There are at least five broad ways in which using big data can create value. First, big data can unlock significant value by making information transparent and usable at much higher frequency. Second, as organizations create and store more transactional data in digital form, they can collect more accurate and detailed performance information on everything from product inventories to sick days, and therefore expose variability and boost performance. Leading companies are using data collection and analysis to conduct controlled experiments to make better management decisions; others are using data for basic low-frequency forecasting to high-frequency nowcasting to adjust their business levers just in time. Third, big data allows ever-narrower segmentation of customers and therefore much more precisely tailored products or services. Fourth, sophisticated analytics can substantially improve decision-making. Finally, big data can be used to improve the development of the next generation of products and services. For instance, manufacturers are using data obtained from sensors embedded in products to create innovative after-sales service offerings such as proactive maintenance (preventive measures that take place before a failure occurs or is even noticed).

1. KeyLines - A JavaScript toolkit for visualizing networks.
2. d3.js - Free JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data.
3. InfoVis Toolkit - A JavaScript tool for creating interactive data visualizations.
4. Flare - Makes it easy to create interactive data visualizations (ActionScript).
5. JS Charts - Free JavaScript charts.
6. FusionCharts - JavaScript (HTML5) and Flash charts.
7. amCharts - JavaScript and HTML charts.
8. Highcharts - Interactive JavaScript charts.

Data Sources for Big Data

1. DataMarket – Find and understand data.
2. The Data Hub – The easy way to get, use and share data.
3. Knoema – Your personal knowledge highway.
4. WorldMap – Explore, visualize and publish geographic information.
5. Get the Data – Ask and answer data questions.
6. Influence Explorer – Provides overviews of political influence data for politicians.
7. US Census Bureau – Measures America (people, places, economy).
8. datacatalogs.org – A comprehensive list of open data catalogs.
9. Freebase – An entity graph of people, places and things from Google.
10. World Bank Data – The world at a glance (key development indicators).
11. Data360 – Telling compelling and data-driven stories.
12. Number Of – You ask, they count.
13. Gallup – Public opinion polls.
14. EveryBlock – Uncovers info on large cities contained in government databases.
15. Daytum – Helps you collect, organize and communicate your everyday data.
16. Google Public Data - Filter and animate data sets from around the world.
17. Gapminder - Displays time series of development statistics for all countries.
18. Munterbund - Graphical visualization of text similarities in essays.

Do you have any resources or tools for finding big data that you'd like to share?