Europe invests 500 million euros in ‘big data’

The European Union is investing half a billion euros in big data between 2016 and 2020, the European Commission has decided. Companies such as Atos, SAP and Siemens will also contribute another 2 billion euros.

The investment of 500 million was announced by outgoing European Commissioner Neelie Kroes of ICT. Kroes says it is a shame that none of the large companies involved in processing large amounts of data comes from Europe.

The 500 million euros, together with the 2 billion euros from the private sector, must go to research into ‘big data’ and new applications in that area. The subsidies are intended to provide for new applications of ‘big data’, such as the ability to predict diseases and personalize package leaflets for medicines.

It is not entirely clear what the conditions are for applying for a subsidy, but government organisations, companies and educational institutions can make a claim. Siemens, SAP, Atos and IBM, among others, have agreed to cooperate.