With over 600 open data services listed in GOV.UK’s Digital Marketplace there is much to choose from. Services range from platform and software services for publishing open data to geospatial and visualisation tools, and as well as consultancy and training. Where to begin?
In early 2014, the ODI reviewed digital marketplace suppliers that mention the terms ‘open data’ and ‘opendata’ to see if they had a strong open data proposition. This produced the list of services and suppliers below.
While there are now more providers in what is a fast-developing area, this makes for a good starting point. Another place to look when considering procuring an open data service, or work that requires an understanding of open data, is the ODI’s member directory, as many of our members are listed UK government suppliers.
| id | Category | Supplier name | Product SKU | Product / Service Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consultancy | Cetis | 4.G4.1033.001 | Open standards services – project specification, evaluation and policy compliance | Cetis offers a flexible service to help ensure that projects are specified and suppliers selected to make best use of open standards and to be consistent with UK Government policy and strategy in respect of open standards and points of contact between open standards and related policies regarding open source software, transparency and open data. |
| 2 | Consultancy | Deloitte LLP | 4.G4.0642.247 | D-G4-L4-236 Open Data Road Map Development | In its open data white paper “Unleashing the potential” the government outlined its serious intent to make public sector data more available to businesses and to the public. Deloitte will help departments to deliver this by capturing a clear understanding of their data’s current availability and the actions needed to increase that availability. This may be used to assist portfolio planning or support business case development. The white paper stated a principle that organisations should “release data quickly, and then work to make sure that it is available in open standard formats, including linked-data forms.” The industry standard for measuring data availability is the ‘five stars of linked open data’, specified by Sir Tim Berbers-Lee. The pinnacle of availability is considered to be a 5 star ‘linked data’ rating which indicates that the data is both available and is already linked to other data sources; allowing it to be easily exploited to generate insight. It may not be practical or good value for money to attempt to make all of an organisation’s data meet this standard. To make meaningful progress, each department will need to understand where their gaps are, the ones to focus on that will drive the greatest value and the practical steps they can take to resolve these gaps. Deloitte will guide the client through this process, using a standardised approach, drawing on our extensive experience of data quality, data management and data transformation. We will also bring industry leading experts to this process from our excellent contacts in academia. |
| 3 | Consultancy | Deloitte LLP | 4.G4.0642.304 | D-G4-L4-238 Open Data Transformation | In its open data white paper “Unleashing the potential” the government outlined its serious intent to make public sector data more available to businesses and to the public. Where departments have identified candidate data Deloitte will design and deliver the change required. This may include delivery of infrastructure, tools, format transformation and data transformation. This change will be driven by the experience of our industry-leading experts in this field. The white paper stated a principle that organisations should “release data quickly, and then work to make sure that it is available in open standard formats, including linked-data forms.” The industry standard for measuring data availability is the ‘Five Stars of Linked Open Data’, specified by Sir Tim Berbers-Lee. The pinnacle of availability is consider to be a 5 star ‘linked data’ rating which indicates that the data is both available and is already linked to other data sources; allowing it to be easily exploited to generate insight. Whether it is the client’s intention to transform to this level of maturity, or simply to make the data available on the web in its current form, Deloitte can scope, design and deliver the change needed. |
| 4 | Consultancy | Open Data Institute | 4.G4.0566.201 | Consultancy Services - Open Data/Transparency | The Open Data Institute is staffed by leaders in their field, drawing on this expertise to provide independent advice and consultancy support, specialising in the services around the Open Data ecosystem. We have expertise in: * Open Data and Transparency Strategy * Publishing data, including linked data * Working with data to provide insight * Data science and related web and development services As a mission driven, not for profit organisation we make sure all our work builds capability in the client and provides learning for all. |
| 5 | Consultancy | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 3.G2.208.001 | Open Knowledge Foundation Services | We offer a range of consultancy services around open data, including but not limited to data wrangling, developing and customising open source software to store, process and present open data, and training, research, strategy, licensing advice, and community building in the open data and open content space. |
| 6 | Consultancy | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 3.G2.208.003 | Open Spending Services | We offer a range of consultancy services around open data, particularly open government and public sector spending, budget and transactional data, including but not limited to data wrangling, developing and customising our flagship OpenSpending open source software to store, process and present open spending data, and training, research, strategy, licensing advice, and community building in the open data space. |
