sector privado

The Asociación Multisectorial de la Información (ASEDIE) has published the eleventh edition of its Report on the Infomediary Sector, in which it reviews the health of companies that generate applications, products and/or services based on information from the public sector, taking into account that it is the holder of the most valuable data.

Many of the datasets that enable the infomediary sector to develop solutions are included in the lists of High Value Datasets (HVDS) recently published by the European Union. An initiative that recognises the potential of public information and adds to the aim of boosting the data economy in line with the European Parliament's proposed Data Law.

ASEDIE brings together companies from different sectors that promote the data economy, which are mainly nourished by the data provided by the public sector. Among its objectives is to promote the sector and contribute to raising society's awareness of its benefits and impact. It is estimated that the data economy will generate €270 billion of additional GDP for EU Member States by 2028.

The presentation of this edition of the report, entitled 'The Data Economy in the infomediary field', took place on 22 March in Red.es's Enredadera room.  In this year's edition of the report, 710 active companies have been identified, with a turnover of more than 2,278 million euros. It should be noted that the first report in 2013 counted 444 companies. Therefore, the sector has grown by 60% in a decade.

Main conclusions of the report

• The infomediary sector has grown by 12.1%, a figure above the national GDP growth of 7.6%. These data are drawn from the analysis of the 472 companies (66% of the sample) that submitted their accounts for the previous years.
• The number of employees is 22,663. Workers are highly concentrated in a few companies: 62% of them have less than 10 workers. The subsector with the highest number of professionals is Geographic information, with 30% of the total. Together with the sub-sectors Financial economics, Technical consultancy and Market research, they account for 75% of the employees.
• Employment in the companies of the Infomediary Sector grew by 1.7%, compared to a fall of 1.1% in the previous year. All sub-sectors have grown, except for Tourism and Culture, which have remained the same, and Technical Consultancy and Market Research, which have decreased.
• The average turnover per employee exceeded 100,000 euros, an increase of 6.6% compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the average expenditure per employee was 45,000 euros.
• The aggregate turnover was 2,279,613,288 euros. The Geographical Information and Economic and Financial subsectors account for 46% of sales.
• The aggregate subscribed capital is 250,115,989 euros. The three most capitalised subsectors are Market Research, Economic and Financial and Geographic Information, which account for 66% of capitalisation.
• The net result exceeds 180 million euros, 70 million more than last year. The Economic and Financial subsector accounted for 66% of total profits.
• The sub-sectors of Geographical Information, Market Research, Financial Economics and Computer Infomediaries account for 76% of the infomediary companies, with a total of 540 companies out of the 710 active companies.
• The Community of Madrid is home to the largest number of companies in the sector, with 39%, followed by Catalonia (13%), Andalusia (11%) and the Community of Valencia (9%).

As the report shows, the arrival of new companies is driving the development of a sector that already has a turnover of around 2,300 million euros per year, and which is growing at a higher rate than other macroeconomic indicators in the country. These data show not only that the Infomediary Sector is in good health, but also its resilience and growth potential.

Progress of the Study on the impact of open data in Spain

The report also includes the results of a survey of the different actors that make up the data ecosystem, in collaboration with the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid. This survey is presented as the first exercise of a more ambitious study that aims to know the impact of open data in Spain and to identify the main barriers to its access and availability. To this end, a questionnaire has been sent to members of the public, private and academic sectors. Among the main conclusions of this first survey, we can highlight the following:

• As main barriers to publishing information, 65% of respondents from the public sector mentioned lack of human resources, 39% lack of political leadership and 38% poor data quality.
• The biggest obstacle in accessing public data for re-use is for public sector respondents that the information provided in the data is not homogeneous (41.9%). Respondents from the academic sector point to the lack of quality of the data (43%) and from the private sector it is believed that the main barrier is the lack of updating (49%).
• In terms of the frequency of use of public data, 63% of respondents say that they use the data every day or at least once a week.
• 61% of respondents use the data published on the datos.gob.es portal.
• Respondents overwhelmingly believe that the impact of data openness on the private sector is positive. Thus, 77% of private sector respondents indicate that accessing public data is economically viable and 89% of them say that public data enables them to develop useful solutions.
• 95% of respondents call for a compendium of regulations affecting the access, publication and re-use of public sector data.
• 27% of public sector respondents say they are not aware of the six categories of high-value data set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 20137138 .

