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Feb03

Open Data (OData) is now ISTO/IEC International Standard!

Posted by in tehnology

Now, we rarely publish a technical articles on this site. We are more about educating and working with customers and partners on how to use Open Data to bring openess and Transparency trough the use of applications to the citizens and organizations around the world. But we believe that this is important News – we are on the verge of standardization of the dana sharing. It is a great way to enable multiple Services, delivered from multiple Partners to work on the data stored somewhere in a repository (like Open Data Store).

OData  has just been approved as an International Standard by ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 (see attached).

OData (short for Open Data) is an HTTP-based protocol for sharing data.  It allows government (as well as enterprise SaaS) services to expose data through a consumer-oriented data model, and for clients to query and navigate that data in an intuitive, RESTful manner.

Already an OASIS Standard, ISO Standardization is an important step forward as it makes the OData protocol available to more government agencies requiring ISO standardization.

This is an important milestone even as we continue to evolve and use OData.

OData is an important interoperation surface for Azure and O365 cloud services, but also for any other interoperability with other Services. OData is ODBC for the web. OData provides HTTP/REST based common conventions for querying and updating of data sources on the web. International standardization is just one step in a long journey to opening up access to data that exist in silos today and bringing more data to our cloud.

 

Aug22

Supporting Open Data Youth Camp in Croatia with a platform / resources

Posted by in ogp, opendata · No Comments

We all know how important is to work with the community on Open Data delivery and understanding. It is also important to teach young people and help them use the open data to build something for the community and citizens – some apps that deliver additional services to all of us. Applications are the key for open data delivery: if we really want to see the benefits of open data, we need apps.

To support that, we are proudly sponsoring and partnering for Open Data Youth camp in Croatia.

Capture

Open Data Youth Camp is a five day event consisting of workshops, lectures and discussions and focusing on use and reuse of public sector information. The Camp is organized by the Council for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Croatia. The Open Data Youth Camp will take place from 29th of August to 2nd of September 2015 in Rovinj.

The goal of the camp is to provide a space for young active citizens to explore the potential of open data, to learn and discuss open government values and to become familiarized with the theory and the practices of the right to access information. The potentials of the use and reuse of public sector information will be explored through examples of the similar activities carried out in France, United Kingdom, and the United States as well as through examining the progress Croatia made by launching the Open Data Portal.

Experts from Croatia and other countries will come together in creating a four day program of lectures and workshops in order to assist the participants in finding new solutions for commercial use of data as well as for using and reusing data for the benefit of the local community.

Form more info on Open Data Youth Camp, please follow: http://odbc.codeforcroatia.org/

 

Aug11

Open Data Store discussing Smart Cities @ Open Government Partnership, Mexico City!

Posted by in opendata, opengovernment, smart cities

One of great things is that we got the opportunity to nominate our theme for a session there, so here is in a nutshell our proposition for a panel.

TOPIC: OPEN DATA AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Title and Theme: Open Data and Economic Development of Smart Cities – Lessons Learned and Case Studies

Open Data today is one of the cornerstones of true Open Government. Today, Open Data initiative is mostly driven at national or federal level, and we are yet to see a bigger and more significant adoption at regional or city level. We strongly believe that critical part of stronger usage of open data at city level is missing a quality platform that enables scalable application development and then open application marketplace where cities can sjare not only data but also an applications that are sharing the common data model.

Open Data today is one of the cornerstones of true Open Government. Today, Open Data initiative is mostly driven at national or federal level, and we are yet to see a bigger and more significant adoption at regional or city level. We strongly believe that critical part of stronger usage of open data at city level is missing a quality platform that enables scalable application development and then open application marketplace where cities can share not only data but also an applications that are sharing the common data model. We want to discuss a platform that will introduce model based approach:

– explain different roles of various stakeholders (civil, government, private), their action plans and commitments in delivering successful sustainable smart cities based on data driven decision making activities
– present early cases and finding in deployment of open data platforms with cities: how to, best practices and lessons learned
– present and discuss good and bad and room for improvement in current open data models
– discuss current best practices in data management, data modelling and how EU is currently doing in that area
– discuss future data models that will enable different scenarios that, through the platform, deliver additional value to the cities
– develop a joint strategic plan on developing open data and big that models that could bring economic value and user satisfaction through the use of mobile applications and social sharing

