Data Lakes and Data Lake Rescue
Optimizing data collection and centralization
with structured data lakes
Are Your Analytics Drowning in Data Lakes?
The foundational, crucial requirement for supporting analytical solutions is a rich, reliable source of data. Understandably, many data-related initiatives begin with the comprehensive collection and centralization of data. There are many collection strategies that are currently in use, including Data Lakes.
Swimming in treacherous waters
Data Lakes are general repositories in which data is stored in its natural format. Data objects within the “lake” may be text files, database tables, blobs, etc. Data may be structured (e.g. tabular, XML, etc.) or unstructured (e.g. images, PDF’s, emails, texts, etc.).
The goal of the Data Lake is to offer a single storage location for all enterprise data to support analytics and data visualization. Often Data Lakes utilize non-database, “big data” solutions (e.g. Hadoop) to accommodate and ingest unstructured data at incredible speeds.
On its face, the construction of a Data Lake seems like an intuitive and practical first step. However, many Data Lakes become dumping grounds and data graveyards, in which undocumented data is recklessly deposited with the hope of supporting some undefined, future use. The typical Data Lakes suffers from a variety of defects:
- Limited concern for the validity, completeness, and understanding of the data being collected
- Insignificant regard for the compliant and responsible treatment of personally identifiable information (e.g. customer contact details, addresses, tax identification numbers, etc.; “PII”)
- Insufficient data mastering and history accumulation
- Lackluster performance of Big Data query tools often require data lake content to be (redundantly) re-instantiated in a structured environment (i.e. database) to be truly usable
Our team can clean up your existing data lake or create a more effective one through the establishment of a Structured Data Lake.
The Solution: The Structured Data Lake
Are you considering the creation of a data lake?
Perhaps you have a data lake but aren’t seeing the broad organizational usage you expected.With decades of experience delivering enterprise data integration solutions, the Lightwell team can guide you through the best practices for responsibly collecting, documenting, and assessing your organization’s structured data.
The Lightwell Structured Data Lake is a rapid, durable first step towards high-performance, self-service analytics. Our solution features:
Prescribed mastering techniques
for the 30+ types of content configurations your data ingestion might encounter
Simplified date chaining techniques
to optimize daily history tracking of critical data performance
Sequestration techniques
for personally identifiable information (PII) to support compliance with emerging customer privacy legislation
Automated profiling and metadata collection tools
to accelerate intelligent data ingestion
Metadata resources
to assist users with the navigation and utilization of data lake assets
Comprehensive data quality
architecture
Structured Data Lakes vs. Typical Data Lakes
Similarities
- Data is ingested in its natural form with little or no transformation
- All data necessary to prepare a structured analysis is co-located within the Lake (rather than just selected structures or attributes)
- Rapid implementation
- Flexible accommodation of new and/or changed data structures
Improvements
- Pronounced emphasis on metadata
(structure-level, attribute-level, domain-level, applicability conditions, etc.) - Responsible tracking and accumulation of historical performance
- Responsible data mastering techniques
- Structured data storage for optimized consumption by a broader collection of query tools
Let's bring clarity to your data lake
For over two decades, our team has helped companies establish the foundation and capabilities necessary to support nimble, highly-effective enterprise analytics.
Through comprehensive data analytics consulting services and innovative, customized solutions, we help to improve how data is understood, simplify how it is navigated, and optimize how it is delivered.
We work closely with our clients to help them get the most from their data. Let’s explore how we can help you do the same.
Illuminating Resources
Rescue Your Data Lake
Are you ready for clear waters? Get in touch with us and let’s review how the Lightwell Structured Data Lake can improve your data quality and analytics.
Contact us today or call us at +1 (614) 310-2700, and we’ll connect you with one of our experts.