Linked Data – The Next 5 Years: From Hype to Action

Linked Data and the Semantic Web have been around for quite a while and have been hyped again and again. In the meantime, a large number of enterprises and even whole industries have adopted semantic web technologies for several purposes (for example, visit Allotrope Foundation). “Gartner’s Hype Cycle 2015 for Advanced Analytics and Data Science” has put Linked Data into the trough of disillusionment, which is another clear indicator to be ready for takeoff.

The pace of semantic web technology adoption may vary from industry to industry, but in average it has increased even more than expected. Just in 2012, Gartner has predicted that the Semantic Web won’t reach the plateau of productivity within the next 10 years, only three years later it seems like it will be there in 5 to 10 years.

Linked Data Hype or not, it has entered the adoption phase. In the next 5 years we finally can see to which degree enterprises will use semantic web technologies for data analytics, data integration, and knowledge discovery.

What are the main obstacles that are frequently mentioned by potential users? Which best practices for implementing linked data on a larger scale have already been developed? What are the ‘low-hanging fruits’, and how could a concrete action plan look like? Will the often predicted interlinking of an open semantic web and corporate semantic webs take place? Which other technology (of the above mentioned hype cycles) might play a crucial role as an enabler for enterprise linked data? Which other (mega-)trends will influence the pace of linked data adoption, and which related organisational challenges should be expected?

Please visit Andreas Blumauer’s talk ‘Linked Data – The Next 5 Years: From Hype to Action’ at SEMANTiCS 2016 in Leipzig to get some valuable impulses for your Linked Data project!