You must store raw, unstructured source data exactly as retrieved (schema may change) for later reprocessing. Where should you place the raw data and how should pipelines access it?

Cloud Storage is ideal for storing raw, unstructured data exactly as retrieved, especially when the schema may change. It offers high durability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness for large volumes of diverse data types without imposing a fixed schema. Processing pipelines can easily access this data directly from the bucket for various transformations or reprocessing tasks. Sending data through a processing pipeline first and then storing processed data (options 1 and 3) defeats the purpose of storing raw data for later reprocessing. If the raw data is needed again, it won't be available. Storing raw, unstructured data directly in BigQuery (option 2) is not suitable because BigQuery is a columnar, schema-on-write data warehouse. It requires a defined schema, which contradicts the requirement for unstructured data with a changing schema.