Data as a Service: A Framework for Providing Reusable Enterprise Data Services

Guest Introduction

When I wrote my first book, Data Crush, I attempted to capture the ways in which the technical innovations of mobility, Cloud computing, and big data were leading to entirely new social and business phenomena. Several of the impacts that these new technologies have had on our world are driving the demand for Data as a Service, hence I was elated when Pushpak asked me to introduce his work, that you now hold in your hands. There are three social forces that are making Data as a Service a new business imperative, and they are quantification, appification, and cloudification. Let us look at each in turn.

Quantification is the growing trend of measuring absolutely everything, across all aspects of business. I recently met the CIO of a commercial property management company that is spending over $1 billion to quantify his business. Over a two year period, his company will connect to the Internet every lightbulb in every one of their buildings. When I asked him what data he hoped to learn from these connected bulbs his response was, “I have no idea, but what I do know is that if I don't have the data there's nothing to analyze.” You will likely see this sort of pervasive data collection occurring throughout every process in every organization over the coming decade.

Appification is our growing expectation of instant gratification, at little or no cost, regardless of how irrational this expectation may be. Indeed, we are becoming so appified that we expect our needs ...