Open data: what's in it for business?

What’s in it for business? http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/4016133284

question A reasonable (and important)http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/schill/5738330489

The world’s biggestcompanies (by market cap)Apple Inc. $546,076mExxon Mobil $400,139mPetroChina $257,685mMicrosoft $256,982mWalmart $235,900mIBM $225,598mGeneral Electric $220,806mChina Mobile $219,481mRoyal Dutch Shell $217,048mIndustrial & Commercial Bank of China $211,196m

Why would any of thesecare about open data?

An offensive tactic Mindshare/increase usage/ propogate message & brand Allow/increase community contributions http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ebolasmallpox/2179047732 Get to where you want to be faster Expose your competitors’ internal contradictions

A defensive tactic Open is the end-game – don’t be dragged there Reduces existential threat to global brand – you can’t behttp://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/holeymoon/1634477068 everywhere at once Beneﬁt from being a good corporate citizen, rather than being penalised for it

Solve collective-action problems http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mag3737/5422536491 Open is a common, neutral ground Open crosses boundaries and markets Open reduces friction

Forces you toadd valueGive your customerswhat they want, andhelp them avoidvendor lock-in http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/rogerss1/2770968136Stay honest, andstay innovativeAvoid rent-seekingbusiness models

...but, as with all systems, the temptation to game it will be too great for some to resist

increasinglya lot of‘open-wash’ http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/genbug/4280632632we know what openin ‘open data’ means

OpenCorporates100% open-data business

A simple (huge) goal: an entry (and URI) forevery corporate legal entity in the world

A simple (huge) goal: an entry (and URI) forevery corporate legal entity in the world URI is based on the company register ID, meaning it’s open and IP-free

A simple (huge) goal: an entry (and URI) for every corporate legal entity in the world URI is based on the company register ID, meaning it’s open and IP-free Also i trade mpor marks ting pofﬁcia , gove ublic data l regis rnme ters & nt spe – gazet nding te not , ices.. .

All Op enly Lfree re icens use, e ed, al ven c lowin omm g ercial ly

5 core uses

1. An open identifying system

1. An open identifying system URIs can be used as common identiﬁers among a variety of organisations

1. An open identifying system URIs can be used as common identiﬁers among a variety of organisations Can be used without reference to OpenCorporates

1. An open identifying system URIs can be used as common identiﬁers among a variety of organisations Can be used without reference to OpenCorporates Because they map to the id issued by the company register the corresponding entry in the registry (and associated info) can be found, and vice versa

1. An open identifying system URIs can be used as common identiﬁers among a variety of organisations Can be used without reference to OpenCorporates Because they map to the id issued by the company register the corresponding entry in the registry (and associated info) can be found, and vice versa Fits the new EU Business Vocabulary

1. An open identifying system URIs can be used as common identiﬁers among a variety of organisations Can be used without reference to OpenCorporates Because they map to the id issued by the company register the corresponding entry in the registry (and associated info) can be found, and vice versa Fits the new EU Business Vocabulary Can even by used for companies in jurisdiction we haven’t yet imported

2. The simple search

2. The simple searchNot to be underestimated

2. The simple searchNot to be underestimatedMassively reduces friction(how long will it take youto ﬁnd and searchmultiple jurisdictions)

2. The simple searchNot to be underestimatedMassively reduces friction(how long will it take youto ﬁnd and searchmultiple jurisdictions)Allows what if questions

2. The simple searchNot to be underestimatedMassively reduces friction(how long will it take youto ﬁnd and searchmultiple jurisdictions)Allows what if questionsPotentially generatesstories in its own right

3. Source for additional info

3. Source for additional info Addresses, ﬁlings, status, websites...

3. Source for additional info Addresses, ﬁlings, status, websites... Intl trademarks, UK govt spending, ofﬁcial notices, health & safety violations...

3. Source for additional info Addresses, ﬁlings, status, websites... Intl trademarks, UK govt spending, ofﬁcial notices, health & safety violations... Other IDs: SEC, CAGE, etc – allows reverse mapping queries, e.g. show me legal entitity mapped to a CIK code

4. Reconciliation(matching names to legal entities)Clean up messycompany names(& prev names)to legal entity,and from thereto other dataGoogle Reﬁnereconciliationservice (speciﬁcto jurisdiction)

5. The platform

5. The platform API: allows all information to be retrieved as data, even searches

5. The platform API: allows all information to be retrieved as data, even searches Users can now add data too

5. The platform API: allows all information to be retrieved as data, even searches Users can now add data too Coming soon: the option to match data to companies

New feature: directors/officersWe’ve juststartedimporting &indexingcompanydirectors &officers,allowing searchby name, &finding linksbetween themand othercompanies

New feature: directors/officersWe’ve juststartedimporting &indexingcompanydirectors &officers,allowing searchby name, &finding linksbetween themand other similarly namedcompanies

New feature: directors/officersWe’ve juststartedimporting &indexingcompanydirectors &officers,allowing searchby name, & other resourcesfinding linksbetween themand other similarly namedcompanies

How do we pay for all this?

How do we pay for all this? Unlike many open data projects, we’re a for-proﬁt company – the open data movement needs successful companies if it’s going to have a diverse ecosystem But we’re a company whose business model is dependent on making more data open, and an advisory board to make sure we do the right thing Not yet looking for customers, but...

How do we pay for all this?Two projected sources of income Services model, especially around cleansing data/ reconciliation. Of course, you can use our API, reconciliation service without asking us, but it may be cheaper to pay us to do it. Ditto custom extracts, and verticals Dual-licence model – contribute back to the community either with data, or ﬁnancial support, e.g. if you have a proprietary database you may not want to be bound by the share-alike attribution restrictions And we already have some (small) customers

tions isdic tes 0 jur nies in 5 26 US sta compa clud ing 5million In wov er 4No

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Open data: what's in it for business?

by Chris Taggart on Sep 19, 2012

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