The Need of Industry to Go FAIR

TLDR

The industry sector, a major data producer and consumer, increasingly relies on large-scale data analysis, and FAIR principles can reduce internal silos, enable integration with external data, and provide quality metrics, creating opportunities for SMEs and academics. This opinion article reflects on industry‑specific challenges to FAIR implementation that must be addressed when industry adopts FAIR.

Abstract

The industry sector is a very large producer and consumer of data, and many companies traditionally focused on production or manufacturing are now relying on the analysis of large amounts of data to develop new products and services. As many of the data sources needed are distributed and outside the company, FAIR data will have a major impact, both by reducing the existing internal data silos and by enabling the efficient integration with external (public and commercial) data. Many companies are still in the early phases of internal data “FAIRification”, providing opportunities for SMEs and academics to apply and develop their expertise on FAIR data in collaborations and public-private partnerships. For a global Internet of FAIR Data & Services to thrive, also involving industry, professional tools and services are essential. FAIR metrics and certifications on individuals, data, organizations, and software, must ensure that data producers and consumers have independent quality metrics on their data. In this opinion article we reflect on some industry specific challenges of FAIR implementation to be dealt with when choices are made regarding “Industry GOing FAIR”.