Gartner defined Big Data as– 
“Big data” is high-volume, velocity, and variety INFORMATION assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced INSIGHT and decision making.”

Simply, big data is larger, more complex data sets, particularly from new data sources. These data sets are so large that conventional data processing software can’t manage them. But these massive VOLUMES of data can be used to address business problems you wouldn’t have been able to tackle before.

Characteristics of Big Data are: 

• Volume: A large amount of data stored in data warehouses refers to Volume.
• Velocity: Velocity typically refers to the pace at which data is being generated in real-time.
• Variety: Variety of Big Data relates to structured, unstructured, and SEMISTRUCTURED data that is collected from multiple sources.
• Veracity: Data veracity generally refers to how accurate the data is.
• Value: No matter how fast the data is produced or its amount, it has to be reliable and valuable. Otherwise, the information is not good enough for processing or analysis.