FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft store is pictured in New York City, New York, U.S., August 21, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Business software companies SAP, Microsoft and Adobe said on Monday they were forming a data alliance that will make it easier for clients running their applications to get a better overview of the customer.

The partners announced the Open Data Initiative at a Microsoft conference in Orlando, Florida, saying it would help break down information silos that make it hard for businesses to make the most of their customer base.

“The core focus of the Open Data Initiative is to eliminate data silos and enable a single view of the customer, helping companies to better govern their data and support privacy and security initiatives,” the three said in a joint statement.

The initiative will enhance interoperability and data exchange between their platforms - Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Experience Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SAP C/4HANA and S/4HANA - through a common model, the partners said.

It comes as a new European data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), puts a premium on access to customer data given by consent, structurally favoring direct marketing channels over the advertising ecosystem that relies heavily on tracking users online.