What function does AWS Glue serve?

AWS Glue serves as an Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) service designed to prepare data for analytics by simplifying the process of moving and transforming data within various data storage and analytics services. This function is critical for organizations looking to process and analyze large volumes of data efficiently.

With AWS Glue, users can automate the discovery of data sources, transform data into a desired format, and load the data into data lakes, data warehouses, or other destinations where it can be utilized for business intelligence and analytics purposes. The service integrates well with other AWS offerings, enabling users to build a comprehensive data pipeline that enhances data usability and accessibility.

In the context of other possible functions, AWS Glue does not primarily serve as a data storage service; rather, it interacts with existing data storage solutions. It is not a data analytics platform but instead provides the necessary groundwork to prepare data for analytics. Similarly, while it does not train machine learning models, AWS Glue fits within a broader ecosystem of tools that can aid in preparing data used by machine learning services for model training.