Big data is now big business. In recent years, due to the exponential growth in the capability of technology to undertake data analytics on a massive scale, organisations have started to appreciate the potential hidden value that could be derived from their data. In March 2014, Neelie Kroes (Vice President of the EU Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda) reflected this view when she hailed a “data gold rush… a new industrial revolution… a digital revolution fuelled by big data”.

It’s certainly clear that big data analytics can drive potential significant benefits. Information produced from analytics can help companies to forecast and make better decisions, make savings and efficiencies, and improve agility. However, big data can also produce significant legal risks, in particular, in terms of data privacy and security. In this first Alert in our Big Data Series, we highlight how different data protection authorities around the world are addressing big data and discuss how organisations can best manage their privacy compliance when embarking upon big data projects.