Until recently you could’ve been forgiven for thinking that Big Data was the sole domain of big business. Web companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft as we know, have more data than most, and then there’s all the banks and big retailers like Amazon and eBay. Then along comes Ed Snowden, who reveals that the biggest data hogs of all are in fact our governments, which are said to be keeping track of every email, every call, every digital move we make.

Governments are in fact sitting on a mountain of Big Data, and this doesn’t just come from spying – think of all the data that’s generated from each government agency, and each local authority. But unlike big businesses, which actually have less Big Data, governments aren’t exactly doing a whole lot with it, and that failure to act is costing them billions of lost dollars each year.

According to the think tank Policy Exchange, that mountain of government is a veritable gold mine just waiting to be tapped into – it estimates that the UK’s government alone can save up to £33 billion (around $50.5 billion) annually if starts putting its data to use.

There are certainly many potential uses for all of that government data, from improving public services, to combating tax fraud and corruption. Let’s have a look at three of the most compelling ways in which governments can better employ their Big Data:

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Reducing Costs & Improving Efficiency

Government agencies of every ilk store personal data on citizens, and this is repeated time and time again. How many times have you filled out a form with information that the government already has? It knows who you are, where you live, how much you earn and many other details about you, so why must we keep repeating ourselves?

In Sweden, the local tax authority offers pre-filling of forms services in order to reduce processing times and reduce the amount of errors, while in the Netherlands, annual tax forms are automatically pre-filled with information from employers and banks, thus cutting down on time spent filling the things out.

The obvious benefits of storing citizen’s data in one location are a reduction in errors and inefficiencies with government beauracracy, while it also enables officials to have access to the most recent information about each citizen. Governments can tap into this data by using open source tools like the NSA-developed Accumulo, which allows officials to make queries depending on their level of authorization.

Governments that also choose to make their data sets available can also help to build trust with their citizens and improve transparency. Citizens can see how the government gathers that information and what it does with it. In turn, citizens will be able to monitor and understand where public money is being spent, and thus force governments to spend it more wisely.

Fighting Tax & Benefit Fraud

All governments get their money through taxation, and that process creates a huge amount of data. The biggest. It goes without saying then, that this data can be harnessed to help officials detect tax and social security fraud among its citizens. Suspicious transactions can be detected in real-time with various algorithms, while authorities can gain additional insights through combining local, national and social data sets.

Through Big Data analysis, it’s possible to spot the abnormal behavioral patterns that might indicate fraud. Patterns and statistical parameters can be defined to help identify suspicious transactions, and those responsible can be more closely monitored to uncover any wrongdoing.

Personalized Services

From our perspective, the best use case for government data is to improve the efficiency of essential services. By analyzing structured and unstructured public and social data, governments will be able to react to changing circumstances and assist citizens if and when they need it. By segmenting and personalizing their citizens, governments can identify persons who are most in need – for example someone who’s just been made unemployed or is unable to work for some other reason, or someone who has been made vulnerable due to different reasons. Using algorithms, it’s possible to go even further, not just identifying who needs help, but also what kind of assistance that person might require.

A second use case involves using online data and voice recognition technologies to better understand citizen’s sentiments. This will help officials to know what types of services they should be prioritizing. Politicians can also benefit from this kind of personalized approach at election time. They can use data to understand what voters are looking for, and how to respond to these demands.

These are just a handful of the possibilities of government Big Data, there are many others. But the point is that all of these efforts work towards the same goal, that is, making countries more efficient, decreasing government expenditure and improving the lives of their citizens.