In our current fast paced society, data is being generated at rapid rates. In 2020, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data will be produced by humans every day and by the end of the year 44 zettabytes will make up the entire digital universe. But where does all this data go? How is it stored and how is it used?
What is a data lake?
Many organizations store their data in a data lake, which is a central repository that houses large volumes of raw data, including structured, semistructured and unstructured data. Typically, an organization’s data lake stores data from multiple different sources across the enterprise. But a data lake can easily become a data swamp if it is not properly governed. And without a data catalog, it is impossible to easily find, understand and trust the data in your data lake, resulting in decreased productivity and increased cost.
The challenges of an ungoverned data lake
Without a governance foundation and a data catalog in place, you risk not getting the full value out of your data lake investment. In fact, in an IDC whitepaper they state that, in some cases, organizations experienced a productivity loss of 25% when they did not implement a governed data catalog on top of their data lake. An ungoverned data lake can result in:
- Difficulty finding and understanding data. Without the business context around data, it is hard to know what data is in the lake, what the data means, who owns it and whether it’s relevant for use.
- Lack of trust in the data. There is no visibility into where data in the lake is coming from or if it is accurate or trustworthy to use.
- Inability to access the data. Data owners cannot control what or how data from the data lake is used, so they must limit access across the enterprise in order to ensure compliant use of the data.
Ultimately, an ungoverned data lake can cost an organization millions of dollars due to time wasted trying to find the right data for analysis, which is a massive loss for any organization.
Benefits of a governed data lake
Data lakes provide essential storage for your data and are necessary for many large enterprises. However, data lakes are only effective if they are governed with a data catalog. Implementing a data catalog with integrated governance to manage your data lake is a key step in becoming a data-driven organization. It helps your organization:
- Boost data lake ROI. Increase data lake adoption by ensuring the data in your data lake can be easily searched for, understood, trusted and ultimately used.
- Optimize resources. Reduce time spent by data scientists and analysts hunting for the right data by enabling them to easily find and access data in the data lake.
- Reduce risk. Set and enforce policies so data is accessed and used in a compliant manner.
Optimize data lake productivity with Collibra
It is clear from the statistics above that it is necessary to govern your data lake. Without robust, integrated governance and a data catalog, you risk your data lake turning into a data swamp, which dramatically decreases the value of your data lake investment. Collibra Data Catalog has embedded governance and privacy capabilities, which ensure users always have access to the most accurate and trusted data across the enterprise. In addition, our ML-powered automation capabilities and native, automated lineage add the necessary business context to your data so you can better understand the data in your data lake. Collibra Data Catalog has helped numerous customers, such as a large global automotive company, easily find, understand, trust and access the data in their data lake. For these customers, a governed data lake increases productivity, revenue, cost savings and ROI, making a governed data lake a priority for these data-driven organizations.
