Why Your Company Needs a Data Lake

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Data is everywhere and those that harness it gain a competitive advantage. However, traditional data warehousing approaches can be restrictive, expensive, and slow. A data lake offers a more flexible and scalable solution for storing and analyzing your data.

What is a data lake?

A data lake is a centralized repository that allows you to store all your structured and unstructured data at any scale. This means you can store your data as-is, without having to  first structure it. You can then use a variety of tools, such as SQL queries, to analyze your data and generate reports.  

What is Structured & Unstructured Data?

To understand the power of a data lake, it's important to know the different types of data it can handle. Think of structured data as neatly organized information that fits into traditional databases. Things like customer names in a spreadsheet, dates in a calendar, or purchase prices in an online store. This data is easily searchable because it follows a predictable format.

On the other hand, unstructured data is more free-flowing and doesn't fit into those neat rows and columns. This includes things like images, audio files, social media posts, or even lengthy text documents. A data lake can store both types, giving you a complete view of your information, regardless of its format. This is a major advantage over older systems that could only handle structured data.

Benefits of a data lake for reporting

There are many benefits to using a data lake for reporting. Here are just a few:

• Improved data accessibility: A data lake makes it easier for everyone in your organization to access and analyze data. This is because data lakes can store data in its raw format, so users don't have to wait for IT to structure it before they can use it.

  
  

• Increased flexibility: Data lakes are more flexible than traditional data warehouses. This is because they can store a wider variety of data, including unstructured data such as log files, social media posts, and email.

  
  

• Reduced costs: Data lakes can be more cost-effective than traditional data warehouses. This is because you don't have to pay for the expensive hardware and software that is required to structure your data.

  
  

• Improved scalability: Data lakes are highly scalable, so you can easily add more data as your business grows.

  
  

• Better data quality: Data lakes can help you improve the quality of your data by providing a single source of truth. This can help you avoid the errors that can occur when data is stored in multiple silos.

How to Create a Data Lake

If you're considering creating a data lake, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to choose the right storage platform. You can use any of the major cloud platforms, but at Prosigliere, we prefer Google due to the ease and cost effectiveness of their solutions. Second, you need to choose the right tools for analyzing your data. Powerful options include familiar SQL-based tools like Google BigQuery and Looker, or open-source frameworks like Apache Spark and Apache Hive. These tools allow you to process massive datasets and extract valuable insights for your reports.

"It's Dangerous to Go Alone"

This quote above from the original Legend of Zelda is true of data engineering. There is a lot of nuance to getting a data lake setup properly. From cost control strategies to compliance, including controlling personally identifiable information, it helps to have a partner you can trust in this space who has done it before and can guide your implementation.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a more flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solution for storing and analyzing your data, then a data lake is a great option. By using a data lake, you can improve the accessibility, flexibility, and quality of your data. This can help you make better decisions and improve your business performance. If you think your business might be ready to create its own data lake, reach out and let's talk about it. As a Google certified partner, the team at Prosigliere would love to help you out.