Efforts for Open Government Forge Ahead
January 3, 2013
Openness and transparency are huge themes across the globe in terms of government, in addition to many other industries and businesses. The UK concentrated on pushing their efforts in this direction over the last few years and we are seeing a similar push for it on this side of the pond. Open government is discussed in more detail in the recent Semantic Web article, “oeGOV: Open Government Through Semantic Web Technologies.”
One of the initial efforts in the U.S. has been Barack Obama’s memo to the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies. Since that memo, there have been a number of related initiatives. It seems that transparency and accountability have been used as synonymous concepts in many of these cases.
The article informs us:
“Placing increasing amounts of raw data on the Web is a good first step towards government transparency. But for it to be truly useful it needs to be connectable. Since data coming from different sources is idiosyncratic, connecting across data sets today requires heroic efforts from brigades of programmers. To truly support the transparency goals, government data needs to be Findable, Interpretable, Decidable and Actionable, in short FIDA-friendly.”
We completely agree that FIDA represents a good set of goals to shoot for, however the issues of standardization and implementation remain. Additionally, we find this all extremely interesting in reference to recent surveillance decisions related to the “open” Internet.
Megan Feil, January 03, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Future Remains Uncertain for National Information Exchange Model
January 3, 2013
Information is the only global currency and it is by no means a limited resource. The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Resource Database sees this and was initially developed out of a desire for a government-wide, standards-based approach to exchanging information.
Twenty states found that there were too many bureaucratic policies involved in exchanging information across state and city government lines and thus began the NIEM. This effort became known as the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative.
The website continues on the background of this project and the Department of Homeland Security‘s connection:
“Parallel to the GJXDM effort was the stand up of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The mention of metadata in the president’s strategy for homeland security in the summer of 2002 galvanized the homeland security community to begin working towards standardization. These collaborative efforts by the justice and homeland security communities—to produce a set of common, well-defined data elements for data exchange development and harmonization—lead to the beginnings of NIEM.”
While it is difficult not to find this interesting, at the end of the day this is a government initiative in a time of severe financial challenges and we cannot help but wonder if this will hamper efforts to push forward. For now, take a look at the resource database while you can.
Megan Feil, January 03, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
PolySpot Keeps Stronghold in Delivering Agile Enterprise Information
January 2, 2013
Data analytics technologies (or the demand for them) are not simply relegated to the United States and Europe, though many important technologies that are utilized to address big data challenges have been developed in these areas up to this point. ZDNet shares a broader perspective in the recent article, “The India Aims for World’s Big Data.”
Indian IT services industry group Nasscom expects the country’s industry to grow from US$200 million in 2012 to $1 billion by 2015.
The article informs us on related industries popping up in India:
Numerous global big data players have sprouted in India over the past two years. Sears, for instance, established wholly-owned subsidiary MetaScale to service healthcare and entertainment customers with revenues between US$1 million and US$10 million. A @WalmartLabs facility also opened in Bangalore in April to develop social media and analytics and big data infrastructure.
There is no doubt that India will create and develop big data solutions as the need continues to grow in the area. However, solutions from companies like PolySpot have already reached the current pinnacle of agilely delivering enterprise information and will continue to have a stronghold.
Megan Feil, January 2, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search.
Open Source Impacts Information Infrastructure
January 2, 2013
Open source continues to not just meet information needs, but also drives the future direction of information including new technologies and architectural structures. Adrian Bridgwater at Open Source Insider looks ahead at the future of open source and information infrastructure in his article, “The Future Impact of Open Source on our Information Infrastructure.”
Bridgwater quotes some numbers from Gartner showing that by 2015, 25% of new database management systems will be supporting alternative data types and non-traditional data structures. He continues:
“Gartner’s Merv Adrian says that the products needed to be able to perform this work will need to “purpose-built alternatives” but that they are, as yet, immature . . . ‘This was before massive scale-out architectures were commonplace and the variety of data types now being deployed existed. New product categories have sprung up, designed to fit new needs at lower cost and with better alignment to new development tools and practices. Products and vendors are continually emerging to offer more purpose-built alternatives; these are immature, but often worth assessing.’”
