Big data continues to be the topic of much discussion and hype, and companies that have pioneered ways to analyze big data and integrate it with traditional data are finding that the benefits are very real. Big data—information gleaned from nontraditional sources such as blogs, social media, email, sensors, photographs, video footage, etc., and therefore typically unstructured and voluminous—holds the promise of giving enterprises deeper insight into their customers, partners, and business. This data can provide answers to questions they may not have even thought to ask. What’s more, companies benefit from a multidimensional view of their business when they add insight from big data to the traditional types of information they collect and analyze. For example, a company that operates a retail Web site can use big data to understand site visitors’ activities, such as paths through the site, pages viewed, and comments posted.