We use Snowflake for data warehousing.
Data Architect and ETL Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
A stable data warehousing solution that is simple to set up and has good support
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is very simple."
- "We would like to see more security including more masking and more encryption at the database level."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
We would like to see more security including more masking and more encryption at the database level.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Snowflake for three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, this product is good.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Snowflake is quite scalable. We have four people who are using it.
How are customer service and support?
So far, technical support has been good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing Snowflake is to start small, then prove out the value and you can grow.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Information Management Architect at Raken
I like how quickly the solution can be implemented
Pros and Cons
- "The features that I have found most valuable are the ease of use, the rapidness, how quickly the solution can be implemented, and of course that it's been very easy to move from the on-premise world to the Cloud world because Snowflake is based on SQL also."
- "It would benefit from an administration that allows you to be aware of your credit consumption once you have the service so that you may be sure how many credits you are consuming when you use the platform and to make sure that you are making the most efficient use of these resources. In other words, to improve their interface so that you may monitor the consumption of your credits on Cloud."
What is our primary use case?
We are a consulting company so our primary use depends on the niche that we are providing the services to and on which of the different versions they have. I think we are mainly using Snowflake Enterprise.
In general, it is being used for integrating information. Snowflake is a database platform, it gives information to support analytic needs, such as advanced data analytics like machine learning. In some of those cases it is also used for descriptive analytics, for instance BI.
How has it helped my organization?
One of example of how Snowflake has improved a client's organization is the democratization, it makes information available to more of the users.
What is most valuable?
The features that I have found most valuable are the ease of use, the rapidness, how quickly the solution can be implemented, and of course that it's been very easy to move from the on-premise world to the Cloud world because Snowflake is based on SQL also.
What needs improvement?
I think that the area of improvement with Snowflake is to improve the administration. It would benefit from an administration that allows you to be aware of your credit consumption once you have the service so that you may be sure how many credits you are consuming when you use the platform and to make sure that you are making the most efficient use of these resources. In other words, to improve their interface so that you may monitor the consumption of your credits on Cloud.
I also heard from a company we work for that it could be more user-friendly because it provides some tools but they are not user-friendly.
Additionally, it would be very helpful if Snowflake integrated machine learning and some other advanced analytics features within their language or product capabilities. Right now, they do it through some other company where you have to buy these capabilities from other vendors. There are some customers that don't have complex needs for machine learning or advanced analytics so they don't have to buy it from another vendor but can use it from the product itself if they have it.
For how long have I used the solution?
The whole company has been using Snowflake for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, so far it is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Snowflake is very scalable. Our client companies where we implement Snowflake are medium to large sized. These companies have offices in different parts of the world, not just some regions, but companies with office users in different parts of the world. We are dealing with international companies. Their tendency is to increase the use of the Snowflake platform. It would serve all the analytical needs in these companies.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not directly experienced the technical support. It's not part of my job to be involved on those kind of issues, but we constantly receive information as a partner from them and we are very in good touch with them and with the people we are working with, meaning the representatives that are within the Latin American market, which is where I work. They are very open and very fast with communication.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. Full deployment takes a few weeks. The initial deployment for the first initiatives might take weeks. It's not complex, really. You may have it loaded after a full day and already providing results or interacting, but there are some other companies that have to be implemented to extract and consume the information from the database. But it's very easy.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There have been a couple of other solutions that we've been participating in the evaluation process of and some others that have been included in the decision process, including Redshift from AWS and also Azure Synapse from Microsoft.
For instance, AWS Redshift looked like it was easier to implement and to be adopted by the technical users, the programmers and database programmers. So far it has been far easier to adapt this technology. I'm not saying that AWS is a better technology. It's very complex, but at least what I've seen is that for them, it looks like it's been easier to use the first time.
We liked that Snowflake is able to be used as a multi-Cloud service - it can be used in AWS Cloud, Azure Cloud, or Google Cloud. Whereas AWS, or even Synapse, can only be used in their corresponding networks.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend Snowflake.
