Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering

We build data spaces - fair, confident and value-adding.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST develops data space technologies for sovereign data exchange and builds forward-looking data ecosystems with its partners.

Fair

Data spaces can only be successful if all participants benefit from them. This is why we play a leading role in strategic digital initiatives such as the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and Gaia-X AISBL, which create the basis for a fair data economy. In the EU-funded Data Spaces Support Centre and as a member of the Eclipse Dataspace Working Group, we support the exchange and development of standards on which future data spaces can be based and made openly accessible.

Sovereign

Anyone who discloses data must be able to retain control over what happens to this data. That's why, together with our customers and partners from the business world and as advisors to politicians, we create data spaces for the secure and controllable use of data across company boundaries - for Germany, Europe and worldwide.

Value-Adding

Data is a strategic resource whose value must be exploited. That's why we work with companies from the industrial manufacturing, healthcare, mobility & smart cities and IT service provider sectors to identify the strategic value of their data and make it usable in sovereign data spaces - from data preparation to the development of new business models, we offer complete system solutions.


#InnovationsFromData

Institute in numbers

At the end of 2024, Fraunhofer ISST employed a total of 191 people, including 74 students, 61 women, and 21 from countries outside Europe.

Fraunhofer ISST is financed by public funds, known as base funding, which is used to carry out pre-competitive research, strategic projects, and investments. The total operating budget for 2024 amounted to around 12.25 million euros. In the 2024 fiscal year, Fraunhofer ISST generated income from research and industry amounting to 8.95 million euros. In addition, institutional funding from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft amounted to 4.57 million euros.

 

Institute management

The institute is headed by Prof. Boris Otto.

 

Advisory board

Industry and science representatives enrich our institute with their valuable and relevant professional experience.

 

University Cooperations

Our scientific network encompasses close and personal cooperation with leading universities in our specialist fields.