More and more, businesses are catching on to the benefits that data lakes offer. As a cost-effective storage option for both structured and unstructured data, they have opened up greater opportunities for data aggregation and analytics. However, while businesses may determine that they would benefit from data lake creation, starting the process may be intimidating. Thankfully, there are tips and strategies available to simplify the data lake creation process. From developing a strategy to utilizing service providers, your new data lake may be more attainable than you think.
Start with a Data Lake Strategy
Companies looking to implement a data lake would do well to sit down beforehand and identify each need a data lake would address. Without identifying these opportunities, they may flounder around during the implementation process, piecing together requirements that should have already been outlined. While your plan may evolve as you go, it’s important to invest in sound planning. Businesses that don’t identify their needs at the start of their data lake creation process will not reap the full benefits of this technology and may have a hard time reshaping the data lake to better suit their needs down the road.
Additionally, there will be a bit of a learning curve during the transition period. By outlining a data lake strategy, businesses can factor in any necessary training to help employees get up to speed quickly.
Some other key questions to address in your strategy and planning phase include:
- What data sources will be included in the data lake?
- Who will have access to the data lake and to what extent?
- How will user permissions be managed, and if so, by whom?
- What organizational features will be implemented?
- Has your company considered other necessary data security measures?
- Will the data lake be used in tandem with a data warehouse or other data repository?
- What metrics will be used to gauge the effectiveness and ROI of the data lake?
These questions are just a starting point for developing a data lake strategy. You will want to tailor your plan to your businesses’ unique needs and capabilities.
Determine if Your Data Lake Will be Hosted in the Cloud or On-Premises
Deciding whether your data lake will be hosted in the cloud should also be a consideration of your data lake strategy. However, this topic is important enough to stand on its own. Though it is not required to host your data lake in the cloud, cloud hosting is one of the factors that make data lake storage so cost-effective. While it would be possible to transition your data lake into the cloud from on-premise servers at a future date, it would be much more beneficial to start with cloud hosting than to delay the decision.
If you plan to use your cloud-hosted data lake in tandem with on-premise servers or data warehouses, you will want to establish how they will interact with one another. In fact, creating a data lake may be the excuse your business needs to undergo a complete cloud migration.
One of the biggest benefits is the outsourced maintenance associated with data storage. Without the physical hardware, businesses can keep their costs low and focus their time and effort on gleaning insights from their data. Cloud storage also offers a greater opportunity for future growth and scalability.
Next, let’s turn to the data lake creation process itself.
Utilize “Software as a Service” Providers
Businesses that want to create a data lake may not have the necessary tools or expertise to do so. Thankfully, they don’t have to! Software as a Service (SaaS) providers, like Sertics, streamline the data lake creation process. Sertics offers a drag-and-drop interface to simplify the way users add, store, and manage their data. This approach not only reduces the time necessary to create a data lake, but also reduces the overhead costs of creation and management.
Additionally, the platform removes the necessity to staff developers, database administrators, and data scientists. Instead, business users with varying levels of experience can benefit from the low barrier to entry. As a data management platform, the portal offers tools to glean information from your data and integrates with leading analytics and visualization tools like PowerBI and Tableau.
With the reduced cost, time, and expertise required to benefit from data lake creation, leveraging a Software as a Service provider is typically a wise choice that leads to a more streamlined business.
Starting the Data Lake Creation Process
If data lake creation seems like uncharted territory for you, there are plenty of professionals willing to help! The team at 7T can get you started and guide you through the process. We can set up a consultation session to discuss what to expect and schedule a Sertics demo so that you can see the platform in action. Your business will be well on its way to experiencing the benefits of data lake implementation within a few short weeks.
Based in Dallas, 7T also maintains regional offices in Houston and Chicago. If you are interested in learning more about Sertics or how a data lake could fit into your business strategy, contact us today.