Q: Is there a bit of the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy to what Simpler Systems does?
Rick Schaffer: That’s one way of putting it.
Q: [smiles] Did you hear a voice in a cornfield?
RS: I was in a coffee shop, actually.
Q: [laughs] Okay. So what makes you think they will come?
RS: Well, for one, they already have. We have over a dozen government clients using our tool in really exciting ways – ways that transcend the way they used to do things or even think about things.
Q: And for two?
RS: Seeing is believing. When we show people what our technology does, there is inevitably this ah-ha! moment when they realize this is much more than just a product — we are turning the whole paradigm of how we access and use information on its head. Once you really get it, a whole new world opens up.
Q: And you believe that when enough people get it, a sea change will occur?
RS: We do. We feel we’re heading toward critical mass in that regard — it’s just a matter of time.
Q: So, currently, if I need information on a particular subject, I might go on the web and search and pull up, say, a report on that subject. With simplergov I could pull up...
RS: All of the raw data from which that report was created. Forget the limited report, give me the data! I’ll create the report, or precisely whatever it is I want, and I’ll do it faster and easier.
Q: Can you give a specific example?
RS: [laughs] Uh-oh, here we go...
Q: [smiles] Understanding of course that any example is not the whole picture.
RS: [smiles] Thank you, yes. I’ll give you a very basic example: Think about census data. Let’s say you needed to know population growth over the last decade for certain cities in your area. Well, the government has all that data in a giant database somewhere.
Q: The challenge is getting to it, right?
RS: Right. And getting precisely what you want out of it. But now let’s imagine you are a whiz database programmer, and the government hands you the keys and says, “Here’s our giant database – go for it!”
Q: I would be able to easily extract the population data I wanted.
RS: Not only extract it, but interrelate it to other meaningful data, sort it any way you like, group it any way you like, formulate it, export it. Do anything you want with it. Tremendous value at your fingertips.
Q: Sounds great, but I’m not an expert database programmer!
RS: Exactly — and herein lies the shift: With access to that raw data over the Internet — that’s step one — and with our browser-based tool, simpler/gov, you would have the same power and control as our imaginary expert.
Q: So if the government puts census data on the Web, and I utilize simpler/gov...?
RS: You could get your population analysis in a few seconds, from anywhere. Along with any of the other billion sets of information you might want or need from the census data.
Q: Wow.
RS: Exactly. [smiles] Did I just see a light bulb turn on?
Q: I think a couple just clicked on. That’s amazing. And your example is just census data. If we expand this concept out to include all government data: local, state, federal...
RS: A whole new paradigm. With virtually limitless possibilities.
Q: Wow. Huge. I think I get it!
RS: Excellent. [laughs] Will you please explain it to everyone else?
Q: So your browser-based tool — simpler/gov — is a key component in all this?
RS: Yes.
Q: How can I find out more about it?
RS: Hmm, I sense another Q&A session...