The Big Data space is heating up to the point that many pundits already see it as the over-hyped heir to "cloud." The hype may be a bit much, but Big Data is already living up to its potential, transforming entire business lines, such as marketing, pharmaceutical research, and cyber-security. While the space is still fairly new, IDC, for one, sees big things ahead. The research firm predicts that the market for Big Data technologies will reach $32.4 billion by 2017, or about six times the growth rate of the overall information and communication technology market.