institute (CII) announced an initiative to create a register of sovereign software. It runs under the name EUCRA, which, according to the initiators, stands for “European Value Creation Alliance Cybersecurity and Resilience.” The goal is for authorities, public institutions, and above all companies to be able to find the right stack of software and services for their requirements via a portal, whose providers meet certain digital sovereignty criteria—for example, locations and value creation in the EU or the European Economic Area.
The register will be free of charge for both providers and potential users—referred to as demand-side stakeholders by the CII. EUCRA specifically aims to address demand-side stakeholders with special regulatory needs, such as KRITIS organizations or those falling under the NIS2 criteria.
(Image:Â Ulrich Wolf / heise medien)
The project is to be financed through partners; Schwarz Digits and the cybersecurity company Myra are on board from the start, with more to follow. Two advisory boards, one on the demand-side stakeholder side and one on the provider side, are to guarantee independence. The CII will set up a business office for coordination. Providers can register there already now. The project is expected to launch in a beta phase for users in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, the CII will develop a catalog of criteria and an initial version of the portal itself. Both will be incrementally expanded even after the beta phase starts.
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In addition to the immediate benefit, Michael Littger, Strategic Director of the CII, highlighted further goals. It is intended to make European providers more visible in the market overall, establish transparency in evaluation criteria, and also show where there are still gaps in the digital value chain.
(ulw)
