Defining an SCS Release/Product

[jklare]

Following the discussions we had in the project board, as well as in the SCS Community Meeting on 10.07.2026, this thread intends to focus on the definition of a future SCS Release/Product. Input from all parties involved in the SCS Community is welcome here. The output of this discussion, here, will be prepared as input for the upcoming SCS Community Meeting.

Background

Within the funding period of SCS (and shortly after), there have been regular "SCS Releases", comprising the existing reference implementations to implement the standards. Those releases have not been done for about a year now. Given that multiple parties from within the community raised an interest in having again something that resembles a structured output (in addition to the standards) of SCS, we should try to define what exactly this "output" should look like and who can work on and maintain it.

Possible Goals, based on the ongoing discussion

• Make an SCS compatible installation more accessible and easier for external parties
• Allow SCS to recommend/endorse certain software/hardware stacks (blueprints) to guarantee a high level of quality for the installations
• Provide guidance towards SCS users when selecting software components for defined use cases
• Ease the public facing communication (marketing) when explaining what SCS is (in addition to the standards)
• Define what is included in the "modular software stack"

Some of the open questions

• What would be the target audience for future "SCS Releases/Products"?
• Who would benefit from them?
• Who would maintain those Releases/Products?
• Who would be responsible for it?
• How often would we want to create a new Release/Product update?
• Would this be "a software bundle", "a blueprint", "a knowledge base" or something entirely different?