Glossary · D
Data Lake
Storage for data in a range of formats
What it means
A data lake stores structured, semi-structured and unstructured data, often retaining source formats for later processing. It can contain files, event records, tables and documents. Access controls, metadata and quality checks are needed to make the stored data usable.
What it means for a business
A company can retain sensor readings, operational records and documents in a data lake for later analysis or model development. A lake is one architectural option; a smaller, structured dataset may be enough for a particular reporting or machine learning project.