Siemens working on security solution and architecture within EU project SPOCS

Munich, Germany, All businesses wanting to expand their services to other member countries within the EU will be able to perform all the necessary administrative procedures electronically in future. In pursuing this objective, the SPOCS project (Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services) aims to securely network all IT systems used by public authorities in the EU member states. The goal is to develop and pilot the necessary IT solutions by the year 2012. Siemens IT Solutions and Services is involved in designing the security architecture within the project and is also supporting the “eDelivery and eSafe” activities. The EU project has an investment volume of more than 14 million euros and will run for over three years.

Under the EU Services Directive, all member states are obliged to have established a point of single contact within their national authorities by the end of 2009. When a service provider wishes to set up a business in an EU country, it can then obtain all the necessary information from the point of single contact and complete all the necessary procedures electronically via this one agency.

The first step in the SPOCS project involves analyzing the IT systems currently used by the participating countries to implement the EU Services Directive. These countries include Germany, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland. The results will be used to define a common set of specifications and applications. These will then be implemented and piloted by the participants and the solution subsequently offered to the other EU member states. The wide range of systems used by the national authorities will then be able to communicate with each other Europe-wide via common interfaces.

Siemens IT Solutions and Services is supporting the “eDelivery and eSafe” activities within which solutions for archiving electronic correspondence and securely exchanging data between businesses and national authorities will be developed. Siemens IT Solutions and Services is also involved in designing the security architecture for the project. The objective is to synchronize the security systems developed as part of the various work packages and to implement uniform security components.

Results from two other large EU projects - STORK (Secure Identity Across Borders Linked) and PEPPOL (Pan-European Public eProcurement On-line) – will also flow into SPOCS. STORK will enable EU citizens to use their electronic identity and access public services wherever they are in Europe. PEPPOL will allow companies to compete for public sector contracts Europe-wide.

SPOCS is co-funded by the European Commission within the Competitive and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and in the context of the Information Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme (ICT-PSP).

Siemens IT Solutions and Services is an internationally leading provider of IT solutions and services. It covers the entire IT service chain from a single source, from consulting to system integration, right through to the management of IT infrastructures. In addition, Siemens IT Solutions and Services extends the range of offerings of the other Siemens Sectors to include IT solutions. With its comprehensive know-how and industry-specific knowledge, Siemens IT Solutions and Services provides measurable added value for its customers. Siemens IT Solutions and Services employs more than 41,000 people and posts annual sales of about 5.3 billion euros, of which over 70 percent are generated outside of the Siemens Sectors. More information at: www.siemens.com/it-solutions.