Article
19/07/2026 · 4 min
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Master Mind
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The EU Data Act has applied since 12 September 2025. Here's how your growth company gains rights to device data and can switch cloud providers freely.
The EU Data Act has applied since 12 September 2025. The regulation gives companies a legal right to access data generated by their own smart devices and industrial machinery — even when that data is stored in the device manufacturer's cloud (source: European Commission, digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu). For a growth company, this opens a concrete new data source for AI projects without a separate contract negotiation with the device manufacturer.
Many growth companies already sit on data from production machinery, vehicles, or smart-building sensors — without access to it. The device manufacturer owns the interface, and the data flows straight into the manufacturer's own cloud. When an AI project starts, this data is missing from the analysis entirely, even though it's often the most valuable part of the picture.
The Data Act (Regulation 2023/2854) entered into force on 11 January 2024 and has applied since 12 September 2025 (source: European Commission, 2025). It requires device manufacturers to give users — including business customers — default access to the data their devices generate, without a separate fee or unreasonable barriers.
The regulation covers connected devices broadly: industrial machinery, vehicles, smart-building sensors, and other IoT devices. In practice, it breaks the situation where the device manufacturer is the only party that sees the full picture of the data a machine produces.
It means you can require the device manufacturer to give you access to the usage, condition, and sensor data your own machine produces, in real time or with reasonable delay. That data can be moved into your own systems and combined with other business data — for example, production planning or predictive analytics.
This opens a data source for growth companies that previously couldn't be used in AI projects. Master Layer is the data foundation layer that connects a company's existing systems — CRM, ERP, documents — securely for AI use. The same principle now applies to device data, since the right to it is now enshrined in law.
The Data Act requires cloud providers to remove switching barriers gradually and phase out switching fees according to set deadlines. A company can therefore change cloud providers more easily, since data and applications no longer stay locked into a single vendor's ecosystem.
For a growth company, this means negotiating power. As switching costs fall, pricing and service level decide more than technical lock-in does.
The first step is mapping which devices the company uses and who currently sees the data they generate. The same logic applies to all data: before an AI project, you need to know what data your company actually has. We covered this in more depth in Data Inventory Before an AI Project.
Once device data is identified, the next step is connecting it to the company's data foundation. Master Layer handles this integration securely, so device data, CRM, and ERP speak the same language to an AI agent.
| Before the Data Act | After the Data Act (from 12 September 2025) |
|---|---|
| Device manufacturer controls access to data | User has a legal right to the data |
| Switching cloud providers is costly and slow | Switching fees phase out over time |
| Device data goes unused in AI projects | Device data can be combined with other business data |
Yes — the regulation applies to any company using connected devices in the EU, regardless of size. Some obligations fall primarily on device manufacturers and cloud providers, but the right to data access also applies to SME and midcap user companies.
Not necessarily at the first stage. The first step is a practical mapping exercise: which devices are in use, what data they generate, and who has access to it today. A legal review makes sense once the right needs to be turned into an actual contract change with the device manufacturer.
List the company's connected devices and systems that hold data you don't currently see. Then assess which data would create the most value when combined with existing CRM and ERP data. This mapping is the same starting point as any AI project — only the data source is new.
Book a free Master Mind analysis to map where your company's data — including device data — would create the most value with AI, measured in euros.
The EU Data Act is Regulation 2023/2854, which has applied since 12 September 2025. It gives companies a legal right to access data generated by their own smart devices and industrial machinery (source: European Commission, 2025).
Yes. The right to device data access applies regardless of company size, including SME and midcap companies that use connected devices in the EU.
Device data — usage, condition, and sensor information — can be combined with CRM and ERP data through Master Layer, expanding the information base available to an AI agent.
Yes. The regulation requires cloud providers to phase out switching barriers and fees, reducing dependency on a single vendor.
Not at the first stage. Start with a practical mapping of which devices and data the company has — legal review becomes relevant once a contract change is needed.
