Smarter Government – Windows Azure drives innovative use of open data

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Open data is driving both innovative applications and the practical use of cloud computing. A colleague has just brought me up to speed on how a variety of public sector organisations are using Windows Azure to enable citizen connection, the provisioning of open data and Government-as-a-Service applications.

The momentum is definitely building for Windows Azure as the cloud platform of choice for public sector datasets and innovative apps. as you can see from these examples:

LoveCleanStreets is an award winning online tool, developed by the London Borough of Lewisham, that gives citizens power to improve their environment. Microsoft Partner bbits originally developed LoveCleanStreets as an on-premise application for Lewisham Council but has now moved to the cloud using Windows Azure. The application provides residents with real-time information on the council’s response time to environmental service requests. Since Lewisham Council introduced LoveCleanStreets, complaints have fallen, while clean-up rates have improved. Lewisham’s success attracted nationwide publicity, leading bbits to upgrade the original solution to work in the cloud. The solution increases savings and revenue by approximately £150,000 annually.

Transport for London (TfL)wanted to give its customers more real-time data about journey options. By encouraging developers to use TfL data to create new applications for commuters, the transport operator hopes to relieve congestion and encourage more people to use options such as bicycle hire. TfL worked with Microsoft Services to create a real-time data feed for its TrackerNet website for trains in just six weeks using Windows Azure. This specialist TfL website that previously had 1,000 hits a day has now reached approximately 2.3 million, while TfL has saved the millions of pounds it would have spent building its own IT infrastructure. The innovative solution is helping to reinforce the organisation’s reputation for offering open data to developers, in line with government policy.

The Microsoft partner Spikes Cavell develops online solutions that help public sector entities increase the efficiency of their procurement practices to save money. Beginning in September 2009, developers at Spikes Cavell used the Microsoft Visual Studio  development system to create the solution that the company now markets as spotlightonspend . Based on Microsoft ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server, this online solution uses Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in technology to render user interface components. The need to continuously update and reconfigure servers inhibited developer productivity and the company’s responsiveness to new market opportunities so the company chose to move spotlightonspend to Windows Azure , the Microsoft cloud services development, hosting, and management environment. By June 2011, Spikes Cavell has delivered spotlightonspend to 40 public sector customers in
the United Kingdom to track and publish expenditure.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office(FCO) provides a consular service for British nationals, including the provision of advice and tips for those travelling and living abroad, including general advice on lifestyle and services and alerts on particular issues, crises or natural disasters which may occur. The data for the Travel Advisory Services is free and hosted on the Windows Azure marketplace for app developers and travel companies to access and use to inform and update their customers.

You can find out more about Windows Azure and SQL Azure and register for a free trial here

Posted by Ian