The concept of “Big Data” may conjure up images of a distant future where intelligent databases make predictions that dictate how we work and live. But that future may be far closer than you think. A wide range of industries have already adopted Big Data advancements, and the legal space is poised to adopt predictive technologies that facilitate critical processes such as discovery, venue selection and case strategy.

While the Big Data revolution is being driven by multiple factors, upstarts like Cambridge Semantics play a key role in making the lofty inner workings of such platforms applicable to business needs. The company has helped many organizations implement solutions that use intelligent data systems to help make strategic business decisions. Marty Loughlin, vice president of Cambridge Semantics' financial services, says that applying Big Data more broadly is a challenge of getting different types of data to play well together.

“The definition of what exactly Big Data is varies with each person that you talk to,” says Loughlin. “From our perspective there are several dimensions that are important. Volume is a key. When it comes to Big Data, where talking about large enterprises and large volumes of data. But more important than volume from our perspective is variety. It's not just about using traditional structured data from internal sources, but data from sources that may be unstructured as well. That's everything from documents, and news feeds to social media,” Loughlin explains.