ODI report: open data impact in business world

More and more private entities use open data to reduce risk, address business challenges and improve their competitiveness. These are some of the findings shown in the last report of Open Data Institute in relation to the impact of open data in the business world.

The study "Open enterprise: how three big businesses create value with open innovation” analyses  three international leading companies, which have embraced an open approach and use open data to help reduce risk, overcome challenges in business, improve their products or services, adapt to new markets and gain a competitive edge.

Thomson Reuters, Arup and the Swiss multinational Syngenta have been selected to develop this study; the three firms consume large volumes of data and, at the same time, they also trade products based on them. For all of them, open data would become another business resource that allow them to:

• Reuse data sources from third parties to make internal decisions and create more competitive products or services.
• Maintain leadership in its sector of activity.
• Reduce corporate costs.
• Adapt and evolve in environments in which they operate.
• Collaborate with customers and even competitors to face industry challenges.

Each of these three businesses have used open data in a different way. Thomson Reuters is a global organization that provides news and information to industry professional in areas including finance and risk, law, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science. As the company continued to grow, and once merged with Rueters Group in 2008, problems arose in integrating legacy data resources and systems. To meet this need, Thomson Reuters created a data management solution that allowed to migrate information from different sources to a single database. To avoid duplicate of data, each data (entity, client, news, article ...) was assigned an ID, an unique and permanent code.

The team realized the potential of this data system, not only for the company but also for its customers; who could use it to manage their own information sources. Thus, the internal solution evolved into a linked open data platform whose information is open for employees, users and customers who can reuse and link it enriching the database. Thomson Reuters uses this service to improve the relations with different target audiences, and the quality of information and products; marking a competitive distance with other companies in media sector.

In the case study of Arup, which provides design, engineering and consulting services for the built environment, the firm goes a step further in its commitment to innovation and collaborates with different open data start-ups. Previously, the company would complete its research and development (R&D) in house and worked with external enterprise in the development of new commercial products. However, Arup has adopted a more open and collaborative approach, and currently works with smaller entities such as OpenSectors and Mastodon C.

Big companies like Arup have to quickly absorb new ideas and trends in order to remain competitive over the long-term. So, working with start-ups allows the company to integrate new ideas into their principles and policies; approaching to infomediary industry and joining synergies.

Finally, Syngenta -a crop protection and seed company- has published in the last two years a large volume of own data that provide an excellent repository of agricultural information from 3,600 farms belonging to more than forty countries in Europe, Africa, America and Asia. In parallel, the company is also working on the reuse of open data to create a detailed map with the characteristics of crops and pests, by analyzing such data the organization will attempt to improve food security at international level.

Each of the three organizations has adopted an open approach as a strategic response to the different challenges and business opportunities. As result, Thomson Reuters, Arup and Syngenta have begun to understand, manage and develop the internal use of data; improve the quality of data; build trust and collaboration in the market; create partnerships with start-ups based on open data; and build an open culture insight inside the organisation, as well as outside in the environment they operate in.

This latest report ODI, included in a series of studies on the impact of open data in business world, shows that, regardless of the purpose of opening up information, these three companies are a good example of how open data can generate business confidence, tighten business relationships and become the seed for further innovation projects.