"Big Data" is one of the key buzzwords for 2012; and for good reason. Thanks to our increasingly instrumented and interconnected world, the data flows generated by today's devices and sensors can be providede significant insight into customer interactions, manufacturing facilities, railway infrastructures, and so much more. Or they would, if we were able to capture, store, search, analyze, and visualize this massive amount of high-velocity information in an efficent, timely and meaningful manner.

This whitepaper makes the assumption that the reader is familiar with the term Big Data, the increasing pool of data and data sources that are captured on a day to day basis, the speed at which this data is produced, and the fact that its value continues to remain untapped. Specifically, it focuses on how organizations can discover the value hidden within this data and how best to deliver that insight to its decision makers and management - while keeping tight reins on the monitoring and management of these changing topologies. While more familiar processes such as data warehousing and business intelligence are briefly acknowledged, the focus is on the more recent emergence of MapReduce and real-time analytics. Further, it also looks at how organizations can minimize the time to value and total cost of ownership, while simulatneously maximizing return on investment.