Remarks by Commerce Deputy Sec Bruce Andrews at the Strata + Hadoop Conference

Put simply: the Department of Commerce is “America’s Data Agency.” No other department can rival the reach, depth, and breadth of our data programs. Our data is a rich source of information ranging from the economy to demographics to the environment. Indeed, our data collection on climate literally reaches from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun. But we have a problem. Consider this: of the 20 terabytes of data that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gathers every day – twice the amount of data of the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress – only a small percentage is easily accessible to the public.

The government can play an important role in fostering more data innovation if we make the best use of these resources. That is why we need to do a much better job of making our data easy to find, understand, and access. To achieve this, we made data a key pillar of our Department’s strategic plan. This is the first time ever any government agency has elevated data production and dissemination to this level. Put simply: we want to unleash our data, so you can use it in new and exciting ways to generate societal benefits and economic value.