A report from global consultancy firm McKinsey last year put the emerging field of "big data" in the global spotlight as the next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity.

The report said there is strong evidence that big data can benefit not only private commerce but also entire economies and their citizens.

According to the report, big data is defined as databases whose size is beyond the capacity of conventional software to capture, store, manage and analyze.

It can range from a few dozen terabytes - or trillions of bytes - to multiple petabytes - thousands of trillion - depending on the industry or sector.

Such collections of information can create enormous value for the world economy by enhancing productivity and creating substantial economic gains for consumers.

Many Chinese scholars and large companies in the information technology industry believe big data will trigger a new round of industrial revolution in the digital era.They also think companies that use big data analytics earlier to guide decision-making will have higher returns on equity.

But how to use the concept is still vague to specific industries in China, experts said.

Xie Wen, an influential commentator in China's IT industry, said at a forum held on Dec 13 in Zhongguancun Software Park that "big data research is just beginning in China, and the first important thing for company executives and government officials to truly understand is what kind of data has value among the vast amount, and how to collect, store and analyze it".

The event organized by the Zhongguancun administrative committee and Beijing Cloud Valley aimed to promote establishment of a big data industry at the nation's innovation centers in Zhongguancun.

The conference hosted experts and some 80 entrepreneurs from both home and abroad to discuss the prospects and potential value of the concept in China when combined with cloud computing and social media.

Zhou Tao, a 27-year-old professor in the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Sichuan province, told the forum that companies can solve their practical problems in scientific research using big data.

"China needs a big data environment to be involved in the new era, which means we can deal with very large databases.

"Efforts should be made to help scholars make breakthroughs in big data research," said Zhou.

Derrick Harris, senior analyst at GigaOM, a blog for breaking technology news and analysis, said some innovative corporations build their entire business on such vast compilations of data.

He used decide.com as an example.The company owns a massive pricing database, which it says tells consumers when to buy products for the best deal.

"They are very confident that what they built can predict the price of consumer goods based on data flow.They guarantee consumers if they buy and the price drops, the company will make up the difference," Harris said.

But he added big data analytics should have tangible results, because "users want to see results, not analyzed data".

"Results mean content and advice, not more numbers," said Harris.

If big data becomes a new type of corporate asset, companies also need think in earnest how to face and manage the threats it can pose, said Lei Tao, vice-president of the Chinese firm SkyCloud Technology Co.

"We are eager to acquire personal data related to trading behavior on the Internet and operator networks so a bank can provide more financing products and individual-oriented services by analyzing each person's database," said Chen Min, deputy director of science and technology department in China Everbright Bank.

"But such data could pose a threat to individual privacy when combined with the lack of related laws and regulations," she noted."We are most concerned about how to legally use the data, and I believe it is a common problem in all industries involving big data."

Chen and five other experts and entrepreneurs called for a powerful supervisory institution to create a healthy and orderly big data market - including severe sanctions for violators.

"Trust is the key for data interaction," Chen said.