Big Data is an emerging field where innovative technology offers alternatives to resolve the inherent problems that appear when working with huge amounts of data, providing new ways to reuse and extract value from information. Three main dimensions characterize Big Data: huge variety of data format, often time-sensitive and large.Big Data offers tremendous untapped potential value for many sectors but no specific intelligent-large-data-handling/brokering industrial sector exists. Furthermore, from an industrial adoption point of view, Europe is lagging behind US in Big Data technologies. A clear strategy to align supply and demand is needed as a way of increasing competitiveness of European industries.Building an industrial community around Big Data in Europe will be the priority of this project, together with setting up the necessary collaboration and dissemination infrastructure to link technology suppliers, integrators and leading user organizations. Big Data Public Private Forum (BIG) will work towards the definition and implementation of a clear strategy that tackles the necessary efforts in terms of research and innovation, but it will also provide a major boost for technology adoption and supporting actions from the European Commission in the successful implementation of the Big Data economy. As part of this strategy, outcomes of this project will be used as input for Horizon 2020 and will be sustained beyond the project duration.Foundational research technologies will be analysed and assessed in BIG and technology and strategy roadmaps created, so that the business and operational communities understand the potential of these technologies and are enabled to implement appropriate strategies and technologies for commercial benefit.To maximize the success of this initiative BIG has selected a balanced set of partners representing Academia and specially Industry.