Open Data Now: The Secret to Hot Startups, Smart Investing, Savvy Marketing, and Fast Innovation

Book excerpt: Get unprecedented access to thousands of databases. It's called Open Data, and it's revolutionizing business. The business leader’s guide to using Open Data to analyze patterns and trends, manage risk, solve problems—and seize the competitive edge Two major trends—the exponential growth of digital data and an emerging culture of disclosure and transparency—have converged to create a world where voluminous information about businesses, government, and the population is becoming visible, accessible, and usable. It’s called Open Data, and this book helps leaders harness its power to market and grow their companies. Open Data Now gives you the knowledge and tools to take advantage of this phenomenon in its early stages—and beat the competition to leveraging its many benefits. Joel Gurin is an expert on making complex data sets useful in solving consumer problems, analyzing corporate information, and addressing social issues. He has collaborated with leaders in data, technology, and policy in the U.S. and UK governments, including officials in the White House and 10 Downing Street and at more than 20 U.S. federal agencies.