I'm thinking of starting up a small consultancy, using Big Data for governments in South Asia and the Middle East. Mostly have coders in-house, who can analyze government datasets, and then report findings/analyses.<p>As far as I can see, the single-biggest roadblock would be the ability to tap into governments - usually, there's an old-boy network, which we'd have to be a part of.<p>What would you have to say? Any tips on making this idea better, and so on. Thanks a ton!
To me, "big data" looks to become one of the most over-used words in tech for 2013. So if you're planning to consult in this space you're probably onto a winner :)<p>In addition to the good advice already offered in this thread, consider hitting up some of the prevalent consultancies in the region who already have government contracts. Subcontract directly or offer them a "big data analysis as a service" - some proposition that allows them to "tick the box" with their customers without having to invest too much.<p>They'll already be on the "approved government list of suppliers", which means you'll be able to go from idea to revenue much faster. You can then move to independently sell to government after you've got a reference-able case study or two under your belt.
You seem very casual about this. This is a line of work which is at the forefront of industry right now. People like <a href="http://www.k2intelligence.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.k2intelligence.com/</a> and Palantir are going to beat you to it, but that's besides the point. Do you have knowledge in distributed systems? Do you even know what trends to look for? Have you played with Petabytes, or even Terabytes of data before?
Agree with everyone, you need to start building your network with government contacts - start off with attending networking events and other related events to start talking to people about it.