Big data analytics has already helped transform national, state, and provincial government operations, allowing agencies to uncover areas of waste as well as hidden revenue opportunities lurking inside budgets, tax documents, contracts, deeds, and various other types of files. Many large cities, such as New York and Chicago, are also using data technologies for everything from optimizing employee schedules to fighting crime.
But what about smaller communities? Can big data analytics help the tens of thousands of towns and villages scattered across rural and suburban areas operate more insightfully and efficiently? The answer, of course, is yes.
Big data goes small
Compared to their larger counterparts, local governments have been generally slower to embrace important technology trends such as cloud computing and big data analytics. Yet, Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm, recently issued a study showing that both of these technologies could soon play mainstream roles at local city halls, police departments, and other agencies.
How can big data help small towns?
The Pike report analyzed the global market for smart government technologies. According to the report, annual investment in smart government technology in North America will surpass $1 billion in 2017. In that same year, the report projects that $1.4 billion will be spent on worldwide cloud services for smart cities.
While standard business intelligence requires carefully collected samples from particular types of structured data, big data analytics processes make no such demands. This means that local government offices, with relative ease, can take advantage of virtually all of the structured and unstructured data streaming into their systems, and incorporate that information into their decision-making processes.
The Pike study also observed that local leaders aren't just focused on deploying innovative technologies like the cloud and big data analytics for the sake of improving government operations. Many adopters also hope to position their communities as technology innovators, enhancing long-term economic prospects by showing the world that they are trailblazers in the use of sophisticated new systems.
Big city inspiration
While most small governments have yet to even consider big data analytics, much less launch any initiatives, they can look to larger cities for both ideas and inspiration.
The Memphis Police Department, for instance, launched an initiative in 2006 that uses big data-driven predictive analytics technology to compare crime data over time. Meanwhile, the New York Police Department (NYPD) joined with Microsoft last year in a project that takes advantage of big data analytics to identify and shut down criminal activity on the city's streets.
Such programs can be easily applied to smaller communities, particularly as big data hardware and software costs continue to fall.
Just as big data analytics is beginning to trickle down to smaller businesses, a growing number of local governments are beginning to wake up to, and take advantage of, the technology's potential.
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— John Edwards, Technology Journalist
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