Connecting the Data Dots

In our latest Utah Architecture Review Board meeting, we recommended moving ahead with a couple of related initiatives.

1. Add Data as a Service as a key element of Utah CloudPlan 2.0, the next iteration of our statewide cloud computing strategy.
2. Initiate a new process for identifying and cataloguing Enterprise Reference Data.

These two concepts are closely connected.  They also help support the future of Data.Utah.gov, the state data portal that we put into place 2 1/2 years ago.  

Establishing the reference source of enterprise data will enable a more agile and flexible information system development ecosystem which can respond to the needs of state and local government agencies as well as an increasingly integrated citizenry and business community, particularly if this is made available as a cloud-based service.

One of the largest tasks will be the completion of the enterprise reference data catalogue.  Within a state enterprise, there is often a lot of data that is duplicated among agencies and no single source may be identified as the source of truth.  Establishing that, and making sure that all reference data has a mechanism to ensure that it is current will be an important part of the process.  This pool of data resources, combined with the standardized services and automated discovery capabilities will enable much more rapid development of agency applications and services in the future as well as even more opportunity for cross-boundary / enterprise integration.