In the quote above, the products and vendors continually emerging point to open source solutions. Open source is a cost-effective and efficient way to meet the needs of non-traditional data structures and types. Proprietary solutions are often incapable of reacting quickly and affordably to emerging trends. For instance, Big Data solutions are now almost entirely dominated by open source. LucidWorks is one such vendor offering a great open source Big Data solution, but LucidWorks Search is also a leading enterprise search option.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
WAND Partnership with Concept Searching Unveiled
January 2, 2013
A new partnership was revealed for WAND Inc recently. WAND is a developer of structured multi-lingual vocabularies. Digital Journal covered the story about the strategic partnership with Concept Searching in their article, “Concept Searching Selected as Founding Strategic Partner in the WAND Within Partnership Program.”
Concept Searching offers automatic semantic metadata generation, auto-classification, taxonomy management software. Because they have met the requirements from the new WAND Within program, they have been named one of the founding partners.
Additionally, smartStructures has emerged as a marketing collaboration between Concept Searching’s advanced technology platform, WAND Foundation Taxonomies, and industry expertise. These vertically aligned solutions will be available only from Concept Searching directly or from a set of certified partners.
The article offers more insight into the history of WAND:
“The WAND taxonomies have been used for the last fourteen years by organizations that want to benefit from industry and business function specific Foundation Taxonomies, to accelerate taxonomy development and management. The WAND Within™ partnership program is designed specifically for industry leading vendors in the taxonomy market, who add superior technology value to provide clients with powerful solutions to manage unstructured content.”
This sticks out as an interesting tie-up and therefore one that we will keep our eyes on since these companies are positioning themselves such a way that looks as if it could be meaningful.
Megan Feil, January 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
ComScore Announces New Media Measurement Platform
January 2, 2013
Google must be pleased. Tom’s Hardware announces, “Google Only Site to Surpass 100 Million Unique Visitors.” The article is really, though, about a new platform, the Media Metrix Multi-Platform, being used by ComScore, which tracks Web site visitors. The article tells us:
“The platform is currently in a beta stage in the U.S., with its technology tracking metrics including audience size and demographics on desktop browsers and mobile devices. The new system also accounts for users utilizing multiple devices to access the sites. . . . “For Facebook in particular, the Media Metrix Multi-Platform makes it the third-most-visited site on the web during September via 179,411,000 visitors. When judging by desktop traffic, it would drop to fourth place. “Google remains at the top spot by using either ComScore’s new measurement strategy or its old platform. It was the only site to surpass 100 million unique visitors on both desktop and mobile.”
A chart listing the recent results, ranking traffic at 20 sites, is included in the article. The tool will remain in beta for several months. ComScore uses its Web traffic analysis expertise to help clients manage their digital investments. Founded in 1999, the company went public in 2007. ComScore is located in Reston, Virginia, and maintains offices around the world.
Cynthia Murrell, January 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Data Intelligence
January 2, 2013
Helping to keep people safe is a large part of what the analysis specialist firm Data Intelligence does. The company serves organizations in the realms of defense, intelligence, cyber security, and law enforcement. They don’t stop there, though; the outfit also supplies tools for social media analysis, financial intelligence, recruiting, business intelligence, marketing, and business integration. Software consulting is also on their sizable plate.
Data Intelligence has a nifty video for potential customers who would like to get an idea of their offerings. Their central product is the Entity Analytical Platform, which emphasizes collaboration and information linking and displays results in a unique knowledge graph. Their site describes the software:
“Social collaboration tool for linking together Big Knowledge Graphs combined with Search & Discovery at Cloud Scale
- Link together custom networks that relate to your business model
- Collaborate among your team and follow areas of interest
- Search smarter: ‘Who worked with James at Data Intelligence in 2012’
- Discover business insights as data is transformed into intelligence”
Data Intelligence was formed by James Kraemer, and is located in Washington, DC.
