Big Data refers to the large amounts of diverse data organizations now have available to them. It is defined by its volume, velocity, and variety. Volume refers to the huge amounts of data, starting at tens of terabytes. Velocity refers to the speed at which data is generated and changes. Variety means data can come from many different sources in various formats. While these 3Vs define Big Data, organizations should focus on extracting value from Big Data through improved insights and treating data as an asset. Big Data offers new opportunities to analyze real-time data and gain a deeper understanding through semantic analysis.