A data lake is designed to handle large volumes of diverse data types, including structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. Unlike traditional data warehouse, which store data in predefined schemas, data lakes allow data to be ingested in its raw form and processed later as needed. This flexibility supports various data analysis and processing tasks, from business intelligence to advanced analytics and machine learning. Data lakes leverage scalable storage solutions and can integrate with a range of analytical tools to provide insights across different data sources. They are particularly useful for organizations needing to manage and analyze data from disparate sources without imposing rigid data structures upfront.