On a scale of one to ten, I would give Snowflake an eight.
I give it an eight out of 10 due to its room for improvement in the user interface for the monitoring of the credit consumption and that the user experience is not friendly. And also because the machine learning is lacking some advanced analytic features.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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October 2024
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Associate Manager at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
A secure and fast solution with inbound and outbound share features and good integrations
Pros and Cons
- "Its performance is a big advantage. When you run a query, its performance is very good. The inbound and outbound share features are also very useful for sharing a particular database. By using these features, you can allow others to access the Snowflake database and query it, which is another advantage of this solution. It has good security, and we can easily integrate it. We can connect it with multiple source systems."
- "I am still in the learning stage. It has good security, but it can always be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for our security products. We have a trial account, and we are using the trial database and practicing on top of it. We have the latest version of this solution.
What is most valuable?
Its performance is a big advantage. When you run a query, its performance is very good.
The inbound and outbound share features are also very useful for sharing a particular database. By using these features, you can allow others to access the Snowflake database and query it, which is another advantage of this solution.
It has good security, and we can easily integrate it. We can connect it with multiple source systems.
What needs improvement?
I am still in the learning stage. It has good security, but it can always be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a few months. I am in the learning stage.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. Its performance is very good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We have four users who are using Snowflake.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are going through the online version, and we don't find any difficulty with this.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use Azure. Snowflake has more advantages than Azure.
How was the initial setup?
There is no installation as such. After you register with Snowflake, you get a demo database, which you can configure and use. It only takes around 30 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I did it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Currently, we have a trial account, so we don't need a license. After our project starts, we would need a permanent license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. We plan to keep using it.
I would rate Snowflake a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Vice President of Business Intelligence and Data Engineering at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Simple installation, well designed, and reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
- "All the people who are working with Snowflake are extremely happy with it because it is designed from a data-warehousing point of view, not the other way around. You have a database and then you tweak it and then it becomes a data warehouse."
- "There could be better ELT tools that are appropriate for Snowflake. We decided on Matillion and it seemed to be the only one. There need to be better choices, it would be great if Snowflake provided an ELT solution that people could use. Additionally, if there was a pure cloud-based ELT tool it would be useful."
What is our primary use case?
Snowflake is used in my organization for our data warehouse.
What is most valuable?
All the people who are working with Snowflake are extremely happy with it because it is designed from a data-warehousing point of view, not the other way around. You have a database and then you tweak it and then it becomes a data warehouse.
It has very nice features, such as snapshots, marketplace, and it is very easy to receive data-warehouse specifications.
What needs improvement?
There could be better ELT tools that are appropriate for Snowflake. We decided on Matillion and it seemed to be the only one. There need to be better choices, it would be great if Snowflake provided an ELT solution that people could use. Additionally, if there was a pure cloud-based ELT tool it would be useful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for approximately three years.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is very easy. What is needed is a good extract, transform, and load (ELT) tool and we used Matillion.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to those wanting to implement Snowflake is it is easy. However, the way to choose to implement your data in the warehouse matters. When we started to implement our data with Snowflake, we also switched to a metadata-driven approach, but the method depends on the people involved in the implementation. Overall, the implementation of Snowflake follows similar principles as any other data-warehouse implementation except many aspects are a lot easier and helpful.
I rate Snowflake an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solutions Architect at a recruiting/HR firm with 1-10 employees
Easy to query, provides accurate results
Pros and Cons
- "Very easy to use and easy to query."
- "The cost of the solution could be reduced."
What is our primary use case?
We use Snowflake as a data warehouse and analytics platform. I'm a solution architect and we are customers of Snowflake.
What is most valuable?
It's very easy to use, easy to query, and it provides pretty accurate results. It's a market leader.
What needs improvement?
