One platform — standardized, built and operated by many.
One platform — standardized, built and operated by many.
Next to a project sketch, lots of forms and the already public articles and documentation, a funded project also requires a final report. The format of it is predefined and parts 1 and 2 are meant for publication. To that end, they have been handed in at the Technical Information Library (TIB) of the Leibniz Institute in Hanover on 2025-03-24.
To make these documents more easily accessible to our community, we are publishing the report here as well, hoping that other projects can benefit from the gained experience in the technical domain, but particularly also in the way we have approached the processes and structure of the funded project.
The report consists of many tables and forms and multiple pieces of text. We are publishing the following parts:
Please note that the report is available in German language only.
The continuation of SCS is based on two pillars.
The first pillar is the evolution of the SCS standards, the development of compliance tests, certifications and the dissemination and adoption of the standards. This is driven by a group inside the OSBA, the Forum SCS-Standards. It was founded by 14 companies, meanwhile 17, who together are providing the financial support for the joint standardization work. Further companies and organizations (private or public) are welcome to join. The OSBA has created positions for employees to ensure there is meaningful progress. The standardization governance has been placed inside a non-profit organization on purpose, ensuring neutrality. This continues to happen in close collaboration with ALASCA e.V. More information is available in a press release on the Forum SCS-Standards.
The other pillar is the continuation of the software engineering work on the SCS Software (reference implementation). Beyond volunteers, this is primarily driven by technology companies who have invested into SCS already during the funded project phase. They are expanding their open source business models and fund the open source software development through commercial service offers (such as e.g. subscriptions for maintenance and support but also consulting or training offers). One visible result of the evolution is the Release 8 of the SCS reference implementation. Thanks to the existing usage of SCS, this is standing on solid ground. Also, new companies have emerged and are of course welcome. To deliver on the aspiration to create a large platform for Europe, a lot more growth of the network is desirable.