I have done much blogging around the implementation and use of OData in solutions but this post I wanted to write about the rich ecosystem that has risen over the last few year around this protocol and technology. I will list out the current companies and technologies that have embraced and fostered the OData protocol but I wanted to highlight a few that stand out to me as a developer and architect.

The first is one of my favorite sites to look up and get knowledge from others and also help the community – StackOverflow.com. I never knew that there was an OData feed from the Stack Overflow team until just a few days ago. I wonder what types of apps and services are driven from this great feed?

For the people that enjoy having more government transparency, we focus now on the Open Government Data Initiative and the OData feed that provides information about such US and UK government agencies as US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US General Services Administration and the UK Cabinet Office Technical Standards. Lets hope more governments and their organizations provide data in the OData protocol.

Finally we look at the many developer tools that have been created to provide ways to share data efficiently and more open. From the .NET component teams of ComponentArt, DevExpress, Telerik and ComponentOne to the Microsoft technologies SQL Server Reporting Services and LightSwitch, developers have ways to produce and consume OData in their solution.

The future is very bright for this RESTful data protocol and we will be keeping an eye on the new open source projects, government agencies and companies that are developing OData into their products and services to allow the exchange and curation of data to be pervasive in the technology world for everyone.

Below is a list of the current list of confirmed uses of the OData protocol in the business, government and scientific industries.