Data, how to use it for good?

Data is abundant. It streams from personal devices and a vast array of sensors, collected and amassed by corporations and governments. These data resources improve our internet search experience, allow us to navigate easily to places we want to go and allow citizens to hold regimes to account.

Some say that data is the new oil, the universal raw material from which there are an infinite number of ways to extract value. However, businesses cannot put their data assets on the balance sheet, some enterprises give away the data assets which they have created and need to maintain whilst others consider their data a potential liability because passing on the wrong or poor quality data could be a corporate risk

The means of trading data and capturing the value it offers are immature, Open data can be compared to both free speech and free beer, supporting transparency and accountability but also risking poor behaviours. Data can enable a systems approach to society, a more sustainable, resilient and higher performing network of interdependent systems (of transport, energy, water and communications) which supports modern living.

But data needs to be managed mindfully, in a security focused way to prevent possible attacks, responsibly and ethically. And we need data which is interoperable, sustainable, high quality and reliable at source so that rework and repurposing is kept to a minimum. We cannot afford to default to proprietary standards and legacy systems instead we need a data economy that works for nations and the corporations which they rely on.