Every 48 hours, humanity generates the amount of data created from the dawn of civilization until 2003, and that rate is accelerating. New tools are needed to manage this "Big Data," creating new opportunities in traditional data management--storage, security, compliance and more--as well as new value propositions from healthcare to manufacturing to web tech. This last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to moderate a World Financial Symposiums Market Spotlight webcast defining and explaining the future of the Big Data market.

To find meaning in this chaotic and undefined market, WFS brought together a broad diversity of perspectives including: Justin LaFayette, Managing Director and co-founder of Georgian Partners, Stephen McDaniel, Director of Analytical Product Management at Tableau Software, and Brian David Johnson, Futurist & Principal Engineer at Intel.

Justin started the discussion by delivering his perspective as a growth equity investor and his thoughts on the confluence of cloud-based business solutions, Big Data, well-contracted information rights and the challenges for merging companies to grow in the market.

Next, Stephen McDaniel explained why he believes that the key to the future of Big Data is to make it easy to explore, ask questions and then deploy to the enterprise so that it is actually a live asset, instead of an esoteric thing that is only talked about but is never touched finding the ways to extract the valuable and actionable data.

Finally, Brian David Johnson, Intels Futurist and Principal Engineer, explained what the future of Big Data has in store on a societal level. He gave a fascinating account of what social scientists, cultural anthropologists, ethnographers and computer scientists have to say about our techno-future.

The discussion was enlightening, thought provoking, and of immense value to executives and investors with any software or IT company that touches the Big Data market. If you missed the event, you can find the recording at the WFS website.