http://www.ronpub.com/index.php/journals/OJBD/issues?volume=3&issue=ALL All papers of this volume en-us https://www.ronpub.com/ojbd/OJBD_2017v3n01_Lehmann.html http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-201711266876 The term Big Data has become pervasive in recent years, as smart phones, televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, smart meters, diverse sensors, eyeglasses, and even clothes connect to the Internet. However, their generated data is essentially worthless without appropriate data analytics that utilizes information retrieval, statistics, as well as various other techniques. As Big Data is commonly too big for a single person or institution to investigate, appropriate tools are being used that go way beyond a traditional data warehouse and that have been developed in recent years. Unfortunately, there is no single solution but a large variety of different tools, each of which with distinct functionalities, properties and characteristics. Especially small and medium-sized companies have a hard time to keep track, as this requires time, skills, money, and specific knowledge that, in combination, result in high entrance barriers for Big Data utilization. This paper aims to reduce these barriers by explaining and structuring different classes of technologies and the basic criteria for proper technology selection. It proposes a framework that guides especially small and mid-sized companies through a suitable selection process that can serve as a basis for further advances. https://www.ronpub.com/ojbd/OJBD_2017v3i1n02_Ponsard.html http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-201712245446 Companies are faced with the challenge of handling increasing amounts of digital data to run or improve their business. Although a large set of technical solutions are available to manage such Big Data, many companies lack the maturity to manage that kind of projects, which results in a high failure rate. This paper aims at providing better process guidance for a successful deployment of Big Data projects. Our approach is based on the combination of a set of methodological bricks documented in the literature from early data mining projects to nowadays. It is complemented by learned lessons from pilots conducted in different areas (IT, health, space, food industry) with a focus on two pilots giving a concrete vision of how to drive the implementation with emphasis on the identification of values, the definition of a relevant strategy, the use of an Agile follow-up and a progressive rise in maturity.