Cynthia Murrell, January 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data and Search
January 1, 2013
A new year has arrived. Flipping a digit on the calendar prompts many gurus, wizards, failed Web masters, former real journalists, and unemployed English majors to identify trends. How can I resist a chrome plated, Gangnam style bandwagon? Big Data is no trend. It is, according to the smart set:
that Big Data would be “the next big chapter of our business history.
My approach is more modest. And I want to avoid silver-numbered politics and the monitoring business. I want to think about a subject of interest to a small group of techno-watchers: Big Data and search.
My view is that there has been Big Data for a long time. Marketers and venture hawks circle an issue. If enough birds block the sun, others notice. Big Data is now one of the official Big Trends for 2013. Search, as readers of this blog may know, experiences the best of times and the worst of times regardless of the year or the hot trends.
As the volume of unstructured information increases, search plays a part. What’s different for 2013 is that those trying to make better decisions need a helping hand, crutches, training wheels, and tools. Vendors of analytics systems like SAS and IBM SPSS should be in the driver’s seat. But these firms are not. An outfit like Palantir claims to be the leader of the parade. The company has snazzy graphics and $150 million in venture funding. Good enough for me I suppose. The Palantirs suggest that the old dudes at SAS and SPSS still require individuals who understand math and can program for the “end user”. Not surprisingly, there are more end users than there are SAS and SPSS wizards. One way around the shortage is to make Big Data a point-and-click affair. Satisfying? The marketers say, “For sure.”
A new opportunity arises for those who want the benefits of fancy math without the cost, hassle, and delay of dealing with intermediaries who may not have an MBA or aspire to be independently wealth before the age of 30. Toss in the health care data the US Federal government mandates, the avalanche of fuzzy thinking baloney from blogs like this one, and the tireless efforts of PR wizards to promote everything thing from antique abacuses to zebra striped fabrics. One must not overlook e-mail, PowerPoint presentations, and the rivers of video which have to be processed and “understood.” In these streams of real time and semi-fresh data, there must be gems which can generate diamond bright insights. Even sociology major may have a shot at a permanent job.
The biggest of the Big Berthas are firing away at Big Data. Navigate to “Sure, Big Data Is Great. But So Is Intuition.” Harvard, MIT, and juicy details explain that the trend is now anchored into the halls of academe. There is even a cautionary quote from an academic who was able to identify just one example of Big Data going somewhat astray. Here’s the quote:
At the M.I.T. conference, a panel was asked to cite examples of big failures in Big Data. No one could really think of any. Soon after, though, Roberto Rigobon could barely contain himself as he took to the stage. Mr. Rigobon, a professor at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management, said that the financial crisis certainly humbled the data hounds. “Hedge funds failed all over the world,” he said. THE problem is that a math model, like a metaphor, is a simplification. This type of modeling came out of the sciences, where the behavior of particles in a fluid, for example, is predictable according to the laws of physics.
Sure Big Data has downsides. MBAs love to lift downsides via their trusty, almost infallible intellectual hydraulics.
My focus is search. The trends I wish to share with my two or three readers require some preliminary observations:
- Search vendors will just say they can handle Big Data. Proof not required. It is cheaper to assert a technology than actually develop a capability.
- Search vendors will point out that sooner or later a user will know enough to enter a query. Fancy math notwithstanding, nothing works quite like a well crafted query. Search may be a commodity, but it will not go away.
- Big Data systems are great at generating hot graphics. In order to answer a question, a Big Data system must be able to display the source document. Even the slickest analytics person has to find a source. Well, maybe not all of the time, but sometimes it is useful prior to a deposition.
- Big Data systems cannot process certain types of data. Search systems cannot process certain types of data. It makes sense to process whatever fits into each system’s intake system and use both systems. The charm of two systems which do not quite align is sweet music to a marketer’s ears. If a company has a search system, that outfit will buy a Big Data system. If a company has a Big Data system, the outfit will be shopping for a search system. Nice symmetry!
- Search systems and Big Data systems can scale. Now this particular assertion is true when one criterion is met; an unending supply of money. The Big Data thing has a huge appetite for resources. Chomp. Chomp. That’s the sound of a budget being consumed in a sprightly way.
