Are Slovenian Companies Ready for Open Data?
15.05.2024ArticleSlovenia's OPSI portal, which has provided more than 5,100 public datasets since 2016, has demonstrated remarkable progress in open data accessibility. However, the majority of firms are still ignorant of its potential despite this abundance of knowledge. To what extent are businesses ready to use open data for innovation and expansion?
Slovenia's Open Data Leadership
Slovenia is ranked seventh in the OECD's OURData ranking and 14th globally in the Open Data Maturity Report. Datasets are freely accessible through the OPSI site under the CC BY 4.0 license, allowing for both commercial and nonprofit use. Nevertheless, just 15% of businesses actively use open data in their daily operations.
Obstacles to Adoption
Important challenges consist of:
- Low understanding of the advantages of open data: 85% of businesses surveyed said they knew very little about the possibilities of open data.
- Technical constraints: 60% of businesses point to antiquated systems that are unable to effectively handle or incorporate open data.
- 70% of organisations struggle to track quantitative outcomes, making long-term advantages difficult to measure financially.
- Organisational resistance: Many businesses don't have defined data governance policies or internal champions.
The problem goes beyond technology. Data literacy is a problem for many firms, making it challenging to find pertinent information or comprehend how to use them strategically.
The Way Ahead
To assist businesses in determining their preparedness, researchers are creating a multifaceted maturity model. To determine crucial success criteria, this model makes use of current frameworks and comprehensive literature reviews.
Important areas of attention consist of:
- Technical infrastructure: the ability to handle, store, and evaluate big datasets
- Organisational culture: readiness to accept data-driven choices
- Human resources—the ability to analyse, evaluate, and integrate data
- Strategic alignment: a distinct vision that connects the use of open data to corporate goals
Businesses can methodically develop the competencies required for successful open data adoption by identifying enablers (digital strategy, training programs, leadership support) and obstacles (financial limits, technological debt, regulatory uncertainty).