Managing Environmental Data in the Google Age
- 1. Thierry Gregorius PhD FRGS Group Data Manager Landmark Information Group Birmingham, 25 February 2010 Managing environmental data in the Google age
- 2. Who are Landmark? The UK’s biggest supplier of land & property risk information Aggregating 100+ data sources, selling 500,000+ reports p.a. 500,000+ maps p.a. For example:
- 3. Environmental data: It all started with historic maps…
- 4. How much data is on the internet? “ 500 billion gigabytes”
- 5. MAGIC: free public sector data Not for Commercial use ‘ Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside’
- 6. Jan 2010: Government frees 2,500 datasets www.data.gov.uk
- 7. Professional, paid-for public sector data Quality, at a price Satisfies legal requirements where applicable Commercial use terms World-class agencies (yes they are) Government consultation – respond!
- 9. ‘ Crowdsourcing’ – users create data www.OpalExploreNature.org www.OpenStreetMap.org Exeter, July 2007 Exeter, July 2008
- 10. Data in the Google age… Data ‘off the Web’ Instant access Free-for-all culture Fast innovation Unknown quality & completeness IPR & commercial re-use issues Commercial data sources (incl. public) Comprehensive and/or authoritative Known or premium quality Targeted end user focus (specialised) Greater cost & turnaround time Cannot be free blurring boundaries…
- 11. Data resellers do not sell data … they sell data access, ease & speed Data Source A Data Source B Data Source C Data Source D Data Source E etc Data Product Client Ordering / Hosting, Licensing
- 12. A glimpse of the future New tech: Mobile, 3D, Augmented Reality Still early/niche but for how long? TED Bing Maps demo: check it out http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html
- 13. What does this bring? Greater user participation Increased choice & competition A growing & more complex world More sophisticated user demands A free for all culture? But also: More legal test cases & legislation: privacy, copyright, and…
- 14. Environmental legislation Climate Change Act 2008 Environmental Liability Directive 2009 Carbon Reduction Efficiency Scheme 2010 Flood and Water Management Bill 2010 Etc… … requiring more data, and more quality data e.g. uninsurable risks
- 15. Looking at data in new ways Upside-down Google maps Real-time data: The ‘Sensor Web’
- 16. More user choice e.g. emerging alternatives to Ordnance Survey large-scale mapping… UKMap TM © The GeoInformation Group Also in the professional market
- 17. 3D – always niche, or a new dawn? Mobile – crowdsourcing, augmented reality
- 18. Conclusion a flood of data a flood of legislation new web & geo-technologies a more complex world more sophisticated user demands environmental challenges … resulting in a greater need for expertise – Environment and Data
- 19. Thank you. Thierry.Gregorius @Landmark.co.uk Q&A