Data Geeks Rejoice at Google Public Data Explorer

Shashi Bellamkonda March 9, 2010 Tweet

This is a good week to be a fan of data. The Economist devoted a issue full to data, stating that:

“In recent years Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP between them have spent more than $15 billion on buying software firms specialising in data management and analytics. This industry is estimated to be worth more than $100 billion and growing at almost 10% a year, roughly twice as fast as the software business as a whole.”

Google joined the game today by releasing the  Google Public Data Explorer in Labs, an experimental product designed to help people comprehend data and statistics through rich visualizations. Last April, Google had made searching public databases easier, allowing users to choose how to compare data. For example, you can compare data about two states using information published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Division.

Today’s release of Google Public Data Explorer in Labs adds data from the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the California Department of Education, Eurostat, the U.S. Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Here are some search topics suggested by Google: