Digital identities: eco Association and DATEV commission Telekom

• T-Systems delivers ID wallet for Gaia-X Federation Services
• Development as open source software – compatibility with the EUDI wallet
• Strategic cooperation between DATEV and T-Systems to develop an ID wallet for tax consultants

Telekom wins further customers in the field of digital identities. T-Systems supplies the ID wallet for the Gaia-X Federation Services. The services are the basis and toolbox for setting up and operating a cloud ecosystem managed by the participants themselves. The client is the eco Association on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics. T-Systems and Verimi are also developing a proof of concept – an ID wallet for tax consultants – for DATEV. The company did not disclose the volume or duration of the contracts.

Telekom had previously scored points in the healthcare sector with digital identities. In future, 8.7 million people insured by Barmer will use the digital wallet from T-Systems and Verimi. The joint offer for Barmer only recently received Gematik approval. It is the first authorisation of a digital identity for the healthcare sector in Germany to date.

T-Systems CEO and Deutsche Telekom AG Board Member Adel Al-Saleh says: “The EU wants EU citizens to be able to decide with whom they share data in the future. Digital, secure identities are the key to this. They will enable new digital applications in many sectors in the future. Each of us will benefit from this in our everyday lives. The orders we have won underline our commitment and expertise in this growing business area.”

Users keep the reins in their hands when exchanging digital ID credentials

A lack of trust remains a stumbling block to digitalisation in the industry. Secure digital identities for senders and recipients should change this in future. At the same time, they should eliminate the password jungle for Internet users. The need for identity solutions is growing in all areas of social life. Self-sovereign identity (SSI) technology plays a special role here. The technology enables the secure and data-saving exchange of digital ID credentials. It orchestrates the interaction between issuer, holder and verifying body. Users thus keep the reins in their own hands.

Deutsche Telekom is developing its ID solution as open source software. This should also be compatible with the European digital identity (EUDI wallet). The solution will be available to the Gaia-X initiatives as open source at the beginning of next year.

Andreas Weiss, Managing Director of the eco Association, says: “We are delighted that, through T-Systems, we can offer Gaia-X Federation Services a high-quality solution for an integrated ID wallet for organisations and individuals that is aligned with market requirements and at the same time compatible with the upcoming EUDI wallet. And as a solution for smartphones and cloud services at the same time.”

Dr Lars-Meyer-Pries, Head of Innovation Management at DATEV, explains: “We need unambiguous identification and authentication of individuals in the consulting process for a large number of use cases for our tax consultants and tax consulting firms. To this end, we are working with T-Systems to develop a model for future-oriented authentication, in which we are already considering the eID planned by the EU and the needs of the tax consulting profession with a so-called ID wallet.”

T-Systems cloud from Germany – operator cannot view any data

Digital identities are a strategic issue for Deutsche Telekom. T-Systems has developed the technical solution for this together with Verimi. All data is also encrypted during processing in a secure and sovereign T-Systems cloud in Germany. Deutsche Telekom pursues the so-called “confidential computing” approach. This means that data cannot be viewed by third parties or the operator of the solution. Deutsche Telekom thus creates a particularly high level of trust, especially for customers in critical areas and the public sector.

About DATEV eG:
DATEV eG is the third largest provider of business software in Germany (IDC ranking 2023) and one of the largest European IT service providers. Founded in 1966, the cooperative of the tax consulting profession has over 40,000 members. In the 2022 financial year, it achieved a turnover of 1.3 billion euros. With its software, cloud solutions and expertise, the Nuremberg-based company provides the basis for digital collaboration between SMEs and the tax advisors who take care of the business management needs of companies. Through this community, DATEV supports a total of 2.8 million companies, self-employed individuals, local authorities, associations and institutions. With almost 8,800 employees, the company guides around 585,000 customers through the digitalisation of their commercial processes in a spirit of partnership. Data protection, data security and tax compliance have the highest priority.

About eco
With around 1,000 member companies, eco (international.eco.de) is the leading association of the Internet industry in Europe. Since 1995, eco has played a key role in shaping the Internet, promoting new technologies, creating framework conditions and representing the interests of its members in politics and on international committees. eco has offices in Cologne, Berlin and Brussels. eco’s work is primarily focussed on an efficient, reliable and trustworthy ecosystem of digital infrastructures and services.

Media contact:
eco – Association of the Internet Industry
Sidonie Krug
Head of Association Communications/
Speaker Political Communication
Mobile: +49 (0) 160 – 96 91 34 93
E-Mail: sidonie.krug@eco.de

*Background: Gaia-X Federation Services (GXFS)
Shaping the data infrastructure of the future together – secure, open and transparent Innovation through digital sovereignty – that is the goal of Gaia-X. This is achieved by building an ecosystem in which data is made available, collected and shared in a trustworthy environment, with users always retaining sovereignty over their data. The result is not an independent cloud, but a federated system that connects many providers and users of data and cloud services.

The Gaia-X Federation Services (GXFS) represent the minimum technical requirements needed to set up and operate a cloud-based, self-managed data infrastructure ecosystem. Services based on open source code are developed on the basis of the technical specifications. They are freely available to the Gaia-X community to develop innovative and co-operative services.

About Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom Company Profile

This press release was originally issued by T-Systems.