Now the trends:
Trend 1. Before the end of 2013, Big Data will find itself explaining why the actual data processed were Small Data. The assertion that existing systems can handle whatever the client wants to process will be exposed as selective content processing systems. Big Data are big and systems have finite capacity. Some clients may not be thrilled to learn that their ore did not include the tonnage that contained the gems. In short, say hello to aggressive sampling and indexes which are not refreshed in anything close to real time.
Trend 2. Big Data and search vendors will be tripping over themselves in an effort to explain which system does what under what circumstances. The assertion that a system can do both structured and unstructured while uncovering the meaning of the data is one I want to believe. Too bad the assertion is mushy in the accuracy department’s basement.
Trend 3.The talent pool for Big Data and search is less plentiful than the pool of art history majors. More bad news. The pool is not filling rapidly. As a result, quite a few data swimmers drown. Example: the financial crisis perhaps? The talent shortage suggests some interesting cost overruns and project failures.
Trend 4. A new Big Thing will nose into the Big Data and search content processing space. Will the new Big Thing work? Nah. The reason is that extracting high value knowledge from raw data is a tough problem. Writing new marketing copy is a great deal easier. I am not sure what the buzzword will be. I am pretty sure vendors will need a new one before the end of 2013. Even PSY called it quits with Gangnam style. No such luck in Big Data and search at this time.
Trend 5. The same glassy eyed confusion which analytics and search presentations engender will lead to greater buyer confusion and slow down procurements. Not even the magic of the “cloud” will be able to close certain deals. In a quest for revenue, the vendors will wrap basic ideas in a cloud of unknowing.
I suppose that is a good thing. Thank goodness I am unemployed, clueless, and living in a rural Kentucky goose pond.
Stephen E Arnold, January 1, 2012
Another Beyond Search analysis for free
Unified Information Access Infrastructure Component Offers Connectivity with Big Data Insights
January 1, 2013
Visualization of ideas in the form of infographics parlay a level of knowledge, so to speak. However, they usually only features curated content. We found the graphic in Database Landscape Map to be most fascinating as it aims to cover many bases of the current landscape of database technologies. Published by The 451 Group, the original version (not shown in the referenced article) was published for their “NoSQL, NewSQL and Beyond” report.
According to the article, the recently updated version is not quite as useful as the original since it lacks several players in the database space:
I’ll be honest – I’m not convinced that this is as practically useful as the original, although I believe it is more accurate and it was an exhausting interesting exercise to put it together. If anyone spots any glaring omissions or errors please keep them to yourself let us know. Additionally, the image is also available on posters, mugs, t-shirts and mouse pads, for a small fee.
The relational and the non-relational zones are the only two clear delineations that this graphic makes. We would find this much more useful if the authors included key players in all spheres of enterprise information. This would broaden the base to include vital technologies like unified information access infrastructure components.
Megan Feil, January 1, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search.
Android Boom in China Means Little to Google
January 1, 2013
Android is booming on mobile devices, and finding a huge new market in Asia, particularly China. More than 75% of all new Android devices run Google’s operating system, but not in China. The business side, or downside, of open source is explored in the ExtremeTech.com article, “Android is Failing by Succeeding in China.”
The article explains the pickle that Google found itself in regarding China:
“Google’s business decisions over the last few years could be coming back to bite Android as China becomes the world’s largest mobile market. Even though Android is big in China, its benefit to Google is minimal. Google’s Chinese Android problem is multifaceted, but most of the concerns stem from the search giant’s avoidance of mainland China. It was three years ago that Google surprised everyone by closing down its Beijing offices and discontinuing its .cn search domain. This was seen as a principled stand — Google didn’t like the way China filtered content and regularly interfered with its services.”
Very few from the West would fault Google for its stand against Chinese filtering and regulating. However, this is an example of how technology, and specifically open source, can be quite political. Open source creators or committers put out their technology, not knowing how exactly it will be interpreted or adapted. Other companies, like LucidWorks, count on open source software as their structure, and build a business around offering specific solutions as well as support and training, hoping to gain an international appeal. LucidWorks has succeeded in this regard. There is always a political side to technology, as Google is currently learning.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 01, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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