Catena-X provides the automotive sector a secure and standardised data sharing ecosystem to enable compliance with regulatory requirements
T-Systems has been appointed to support the BMW Group in bringing its global supplier base into the Catena-X data-sharing platform. Acting as a certified implementation partner, the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary will connect suppliers of all sizes and levels of digital maturity to the ecosystem, providing advisory services from initial consultation through to productive data exchange.
“Through Catena-X’s radically new approach to collaboration, we, the BMW Group and our partners, will optimise our value creation processes in terms of sustainability, security of supply, and quality – while also saving costs,” said BMW Group VP digitalisation of the purchasing and supplier network Oliver Ganser.
“Catena-X is an important building block for secure data exchange for companies,” said T-Systems CEO and member of the Deutsche Telekom board Ferri Abolhassan (above). “As a founding member of Catena-X, we have always believed in collaborative data infrastructures and have been involved from the very beginning. Only control over their own data guarantees companies’ security, data protection and economic independence.”
Catena-X is designed to strengthen supply chain resilience and transparency while reducing costs through interoperable solutions. The platform is based on a federated data space architecture, which ensures that partners retain control of their own data. Instead of storing information centrally, Catena-X enables peer-to-peer exchange, with cloud-based instances acting only as mediators.
Early mover
T-Systems has been involved in Catena-X from its inception as a founding member. In October 2023, it became the first provider to launch a certified end-to-end connection package for the ecosystem, with prices starting at €29 per month. The operator positioned its services to support both SMEs and large enterprises, offering “Connect” and “Integrate”” options to establish data links and automate exchanges between IT systems.
The service portfolio expanded further in October 2024, when T-Systems introduced its “Battery Pass” solution at the International Suppliers Fair in Wolfsburg. The digital product passport documents the life cycle of energy storage systems and is expected to become mandatory in the EU from February 2027. The solution relies on data sharing through platforms such as Catena-X, ensuring compliance with GAIA-X principles for data verification and sovereignty.
At CES in Las Vegas in February 2025, T-Systems launched two onboarding packages for Catena-X. The “Standard” package was designed for smaller suppliers and included consulting, training, connector setup, and integration with Cofinity-X, the operator of Catena-X. The “Individual” package targeted larger companies requiring customised integration into existing system landscapes.
At the time, Sven Löffler, head of dataspaces & data products at T-Systems, explained that the company’s Catena-X onboarding solutions were designed to work across all major cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Open Telekom Cloud. He noted that the services are scalable for both small and large businesses, with a single connector supporting all use cases.
Löffler added that T-Systems offers round-the-clock global support where required and emphasised the high level of security, certified by external auditors against standards such as ISO, TISAX, Gaia-X and IDSA. T-Systems is also a founding member and shareholder of Cofinity-X, the company that operates Catena-X.
Sovity role
Another implementation partner, sovity, has played a complementary role, onboarding over 20 BMW Group suppliers within a single quarter, enabling direct data exchange via the Catena-X standard interface. This indicates that BMW is pursuing a multi-partner strategy to accelerate integration of its global supplier network into Catena-X, leveraging different implementation partners’ specialised capabilities and service models.
The BMW Group supplier onboarding initiative represents a significant expansion of Catena-X participation. By extending ecosystem access across its global supplier base, the programme aims to catalyse standardised data exchange, throughout its automotive supply chain.
