Before you dive into our exclusive interview, discover the remarkable journey of two industry pioneers who are revolutionizing how the manufacturing world thinks about data, hardware, and digital sovereignty.
In a world drowning in digital fragmentation, the machine-building industry has a massive problem: it’s living on isolated digital islands. While modern factories run on data, sharing that data securely across supply chains remains incredibly complex. But Matthias Scharpe from the VDMA, and Werner Paulin, a veteran industrial expert, aren’t just acknowledging the problem—they are architecting the future of European industrial data sharing.
Many believe the only solution is handing all machine data over to massive, centralized—often US-based—cloud hyperscalers. But Matthias and Werner are championing a different path: decentralized data spaces and the Manufacturing X initiative, allowing companies to collaborate and scale without giving up control.
The European Advantage Big Tech Can’t Replicate:
- Complete Data Sovereignty – YOU control who sees your data, what they see, and for how long.
- Decentralized Infrastructure – No single platform owns your information.
- The Digital Twin – A living digital model that travels with the physical machine throughout its entire lifecycle.
- Data-Driven Hardware Optimization – Anonymized usage data to perfect physical products safely.
What Makes Traditional Platforms Nervous:
This technology allows a service technician to securely access the exact engineering and maintenance data for a specific machine in seconds, bypassing chaotic PDFs and emails. It enables machine builders to finally see how their components are truly operating on the factory floor—closing the gap between digital software and physical reality, while keeping intellectual property meticulously protected.
It was a pleasure to get Matthias Scharpe and Werner Paulin on stage
Matthias Scharpe is a digitalization expert at VDMA, shaping the future of industrial value creation through sovereign data ecosystems. With over 30 years of hands-on experience in mechanical engineering, sales, and software solutions, he drives initiatives such as Manufacturing X and Scale MX, which enable secure, cross-company data collaboration at an industrial scale. He also leads the VDMA IT Cost Benchmark, helping companies gain transparency over their digital investments and optimize them in a targeted manner. Matthias connects industry and technology to make data sharing a cornerstone of competitive and resilient manufacturing networks.
Werner Paulin helps organizations turn technological potential into market-relevant solutions by aligning strategy, product thinking, and execution. He believes software only gains true meaning when it impacts the real world, especially when it controls or interacts with machines. Having spent 30 years in industrial automation across various international roles, Werner has always stayed close to the market and its needs. His work sits squarely at the intersection of industry expertise, software, and real-world business impact.
The Manufacturing Mission: Bridging the Digital Islands
In the past, component suppliers and machine builders offered digital information via their own siloed servers and complex, individual contracts. For a factory operator running equipment from dozens of different suppliers, this environment became unmanageable and fiercely expensive.
Matthias and Werner are driving a bold aim: redefining how the European market works together. They are pushing strategies where engineering becomes connected and data processes become dramatically faster—often referred to as matching “China speed.”
Three Game-Changing Innovations
Their approach changes the landscape through three powerful areas:
- The Comprehensive Digital Twin – Every physical machine is engineered alongside its digital counterpart, holding all relevant and up-to-date project data from production to commissioning.
- “Connect Once” Ecosystems – Instead of changing files and negotiating individual setups, companies connect once to a secure Data Space (like Cofinity-X).
- Upstream Data Publishing – Component suppliers can safely access anonymized, real-world usage data directly from their hardware in the field to achieve data-driven product optimization.
Why This Interview Matters
In our new talk, Matthias and Werner share the specific difficulties that make Data Spaces necessary. They discuss the difference between throwing data blindly into the cloud versus utilizing an EU-backed decentralized approach where trust is legally defined.
As Werner powerfully states in the interview: “As long as we drink real milk or real water packed in bottles, we need real-life machines. We cannot live on servers.”
If you like industrial technology, are a manufacturer looking for a competitive edge, or are simply curious about how Industry 4.0 is truly coming to life, this interview offers rare insights. It comes from the people who bridge the gap between traditional mechanical engineering and the future of digital software.
Ready to see how Europe is reclaiming its digital power?
Watch our exclusive interview below and discover how VDMA and industry experts are turning data fragmentation into a collaborative, competitive advantage.
Social Links
Connect with Werner Paulin:
Werner Paulin on LinkedIn
Varion Impact
Connect with Matthias Scharpe:
Matthias Scharpe on LinkedIn
VDMA & Manufacturing-X:
- VDMA IT-Kosten Benchmark 2025
- Datenökonomie – vdma.eu – VDMA
- Software und Digitalisierung – vdma.eu – VDMA
- Manufacturing-X – vdma.eu – VDMA
- SCALE-MX
Dataspaces to Explore:
- Cofinity-X – for Automotive and Manufacturing
- IDTA – Asset Data Exchange Hub for Components
- Smart connected supplier network – for Supply Chain Management
- Pontus-X – Data Space Infrastructure
- Sphin-X – for Healthcare, to find the right data for pharmaceutical studies
Events – learn Dataspaces (in German Language):