| 7 | Consultancy | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 4.G4.0374.201 | Vendor-neutral Open Data consulting | The non-profit Open Knowledge Foundation (founded 2004) promotes open data and open content in all its forms, in domains ranging from government and science to culture. Its approach is hands-on, developing real solutions, ranging from open source software tools to training materials to connecting communities through working groups, to strategy consultancy for data publishers. The OKF has deployed or enabled others to deploy a large set of more than 50 digital data repositories around the world (ckan.org/instances). They run on software developed by the OKF, and range from every level of government to NGOs and community-driven portals. Our consultancy services cover the complete process of opening up data - from initial vision/policy work to data publication processes. Unique to OKF’s offering is that we can simultaneously address the supply side and the demand side (data re-users). Please refer to the service description for a more detailed, process-based description of our consulting offer. |
| 8 | Development | TSO - The Stationery Office | 4.G4.0394.206 | Open Data Development | TSO provides development of Linked Data user-interfaces and APIs, based on our OpenUp® platform, that allow public sector bodies to achieve Level 5 Public Sector Transparency Board Principles and open data standards. TSO allows you to capture, transform and deliver your data in the most efficient way. Our team of talented developers can help you get the most from your data sources. We have already delivered a range of projects for our clients, including the creation of APIs to access open data in the cloud. Prices start from £550 per day. TSO is the Public Sector division of Williams Lea, a DHL Supply Chain company and a member of the global Deutsche Post DHL Group. |
| 9 | Geography | Astun Technology Ltd | 3.G3.036.001 | Astun Data Services | Astun Data Services provide a range of geographic data as web services for consumption as base mapping within web mapping and desktop GIS applications. The use of Astun Data Services provides a cost effective and resource free alternative to translating, storing, updating and serving base mapping data to internal and public users. Map data services available include: Ordnance Survey Premium Data (MasterMap, VectorMap Local, Meridian and Strategi) Ordnance Survey OpenData (VectorMap District, Meridian and Strategi) OpenStreetMap (GB coverage in British National Grid) Map data is available in British National Grid (BNG) as an Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (OGC WMS) or as Tile Service with 15 levels of zoom OpenData services include Edubase NHS Choices Local Government Boundaries and Electoral Boundaries (BoundaryLine) enhanced with data from OpenlyLocal and UKWhip Neighbourhood Crime incident data from police.uk aggregated to neighbourhood boundaries OpenData feeds are syndicated and served as an Open Geospatial Consortium Web Feature Service (OGC WFS) |
| 10 | Geography | Basemap | 4.G4.1022.001 | GIS TRANSPORTATION SERVICES | Basemap provides both software and consultancy services to the transportation sector, both in the UK and worldwide. These services include: Software development, data provision, system integration, helpdesk services and GIS consultancy. Basemap has extensive experience in implementing solutions using various software development kits from major vendors such as Microsoft, Google, ThinkGeo, MapInfo and VDSTech. Basemap enhances its software provision using specialist data sources that make geographical software visual and insightful, such as open data, demographic, road and path information, points of interest. With many years of experience in transportation modelling, timetable, networks and routing, plus other algorithms, Basemap provides clients with a one-stop shop for all their transportation software and consultancy needs. |
| 11 | Geography | ESRI (UK) Limited | 4.G2.0209.010 | ArcGIS Online - open public services solutions | ArcGIS Online is a Geographic Information System (GIS) in the cloud. It is also a content management system for location based data. ArcGIS Online enables you to create and share maps, mapping applications and location services so that you, your colleagues and partners can view, interact with and understand your data in a new way. The maps and applications can include your own data, documents and images and information from other organisations. You can also access maps and aerial and satellite images from other providers. With ArcGIS Online, you can: • Create and share interactive maps that can be accessed through a web browser, Microsoft Office, a mobile device (Android, iOS and Windows), other mapping systems or a custom application • Access and discover free maps, datasets, services, tools and other geospatial content • Manage your geospatial content through an easy-to-use catalogue of items and groups • Share your content publicly, or with specific groups, or keep it private • Carry out geoprocessing tasks such as geocoding, routing and real time feeds • Use pre-defined templates and layouts to quickly publish location information • Stay in control of your data, lower your IT costs, and provide your internal users, partners and the public with easy-to-use, web-enabled content • Integrate with your organisation’s security system (e.g. Active Directory) to control access to your data. ArcGIS Online can help provide information on public services by providing access to key information, allowing the sharing of information between organisations, and assisting with issues relating to accountability and transparency, including published Open Data on data.gov.uk and similar sites. |
