Digital transformation
ONS case study: Big data management
Turning big data into an engine of economic growth - BT Advise team helps explore a new world of information for the betterment of business and society
October 29, 2019
The Office for National Statistics needed to transform all ONS data and make it available online to all after the 2011 census.
BT professional services consultants worked collaboratively with the team from ONS to develop an open data platform.
The platform built by BT has become a key part of the ONS’ digital transformation that’s set the organisation up for future success.
Tackling the digital transformation challenge
Big data doesn’t come much bigger than the national census. Taken every ten years, it’s a multi-terabyte treasure trove, yielding astonishingly detailed insights into changing patterns in British life.
Glen Watson, director general of the Office for National Statistics, had his imagination tested after the 2011 census. Starting right there, his challenge was to transform all ONS data and make it available online.
Watching closely were government, business and academia. Working alongside him were BT professional services consultants – whose collaborative way of working was central to Glen’s success.
Fast facts
- 1.6TB of data logged during 2011 census
- 8 billion separate pieces of information recorded
- A single data-set can amount to 100 million items
- Transformation saw Data Management System, Data Explorer, Open Data Interface and API modules developed
- 120 BT professional services people involved at project’s peak
Collaboration
With 120 BT people working on the project at its height, collaboration was a critical success factor and dedicated BT office space was allocated to house the joint BT/ONS team, just one benefit of working with an organisation having unmatched global resources.
A creative pairing of our organisation with the deep big data expertise brought by BT was an ideal match when we decided to transform public access to our information.
Agile
Perfectly suited to that collaborative mind-set the Agile project management methodology was another key to the team’s success, offering an iterative approach that’s tolerant of specification and scope changes.
Resource
With 1.6 terabytes of information in just the census alone, the sheer scale of the data configuration and management task was daunting, underlining the wisdom of engaging with industry-recognised experts.
About
- Client details
The UK’s biggest collector and producer of official statistics.
- Industry
Government
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