What is a data lake?

Data lakes are next-generation hybrid data management solutions that can meet big data challenges and drive new levels of real-time analytics. Their highly scalable environment can support extremely large data volumes and accept data in its native format from a wide variety of data sources. Data lakes can help break down silos, enabling organizations to gain 360-degree views of information and conduct cross-department, office or regional analytics. They also enable adoption of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Data lake industry use cases

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• Determine what a customer is likely to purchase online and provide recommendations

• Identify a customer’s “path to purchase” to understand buying patterns and conduct micro-targeted marketing

• Predict or proactively identify fraudulent activity from both inside and outside the organization

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•  Predict the success or failure of discounts

• Pinpoint the “next product to buy” and promote that product to customers

• Identify which customers are likely to decrease their bank business and employ proactive marketing activities

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Hospitality and travel

• Track and predict customer preferences to guide proactive selling

• Improve the customer experience and boost brand loyalty through customization and personalization

• Conduct real-time pricing and analysis

Data lake capabilities

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Streamline data preparation and access

Reduce the time and cost spent on data preparation in a data lake that stores data in its original format. Use semi and unstructured data and provide users with the tools for real-time, self-service access necessary to drive AI and IoT.

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Reduce IT and warehouse costs

Use commodity hardware when building your data lake to drive unlimited scalability and decrease capital expenditures. Save additional costs when using the data lake as a repository for older data that would otherwise take up capacity in a more expensive data warehouse.

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Improve data-driven decisions

Federate and analyze data from more sources for deeper insights and more accurate results. Data lake governance features help ensure data is relevant and trustworthy. Coupled with real-time analytics and AI capabilities, the data lake allows your organization to seize new opportunities as they unfold.

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