Data goes open source

A new programme promises to provide CRM users with large amounts of company contact data at no charge. Stuart Lauchlan examines Jigsaw's Open Data Initiative and asks whether it will change the course of the data industry.

By Stuart Lauchlan, news and analysis editor

"Garbage in, garbage out." That's the maxim for all IT systems and CRM is no different. Data quality has crept up the corporate agenda over the years, but all too often with quality comes cost. But a new Open Data Initiative aims to change all that, enabling CRM users to import large sets of company contact data at no charge.

Jigsaw, a provider of business information and data services, has launched its Open Data Initiative, which allows free access to company information. It's being pitched as ideal for CRM systems which can be pre-loaded with data for free, extending the value of CRM systems. CRM users will also be able to import Jigsaw data for free once their applications are up and running.

Designed as an alternative to companies like Hoovers, Jigsaw operates a community-driven database whereby users earn points by uploading data, cleaning out bad data, or simply purchasing it. The site's roughly 400,000 members are self-policing, and help keep the data accurate. “You can do a very little bit of damage to the database, but very quickly our community stops you," explains Jigsaw CEO Jim Fowler. “What we had to do is have a system that rewarded and punished. You need points in order to get the data off that you covet. When they don't want to add, they just buy.”

The new service will provide the ability to download company information based on factors including geographic location, industry, sub-industry and the number of employees. "In essence, we're open sourcing our corporate data," continues Fowler. "Corporate data is close to becoming a commodity. We're going to make it a complete commodity."

B2B data and CRM

To add to its new offerings, Jigsaw is also launching Open APIs, which will allow developers to access Jigsaw data and tools from within their applications. CRM companies including Entellium, Landslide, Maximizer, NetSuite, Oracle, Sage and SugarCRM are working with Jigsaw on the launch, to make it easy for users to upload data directly from the Jigsaw site into the CRM applications. “Jigsaw’s Open Data Initiative is a perfect match for SugarCRM’s commercial open source technology,” says Paul Oh, vice president of technology alliances at SugarCRM. “Both efforts are committed to breaking down the artificial restrictions of closed software formats and proprietary vendors.”

“To effect industry change, it is important to align with the best in the field,” says Fowler. “Together with leading CRM and contact management solution providers we are changing the course of the data industry. Visit any website, directory or mapping application and you can find the basic company information for individual companies in the public domain. However, if that information is needed in aggregate, it can be very expensive or time consuming to gather and integrate that data into business processes. Jigsaw believes that company data should not only be freely available but easily accessible and transferable to professional contact systems and enterprise-level CRM solutions.

“Jigsaw is aiming to fundamentally change two industries: B2B data and CRM,” he adds. "You can go to a lot of places and get company data. The big difference is, go try to download data from anywhere. From here you can download 50,000 records at one time, and it's free. This will have a profound impact on direct marketers as well because data is the critical underpinning.

“The business strategy is to give away the razor and charge for the razor blades, so to speak. We're not giving away our nine million contact records, we're just giving away company records. Also, what we're selling is maintenance and cleaning services on both company and contact records, so the idea is that people will start realising they're getting company data from Jigsaw so they can pay us to keep it up for them. We believe there's a fundamental shift in that value is not in data as much as in being able to understand changes in that data.”

But before anyone gets too carried away, there are obviously limitations. Jigsaw may be giving away company-level contact information, but it will continue to sell its 8 million-strong database of individual contact records which clearly will carry a lot more value. Altriusm has its limits, after all.

Addendum:

The Jigsaw founders have backed up their new effort with a so-called Declaration of Data Independence, which reads:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all data companies are created equal, that some are endowed by their Community with certain unalienable advantages that among these are Openness, Transparency and the pursuit of Free Data.

“We, therefore, the Founders of Jigsaw, appealing to the Supreme Judge of Data Quality, do, in the name of the Jigsaw Community, solemnly publish and declare, that Company Data ought to be Free and Open; that business people are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Data Dinosaurs; and that they have full power to prospect, conduct phone calls, contract deals, and establish relationships. And for the support of this declaration we hereby mutually pledge to end the tyrannous reign of the Data Dinosaurs by making Company Data open, transparent and free.”

Signed,

Jim Fowler and Garth Moulton, Jigsaw co-founders

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