How is Self-Sovereign Data different from Blockchain technologies?

Let me start with the difference between the Internet and the web.

The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers or devices. The World Wide Web is a collection of information (data) on this network (see link)

That means the web sits on the Internet.

Typically, web pages are owned and processed by centralised servers so to decentralise data, you might use a blockchain or some equivalent technology to tokenise and track the data between these centralised systems.

But what if, instead of decentralising data from the central data processing system we decentralise the data processing system itself?

That’s what a decentralized data server (DDS) is. (It’s also called the HAT). It is a virtual “device” in the cloud ownable by any legal entity – individuals, businesses and governments. The R&D work by Dataswift and 8 U.K. universities brought the price of each of this data server down to less than $3 per year.

What this means is that data can be stored and processed at any entity’s data server, not just at centralised servers. The data in these server databases are called Self-Sovereign Data (SSData), a special legal and economic class of data that is much safer to use and share.

Over the years, Dataswift has built “pipes” and “valves” that move SSData between servers based on contracts agreed between parties and recognising where it was originally generated, where it was used and shared without knowing its contents. The Internet now has a new “lane” on its superhighway for SSData. SSData can be produced by one entity, processed by another, shared with another, all moving on this lane safely, securely and speedily. This legal class of data (SSData) can now create markets.

On top of that Internet layer, you can still have the normal web1, 2 or 3 technologies. The web pages or applications above it can read from multiple data servers, with the right permissions and contracts. And you can still tokenize and chain the SSData if you wish. In fact, decentralized data servers can enable crypto and NFTs to grow and thrive with the creation of data wallets and ecosystem-enabled applications.

To read more about decentralised data processing, go to this link.

To read more about the market for self-sovereign data go to this link.