Defining Data Warehouse, Data Lake & Data Lakehouse

The typical enterprise data warehouse environment has changed substantially over the past 10 years, expanding beyond traditional relational data warehouses like those based on SQL Server to include data lakes that are more flexible and can store unstructured data like machine logs and videos. Some organizations are also deploying data lakehouses, a new architecture that has the flexibility of a data lake but the structured schema and controls of a data warehouse. Each has benefits and drawbacks, and they vary in cost and complexity. Most organizations will have multiple architectures, rather than relying on a single solution.

Data Warehouse

A data warehouse is essentially a large database that collects data from frontline systems, providing a centralized system of record that supports enterprise reporting and business analysis. Data is organized in a structured, intuitive format that makes it relatively easy for analysts, users, and applications to understand the data. Enterprises often have a few data warehouses and several data marts, which are small data warehouses, designed for a specific purpose or department.