WHY THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT TO OGP AND WHAT IS SPECIFIC VALUE TO THE ATTENDEES OF THE SUMMIT

Open Government is not only about Federal or National Governments – we see that there is major gap in transparency, collaboration and participation, but also in process of opening a data available that is happening at the local or city level. By 2050, 70% of people on the planet will live in urban areas. Building cities to support so many people has led to the development of smart cities. To fully leverage the potential of data and to have an end user end to end scenarios that solve citizens problems, we need to add strong focus on open and smart cities that need to take opening the data and processes at the new level.

Attendees of the summit will receive latest on smart city development, how and why is that connected to an Open Government Platforms, and what we are doing worldwide to better include smart cities into the efforts that are delivered through the Open Data umbrella. We will discuss current state of affairs with the currently leading experts on that domain, include some external communication that is coming from orgs that are working with us as a partners but also develop and communicate through the 360 network of Open Data Smart Cities initiative using the collaboration tool that will deliver additional value until the next conference.

Also, we will discuss, define and communicate proposal on what should be done next, kind of manifesto on Data Driven Smart Cities that should serve as a guide line to a smart cities effort that want to base their development on data driven models.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF OUR SESSION?

As for conference itself, we are proposing a panel discussion with a intro presentation on the subject, all around about 60 minutes or the presentation and discussion. We will keep 20 minutes additionally for a Q&A coming from participants, but we should be open to any burning question that will pop up from the audience during the panel. We will moderate the whole panel, and we will keep it dynamic and active. At the beginning, we will use 10 minutes to present the latest findings on data driven smart cities and some feedback that we got working on that initiative so far.

During the panel we will also use forms of technology to ask participants specific questions (data will be collected using app on smartphones) and allow participants to tweet on tweet wall if this is not already supported by the OGP conference itself).

Also, before the conference, if accepted, we will communicate the session and panel through the various social channels, and ask a preliminary questions and gather a feedback from various stakeholders. Those channels will also serve as a way to discuss specific topics that will be addressed on the panel, and steer the panel into the expected direction. Also, after the conference we will use established channels to continue the conversation and to feedback the info to the subscribers, especially on the additional work on Data Driven Smart Cities Manifesto.

INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Other participants that will be there on the panel are still under discussion, but generally we want to have diverse participants that are covering several aspects of data driven smart cities:

– expert that is covering open cities / open government perspective point of view
– expert that is covering the development of smart cities from a data point of view
– expert that is covering the citizens expectations on applications that are based on city data point of view
– expert that is covering technical possibilities of open data but also big data and internet of things point of view
– expert that is covering economic values that cities can derive from open data point of view

This is preliminary group of experts, and will include a moderator that will keep this discussion flowing and active. Also, this is by no means final group of participants but if expanded significantly that will require more session time than proposed.

WHAT ARE THE KEY TAKEWAYS, WHAT IS THE FOLLOW UP?

Strong takeaways should be developed from this session, especially ones that are linked to the future development of smart cities and correlation related the transparency and collaboration and economic growth of smart cities:

– citizens should continue to demand more accountability from their local government, especially cities
– citizens should start open data with their cities conversation understanding best practices and lessons learned
– organizations and cities need to support open platforms, not only at infrastructure and interoperability levels but also on semantic and modeling levels
– organizations and cities should work together to implement scalable and shareable application platforms where the co-develop and share outcomes of development and other IP
– smart cities should think about integration of their end user citizen application platform with backend processes – otherwise there is no coherent end user value
– smart cities should deliver interesting end user solutions but also integrate them into any future developments like big data, internet of things or social connections

RELEVANT LINKS THAT SHOWS THE WORKS SO FAR

Most of the work developed and open platforms availability is published at the project site that can be found on www.odatastore.com web site, with associated communication channels. This is currently working as a startup, developing a wider data driven city as a platform solution that can be used without any geo or political limits. We are developing not only platform, but there is published Framework / Library that helps smart cities adopt a platform, or gives a technical hands on to a city partners which are developing end user solutions.

