In many ways the need for such systems is greatest in the developing world, because infectious diseases are so deeply entrenched, and because the resources to tackle disease are limited, making it all the more important that effective interventions are chosen and that resources are allocated for maximum impact. However there are many practical roadblocks to putting such information systems in place. There is lack of local capacity, both for data generation and for data analysis. There is a lack of clarity about use cases for data, i.e. what are the practical decisions that need to be made in disease control, and precisely what data are needed to make these decisions? There is a need for tools and infrastructure that are suitable for resource-poor settings, e.g. for mobile data collection, pathogen genome sequencing, data integration and analysis. Data are highly fragmented, both within and between countries, and also between different infectious diseases.