So far the web has evolved in a highly centralised model. Data is siloed into segregated systems such as social media platforms, financial institutions, healthcare providers and media. This has created a monopoly of services provided by a small number of Big Tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon and Google. Individual citizens have little control over their personal data and how it is used. Consequently, they have very little ability to use it to their benefit and gain new value from it.

Janeiro Digital's platform is called XFORM to provide the connective tissue that integrates with decentralised Web into existing technology architecture within government and large-scale enterprises.

So far the healthcare industry has been an early adopter of this new model. In a pilot supporting people living with dementia and their caregivers, Janeiro Digital collaborated with the NHS in Greater Manchester. With a proof of concept designed to address the needs of the more complex social healthcare environments, the limited Solid implementation linked the region’s patient data in the electronic health record (EHR) system with local GPs, hospital systems, families, and other care providers. This finally gives both clinicians and patients a unified record that will enable ultimate patient-centred care.

XFORM, as an enterprise-grade data integration solution, is industry-agnostic and ensures interoperability across all applications and ecosystems at scale. It is powering some of the earliest iterations of the decentralized web and numerous pilots and proof of concepts are already underway in the healthcare, government and pharmaceutical industries. Not only will organisations now be able to meet rising consumer demand for data control and privacy, but XFORM enables a whole new ecosystem of applications, opening the door to applications and services that can deliver new value back to the user through consented access in real-time.

Starting in 2018, Janeiro Digital worked hand-in-hand with industry luminaries in the development of open standards and protocols to decentralize personal data on the Web. Chief among them is Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s Solid, a key open standard to give people control of their data and let them put it to work on their behalf. Janeiro Digital’s CTO, Justin Bingham, is a contributing Author and Editor of the Solid Protocol, and several other specifications enabling the interoperability of data and applications in the decentralized Web.

The decentralised web presents a critical opportunity to rethink and reimagine data-sharing. It puts the control firmly in the hands of individuals, for personal and collective benefit. Until now, there has been no mechanism to connect decentralized data stores like Solid Pods with existing information systems - a missing link in realizing the value of the decentralised web.