Three DaaS (Data as a Service) providers, Factual, InfoChimps & Google Squared

GIGAOM - Data-as-a-Service: Factual, InfoChimps & Google Squared

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However, although we’ve seen online office suites added to the portfolio of web worker productivity tools, database apps have been curiously absent from the mix. Even suites like Google Apps lack a dedicated application for managing, publishing and sharing specialized data, leaving users creating crude spreadsheet-based approximations. The average web worker may not have as much need for an online equivalent of Access as they would of Excel, but it seems strange that a collaborative database tool is missing from online apps suites like Google Apps and Microsoft’s Office Web Apps.

Fortunately, a new generation of tools are providing just that kind of functionality. “Data-as-a-service” providers are emerging that are enabling users to create, manage and publish specialized datasets, providing both authoring tools and opportunities to participate in a web of data, not just of pages.

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Data, data, data… You know me, I’m attracted to data for some weird reason. Probably because I believe data is the foundation for knowledge, on which wisdom is built… or something like that… ;)

Also let’s not forget Microsoft’s Codename Dallas service either…