"Big Data" as a term has been among the biggest trends of the last three years, leading to an upsurge of research, as well as industry and government applications. Data is deemed a powerful raw material that can impact multidisciplinary research endeavors as well as government and business performance. The goal of this discussion paper is to share the data analytics opinions and perspectives of the authors relating to the new opportunities and challenges brought forth by the big data movement. The authors bring together diverse perspectives, coming from different geographical locations with different core research expertise and different affiliations and work experiences. The aim of this paper is to evoke discussion rather than to provide a comprehensive survey of big data research.