For the public sector, a major hurdle on the path to big data enlightenment is not an IT one, but a cultural one: learning to treat data as a valuable asset is the challenge faced across government.
Anxiety over public data security is understandable – and appropriate – given some of the headline-grabbing data security failures over the years. But it has led to a security-centric approach to government information, which sees data woefully undervalued.
As a result, central government, local authorities and the NHS are unable to gain the insight necessary to understand society's needs, improve efficiency, deliver better services, or make 'the right' decisions on where to cut costs. We know it is not always possible to share data, but it is possible to share insight from local authority to local authority.
If there was a culture shift to an asset-centric approach to public data – where it is valued, shared and analysed – this would help to transform public services. So how do we persuade public servants and citizens of the benefits of putting our data to good use?
Firstly, the government must help the public understand that this is nothing new. They already share their data on a massive scale, every day, with the private sector. Take Tesco Clubcard for example. Through its Clubcard, Tesco is able to collect and analyse data on millions of shopping baskets every week and use this insight to inform supply chain management, target discounts and promotions, and improve customer service.
And customers realise the benefits felt in their pockets and in the service they receive. I appreciate we're more sensitive about our welfare history or council tax information than we are about the details of our weekly shop. But it's worth pointing out that the benefits of public data or insight being shared, within government, far exceed those of a two-for-one offer at Tesco.
But these benefits need to be made clearer. Government must help citizens imagine a public sector where frontline workers have real-time access to the whole picture about an individual's needs, to deliver the right services at the right time. Imagine the difference it would make where a child at high risk could be identified sooner or an unemployed citizen could receive the right support needed to get back to work.
All of this and more is possible with an asset-centric approach to data.
Of course, the processing and analytic challenges of big data still remain. But without overcoming this initial, cultural, hurdle of treating data as an asset, the public sector will struggle to truly reap the benefits that a Tesco Clubcard mentality could deliver.
Valuing information as an Asset
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