Open government data has the potential to generate over $3 trillion in annual economic value, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company. Recognizing this untapped bounty, President Obama last year signed an executive order and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released an Open Data Policy, together making open and machine readable data “the new default” for federal government agencies. On a local level, New York City broke new ground the year prior with its own Open Data Policy, which outlines an inventory of public datasets and puts a 2018 deadline on their release.
Earlier this month, I was thrilled to speak to the tech community in San Juan, Puerto Rico on the occasion of the island’s unveiling of its new open data portal, which is modeled on data portals such as those of federal government, New York State, and New York City. The movement toward open data is happening locally, nationally, and internationally and the power to combine these data resources will rely on increasing collaboration among governments, businesses, academic institutions, startups, non-profits and civic hackers.
The realization that open information can bear economic fruit is not new. Before technology allowed us to free information from its confines and share it in real-time, governments sent explorers to map out unknown territories. One notable example in the United States is the Lewis and Clark expedition from 1804-1806 to gather information about the Louisiana Purchase. The purpose of this mission, according to President Jefferson, was to catalogue information “distinctly, & intelligibly for others as well as yourself.” In the 20th century, accessibility of weather information has fueled a variety of innovations, including evening weather forecasts. More recently, Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have proven to be invaluable tools for governments and businesses to become more effective and efficient. They have given rise to numerous geo-located mobile innovations, providing a taste of what open data on a large scale might mean.
What is so exciting today is the convergence of 1) greater availability and accessibility of big data, 2) increasingly sophisticated analytics capabilities, and 3) an entrepreneurial mindset throughout New York and across the country. In addition to enabling organizations to open data more seamlessly, Microsoft tools from Power BI to Bing are empowering people and organizations to have deeper insight into their ever-growing data resources.
Still, the vast majority of government data sets still are not open. With such enormous latent value, every step to create access to data resources that are more real-time, more granular, and more standardized can make a substantial impact. As governments in the US and around the world embark on open data initiatives, they must take into account not only the availability of data but also its usability.
While there are challenges ahead, opening up data held by governments at the local, national, and international levels has the potential to unleash a new era of economic prosperity, efficiency, and accountability. The time is ripe to take on the challenge of opening data. Microsoft is committed to collaborating across sectors of society to further open information and continue building and refining the tools that turn data into insight and empower users to create tangible impact throughout society.
