Ask HN: Management wants to talk to my Datalake. What's the best way to do this?
May 30, 2025 - news.ycombinator.com
The team has organized data in a Dremio Data Lake, primarily accessed through Excel or Power BI. However, management is now interested in a chat-based interface for interacting with this data and generating charts, inspired by AI demos. While Excel Copilot offers some capabilities, they seek a more conversational and dedicated chat experience. The solution needs to include access control and auditability, and preferably integrate with an OpenAI-like API. Given the organization's existing Microsoft contracts, they are inclined towards Azure-based solutions.
The inquiry seeks advice from others who have faced similar requests, asking for recommendations on approaches, tools, or architectures that could meet these needs. The focus is on understanding the pros and cons of potential solutions, especially within an enterprise context. The author acknowledges that English is not their first language and hopes their question was clear.
Key takeaways:
Management is interested in a chat-based interface for data interaction and chart generation, similar to AI demos.
There is a preference for integrating with an OpenAI-like API for the chat interface.
Access control and auditability are important requirements for the solution.
The organization is an Azure shop with existing Microsoft contracts, which may influence tool selection.
