Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity

A 2011 McKinsey report shows that:

Analyzing large data sets—so called big data—will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity growth, innovation, and consumer surplus as long as the right policies and enablers are in place.

Google's chief economist Hal Varian has been reported as saying that "the sexy job of the next ten years will be statisticians" [p.103]

Executive summary - Full report