This shows that most respondents are aware of the potential of the sector and the impact of public sector data, although they indicate that some obstacles to re-use need to be overcome and believe that a compendium of the different existing regulations would facilitate their implementation and help the development of the sector.

Top 3 ASEDIE

As in previous editions, the report includes the status of the Top 3 ASEDIE, an initiative that aims for all Autonomous Communities to fully open three sets of data, following unified criteria that facilitate their reuse, and which is included in the IV Open Government Plan. In 2019, the opening of the Cooperatives, Associations and Foundations databases was proposed, and there are currently 16 Autonomous Communities in which they can be accessed in full. Moreover, in eight of them, it is possible to access the NIF with a unique identifier, which improves transparency and makes the information more accurate.

Taking into account the good results of the first proposal, in 2020 a new request for opening data was launched, the Second Top 3 ASEDIE, in this case of Energy Efficiency Certificates, SAT Registries (Agricultural Transformation Companies) and Industrial Estates, whose evolution has also been very positive. The following map shows the opening situation of these three new databases in 2023.

The Top 3 ASEDIE initiative has been a success and has become a reference in the sector, promoting the opening of databases in a joint manner and demonstrating that it is possible to harmonise public data sources to put them at the service of society.

The next steps in this sense will be to monitor the databases already open and to disseminate them at all levels, including the identification of good practices of the Administration and the selection of examples to encourage public-private collaboration in open data. In addition, a new top 3 will be identified to advance in the opening of new databases, and a new initiative will be launched to reach the bodies of the General State Administration, with the identification of a new Top 3 AGE.

Success stories

The report also includes a series of success stories of products and services developed with public sector data, such as Iberinform's API Market, which facilitates access to and integration of 52 sets of company and self-employed data in company management systems. Another successful case is Geocode, a solution focused on standardisation, validation, correction, codification and geolocation processes for postal addresses in Spain and Portugal.

Geomarketing makes it possible to increase the speed of calculating geospatial data and Infoempresa.com has improved its activity reports on Spanish companies, making them more visual, complete and intuitive. Finally, Pyramid Data makes it possible to access the Energy Efficiency Certificates (EEC) of a given property portfolio.

As examples of good practices in the public sector, the ASEDIE report highlights the open statistical data as a driver of the Data Economy of the Canary Islands Statistics Institute (ISTAC) and the technology for the opening of data of the Open Data Portal of the Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía).

As a novelty, the category of examples of good practices in the academic sector has been incorporated, which recognises the work carried out by the Geospatial Code and the Report on the state of open data in Spain III, by the Rey Juan Carlos University and FIWARE Foundation.

The 11th ASEDIE Report on the Data Economy in the infomediary field can be downloaded from the ASEDIE website in Spanish. The presentations of the economic indicators and the Top 3 and the Data Ecosystem are also available.

In summary, the report shows the good health of the industry that confirms its recovery after the pandemic, its resilience and growth potential and, in addition, the good results of public-private collaboration and its impact on the data economy are observed.

Data are fundamental to solving the social and economic challenges we face today. It allows us to understand the causes behind a given situation and the factors that influence it, to estimate how it is evolving and to make informed decisions for change.

The problem is that solving such challenges often requires a combination of data from different sources:

•     Data provided by the public sector
•     Data from multiple private sector companies
•     Citizen-generated data

But how can such collaboration be achieved? This is the question posed in the report "How to facilitate data collaboration to solve societal problems", written by Jose Luis Marín in the framework of the Aporta Initiative.

The report begins with a brief introduction outlining the current state of data openness in the public and private sectors, as well as in the citizenry. Then, it discusses the main barriers to data sharing by companies and citizens, the individual and collective benefits that can motivate these practices in the public interest, and the policies that can be put in place by public administrations to compensate and encourage collaboration.

Once the context is clear, it is time to look at some of the existing mechanisms for collaboration in data collection, sharing or processing to address a societal challenge. Although there are no systematised analyses of ideal forms of governance, four formulas have been identified for this report:

In order to illustrate and better understand each formula, the report includes multiple examples of international success stories, such as the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), which focuses on transforming the current model of developing new diagnostics and treatments, or the Open Apparel Registry (OAR), which aims to contribute to improving human rights and environmental conditions around factories.

