Why data sources?
If the organization has access to enough data itself, the choice can be made to use this as the first starting point for a data analysis. Data from the accounting package or a cash register system can be used for this. To enrich this data it can be useful to add external data. For example, it is possible that there is a strong link between the weather and the sales figures of certain product groups. External data can also provide a solution if you do not have data yourself. Below is a small selection of the available sources in the Netherlands.
Data Sources
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a project that aims to collect freely available and editable geographic data. Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to OSM; it uses crowdsourcing. The OSM dataset includes information about places of interest. For example, you can use it to map out where restaurants or churches are located. This makes it possible to inventory how many shops there are in a certain area.
The European SLIPO project maintains data sets with such a Point Of Interest (POI) so that you can download them all at once. The OSM data is not always complete, but it can nevertheless provide interesting insights.
The Chamber of Commerce keeps an overview of all companies in the Netherlands. This dataset contains information about, for example, the number of employees, the activities and the size of a company. This information can, for example, be used to conduct a competition analysis. In addition, there are also opportunities to look for new customers. This can be done by making a selection of companies that most closely resemble your current customer base. The data is available against payment via an API.
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) collects weather and climate data. This type of data is interesting to see whether there is a connection with, for example, the sale of certain products. For example, it is obvious that more ice will be sold in good weather. If you want to make a model to predict the turnover of your company, data can be a nice addition to that. KNMI data is available via an API.