Will the New Openness Around Government Data Be a Boon for BI?

I don't think this will happen in a day. Issues facing vivek are too much for now first he has to get his job back he is on leave as requested by President. I believe he can come back to the office only after the FBI investigation is complete. Second using consumer technologies for Federal IT is not a one day project.I think federal IT dept has to decide which will remain in cloud/saas model and which is one will remain inhouse. Too early to discuss.

I have written about this topic specifically. Firstly, I would say that Mr. Kundra’s experiences and accomplishments align very well with the needs of this role. I am most impressed with Kundra’s ability to drive focus within his IT teams which has lead to both cost savings and new innovation. Specifically, he has a record of implementing clever processes for IT Governance, improving transparency and accessibility while driving efficiency.

So, I actually remain relatively bullish that Kundra will find ways to make Government data more accessible and use-able by those inside and outside the Government - which will be a boon for BI in both the public and private sector. Let's give him some time and support, deserving of our hope.

Kundra or No Kundra, I would not get my hopes up too much regarding availability of information in an open way. The factors driving openness in Business BI is very different from the Politically-driven Public Government BI. In the recent Stimulus, it was discovered that various Govt departments were getting money which they then doled out to projects instead of projects being "earmarked". Earmarks were getting a lot of attention and so this way was chosen!

Government BI is also subject to Garbage In Garbage out. It all depends upon the quality of the informtaion publicly available! Every piece of information that Government discloses is a potential Political Minefield.

We will have to wait and see what the quality of the information shared publicly is!

If the quality of the information is not good, enthusiasm for BI will wane quickly!

The government is in need of BI, and the infusion of money will improve IT spending significantly. The issues there are going to be around the use of much older and proprietary systems, and this will make BI more difficult. However, considering BI visibility intra- and inter-agencies, there is no time like the present to get started.

A boon for BI? Yes and no. Yes, in that it will expand the government's need for software that can help them communicate data and information more rapidly and effectively to their constituencies - including both government employees and citizens. Both groups will have even greater needs to quickly see and understand how the government is spending money to help their communities. But no, in that not much of today's BI software does that - and that's what the government needs.

My company, Tableau Software, is one of the companies providing BI capabilities to the City of DC - new federal CIO Vivek Kundra's current gig. What they've found is that it's not the sophistication of the solution - but, rather, its simplicity and ease of use that drives common understanding.

I was wondering if your company is in need of a Senior Information Architect to assist them with the work they are doing. I have over 2 years in data architecture and have worked on a number of BI initiatives as a consultant and FTE.

regards,

denis kosar Knowledge Master LLC

Editor's Note: While we certainly understand your search for work, we ask that anything that does not pertain to the discussion at hand to please be addressed directly to the company you intend to target. Thanks, and good luck!