| 12 | Geography | Methods | 4.G4.0328.272 | Methods - Getmapping White-Label Web GIS | Getmapping White-Label Web GIS is an online mapping tool that can be branded and configured to suit your organisation. It can be used to plot information, create professional maps and share your business intelligence data. The software is suitable for organisations of any size and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, allowing easy remote, offsite and distributed working. The software is particularly popular with national environmental trusts, Local Authorities, Parish Councils and utilities. The software can complement your existing GIS infrastructure by providing additional users with an easy-to-use mapping interface, or it can become your primary GIS solution. The software makes managing mapping simple and efficient by providing an easy-to-use Admin interface to control users and layer styling. It also includes many pre-configured map layers that are maintained by Getmapping, removing the need to download and update these layers manually. For example, Natural England layers are kept up-to-date within the system. KEY FEATURES Built-in tools; Search, Print, Analyse, Annotate, Edit, Measure and Attach Files, among others. High resolution aerial photography for the UK built in Cloud Storage for your mapping at our high-performance UK-based Data Centre Professional assistance to help source and manage cost-effective map data KEY BENEFITS Out-of-the-box solution that can be fully deployed within 24 hours Brand it as your own product with your corporate logo and colour scheme Customised login page to fit in with your corporate design No investment in IT hardware, databases, software, development or maintenance Pre-configured Admin Panel to give you control of mapping, users, styling, tools and security TECHNICAL Import data using WMS, WFS, SHP, TAB, DXF or KML, or create new files Geocoding service to turn spreadsheets or databases into map data Supports all modern web browsers Continuous development of new tools, mapping, modules and 3rd party bolt-ons Over 99.9% system uptime INCLUDED Web GIS Map Interface with Search, Print, Measure, Edit and Attachment modules Web GIS Admin Panel A range of open mapping datasets, including Natural England, SNH, CCW, English Heritage, OS OpenData and BGS, among others PSMA and OSMA datasets (if licenced) Customer-side database links available for customers with 400+ users Getmapping WMS Collections available for customers with 400+ users |
| 13 | Geography | Methods | 4.G4.0328.218 | Methods – Getmapping WMS Collections: OS OpenData | Getmapping WMS Collections (Web Map Service) allows geographic base map data to be streamed over the web. It can be used as a cost-effective and efficient way of giving a whole organisation access to high quality map data, without the need for large local copies of the datasets to maintain in-house. With Getmapping WMS Collections, an organisation can remove the need to store and maintain their own copies of base mapping which saves time and frees IT resources and costs. Getmapping ensures all base maps are up-to-date which means each user can rely on the service to display the latest maps. It also ensures continuity over an organisation as each user is viewing the same version of the map. Getmapping WMS Collections: OS OpenData provides access to all the Ordnance Survey raster base maps available as OS OpenData. They are as follows; OS MiniScale, OS 1:250,000 Scale Colour Raster, OS VectorMap District and OS StreetView. Getmapping also value-adds the datasets to provide faded and greyscale versions of the mapping. The OS OpenData WMS Collection is a popular streaming product for large and small organisations as it provides a range of useful map scales that can underpin critical business operations at a very low annual cost. Getmapping WMS Collections can be connected to any OGC-compliant software package, or any WMS-compatible API. It can also be used directly within a web browser. Popular compatible software includes Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional, ESRI ArcGIS, Quantum GIS, CadCorp SIS, Gaia and Getmapping GIS, among others. All Getmapping WMS Collections offer a 99.9% or greater service uptime and typical map load speeds range from less than 1 second on a Broadband connection up to 5 seconds on a mobile internet connection. These may vary depending on an organisation’s connection. Getmapping are very happy to provide demo accounts so the service can be tested on a customer’s own connection. |
| 14 | Publishing | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 3.G2.208.002 | CKAN Data Management Systems | We offer hosted and bespoke open source data management systems built upon our flagship CKAN platform, which powers data.gov.uk, data.gov and the EC Open Data Hub, amongst many other sites. CKAN is a powerful and flexible tool to store, process and present data. We also offer a range of consultancy services around open data, including but not limited to data wrangling, developing and customising the CKAN open source data management solution, and training, research, strategy, licensing advice, and community building in the open data space. |
