The Comprehensive Knowledge Archive Network (CKAN) is a web-based open source data management system for the storage and distribution of data, such as spreadsheets and the contents of databases. It is inspired by the package management capabilities common to open source operating systems like Linux.
Its code base is maintained by the Open Knowledge Foundation. The system is used both as a public platform on Datahub and in various government data catalogues, such as the UK's data.gov.uk, the Dutch National Data Register, the United States government's Data.gov and the Australian government's "Gov 2.0". South Australian state government has also joined the ranks of many jurisdictions world-wide in making government data freely available to the public on CKAN platform
