The objective of this module is to gain an overview how you can use the data available outside of your company to improve your business. Upon completion of this module you will: - Learn the basics of external data and where to find it - Be able to recognize there is a lot of Open Data already out there for you to use – especially about Older People - See the benefits of using the external data in order to improve your business

1. This programme has been funded with
support from the European Commission
Module 3:
Improving
your business
with external
data

2. Module 3:
Improving
current
business with
external data
The objective of this module is to gain an overview how
you can use the data available outside of your
company to improve your business.
Upon completion of this module you will:
- Learn the basics of external data and where to find it
- Be able to recognize there is a lot of Open Data
already out there for you to use – especially about
Older People
- See the benefits of using the external data in order to
improve your business
Duration of the module: approximately 1 hours
This programme has been funded with support from the
European Commission. The author is solely responsible for
this publication (communication) and the Commission
accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of
the information contained therein.

3. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
Data is everywhere.
That fact is not necessarily new or interesting—great
minds of past generations have long harnessed and
utilized data in order to inform their decisions, create
and test hypotheses, and attempt change the world.
This is a nod to the fact that we are more connected to
each other, to the businesses we buy from, and to the
world than ever before.
Today we have instant and real-time access to an
incomprehensibly large amount of data. When most
people think about Big Data and Business Intelligence
they think about internal data (module 2). But the
problem with internal data is that it only paints part of
the picture.
So what’s missing?
External data.

4. EXTERNAL DATA
AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
External data can be divided into two categories:
1. Primary data
• It refers to the information collected by the
researcher from original sources. It is not a
published data; it has to be gathered by the
researcher himself by tapping various resources.
Primary data is usually collected for specific
purposes.
2. Secondary data
• Secondary data is already existing which has been
collected and published by some individuals or
institutions. This data is available at a very low cost
and it requires lesser time to collect it.
External data refers to data
generated from outside an
organization. It can come from
a variety of places and serve
nearly every industry in the
business world.

5. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
DATA
AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
Primary data
• Real time data
• Sure about sources of data
• Help to give results/findings
• Costly and time consuming
process
• Possible bias results
• More flexible
Secondary data
• Past data
• Not sure about the sources of
data
• Refining the problem
• Cheap and doesn‘t take too
much time
• Can not now if data is bias or
not
• Less flexible
Data is the raw
material of the new
industrial revolution.
Francis Maude MP

6. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
Data, that is made available
by organizations,
businesses and individuals
for anyone to access, use
and share.
DEFINING OPEN DATA
Open data has to have a license that says it is open data. Without a license, the data
can’t be reused. The license might also say:
– that people who use the data must credit whoever is publishing it (this is called
attribution)
– that people who mix the data with other data have to also release the results as
open data (this is called share-alike)

7. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
BIG DATA
VS
OPEN DATA
Intersection of the three concepts
defines the six subtypes of data
shown on the diagram. There’s no
separate category for the
intersection of Big Data and Open
Government – anything in that
category is also Open Data.
1
2
3
• Large datasets from
scientific research,
social media or
othe non-
government
sources
• Large government
datasets (weather,
GPS, healthcare...)
• Public data from
state, local, federal
government
(budget data...)
BIG DATA
• Non-public
data for
marketing,
business
analysis,
national
security
OPEN DATA
• Business reporting and
other business data
(consumer complaints...)
OPEN
GOVERNMENT
• Citizen
engagement
programs not
based on data
(petitions,
websites...)

8. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
BENEFITS
Open Government Data is a
wealth of untapped
potential, especially as a
LOT of the open data out
there is about older
people! As with any
initiative within the public
domain, it also involves
expenditures and the effort
of internal resources. Better
understanding the benefits
of Open Data can help
accelerate the commitment
around your Open Data
initiative. The following
overview provides more
evidence of these benefits
to support your initiative.
• It provides citizens with a reliable knowledge base regarding
government and public sector bodies’ activities.
• It enables them to take part in public sector bodies’ activities and
therefore participate actively to the public choices (eDemocracy).
• It represents the initial material for public or private stakeholders to
develop new added-value services and supply them to citizens.
• It is one of the crucial tasks to fulfil the aim of the Digital Agenda for
Europe to “deliver sustainable economic and social benefits from a
digital single market based on fast and ultra-fast internet and
interoperable applications” (Kolodziejski, 2013)
• Opening up data can optimise your process internally. When data is
open, none of your colleagues will have to go through an internal
process to receive particular data. Many organisations have encountered
the benefit of having their data open, simply because it takes less time to
find data. Remember, your organisation will most probably be the most
active re-user of your data.

9. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
• Not only your organisation, but also citizens will benefit from an
improved – and perhaps faster – internal information structure.
Processes will take less time, services can be digitalized, and citizens
will benefit from more efficiency and transparency. A simple example
might be to apply a single data provision to your services, thereby
ensuring that users – citizens and / or businesses – will not have to keep
on providing data you already have.
• If your organisation’s data infrastructure may be outdated, your Open
Data initiative might be a wonderful chance to achieve an internal
change. Many organisations have taken the opportunity to redesign their
internal data infrastructure and incorporated the publication of data as a
main activity in working instructions. Talk with the managers within your
organisation what the plans are concerning IT infrastructure on data
level.
• By means of user feedback, you can improve the quality of your
datasets. The power of the crowd, known as crowd sourcing, is a very
efficient way of pooling resources to reach a given, sometimes
surprising, result.

10. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES

11. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
Timeliness
Consistency
Validity
Accuracy
Entirety
1
2
3
4
5
To obtain optimal quality data, there are factors that should
be considered. These include:
FACTORS OF DATA
QUALITY
A trained, professional eye in today's
business world studies data analytics in
data collection as a means of extracting
the most significant issues related to each
particular type of business. It is difficult to
imagine those in the restaurant industry,
for example, neglecting to gather data on
competitors for their market share. Data
analytics plays a large role in financial,
manufacturing, medical, healthcare,
marketing and government. Within these
industries, thousands of businesses
perform data analysis on a variety of
business operations.

12. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
1. The benefits using external data
2. The challenges associated with using
the external data
3. Why external data is the fuel of your
business
THE BUSINESS
ASPECT OF EXTERNAL
DATA

13. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
THE BENEFITS OF
USING EXTERNAL
DATA
Organisations that use
external data effectively
have the potential to place
themselves ahead of the
game in terms of strategic
planning and
competitiveness within the
sector.
Benefits include:
External data providers make available high quality information and data for
reuse by organisations to support strategic planning
The quality of data held is assured
Large quantities of data are freely available to organisations from providers’
websites
Bespoke services are provided when more detailed data is required
Regular publications are provided in hard copy form by some providers
High level data on peer organisations enables comparisons to be made
Time series and historical data enables comparisons over time
Training in the use of data is offered by some providers
Ongoing discussion between providers aims to provide a rounded service
Data providers are working proactively to enhance the usability of their data
Allows an organisation to benchmark specific aspects of its own performance
against that of peer and/or rival organisations.

14. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
THE CHALLENGES
ASSOCIATED WITH
USING EXTERNAL
DATA
There are still challenges in
delivering and using
external data for optimum
results, both for
organisations and data
providers.
These challenges include:
Working with statistics is still seen as a burden rather than a benefit by some
managers
Some managers still see working with statistics as a function just for the IT
department
Without experience it can be difficult to frame the right question to ask
external providers
It can be expensive to acquire data from external data providers
It can be difficult to translate statistics into meaningful information accurately
Providers need to supply more guidance and case studies on reuse to the
sector
A lack of data join up (about the same data) between external providers can
lead to inefficiency and inaccurate outcomes
It can be difficult to join up externally with internally held data to draw
accurate conclusions
It is difficult to obtain data at a sufficient level of detail for making useful
comparisons with competitors

15. WHY EXTERNAL DATA IS
THE FUEL OF YOUR
BUSINESS
AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
There are a number of reasons why more
and more businesses and data professionals
are incorporating external data analytics
into their decision making processes. Here
are just a few worth mentioning that really
highlight why now is the perfect time to go
all in on external data.

16. External data can provide you with
a bigger picture.
As a business owner or data professional,
you need to be collecting, evaluating, and
acting on internal data. But as mentioned,
that really only gives you part of the picture.
In order to get the full view, you have to look
to external data (user-generated data, public
data, competitor data, partner data, etc).
1
Accessing external data is not costly.
Thanks to initiatives by governments and
businesses around the world, accessing external
data doesn’t cost a lot of money. In fact, a lot of
databases can be accessed for free. Where the
cost does come into play, however, is organizing,
evaluating, and applying external after the
external data to specific business needs (that’s
where experienced data scientists and analysts
come into the picture!).
2
Technology and tools have made
accessing external data easier and
more convenient than ever.
It’s never been easier or more convenient to
access external data. As the world continues to
become more and more connected, and as
technology continues to advance, it’s becoming
a lot easier to find, collect, and interpret
external data. You don’t need a computer
science degree or a Masters in Data Science in
order to benefit from external data. You
definitely want someone who does have those
degrees on your team in order to dive deeper
into the internal and external data you
ultimately collect, but you don’t necessarily
need them in order to access or collect the data
itself. A lot of the external tools that are
available today are incredibly easy to use.
3

17. External data can give you a
leg up on competition.
The other major benefit of external
data is that it creates an opportunity
to get a leg up on competition. There
are a lot of tools out there that make
it easier than ever to keep an eye on
your competition in order to stay
ahead of the game. With competition
for the attention of online consumers
at an all time high, the ability to
quickly, easily, and regularly check up
on competition in invaluable and can
mean the difference between growing
your business or closing your doors
for good.
5
More and more data is being
uploaded to the web
everyday.
Consider the following statement
from Rose Business Technologies:
“IDC estimates the volume of digital
data will grow 40% to 50% per year.
By 2020, IDC predicts the number will
have reached 40,000 EB, or 40
Zettabytes (ZB). The world’s
information is doubling every two
years. By 2020 the world will
generate 50 times the amount of
information and 75 times the number
of “information containers” while IT
staff to manage it will grow less than
1.5 times.”
6
External data can give you real-
time, minute-by-minute
updates on industry, consumer,
and product trends.
This is the biggest value for business
and it’s why external data is so
important. External data analytics can
have a major impact when it comes to
making decisions about the future of a
business, learning more about the
health of an industry, determining
which new products to release and
where to release them, and many, many
other areas. In a lot of cases, the tools
and sites that collect and present
external data are updating information
in real-time—which is invaluable during
times when an informed decision needs
to be made fast.
4

18. AGE FRIENDLY ECONOMY | FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMES
Data will talk, if you‘re
willing to listen.
Jim Bergeson

19. Thank You
Any Questions?
www.agefriendlyeconomy.eu
www.facebook.com