Much has been written about the benefits to various communities of being able to jump a generation of technology. For example, some African countries were able to go straight to mobile tele-coms without installing national fixed line infrastructure. This saved money and time, but also created infrastructure for innovations such as micro-payments. In eastern Europe, Estonia emerged from the old Soviet Union with backward infrastructure but rapidly become the poster child for the digital economy.
Now countries have a similar opportunity with open data standards. Nations with complex and fragmented bureaucracies can jump straight to good data governance by using the tools and methods developed by organizations that have been through several additional cycles of systems evolution. They can engage their citizens directly through technology, embedding first-time data capture along with consistent data definition.
A secondary product is an improved environment for business and investment. A logical, open, and coherent data environment is becoming a vital factor in national, regional, and city competitiveness. Open Data
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