Linked data and semantics: Key to data integration and governance

The combination of linked data and semantics can unlock anything from regulatory compliance to new communication channels

A little semantics may go a long way, and much of the progress to and impact of Knowledge Graphs are based on this. Metadata and data governance can directly benefit, which is important for regulatory compliance and beyond.

Electronic Arts, one of the leaders in the gaming industry, is using Knowledge Graphs to transform how the company operates. Getting data governance right has boosted EA’s content marketing reach, by enabling it to reach more channels and be more discoverable, translating to more sales.

Aaron Bradley, Knowledge Graph Strategist at EA, shared how schema.org has been a foundation for this outcome:

“As soon as schema.org came into being, the use of microdata sky-rocketed, and as soon as JSON-LD came on in the scene, tracking back to just 2015…it wouldn’t surprise me if JSON-LD surpassed microdata sometime soon.

“The great thing about JSON-LD isn’t the LD part, it’s the JSON part. Its the format that developers were intimately comfortable working with on a day-to-day basis, and to use a drug analogy: whether or not they knew they were using linked data, they were injecting linked data into the system.

“JSON-LD has proved to be an enormous success in terms of supporting syntax for the vocabulary.

“An example is if you’re redesigning an e-commerce site and you have to move all the elements around, if you’re trying to re-jig that with micro-data or RFA and you have to make sure the span and pegs are closed correctly—it can be a nightmare. JSON-LD came a long way in correcting that.”

As well as fine-tuning data governance, linked data and semantics is enabling pharmaceutical and medical companies to understand the data flow of activities and to identify and document the legal justification for each type of activity.