Jul10

Open Data Store at Microsoft WW Partner Conference in Orlando, USA

Posted by in Nekategorizirano

If a few days, we will be part of 15.000+ people that will attend Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando. We are not only participating as a attendees, actually we have a quite active role there.

First, we are organizing a Partner workshop to present the idea and Framework to a few dozen of Microsoft partners that will evaluate the Open Data Store Framework, and then we will present the whole… case in front of 500+ CEE partners that potentially can drive with us the project.

We are looking forward to meet some of you there, and discuss some opportunities. Please ping us directly to set up a meeting or just to grab a beer… or whatever.

Jun09

ODataStore Platform is a Finalist of the Microsoft 2015 Partner of the Year Award

Posted by in opendata, opengovernment

finalist_logoMicrosoft Corp. on Tuesday announced the winners and finalists of the Microsoft 2015 Partner of the Year Awards. The annual awards celebrate top Microsoft partners that are demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

Award winners and finalists, chosen out of nominations from around the world, will be recognized at the 2015 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference taking place July 12–16, 2015, in Orlando, Fla.

This year, Microsoft recognized partners in 43 categories that celebrate each of the core partner competencies, including cloud technology, public sector, citizenship, sales excellence and many more. More than 2,300 entries were collected from 108 different countries worldwide; the award finalists and winners were selected from a group of nominations based on their commitment to customers, their solution’s market impact and exemplary use of Microsoft technologies.

“The 2015 Partner of the Year Award winners and finalists honor our top partners that demonstrate excellence in providing solutions and value to our mutual customers,” said Phil Sorgen, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft. “This year’s award winners and finalists are among the most innovative our partner ecosystem has to offer. Congratulations to each winner on this incredible achievement.”

ODataStore project, Open Source project on Azure cloud technology, driven by Omega Software, was one of the finalist in the category “Open Source on Azure”. This is recognition that showcases that ODS is future platform for the Open Data delivery, and that data model and application model that its introduces deliver significant value to the smart cities and government efforts to drive openess, transparency and collaboration.

Open Data Store representatives will be in Orlando, USA at the final ceremony where the awards will be introduced.

For more info, please visit: http://news.microsoft.com/2015/06/02/microsoft-announces-2015-partner-of-the-year-winners-and-finalists/

 

 

Apr18

Open Data in Europe: some examples and some initiatives

Posted by in opendata

We have a number of great examples of Open Data in Europe. We will try to update this list to have all interesting and new cases, but in the case that you know something that we do not know, please ping us back with the info.

CROATIA

1. DATA.GOV.HR – Republic of Croatia national Open Data portal that have all standard CKAN elements, but also some additional extensions.

 

Mar30

Big and Open Data in Europe: A growth engine or a missed opportunity?

Posted by in opendata

The EU28 economy stands to gain by a significant 1.9% increase in area GDP by 2020 if the appropriate policy measures that foster the proliferation of Big and Open Data are implemented, according to a research paper entitled “Big & Open Data in Europe: A growth engine or a missed opportunity?” co-authored by demosEUROPA and the Warsaw Institute of Economic Studies. The paper investigates the macroeconomic impact of Big and Open data on the European economy, providing policy makers with recommendations of how to maximise the economic opportunity ahead of us.

bigandopendatamacroeconomiceffects

From an economic perspective, it’s undeniable. There is huge economic potential in the European Region for Big Data uptake. Although there are big differences in the way Big Data is being approached, each corner of the EU could benefit from it. By splitting Europe into three categories—northern, southern, and eastern—and assessing the effects of big data in 21 sectors across the EU’s 28 member states, this study considers the economic impact and required paradigm shift when regarding big data and provides policy recommendations at an EU level. Key findings of our report include:

