When it comes to the big data universe, a couple of terms come up often — data lake and data warehouse. And lately, we’ve got this new kid on the block called a cloud data warehouse. Let’s look at the difference between a data lake and a (cloud) data warehouse, and their unique benefits below.
A data lake is a vast pool of raw data, the purpose of which is to store data in its native format until it is needed. Think of it as a large-scale storage repository and processing system where data can flow in from various sources and be stored indefinitely.
A data warehouse is a large storage repository that uses a relational database system for analyzing structured, filtered data. It’s a system that sorts, organizes, and makes data searchable by specific attributes. Data warehouses are structured to serve specific business needs and are often used for business intelligence activities.
A cloud data warehouse is a service that collects, organizes, and often stores data that organizations use for analysis and reporting. This type of data warehouse is hosted on a cloud platform, making the data accessible over the Internet. Cloud data warehouses are designed to handle large volumes of data and offer real-time analysis and insights.
Choosing between a data lake and a data warehouse depends on your business needs. Suppose your organization handles a vast amount of raw, unstructured data and needs a flexible, scalable solution for storing and analyzing the data. In that case, a data lake might be the right choice.
On the other hand, if your business requires structured, organized data for specific queries and reports, a data warehouse might be a better fit. Data warehouses are ideal for businesses that need to analyze historical data for business intelligence purposes.
In many cases, businesses can benefit from using both a data lake and a data warehouse. Each serves a unique role in data storage, complementing each other to meet a company’s varied needs.
Find out more about Google Cloud’s BigQuery, a fully managed, serverless enterprise solution for data warehousing. Are you considering moving to the cloud? Let’s have a chat and discuss how we can work together to make it a smooth switch!