With the EU Data Act, the European Union is establishing a new legal framework for access to and use of data. The goal: data should no longer remain in closed silos of individual providers, but should be able to be used fairly and transparently between different stakeholders. Companies, public authorities and end users should benefit equally – economically, technologically and socially.
The Data Act has officially been in force since January 11, 2024. The practical application will begin on September 12, 2025 – this is when affected providers must comply with the new requirements.
The regulation focuses on connected products and associated digital services. These include machines, vehicles, household appliances and smart tools that generate data during use. In future, users of such devices will be given direct access to this data and will also be allowed to pass it on to third parties – for analysis, services or integration into other systems, for example.
What at first glance appears to be very technology-centric also has an impact on many digital business models in practice – and therefore also raises questions for software manufacturers and their customers. After all, it’s not just producers of smart hardware that are affected. Providers of digital services – for example in the cloud environment – also have to deal with certain regulations.
What does the Data Act regulate - and who does it affect?
The Data Act introduces a series of new regulations that are intended to provide a clearer structure for accessing and sharing data. The focus is on so-called IoT data – i.e. information that is generated when using networked physical products. In future, manufacturers of such products must ensure that the data generated through their use does not remain exclusively with them, but is also made accessible to users.
In concrete terms, this means that anyone using a smart device should be able to understand what data is generated, where it is stored and how it can be accessed free of charge or passed on to third parties. This should promote innovation, reduce dependencies on individual providers and make data usage fairer overall.
In addition to these product-related regulations, the Data Act also contains more general requirements that are relevant for many digital services and platforms – regardless of whether they work with IoT devices or not.
These include:
Even if the legal text is strongly focused on networked devices, this results in important requirements for software providers – for example with regard to data portability or contract design. JTL customers are therefore right to ask themselves to what extent their systems already meet the requirements.
How JTL-Wawi already fulfills central requirements of the Data Act
Even if JTL-Wawi does not fall within the direct scope of the Data Act – for example, because no sensor-generated IoT data is processed – the software already fulfills the central principles of the new regulation in many areas. JTL-Wawi is particularly well positioned when it comes to data access and data portability.
A central example is the JTL-DataTransfer export function. It allows data from different areas – such as items, customers, suppliers or orders – to be exported individually. Users can set filters, select data fields, save templates and create exports in CSV format. This allows you to flexibly back up your own data or, if required, transfer it to external service providers.
JTL-Wawi also offers custom fields that can be used to structure any additional information. These fields can not only be integrated into workflows and templates, but can also be exported completely. This means that individual business data remains accessible and portable at all times – without the need for any adjustments to the software.
Another plus point: the open Microsoft SQL database structure. Customers have access to their complete database at all times, can create backups, import data or execute their own queries. This transparency and control over their own data is an essential aspect of the Data Act – and has long been a reality with JTL-Wawi.
The interplay of attributes, import/export functions and customizable data structure also ensures that companies retain control over their information at all times. This creates the basis for effectively processing and analyzing data or integrating it into other systems – regardless of technical barriers.
Strong basis for more data sovereignty
The EU Data Act brings more clarity and fairness to the handling of data – and places a stronger focus on topics such as transparency, portability and data sovereignty. Even if JTL-Wawi is not directly subject to the new obligations, the software already fulfills many central requirements. With well thought-out export functions, open data structures and individual expandability, we at JTL offer our customers a solid basis for working flexibly and in compliance with the new legal framework.