  1. Big and open data will bring immediate benefits to advanced markets in Europe, while it has strong long-term potential in less mature markets – speeding up the growth of the service sector and driving the creation of knowledge economies. Indeed, the implementation of open data policies would have significant growth implications for Europe, leading to an estimated increase in GDP of €206 billion—or 1.9% of GDP—by 2020. Put another way, this GDP increase will play out across the region in the following way: in the Northern European countries (2.2%), followed by New Member States (1.9%), and Southern European countries (1.6%).
  2. Furthermore, opening up and ensuring easy access to data for the public provides benefits both for data holders and data users. It will provide maximum ease of access to data enables business and technological innovation, and enhance excellence in public services through increased transparency of governmental services. Finally, better informed citizens are able to make more efficient use of public sector services. From a private sector standpoint, it will offer private companies an opportunity to build trust with customers by giving them greater say in how their personal data is used and will increase validity of research by allowing for more sophisticated analysis of large data sets.
  3. It is also crucial to recognize the different levels of preparedness of individual Member States for the challenges and opportunities of a data-driven economy will allow for policy solutions that are both tailored to local specificities and strengthen the scale of the common market. Create a truly single digital market will help lower the entry barriers to the big data industry in Europe, facilitating pan-EU ICT solutions with lower costs for consumers and the public sector.
  4. Finally, tackling the innovation lag, to ensure appropriate open data policies and securing finance for innovative data solutions will allow Europe to foster the talent it needs to ensure its competitive edge, especially through SMEs generating most of the economic growth – or downturn – in the region.

 

Mar02

Open Government and Technologies to Achieve Openess

Posted by in opengovernment

Open Government

Open Government refers to a wave of transformation within Government organizations across the globe aimed at better connection with citizens and communities. Open Government refers to the new, innovative ways how Government opens itself to the organizations and citizens, how it is directly engaged with the citizens in bringing and expanding new innovative services, how it opens up the internal resources and share those resources with whoever wants to use them, how it uses broad collaboration and participation to increase the power of effectiveness and efficiency of its processes and how it opens internal processes and policies achieving true transparency for the masses.

Note: What is Open Government? In the most basic sense, it’s the notion that the people have the right to access the documents and proceeding of government. (Lathrop & Ruma)

The common principles of Open Government initiatives are:

  • Transparency – to enable greater accountability, efficiency, and economic opportunity by making government data and operations more open.
  • Participation – to create early and effective opportunities to drive greater and more diverse expertise into government decision making.
  • Collaboration – to generate new ideas for solving problems by fostering cooperation across government departments, across levels of government, and with the public.

Today, Government around the world want to be stronger contributor to the overall social ecosystem and it wants to connect more individuals, communities and businesses. Interestingly, today Government don’t want to do that adding additional layer of bureaucracy and processes, instead they are looking at the outside world and opening internal processes asking for help in defining innovation and change. (Lathrop & Ruma).

Technologies for Open Government

The first wave of “digital” Government that was introduced a decade ago delivered some important milestones and benefits to society. Unfortunately, they were very limited in change that they brought to the life: they mainly focused on automating existing processes in the Government or introducing to already existing Government services additional digital layer – no major process changes or new channels of distribution were introduced in those years.

‘Government 2.0’ (also referred to as e-Government) typically refers to the use of Internet, Digital Media, and Web technologies to enable Open Government initiatives and improve connections with organizations and citizens. Government itself exist to enable the citizens access to different elements of the digital heritage like books or national archives but also to enable access to any type of data that is stored somewhere, regardless of the format how the data is stored. New technologies today are very effective in sharing and enabling the data: social networks, web sites and even games are opening up the services enabled by Open Government.

But Government 2.0 is not only about opening up to organizations and citizens outside, it is also about empowering officials inside the Government to look for a changes need and to go over traditional boundaries and limits. It is also about empowerment to work inside and outside, from bottom to top, through any limits that they had inside their organization to bring the value to the true stakeholders – citizens.

Two main technological developments changed the way how Government manages information and content.

These are:

  1. widespread adoption of technologies that enables storing of the digital data in ad-hoc manner – they are digitally stored the moment they are created
  2. use of broadband technologies through the countries that enables the organization and citizens to find and use Government data in effective and rapid way

Creating data in digital form is one of the most important factors when you consider the use of Government data. Since data is in digital form right from the beginning, it is very easy to store, move, copy, share or manage the data. At the same time, digital data brings additional problems, like security, authorization, access, management and interoperability.

Existence of broadband technologies (Internet as an example) enable that data created in digital form travels fast and shares even faster. Using the advanced technologies also open a different level of collaboration, participation, social inclusion and existence between Government and organizations and citizens.

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