Re: Linked Data Business Models?

On 7/26/12 11:23 AM, Kingsley Idehen wrote:
> Q: What does Linked Data offer in this context?
>
> A: Powerful mechanism for data virtualization that turns a collection 
> of disparate and heterogeneous data sources into a coherent, 
> persistent, and change sensitive mesh of entities and their 
> relationships. For a number of years, this has been achievable via:
>
> 1. Linked Data Views over RDBMS data sources
> 2. Linked Data Views over other data sources.
>
> What do enterprises buy?
>
> 1. Data Virtualization Middleware
> 2. Database Management Systems
> 3. Identity Management Systems
> 4. Collaboration Systems
> 5. Professional Services -- training, consulting, and custom development.
>
> My $0.02 .
>
I agree with all of these, Kingsley, but in the real world there are 
serious organizational obstacles that need to be transcended for an 
enterprise to appreciate the benefits you outline.

I was once tasked with the design of a shared, interoperable content 
repository for over 20 discrete publishing companies in one media 
corporation (Times Mirror), and many of these individual publishers had 
smaller business units with separately managed repositories.  It turned 
out that the individual IT executives saw little local benefit for the 
extra work labeling their content with consistent and extra metadata for 
benefits in other organizations, and completely resisted, so the project 
floundered and ultimately failed.

In order to achieve the benefits you list, the most senior executives 
have to be deeply sold, and willing to assert their authority over local 
data fiefdoms.

fwiw.

Mike Liebhold
Senior Researcher
Institute for the Future

Received on Thursday, 26 July 2012 18:46:30 UTC