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Data Services Network
A Data Services Network (DSN) is the architecture central to a new paradigm of 'live data' for Digital Government.
This evolution is driven by the "Once-Only" principle, which mandates that citizens and businesses should only provide information to public administrations a single time.
"Tell Us Once" revolutionizes digital government by enabling citizens to share data like address changes just once, with the system then automatically syncing it across all agencies.
To fulfill this vision, governments are leveraging sophisticated technical architectures, including blockchain-based integrity layers, distributed data exchanges like the X-Road, and automated orchestration services.
Data Exchange Platform (DXP)
The foundation of any DSN is a decentralized data exchange platform that allows government agencies, private sector partners, and even cross-border entities to share information securely without creating a single, vulnerable central repository. Estonia’s X-Road, launched in 2001 and now open-source, serves as the gold-standard example.
Unified Citizen Records (UCR)
A data exchange platform alone is not enough; it requires harmonized standards for unified citizen records to ensure data is meaningful, consistent, and trustworthy when shared. This pillar establishes common frameworks for how citizen information is structured, identified, accessed, and protected—without forcing everything into one giant database.