The Data Act is usually presented as a tool for limiting vendor lock-in. Its more significant impact, however, may lie beyond the IT sector itself: the owner of a machine, a car or an energy system gains influence over who will profit from the data generated over the subsequent years of the product’s use.
The sale of a connected device is increasingly rarely the end of the transaction. It marks the start of a long-term stream of revenue from servicing, diagnostics, software, parts, insurance and optimisation. Until now, manufacturers have often controlled this market because they were the only ones with access to the telemetry needed to provide these services.
The Data Act is shifting the balance of power. The product user can access the data generated by the product and instruct that it be passed on to a chosen third-party company. This does not yet mean an open data market, but it means that the manufacturer is no longer automatically the owner of the entire relationship that develops after the device is sold.
The customer begins to decide who enters the ecosystem
The scarcest resource will not be the data stream itself, but the customer’s consent to its use. It is the user who designates the company that may receive information from a vehicle, an industrial robot, an agricultural machine or a building management system.
For service providers, this changes the way they enter the market. Integration with the equipment manufacturer alone is no longer sufficient. Direct value for the user—who decides whether to share their data—is now essential. This could take the form of lower maintenance costs, faster fault detection, the ability to compare device performance, or a single platform supporting equipment from multiple brands.
The relationship with the customer therefore becomes the key to accessing the data infrastructure. A company that controls an application, a management dashboard or a service process may find itself in a better position than a provider with a single algorithm but no access to users.
At the same time, the regulation limits the ability of the largest digital platforms to automatically take over a new market. Entities designated as ‘gatekeepers’ under the Digital Markets Act cannot be identified as data recipients within this mechanism. This creates opportunities for specialised sector-specific providers, integrators and smaller technology firms, although it does not guarantee them a competitive advantage.
The greatest opportunity lies between devices from different manufacturers
A manufacturer usually knows its own product well, but sees only a fragment of the customer’s environment. A factory uses machinery from many different brands, a logistics operator manages a mixed fleet, and a building owner combines energy, ventilation, security and automation systems from various suppliers.
It is precisely between these systems that the greatest new value can be created. An independent supplier does not need to compete with the manufacturer when diagnosing a single machine. They can combine data from the entire production line and identify where delays, excessive energy consumption or the risk of downtime are actually occurring.
What therefore becomes crucial for business is not just who understands the equipment best, but who understands the customer’s entire process best. A compressor manufacturer may have the best model for assessing its condition. However, an integrator who can view compressors, furnaces, energy storage and the production schedule simultaneously can provide a more valuable recommendation.
In this way, the Data Act can empower suppliers operating across the boundaries of individual ecosystems. The greatest potential lies with data aggregation platforms, fleet management systems, industrial analytics providers, predictive maintenance firms and integrators capable of linking technical information with ERP, maintenance and cost management systems.
A three-way data market is emerging
The new competition will not be based on simply exporting a file. The Data Act establishes a relationship between three parties: the data holder, the product user and the recipient chosen by the user.
The European Commission has drawn up separate model contractual terms for the manufacturer–user, user–data recipient and manufacturer–data recipient relationships. This shows that access to data is beginning to function as a separate supply chain, with its own rules governing liability, security, use and billing.
This means there is a growing need for a layer to facilitate this exchange. Solutions are required to identify users, record access rights, control the purposes for which data is used, protect trade secrets and document data flows between companies.
Value can therefore flow not only to companies analysing data. Providers of API management, integration platforms, consent management systems, identity solutions and tools for monitoring data exchange will also benefit. For some companies, the Data Act will serve more as a catalyst for infrastructure development than as a source of a new end product.
Access will not always be free for the service provider
Users receive the data free of charge, but another company making use of mandatory access may be required to pay reasonable compensation. This is intended to cover the costs associated with making the data available and, in certain situations, also to reflect its value.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as non-profit research organisations, benefit from preferential rules regarding how such compensation is calculated. However, the detailed rules remain an important area for interpretation. In 2026, the Commission conducted a consultation on draft guidelines for calculating this compensation, and in early July it was still announcing the publication of the final guidelines.
This limits the attractiveness of models based solely on the resale of raw data. If a service provider bears the costs of access, integration, cybersecurity and interface maintenance, it requires a correspondingly high value from the end service.
The most viable applications are those in which the data leads to a measurable outcome: preventing a costly breakdown, reducing downtime, lowering energy consumption, reducing insurance premiums or extending the service life of a device. Telemetry visualisation alone may not be enough to build a sustainable margin.
The automotive sector is becoming the first battleground
The European Commission has issued separate guidelines for vehicle data, covering car manufacturers, component suppliers, aftermarket firms and insurers. The automotive sector demonstrates just how widely competition for data from a single product can spread.
Information on driving behaviour, the condition of components and vehicle usage can support independent repairs, fleet management, roadside assistance, risk-based insurance and the trade in spare parts. Each of these services competes for access to the same user, but transforms the data into a different form of value.
A similar mechanism may emerge in industry, agriculture and the energy sector. Data from an agricultural machine could be used by the manufacturer, an independent service provider, a fertiliser supplier, an equipment finance company or a platform optimising the entire farm. Data from a building management system may be of interest to energy suppliers, facility management firms, insurers and automation suppliers.
The equipment manufacturer therefore no longer competes solely with other manufacturers. Increasingly, it competes with companies that do not sell the equipment itself, but are able to take over the most profitable part of its subsequent operation.
Openness can become a selling point
The Data Act is often viewed by manufacturers as an obligation that restricts their control. However, it can also support a different model: the device as a platform for external services.
Well-documented APIs, clear metadata and a simple access-granting mechanism increase the number of applications for the product. The customer then receives not just a machine, but a component of a broader environment that can be easily integrated with systems already in use within the organisation.
For the manufacturer, this means the opportunity to build an ecosystem of partners without having to develop every service in-house. The company can generate revenue from hardware, its own premium solutions, partner certification or infrastructure services, rather than protecting its revenue solely by locking down data.
In larger industrial contracts, ease of integration may begin to influence purchasing decisions just as much as technical specifications, price and service terms. A closed product may be attractive in its own right, but less valuable as part of the customer’s overall environment.
The stakes lie in revenue from the installed base
The most significant impact of the Data Act will not be the mass sharing of data or the sudden emergence of hundreds of new applications. Above all, the regulation changes the distribution of value during the period after a product has already been sold and begins to generate data.
Manufacturers retain technical expertise, scale, brand and customer contact. Independent providers, however, gain the opportunity to enter a services market that was previously closed to them. The advantage will go to companies capable of combining information from multiple sources, gaining user trust and translating telemetry into measurable results.
