How to seize the competitive edge with OPEN DATA—today’s most powerful business tool

Big Data is cloaked, Open Data is transparent. By definition, Open Data is public, pulled from government or other sources, that’s available for anyone to access for personal or business use. It’s bigger than Big Data, and any organizational leader who learns how to use it now will instantly gain the competitive edge.

In Open Data Now, a nationally recognized leader in consumer information and website development, examines applications and trends for Big Data, for a variety of audiences:

* Business leaders—Open Data can help make better-informed, data-driven decisions that translate into real-world profits.

* Entrepreneurs—Open Data provides the tools, tech, and take-aways for launching a successful startup.

* Investors—Open Data provides unprecendented access to emerging industries, green technologies, and global opportunites for growth.

*Marketers and strategists—Open Data can point toward the patterns, trends, and targets for building brand popularity.

* Public servants and non-profits—Open Data can help zero in on social issues, develop workable programs and policies, and track success.

Joel Gurin is EVP of Consumers Union. Under his leadership Consumer Reports' website became the world's largest information-based paid-subscription site, with more than 3 million subscribers. Gurin has served as the Obama Administration’s Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission and Chair of the White House Task Force on Smart Disclosure, which studied how the government can provide Open Data to help consumers make choices in complex markets including health care, financial services, education, and energy. He is Executive Director of the OrgPedia Project at New York Law School, which is creating a website and set of applications that will use Open Data to provide a new level of corporate transparency.