A data lake is a centralized storage repository that holds vast amounts of raw data in its native format until it is needed for analysis. It facilitates the storage of structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data, allowing organizations to leverage diverse data sources for insights. In analytics, data lakes are used to perform big data analytics, various machine learning tasks, and real-time analytics, providing greater flexibility and scalability. By enabling organizations to store and manage data efficiently, data lakes support advanced querying and analysis, driving better data-driven decision-making across the enterprise.