Demonstrators prove that two connectors can exchange a file under a usage policy. Production asks harder questions: who is allowed in, how trust is revoked, what happens when a policy changes after data has already been shared.
Onboarding is the product
Participants judge a data space by how long it takes to join. Clear identity checks, a published trust list and a guided first exchange matter more than any single technical feature.
Policies need a vocabulary people understand
ODRL makes usage policies machine-readable. Participants still need them in plain language. We maintain a small library of approved policy templates, each with a human summary, so legal teams can review once and reuse.
Plan for revocation from day one
Trust is not permanent. Certificates expire, organisations leave, consent is withdrawn. The architecture must make revocation fast and visible to every connector.
Operate it like any critical service
Monitoring, incident response, versioned releases and documented service levels turn a research project into infrastructure that hospitals and companies can rely on.