• When I think of "big data", I think of cutting edge analytical systems that crunch TB sized datasets to solve new problems. Things like predicting weather patterns or election results. It's not the total size of all the tables in the database, but rather how it's being used. The source data could be housed in one centrally managed database or a distributed and loosely coupled grid computing solution like SETI@home.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho