DairySight^® Data Providers FAQ

A Data Provider maintains a database of some sort that is linked in some way to DairySight , for use in reports.  There may be payments to the Data Provider, or in other cases the Data Provider may provide access at no charge as a service to primary customers (for example a feed dealer might provide free access to a web page containing a table with price and analysis of feeds.)

All data related to dairy production is potentially of interest.  This includes DHIA data, creamery data, forage analyses, feed data, diagnostic laboratory data, environmental data, and so on.  We will use back-end live links to online databases as well as local caching, as needed to supply reports.

We use a lock-and-key metaphor with fine granularity, and provisions for automatic expiration of keys.  For example, a data provider might allow open access to certain summary data but require a signed release for each individual who wants access to herd-level data.  Each herd's data would have its own lock, and be available only to users who had been granted the matching key.  There can be any number of levels of nesting for locks.

Two key differences are:

1. DairySight is an Internet-only service.  We do not sell stand-alone software.  Users set up an account, then are billed based on usage.
   
   
2. DairySight is a marketplace (or broker) for information tools.  We bring together data and IP from many sources, for sale to end users.
   

A few key advanteges are these:

1. Internet delivery means that users always have access to the most recent updates of data and methods, using only an Internet connection and a standard web browser. 
   
   
2. IP can be protected from piracy on a central server.  Only the results (reports) are delivered to the client, not the means of generating them. 
   
   
3. Centralized data means that report designers can use cross-herd and cross-database analysis techniques without the necessity for collecting and merging data sources. 
   
   
4. Flexible billing methods will be available, to match report costs to market demand. 
   
   
5. Overhead costs will be low, allowing mass-market efficiencies and adequate returns to IP and data providers, as well as to DairySight itself, while keeping cost to consumers low. 
   
   
6. Open design will encourage continuous growth and innovation. 
   
   

Contact DairySight President Jim Ehrlich, D.V.M. If you have data related to dairy herd management, we are eager to hear from you! We have extensive experience in data conversion and can work with many data formats, including common PC and mainframe database formats, XML, HTML, and plain text.