The Internet put the "big" in big data. Website analytics has been the cornerstone of every brand's trend-spotting and forecasting efforts. Because a website is a living, breathing presence, data is being collected round-the-clock. In fact, you reading this sentence right now is a data point that's being collected. And that vital information is being harvested and interpreted by people like Chris Franzino. As IEEE Future Directions' Outreach and Portal Specialist, he lives in the weeds of Internet data; every click means something to him. Our interview with Mr. Franzino is a glimpse into the importance of analytics and how the data is used to determine tomorrow's site upgrades.

Dr. Claudio Demartini explores both sides of big data: energy and information--supporting its implementation like architectural columns. Both are managed and organized in similar ways, but the end goal is always centered on results. Dr. Demartini closely examines how the Internet of Things will influence big data--and vice versa--and how the industry plans to manage the infrastructure surrounding this "great amount of data." Additionally, Dr. Demartini discusses the evolution of the big data industry, from 10 years ago to where we're going today. Blockchain technology becomes the solution for many of big data's growth issues and will most likely heavily influence where its headed in the coming decades.

Dr. Iqbal Ahamed examines the "why" behind big data. He asks and answers, at what point does data become too big? How is it stored? How do we use it? Dr. Ahamed offers his unique perspective on how the big data industry has evolved into something more than just "collecting data" but a source for birthing new technologies. With big data being added to an already data-heavy society, the burden isn't having too much but what to do with it when it's ready to be "harvested" for education, new business opportunities, developing tomorrow's technology, and so much more.

In this podcast, Dr. Sorel Reisman discusses big data and what the future holds for the industry. Before providing his thoughts on the future, Dr. Reisman recounts his days at IBM and "the use of laserdisc technology for data storage." So much has changed since then, but one thing remains the same: data is infinite and it requires storage. With the Internet of Things and its exponential growth, the big data industry has to manage the challenges of collecting, processing and storing all this endless IoT data.

In this podcast, Dr. Mahmoud Daneshmand provides his definition of big data and his insights on the future of the industry. Dr. Daneshmand explains the four V's of big data--volume, variety, veracity, and value. He also offers his insights on the early beginnings of big data: "Human beings from day one were collecting data...observing the world... making the decisions... going forward."