There are so many definitions of Big Data. But I like Forbes Megazine definition that Big Data is Big data is a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company that represents a source for ongoing discovery and

analysis. However, what is threshold of Big Data? 

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In order to differentiate Big Data, I personally define Big data as a large set of data that requires advance computation software to analyze. Can I call 1 GB data as a big data? I think it is not about the size but the ability to process the data. I can run correlation  test of only 300 MB data in excel spreadsheet only to find my computer crush for more than 20 mins. 

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So, can Big Data proceed using excel spreadsheet? I am honestly not sure. My believe and my experience say if you can proceed set of data with excel spreadsheet without hurdles, that's not big data. However, I could probably wrong because premium excel toolkit such as Power Pivot and Solver Analytic Platform are powerful enough to process complex computation and run heuristic simulation. Based on your own experience, how do you define Big Data?