Abstract
Current and planned large-scale astronomical facilities will boost our ability to gather raw data from the universe but this does not necessarily mean they will increase our knowledge at the same rate. The ability to transform massive raw data into usable information is a challenge that astronomers will have to face in their day-to-day activities. Providing the majority of astronomers with the ability to access, analyse, visualize, and process this raw data and its derived data products is a vital step towards better utilization of this data. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is the low frequency precursor for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). It has been operational since July 2013 producing around 6 TB/day of raw visibility data. It is one of the few operational Petascale astronomical facilities. Using MWA as the main case study, this work discusses the challenges that face radio astronomy in the Petascale data era. We will illustrate why these challenges cannot be approached in a "business-as-usual" evolutionary manner. As a pointer to the way forward, we will then introduce a new data archive and dissemination platform that aims to provide national and international researchers with seamless access to different MWA data products via online services and tools.