The price could be reduced, it's quite high.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using this solution for about three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is highly scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't used the technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy, especially if you have cloud knowledge. We have around 150 users.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We moved from Red Shift to Snowflake because of scalability and the independence it provided.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this solution eight out of 10 and recommend it to other users.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Data & Analytics Practitioner (BIDW, Big Data) at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Internally optimizes well, scales automatically, and offers great performance features
Pros and Cons
- "I like the fact that we don't need a DBA. It automatically scales stuff."
- "It's not that flexible when compared to Oracle."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the Matillion as the ETL tool and Snowflake has storage and there is no data warehouse component for storage.
What is most valuable?
I like the fact that we don't need a DBA. It automatically scales stuff.
Snowflake has better performance features; it automatically knows the difference between the data volume. It adjusts itself.
The performance is great. It internally optimizes well.
The product is stable.
The solution is scalable.
What needs improvement?
There are certain special features that are not available. For example, in Oracle, we have an SQL field. We have functions, procedures, packages, et cetera, which you can create similarly in Snowflake. However, it's not that flexible when compared to Oracle.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution in the last year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable and the performance is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's extremely reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Snowflake scales well. If a company needs to expand, it can do so.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We also use Matillion. I find Snowflake a bit better.
What other advice do I have?
We're partners.
While I can't speak to the version number we are using, we're always on the latest version of the solution.
Snowflake is a good product. It is quite robust and scalable. However, a few of the functions are a little complex in Snowflake.
I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Director of Enginnering at Sigmoid
Automatically scales as needed and supports JSON, XML, and Parquet files
Pros and Cons
- "Working with Parquet files is support out of the box and it makes large dataset processing much easier."
- "If we can have a feature where the results can be moved to different tabs, so that I can compare the results with earlier queries before applying the changes, it would be great."
What is our primary use case?
We have used Snowflake as a data warehouse solution in one of my projects and as a combination of data lake and DWH for another project.
In the second project, we migrated from a SQL DB to Snowflake as the DB was becoming a bottleneck in terms of storage and also in speed of execution of the queries as the data was growing. We also have JSON, which is hard to store and process in a SQL database. This is something that is handled beautifully by Snowflake.
In the first project, we used Snowflake as a simple DWH to store and process data. Also, as a BI reporting source.
How has it helped my organization?
Snowflake helped us to improve query performance as the data was growing. Also, we could store and process JSON and XML using Snowflake, which was not possible with RDBMS solutions. This also helped us to store huge amounts of data in Snowflake as a single source of truth and we could also use it as DWH. It is a single technology for multiple use cases.
Snowflake also helped us improve query performance to a great extent. The inserts of large JSON objects are very quick and processing them is very easy.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are:
- The Virtual Warehouse and separate storage is definitely one of the best features. It automatically scales the warehouse up and down as per the usage.
- Processing semi-structured data like JSON and XML has helped reduce a lot of coding that was needed earlier.
- The speed of execution is definitely good.
- There is zero maintenance activity required from users on the database, which is a big plus.
- Working with Parquet files is supported out of the box and it makes large dataset processing much easier.
- Automatic scaling up and down.
What needs improvement?
Several areas need to be improved, as follows:
- Cost reduction: This is always good to have, and nobody would say no to it.
- Implement multiple result windows as tabs to compare results. If we can have a feature where the results can be moved to different tabs, so that I can compare the results with earlier queries before applying the changes, it would be great. Also, it should be optional, where it can be enabled or disabled as needed.
- I would like to be able to copy the results onto the clipboard and paste them directly into Excel.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Snowflake for two years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Solutions Architect at NessPRO Italy
The syntax is advanced which reduces the time to write code
Pros and Cons
- "The syntax is advanced which reduces the time to write code."
- "They should improve the reporting tools."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for presentations to clients.
What is most valuable?
The syntax is advanced which reduces the time to write code.
What needs improvement?
They should improve the reporting tools.
They could increase their bandwidth to connect to other ETL tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for around six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good. There is no performance downtime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
If there is a need for scaling the setup is not so good.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex. We needed a dedicated person for the setup. Once we know the requirements, it's not that complex. It has straightforward parameters.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Snowflake an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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