227 THE FOURTH PARADIGM Conclusions Y THE MID-1990S, JIM GRAY HAD RECOGNIZED that the next “big data” challeng- es for database technology would come from science and not from com- merce. He also identifed the technical challenges that such data-intensive science would pose for scientists and the key role that IT and computer science could play in enabling future scientifc discoveries. The term “eScience” was coined in the year 2000 by John Taylor, when he was director general of the UK Research Councils. Taylor had recognized the increasingly important role that IT must play in the collaborative, multidisciplinary, and data-intensive scientifc re- search of the 21st century and used the term eScience to encompass the collection of tools and technologies needed to support such research. In recognition of the UK eScience initiative, Jim Gray called his research group at Microsoft Research the eScience Group, and he set about working with scientists to understand their problems and learn what tools they needed. In his talk to the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the U.S. National Research Council in 2007, Jim expanded on his vision of data-intensive science and enumerated seven key areas for action by the funding agencies: 1. Foster both the development of software tools and support for these tools. 2. Invest in tools at all levels of the funding pyramid. 3. Foster the development of generic Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS). 4. Foster research into scientifc data management, data analysis, data visualiza- tion, and new algorithms and tools. B TONY HEY, STEWART TANSLEY, AND KRISTIN TOLLE | Microsoft Research