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A Brabant knowledge center for the safe sharing and storage of data, that’s what Brainport Industries, Brainport Development, the Province of North Brabant, TNO, SURF and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change want to build. On Monday, February 5, they agreed to meet this need with a Data Value Center.

Entrepreneurs from large, small and medium-sized enterprises should be able to learn and experiment in the knowledge center with the secure sharing and processing of data. They will also be able to exchange experiences and knowledge with other companies. The parties involved want to offer the business community new opportunities to do more with data.

“Processes in the manufacturing industry are increasingly driven by digital data”, according to a statement from the province. “Many entrepreneurs find it difficult to respond to the opportunities that arise from this. They want a safe place to share data with each other and want to be able to make use of the latest knowledge in this area.”

The government encourages the industry to make use of the opportunities offered by the Internet and new technology. According to the province, the Data Value Center fits in with this ambition. Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Climate Mona Keijzer: “Digitisation is very important for the growth of Dutch industry. I, therefore, support the overarching Smart Industry Implementation Agenda. With this agenda, we invest in knowledge and skills, help companies and knowledge institutions to share their data safely and effectively and, with the help of Field labs, we stimulate regional collaboration. This year, the Cabinet will make an additional €3.5 million available for this purpose.”

Smart use of data offers opportunities to develop new applications and revenue models and design business processes more efficiently. The Province: “Many companies gather a lot of data during the production process because they work with devices such as robots or 3D printers. These data can be of great value but are still often unused. The center helps entrepreneurs to make use of the data files that are available.”

Brabant already has experience with collaboration in the manufacturing industry in the field of data. In Gilze en Rijen, companies and knowledge institutes are working on improving maintenance in the process industry with the Campione field lab. The Jheronimus Academy of Data Science in ‘s-Hertogenbosch combines the scientific knowledge in the field of big data from Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University. Provincial Executive Bert Pauli: “In the center, we want to pool the knowledge of all our partners. I am proud that Brabant is the first to be given a place where the industry can go for support in working with big data.”