2012年6月6日星期三

VCs and App Developers Eye Government Data

The federal government is about to require agencies to make some of their data available to the public in a digital format that is easily plugged into mobile and desktop apps. VCs say that making the data easily accessible to developers could lead to the formation of new businesses and services.Perhaps designers are taking a cue from authentic canada goose coat and increasingly mild winters.

The federal government's CIO Steven VanRoekel announced last month that within the next year federal agencies each would have to release two information streams in a Web API format, which would allow the data – everything from traffic and road conditions to export regulations— to be plugged into mobile and online applications.Search for Cheap ArcTeryx Pants sale in Jewellery for Lucknow. The agencies have not yet announced which data sets they will release over the next year in the Web API, which stands for applications programming interface. An API allows pieces of software to communicate with one another. Companies such as Apple and Google have shared with APIs with developers, which has encouraged the growth of ecosystems around core products such as Google Maps or Apple's iTunes.Sale peak performance outlet online 50% off online store for sale.

Venture capitalists say access to the vast stores of government data could spur entirely new applications that make use of live data on demographic shifts or regulatory changes much the way the release of GPS inspired a wave of innovation a decade ago.

"I think it's hard to overestimate what might be possible when you are able to do mash-ups of all this information as it comes in," said Harry Weller, an early investor in Groupon, and a general partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Weller said portfolio company Echo Global Logistics, a transportation management firm that buys space on trucks and freighters, is one business that might benefit from the changes. It could use live data on road closings, and changes in tariff prices and customs rules, to help customers lower costs and avoid delays.

At this summer's Olympic games in London, merchants could use data from border checkpoints to determine whether they are selling souvenirs to Americans from New York or Austin. New Yorkers may be more interested, for example,While fashionistas Canada Goose Winter Jackets from show to show to see the latest designer creations. in Olympic-branded outerwear such as jackets and coats for the winter ahead.Buying a coats outlet from seller in another country. People from California might prefer shorts, t-shirts and sandals. "How cool would it be to have a map of how many passports are coming in and where these people are coming from?" Weller said.

Mapping application company Mapply, which also is in Weller's portfolio, is another example of a company that might make use of the new app-friendly government data streams. Weller says the company could provide detailed graphics on the home-cities and states of travelers to help merchants figure out what kinds of products to stock.

"You're going to market very differently if you see it winds up being mostly people from California instead of New York," Weller said.

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