WG1: Optimisation of database tools in astro- and geophysics contexts
Short description: this group is focused more on the back-end tools providing support for knowledge extraction from large datasets (database management systems, hardware configurations, heterogeneous environments, location of processing of large users’ data-requests, etc).

WG2: Data mining and machine learning in the petabyte era as frontiers in astronomy and Earth observation
Short description: this group is inclined more toward front-end solutions visible to the users, where often tools used to date fail or are too slow on petabyte datasets.

WG3: Education of a new generation of experts in knowledge extraction from massive datasets
Short description: this group has the task of identifying critical gaps in the Big Data users’ skills, organizing materials needed for training and education of users, and organizing training sessions.

WG4: Visualization of high dimensional data
Short description: this group explores various aspects of visualization of large datasets under scientific and outreach requirements, promotes the role of visualization in data-mining (visual analytics) and assesses various visualization tools.