EU paves way for multi-billion euro potential of Open Data - Computer Business Review

"The new European Data Portal plays an important role in seizing the potential of Open Data, whose market size is expected at €325bn for the period 2016-2020, according to two new studies. Capgemini Consulting carried out the studies on behalf of the European Commission within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility programme to support the deployment of European Open Data infrastructure. The market for open data is anticipated to increase by 36.9% to €75.7bn by 2020. A report has revealed that the EU28 plus countries had completed only 44% of the journey towards achieving full open data maturity, but there are large discrepancies. About 32% of European countries, recognised globally, are having solid policies, licensing norms, better portal traffic and various local initiatives and events for promoting Open Data and its re-use. The UK leads the way in solid open data practices with the largest national traffic to its own open data portal in Europe with 175,400 visitors per month. The second report claims that the effective use of Open Data may save 629 million hours of unnecessary waiting time on the roads in the EU. The accumulated cost savings for public administrations making use of Open Data are estimated to be €1.7bn across the EU28 plus countries in 2020. Capgemini made some recommendations in order to help speed up adoption of Open Data. They include increasing awareness among citizens and businesses around Open Data; adopting a free cost model as much as possible to encourage re-use. Other recommendations include adding basic functionalities to portals, maximising the use of site analytics, developing national guidelines and measuring the success of an Open Data initiative ..."