Austin, Texas, Jan. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As organizations navigate the increasingly complex landscape of data and artificial intelligence (AI), the data lakehouse has emerged as a transformative architecture that bridges traditional data warehousing with modern analytical needs, as  a new survey of 563 IT decision-makers across industries found that more than 3 out of 5 (67%) of organizations plan to run the majority of their analytics on data lakehouses within the next three years, up from 55% today. According to Dremio’s annual report, The State of the Data Lakehouse in the AI Era, the pivotal role of data lakehouse architectures is to enable cost-efficient, AI-ready solutions for organizations navigating this era of rapid technological advancement. The report also highlighted the shifting expectations of IT leaders, with 90% aiming to consolidate analytics into a single location, reflecting a growing demand for streamlined and unified data strategies.

To download the full report, visit www.dremio.com/dremio-live/.

As enterprises prioritize cost savings and AI readiness, the report reveals that 19% of respondents rank cost efficiency as the top driver for adopting data lakehouses, followed closely by unified data access (17%) and ease of use (17%). These findings emphasize the growing role of data lakehouses in providing operational efficiency and enabling advanced analytics capabilities.

According to one respondent, "The most unexpected trend or challenge encountered this year as a data leader or data engineer has been the rapid integration of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) into data workflows, which has significantly altered job roles and required new skill sets. This shift has created anxiety among employees about job security and the need to adapt quickly, as many are questioning how these technologies will impact their positions and the overall workforce dynamics in the data industry." 

This sentiment reflects broader trends captured in the report, where organizations increasingly view data lakehouses as essential to navigating AI's rapid integration into business operations.

"The rise of data lakehouses reflects a clear shift toward architectures that balance flexibility with advanced analytics capabilities," said William McKnight, president of McKnight Consulting Group. "This report underscores the growing importance of aligning data strategies with business outcomes."

Key insights include:

• Broad Adoption and Awareness: Over three-quarters (77%) of IT decision-makers are highly familiar with data lakehouses, reflecting widespread recognition of their value.
• Migration Trends: 41% of respondents have transitioned from cloud data warehouses, and 23% have moved from data lakes to embrace the lakehouse architecture.
• AI and Data Lakehouses: 85% of organizations are leveraging data lakehouses for AI model development, underscoring the architecture's critical role in creating AI-ready data. This trend highlights the growing demand for data systems that support generative AI and large language models, which are transforming analytics workflows.
• Challenges in AI Data Preparation: Governance and security (36%) and high data preparation costs (33%) remain key obstacles, underscoring the need for robust tools and frameworks.

“The data architecture landscape is at a pivotal point where the demands of AI and advanced analytics are transforming traditional approaches to data management,” said Read Maloney, chief marketing officer at Dremio. “A convergence of business imperatives and technological capabilities drives the evolution toward data lakehouses which is why they  have moved from an emerging concept to a foundational element of modern data strategies. This report underscores how and why businesses are leveraging data lakehouses to drive innovation while addressing critical challenges like cost efficiency, governance, and AI readiness.”

As businesses continue to integrate AI into their operations, the Dremio State of the Data Lakehouse Report serves as a guide for aligning modern data architectures with the needs of an AI-driven future.

About the Survey
Conducted by Propeller Insights in Q4 2024, the survey captured perspectives from IT decision-makers across diverse industries, offering a comprehensive view of the current data landscape.

About Dremio
Dremio is the hybrid lakehouse platform for the business, serving hundreds of global enterprises, including Maersk, Amazon, Regeneron, NetApp, and S&P Global. Based on open-source technologies like Apache Iceberg and Apache Arrow, Dremio provides an open lakehouse architecture enabling the fastest time to insight and platform flexibility at a fraction of the cost. Learn more at www.dremio.com.

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Media Contacts
Chris McCoin or Richard Smith
McCoin & Smith Communications Inc.
chris@mccoinsmith.com  or rick@mccoinsmith.com

Elise Woodard
Dremio Corporation
9494632203
elise.woodard@dremio.com