A Historical Analysis on Interoperability in Estonian Data Exchange Architecture: Perspectives from the Past and for the Future

Abstract

The importance of interoperability for enabling e-governance and e-service provision cannot be overstated. In Estonia, the interoperability data exchange platform, X-Road, has been implemented since 2001 and was integrated with the Finnish public sector in 2018. In the context of the EU, it is an exceptional case of a cross-border interoperability platform. However, the Estonian government has proposed next generation government e-services using virtual assistants. This may necessitate potential changes to X-Road if the members from its collectively governed body, Nordic Institute for Interoperable Services (NIIS) decide to do so. Thus, this paper seeks to understand how X-Road developed historically related to European Interoperability Framework principles while also providing an outlook for the future based upon this next generation e-service concept. An exploratory case-study approach was adopted, and six semi-structured interviews were conducted with the architects, developers and public sector officials of the original and current version of X-Road. A thematic analysis was then applied. Based on this analysis, the decision to decentralize the initial X-Road helped create sustainable interoperability supported by legislation written at the time and since then. Future work is presented involving the integration of microservices on an abstract level.