| 15 | Publishing | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 4.G4.0374.202 | CKAN open source open data portal - deployment and customization | CKAN is a powerful data management system to publish open government data. It is used by various national governments and public institutions around the world, like data.gov.uk, data.gov, and the EU open data portal (see also www.ckan.org/instances). WHY CKAN? Some core characteristics make it a perfect choice for any public sector institution: CKAN.org is a community-based open source project and the source code is AGPL v3 licensed. This open approach assures users maximum room for manoeuvre in the future, protects their investment and prevents vendor lock-in. CKAN’s architecture is highly modular: components and extensions allow the system to be customized to your needs. Developers can easily extend its functionality without the need to understand the whole system. In addition, CKAN offers a rich RESTful API (using JSON representations) that exposes all of CKAN’s core functionality to external client applications using only open web standards. Finally, CKAN adheres to open standards ensuring interoperability like INSPIRE, OGC CSW, metadata based on DCAT, as well as HTML and web services based on REST. FEATURES. CKAN supports publishers and data re-users alike. Publishers benefit from easy metadata management, workflow and approval support, user authorization, the reporting of broken links, and analytics and use stats. Re-users benefit from a long list of search and discovery features, like powerful search/filtering incl. “following” datasets, faceted browsing by tags/publishers/keywords/etc., a data explorer that allows preview, inspection and basic graphing for many types of data. In addition, CKAN offers INSPIRE-compliant geospatial capabilities like geo-search, map visualization, and metadata schemas (ISO19139, Gemini2.1, CSW); harvesting and normalization of metadata from other catalogs/servers from a variety of servers (CKAN, ArcGIS, Geoportal, Z39.50, WAF, CSW); data catalog interoperability (Data Catalog Interoperability Protocol) allowing search across different catalogs; multilingual support. SERVICE. The deployment package is geared towards cities (or federal agencies) who want to set up their own open data portal. It includes Deployment, Testing, Template/Theme Design, and Template/Theme Development of the latest stable release of CKAN 2.x. Usually, portals are deployed on client’s servers, but we can offer alternatives if you prefer a different setup. Maintenance and support as well as bespoke extension, e.g., dashboards or visualisations, are available separately. Please see “CKAN open source open data portal - maintenance/support and technical consulting on demand” on G-Cloud. All core maintainers of CKAN are working for the Open Knowledge Foundation. Thus we can provide the complete technical know-how about CKAN in-house. Key words: open data portal, open data management, datahub, ckan.org, socrata |
| 16 | Publishing | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 4.G4.0374.203 | CKAN open source open data portal - maintenance/support and technical consulting | CKAN is a powerful data management system to publish open government data. It is used by various national governments and public institutions around the world, like data.gov.uk, data.gov, and the EU open data portal (see also www.ckan.org/instances). WHY CKAN? Some core characteristics make it a perfect choice for any public sector institution: CKAN.org is a community-based open source project and the source code is AGPL v3 licensed. This open approach assures users maximum room for manoeuvre in the future, protects their investment and prevents vendor lock-in. CKAN’s architecture is highly modular: components and extensions allow the system to be customized to your needs. Developers can easily extend its functionality without the need to understand the whole system. In addition, CKAN offers a rich RESTful API (using JSON representations) that exposes all of CKAN’s core functionality to external client applications using only open web standards. Finally, CKAN adheres to open standards ensuring interoperability like INSPIRE, OGC CSW, metadata based on DCAT, as well as HTML and web services based on REST. FEATURES. CKAN supports publishers and data re-users alike. Publishers benefit from easy metadata management, workflow and approval support, user authorization, the reporting of broken links, and analytics and use stats. Re-users benefit from a long list of search and discovery features, like powerful search/filtering incl. “following” datasets, faceted browsing by tags/publishers/keywords/etc., a data explorer that allows preview, inspection and basic graphing for many types of data. In addition, CKAN offers INSPIRE-compliant geospatial capabilities like geo-search, map visualization, and metadata schemas (ISO19139, Gemini2.1, CSW); harvesting and normalization of metadata from other catalogs/servers from a variety of servers (CKAN, ArcGIS, Geoportal, Z39.50, WAF, CSW); data catalog interoperability (Data Catalog Interoperability Protocol) allowing search across different catalogs; multilingual support. SERVICE. If you are running a CKAN-based open data portal, we can offer the full range of support services: from general maintenance and support up to bespoke development of extensions (, e.g., dashboards or visualisations) and customizations tailored to your needs. Technical support days may be bought individually at £890 / day (including both project management and collaborative technical support) or in blocks of 10 days-plus (usable within 12 months) at £8,300 per 10-day block. Support days may include for example: Consultancy / advice – on data portals, functionality and open data policy; Custom development – for example, integrating with another service, development of new features, customisation of input forms and schemas, and site theming; Support / upgrades – technical support for CKAN and upgrades to new versions; Bug fixing – quickly resolving any issues with your deployment. As all core maintainers of CKAN are working for the Open Knowledge Foundation, we can provide the complete technical know-how about CKAN in-house. Instead of a trial/free option, you can always approach the CKAN community directly online with your questions/requests. Key words: open data portal, open data management, datahub, ckan.org, socrata, data visualization, extension, customization, API, linked data, tag vocabulary, filestore, datastore, web interface, notification, schema, apps, JSON , XML, RDF |