The report concludes with a series of resources to help organisations collaborate successfully and reduce barriers, including collaboration networks, collaboration frameworks, courses and trainings.

Below, you can download the report, as well as access the complementary materials (executive summary, video-interview and summary presentation). The report is translated into English, but additional materials are available in Spanish version only.

Businesses are starting to see how data can benefit them. The Open Data Institute (ODI) held a meeting with 13 private organizations from various economic sectors to discuss the challenges and benefits of this new discipline: data in the private sector.

The value of data for society is increasingly evident. Many governments around the world are increasingly committed to using and publishing more open data. International global rankings for open data, such as the Open Data Barometer, run by the Web Foundation, have for several years recognized the UK  as the leading country in the field of open data. Meanwhile, newcomers to the open data movement are showing ambition and great potential, like Malaysia, keen to unlock the innovative potential of data. We have also witnessed shared successes and projects to bring together open data leaders in an international network.

In this context, the innovative value of data for companies has comparatively been much less documented, both from the point of view of its publication and its use. The Open Data Institute is one of the entities that is committed to building a solid, fair and sustainable data economy, helping companies and governments to obtain data. "We believe," says David Beardmore, ODI's Commercial Manager, "that in order to make the most of data, we need to build and maintain bridges between academic research, the public, private and third sectors, and a thriving ecosystem where both new ideas such as new approaches can be set in motion and developed."

ODI's commitment is to invest in open data businesses. After studying or analysing 270 pioneering companies in 2015, the Open Data Institute detected the transformative potential of data for enterprises and studied leading data industry companies who were committed to open source, standards, innovation and open data to maintain their competitive advantage. ODI has launched a programme to encourage enterprising companies, ODI Startup, which seeks to create a global network of start-ups that innovate with open data in all sectors, and has been associated with other accelerators such as ODINE and Data Pitch at European level, ASEAN Data Startup Accelerator in Malaysia and Labora in Mexico.

Companies are Crucial in the Data Economy

"A key aspect of the work we do is to help companies contribute to and benefit from the open data infrastructure in a broader way. We have worked with companies such as the international consultancy Arup, which through our partnership developed its data strategy and offered new business prospects to apply in areas such as asset or airport infrastructure tracking at airports," says David Beardmore.

In addition to helping companies innovate with data, ODI has set out to play a role in shaping future standards and opportunities, by collaborating and helping companies to prepare the way for a sectoral change. Adopting an open approach can help improve competition, boost efficiency and stimulate innovation.

In this context, ODI convened the British Open Banking Working Group of the British Treasury (HM Treasury),  which is committed to opening data and APIs: shared open data without loss of security or privacy. Almost no one now doubts about whether to turn banks into open service platforms. "Open Banking - says Beardmore - will enable individuals and small businesses to share their data securely with other banks and third parties, enabling them to compare products based on their own needs and manage their accounts."

ODI also focuses on the sports sector, through its collaboration with Sport England to help reduce sedentarism in England by making data on physical activities more open and available. Data are being opened and improved, standards are being developed and demand stimulated. A new reality is being worked on in which to make reservations for dance classes, find tennis courts or participate in sports activity classes. A collaboration that aims to mark the beginning of a long-term cultural change for the sports sector: use the data and keep up with the digital expectations of customers.

Another of the collaborations of ODI is with the pharmaceutical sector. The institute is calling on pharmaceutical organizations to collaborate on opening data on antibiotic resistance, agree on standards, publish surveillance data, and collaboratively build tools to make these data accessible and available. ODI recently brought together Arup, Deutsche Bank, Syngenta and Thomson Reuters executives with companies looking to take an open approach to data and innovation, such as GSK, Sainsburys, CapitalOne, InSpring and Dunnhumby. At present, all economic sectors face similar challenges: to find the right value proposition, equip their leaders with data skills and know which platforms to adopt. Open Data Institute is confident that the trend will continue in the coming years and involve more companies as key players in creating a solid, fair and sustainable data economy.

Source: ODI