Presentation given at Open Knowledge Festival, Helsinki, Sept 2012. Focuses on benefits to business to publishing open data, and examines business model of OpenCorporates, the largest open database of companies in the world
1. What’s in it
for business?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/4016133284
2. question
A reasonable
(and important)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schill/5738330489
3. The world’s biggest
companies (by market cap)
Apple Inc. $546,076m
Exxon Mobil $400,139m
PetroChina $257,685m
Microsoft $256,982m
Walmart $235,900m
IBM $225,598m
General Electric $220,806m
China Mobile $219,481m
Royal Dutch Shell $217,048m
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China $211,196m
5. 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
6. A defensive
tactic
Open is the end-game –
don’t be dragged there
Reduces existential
threat to global brand
– you can’t be
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holeymoon/1634477068
everywhere at once
Benefit from being a
good corporate citizen,
rather than being
penalised for it
7. 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
8. Forces you to
add value
Give your customers
what they want, and
help them avoid
vendor lock-in
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerss1/2770968136
Stay honest, and
stay innovative
Avoid rent-seeking
business models
9. ...but, as with all systems,
the temptation to game
it will be too great for
some to resist
12. A simple (huge) goal: an entry (and URI) for
every corporate legal entity in the world
13. 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
14. 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
15. 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
16. 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
17. 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
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trade mpor
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ters & nt spe –
gazet nding
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ices..
.
18.
19.
20.
21. All Op
enly L
free re icens
use, e ed, al
ven c lowin
omm g
ercial
ly
24. 1. An open identifying system
URIs can be used as common identifiers among a
variety of organisations
25. 1. An open identifying system
URIs can be used as common identifiers among a
variety of organisations
Can be used without reference to OpenCorporates
26. 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
27. 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
28. 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
32. 2. The simple search
Not to be underestimated
Massively reduces friction
(how long will it take you
to find and search
multiple jurisdictions)
33. 2. The simple search
Not to be underestimated
Massively reduces friction
(how long will it take you
to find and search
multiple jurisdictions)
34. 2. The simple search
Not to be underestimated
Massively reduces friction
(how long will it take you
to find and search
multiple jurisdictions)
Allows what if questions
35. 2. The simple search
Not to be underestimated
Massively reduces friction
(how long will it take you
to find and search
multiple jurisdictions)
Allows what if questions
Potentially generates
stories in its own right
36. 2. The simple search
Not to be underestimated
Massively reduces friction
(how long will it take you
to find and search
multiple jurisdictions)
Allows what if questions
Potentially generates
stories in its own right
38. 3. Source for additional info
Addresses, filings,
status, websites...
39. 3. Source for additional info
Addresses, filings,
status, websites...
40. 3. Source for additional info
Addresses, filings,
status, websites...
Intl trademarks, UK
govt spending, official
notices, health & safety
violations...
41. 3. Source for additional info
Addresses, filings,
status, websites...
Intl trademarks, UK
govt spending, official
notices, health & safety
violations...
42. 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
43. 4. Reconciliation
(matching names to legal entities)
Clean up messy
company names
(& prev names)
to legal entity,
and from there
to other data
Google Refine
reconciliation
service (specific
to jurisdiction)
45. 5. The platform
API: allows all
information to be
retrieved as data,
even searches
46. 5. The platform
API: allows all
information to be
retrieved as data,
even searches
47. 5. The platform
API: allows all
information to be
retrieved as data,
even searches
Users can now
add data too
48. 5. The platform
API: allows all
information to be
retrieved as data,
even searches
Users can now
add data too
49. 5. The platform
API: allows all
information to be
retrieved as data,
even searches
Users can now
add data too
50. 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
51. 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
52. New feature: directors/officers
We’ve just
started
importing &
indexing
company
directors &
officers,
allowing search
by name, &
finding links
between them
and other
companies
53. New feature: directors/officers
We’ve just
started
importing &
indexing
company
directors &
officers,
allowing search
by name, &
finding links
between them
and other
companies
54. New feature: directors/officers
We’ve just
started
importing &
indexing
company
directors &
officers,
allowing search
by name, &
finding links
between them
and other similarly named
companies
55. New feature: directors/officers
We’ve just
started
importing &
indexing
company
directors &
officers,
allowing search
by name, &
other resources
finding links
between them
and other similarly named
companies
57. 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...
58. 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
59.
60. tions
isdic tes
0 jur
nies in 5 26 US sta
compa clud ing
5million In
wov er 4
No