| 17 | Publishing | OpenDataSoft | 4.G4.1077.001 | OpenDataSoft full-featured Open Data platform | OpenDataSoft is a SaaS solution designed for Open Government needs (open data portal, open data platform, data API publishing, data exploration interface for citizen assistance e.g. in healthcare domain …). Our references are local governments (City of Paris, Paris Region a.k.a. Ile-de-France, Corsica, Tourism Agencies …) as well as public services operators (National Railways companies, Paris Public Transportation Network, utilities like Veolia Environnement or the French Gas Distribution company …). Our pricing model is a yearly subscription based on data volume & API access numbers, meaning for example that the Open Data portal of the Paris Region is 8 k€ / year including the software with updates, the hosting of the solution, the storage of data until 10 M records, the operation of the solution. |
| 18 | Publishing | Socrata, Inc. | 4.G4.1268.001 | Socrata GovStat – Government Performance Management Solution with Open Data | Socrata’s GovStat is a performance measurement and reporting platform, designed specifically for government. GovStat helps public sector leaders bring data, collaboration, and citizen feedback into the decision making process. It simplifies data-driven management, from goal setting, to measuring performance against goals, to communicating progress with internal stakeholders and citizens. GovStat takes advantage of Socrata’s open data technologies to put performance data into employees’ hands, so they can collect, visualize and share that data more easily. |
| 19 | Publishing | Swirrl IT Limited | 4.G2.0124.001 | PublishMyData | PublishMyData enables you to share data over the web as Linked Open Data, so achieving the ‘five star’ level of data re-usability as recommended in the 2012 Government white paper ‘Open Data - Unleashing the Potential’. It is designed specifically to support all the necessary processes in creation, publishing and maintenance of Linked Data in a public sector environment and incorporates innovative features to make the data easy for people to find, understand and use. PublishMyData is well suited to publishing connective reference data, a key part of the government’s plans for a National Information Infrastructure. PublishMyData is well suited to publishing connective reference data, a key part of the government’s plans for a National Information Infrastructure. |
| 20 | Publishing | Swirrl IT Limited | 3.G2.275.002 | PublishMyData consultancy | Swirrl offers consultancy, implementation and training services to assist users of the PublishMyData service to share their data as linked open data. |
| 21 | Publishing | TSO - The Stationery Office | 4.G4.0394.202 | RDF Triple Store for Linked Data | TSO provides a highly-scalable, cloud-based, Enterprise-class, RDF storage platform and query engine. Offering full text search, geospatial and SPARQL 1.1 compliance, our triplestore already serves billions of triples. Our triplestore is part of the OpenUp® platform of services that can Harvest, Enrich, Store and Publish your data as Linked Open Data. The platform makes your data available in various formats to allow easy integration with existing applications. The format of data made available will reflect the query type, and can include SPARQL/XML, Json and RDF variants. TSO uses both 5Store and OWLIM for the provision of web-based RDF storage. These platforms are capable of scaling up to many billions of triples. TSO is the Public Sector division of Williams Lea, a DHL Supply Chain company and a member of the global Deutsche Post DHL Group. |
| 22 | Training | Open Knowledge Foundation Limited | 4.G4.0374.204 | Vendor-neutral Open Data training course for managers | The non-profit Open Knowledge Foundation (founded 2004) promotes open data and open content in all its forms, in domains ranging from government and science to culture. Its approach is hands-on, developing real solutions, ranging from open source software tools to training materials to connecting communities through working groups, to strategy consultancy for data publishers. We offer three different Open Data training courses. They are designed to help organisations during the various stages of implementing Open Data programs and portals. Our one-day introduction course is for organisations interested in getting the basics about open data. Our two five-day intensive courses for open data professionals are for organisations engaging seriously with open data: The administrative course covers all aspects from designing, planning and running an open data program, and the technical course covers everything from deploying a state-of-the-art open data portal to enhancing its functionality. Customized training courses tailored to your specific needs can be developed and delivered on demand. Please refer to the service definition and the pricing document for more details on the three courses. |
This table was produced using https://github.com/Digital-Contraptions-Imaginarium/odi-gcloud-analysis on 2014-03-23 22:06:03, links updated 2014-12-02.
