A data lake is a centralized repository that stores raw, unprocessed data from various sources in its natural state, allowing organizations to access and analyze the data in new ways. The concept of a data lake was first introduced by James Dixon in 2010 as an alternative to traditional data warehouses. Data lakes are designed to provide flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness for storing and analyzing large volumes of log data, enabling organizations to extract insights and value from their enterprise data. Three types of data lake architectures exist: the template approach, the "LakeHouse" approach, and the cloud data platform approach. The latter is considered the most optimized and hassle-free architecture that reduces management complexity and minimizes technical overhead, making it an attractive solution for organizations looking to future-proof their log analytics initiatives.