Market potential assessment of a European Open Web Index – Exploring the economic and societal impact
The report by Munich-based consulting firm Mücke Roth & Company provides an in-depth assessment of the macroeconomic market potential of a European Open Web Index (OWI) as it is being conceptually developed in the Open Web Search Initiative and currently being piloted in the OpenWebSearch.eu (ows.eu) project. It evaluates the economic and societal impact, using both top-down and bottom-up methods to ensure a comprehensive analysis of different scenarios, including qualitative feedback from future users.
A number of significant benefits of an Open Web Index with broad applicability across Europe have been identified. Key findings indicate that the Open Web Search Index could achieve a return on investment within four years, with a projected net benefit of around €4.5 billion over a decade. These benefits are derived from economic gains and societal improvements such as strengthening European digital sovereignty and global technological competitiveness across a wide range of industries and use cases.
The report explores key societal impacts such as promoting European digital autonomy, fostering innovation and supporting open-source development. It highlights a reduction in dependency on non-European digital platforms, thereby enhancing digital sovereignty and creating a more balanced digital search ecosystem for European users. In addition, the cost structures of the project have been aligned with the benefit analysis to underline the viability of the project. eRcommendations for strategic directions and business model adjustments are provided to optimise economic and societal benefits. This report is intended to help OpenWebSearch.eu and/or its stakeholders to make informed decisions about the future of a European Open Web Index, e.g. to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of possible investments.
The full study report is available for free download here (pdf).
The Munich based consulting firm Mücke Roth & Company was selected as a OpenWebSearch.eu third-party partner in 2023 and was commissioned with a study to investigate the macro-economic as well as the societal implications of a European Open Web Index, as currently developed by OpenWebSearch.eu.
The study was carried out as part of the EU project OpenWebSearch.EU as a third-party partner project under grant agreement No. 101070014. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
