{"id":2693,"date":"2012-01-11T07:00:54","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T15:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.formtek.com\/blog\/?p=2693"},"modified":"2012-01-11T07:00:54","modified_gmt":"2012-01-11T15:00:54","slug":"open-data-a-shift-from-big-data-to-big-insight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/open-data-a-shift-from-big-data-to-big-insight\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Data: A shift from Big Data to Big Insight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rapid changes in technology have led to many unexpected changes in our world. \u00a02011 was a year where technology gave a voice to traditionally suppressed people. \u00a0Social tools like Twitter and Facebook have provided tools that let people to communicate and organize in ways previously unthinkable. \u00a0Social tools were behind the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings, and protests in Russia and China. \u00a0They also enabled the organization of movements like the \u00a0‘occupy’ protests that swept the US in 2011.<\/p>\n

Open Data<\/a> is data which can be freely used and republished, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other type of control. \u00a0The term ‘open data’ is particularly used in reference to the publishing of \u00a0data by governments which they have collected. \u00a0The government Open Data movement has been gaining momentum and has been particularly strong in the UK, and to a lesser extent in the US. \u00a0A report by Deloitte<\/a> considers the implication of Open Data and governments.<\/p>\n

The Deloitte report says that “The relationship between government, business and citizen is undergoing a fundamental change. \u00a0In these times of continuing austerity, government leaders understand that opening up access to\u00a0data can lead to greater public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability. But this is\u00a0just the beginning.” \u00a0Open data can potentially “deliver powerful, value-adding isights that benefit citizens,\u00a0business, public bodies and wider communities alike.”<\/p>\n

Costi Perricos, public sector analytics leader at Deloitte said that<\/a> \u201cthere is tremendous potential for using mashups, crowdsourcing and other techniques to transform data into meaningful knowledge \u2013 the sort of \u2018big insights\u2019 that will help to unlock growth. This is something that we, as citizens, government managers, legislators, business owners and other stakeholders, should fully embrace as a positive change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Deloitte report identified four main categories<\/a> where the use of Open Data by governments will provide benefits:<\/p>\n