Rapid advances in technology are radically changing the way in which data are being collected, used, and stored. Digital data are gathered, replicated, moved, and processed more quickly and in greater volumes than ever before. As new information technologies, sensors, and communication networks develop, the range and complexity of scientific data continue to grow. With data volumes expanding beyond the petabyte and exabyte levels across many scientific disciplines, the capacity for storage and preservation and for long-term use may be exceeded in many fields. Above all, the opportunities to extract information from complex data sources from diverse disciplines offers compelling reasons to embrace the new scientific methods and approaches of ‘Big Data’ and data-driven research.

In a world dealing with growing populations, pressing economic and social needs, natural and technological hazards, and climate change, there is a clear need for more, robust and high-quality data—along with new analytics and models and faster delivery and visualization of information—to support evidence-based decision making and risk management by a wide range of stakeholders. There are lessons to be learned, both positive and negative, from big data efforts in genomics, business, astronomy, and other fields that can be applied in developing Future Earth, IRDR, and other programmes and in ensuring that these initiatives have greater and more lasting impacts than they might otherwise have.