What is a data pipeline?

• A. A sequence of activities to orchestrate a data ingestion or transformation process
• B. A special folder in OneLake storage where data can be exported from a lakehouse
• C. A saved Power Query
• D. A dataset for BI reporting

Answer: (A)

A data pipeline is an automated sequence of tasks that orchestrates data ingestion and transformation from source systems to a destination. It coordinates multiple steps—such as extracting data, applying transformations, performing quality checks, and loading results—with dependencies, scheduling, and error handling to ensure data flows reliably. This is why describing it as a sequence of activities to orchestrate a data ingestion or transformation process best captures what a data pipeline does.

The other options point to things that are not about the workflow of moving and processing data: a storage location for exporting data, a single saved query, or a dataset used for BI reporting.