Our primary use case for Snowflake is inputting data generated by AWS.
Data Engineer at YASH Technologies
Options to connect with extendable sources in three buckets comes in handy
Pros and Cons
- "This solution has helped our organization by being easy to maintain and having good technical support."
- "I think that Snowflake could improve its user interface. The current one is not interactive."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
This solution has helped our organization by being easy to maintain and having good technical support.
What is most valuable?
The features I have found most valuable are the options to connect with extendable sources in three buckets in which we can also create stages.
What needs improvement?
I think that Snowflake could improve its user interface. The current one is not interactive.
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For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of this solution a nine, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of this solution a 10, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best. There are around five developers in our company and 500 end users for this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously worked in AWS.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate the initial setup process an eight, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise other people trying to use this solution to build a skill balance as it's quite difficult to work in Snowflake.
I would rate this solution as a whole a nine, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr Manager at Publicis Sapient
Standard and competitive pricing, excellent starting place, with straightforward in-house deployment
Pros and Cons
- "I like the ability to work with a managed service on the cloud and that is easy to start with."
- "From the documentation, the black box is not very descriptive. Snowflake does not reveal how exactly the data is processed or sourced."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case is for building a database and data link.
What is most valuable?
I like the ability to work with a managed service on the cloud and that is easy to start with.
What needs improvement?
From the documentation, the black box is not very descriptive. Snowflake does not reveal how exactly the data is processed or sourced.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is reliable and a standard product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is very good and we have around two hundred data sets currently operating.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good. It is readily available and they are very responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
You can do the implementation in-house since it is a managed service and only takes a few hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is economical as compared to traditional solutions like Oracle and competitive pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Snowflake a nine 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
Buyer's Guide
Snowflake
October 2024
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Founder at Unknown.University
Optimizes costs, works with various clouds, and great dashboards
Pros and Cons
- "It helped us to build MVP (minimum viable product) for our idea of building a data warehouse model for small businesses."
- "We are yet to figure out how to integrate tools, such as Liquibase, to release changes to our data warehouse model."
What is our primary use case?
Data warehousing is typically a rich guys' toy. Large enterprises are only able to leverage data warehouses for data analytics purposes. We wanted to change that and wanted to build a data warehouse template model for businesses across industries.
If Snowflake was not around, we would have used Google's Big Query or Amazon's Redshift, or a MYSQL/Postgres database in a Windows VM (virtual machine). However, Snowflake made it a lot easier for us with loads of features such as encryption of data in motion and at rest, masking policies, time travel (to correct data load issues), controlled access based on roles, data sharing, third-party data from marketplaces, etc.
How has it helped my organization?
It helped us to build MVP (minimum viable product) for our idea of building a data warehouse model for small businesses.
About ten years ago, force.com from salesforce.com offered a similar platform for us to build data warehouses. However, our staff with a data engineering background found it easier to build the data warehouse in Snowflake, with the easy-to-use SQL interface and RBAC models (role-based access control). The platform saved us money as it automatically shuts down the compute engines after about five minutes of idle time. Per second billing (above the first minute) is great.
What is most valuable?
In my view, cost optimization for the computing power required by the ETL jobs, reports, and dashboards is the most valuable feature. Especially for startups, this helps us to keep cost spending within control without having to worry about manually shutting down the server when not used.
As a Google partner, we like to leverage GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Snowflake supports GCP, AWS & Azure platforms. This works just fine for us. Encryption of data with multiple keys for both data in transit and data at rest gives us enough confidence to use snowflake for our customer 360 solutions.
What needs improvement?
Currently, we use Snowsight only to monitor the usage of the Snowflake environment by our users. However, if Snowsight can be improved, we can host our BI (business intelligence) environment also within Snowflake. In our case, to provide basic reports and dashboards, we started to use Tableau, Power BI, Looker, and Qliksense, depending on our customer preference.
We are yet to figure out how to integrate tools, such as Liquibase, to release changes to our data warehouse model. If Snowflake could guide us with some easy-to-use integration (similar to DBT integration), that would be great.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution since 2020.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stable
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalable
How are customer service and support?
Support can be enabled in the Snowflake UI.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In the past, we used Google Cloud SQL. However, Snowflake offered cost optimization among the many other useful features. They also introduced app building on top of the data hosted.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not difficult. Google Search will lead us to articles that can guide us on the setup of users, roles, warehouses, and access controls.
What about the implementation team?
We did the initial setup on our own, and it was not difficult.
What was our ROI?
We constantly monitor the usage with grafana dashboards to keep the ROI growing and to assist/ alert users about any wastage.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Many interesting features are available only in the enterprise edition. Check out the differences when you are evaluating the product: https://docs.snowflake.com/en/...
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We considered MySQL and Google Big Query. We're also happy with Google Big Query.
What other advice do I have?
Snowflake is growing with newer features and capabilities. But not much success with Stream lit app. Big query + app sheet is an alternative that we're considering.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Oct 31, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSenior Data Engineer at ITMatter
Good for handling large datasets and helpful in areas like data
Pros and Cons
- "The integration capabilities of the product are good and you get what you pay for when it comes to Snowflake."
- "I don't think that the AI tools in Snowflake are good."
What is our primary use case?
Our company uses the solution for building a data platform, data warehouse, and data transformation.
The product is somewhat used for data analytics, but it is mostly for data engineering.
What is most valuable?
The tool is good for handling large datasets, and since the tool is fully managed by Snowflake, you can scale up the compute part.
What needs improvement?
I don't think that the AI tools in Snowflake are good. AI tools in Snowflake can be improved. Even if the AI tools in Snowflake are good, I feel that it would be expensive. The cost of the AI part does not justify what you get from the product.
The price of the product can be lowered.
I think Snowflake should integrate with some tools like ChatGPT.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable and can be considered a good fit for small and medium businesses.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't directly contacted the technical support team of the product.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Azure Databricks and Azure Data Factory. My company decided to use Snowflake since we wanted to be able to get up and running fast without much configuration-related mess. Snowflake doesn't give you the options with the configuration part since, by default, it is available out of the box. In terms of machine learning, Azure Databricks has the upper hand over other products.
How was the initial setup?
The product's deployment phase was quite okay.
The solution can be deployed in a few days or up to a week.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product's price range falls between average to a bit expensive range. I think the tool is worth the money if you use it properly. It is difficult for me to speak about the number of users who use the product. My company pays around a couple of thousand dollars a month to 10,000 dollars or more.
What other advice do I have?
I think the main benefit is that with the tool, you can easily get things going without problems since you don't need to configure all the parameters manually. If you buy the tool for a bigger computing purpose, the engineer can pay more attention to the tool, and I guess after that, you can do more with the solution. I would ask others not to think about the data warehouses, as Snowflake takes care of such areas.
The benefits from the use of the product can be realized in around 40 minutes. It is a good technology for getting up and running quickly.
Snowflake is integrated with Azure Data Platform and other ETL tools in our company's ecosystem.
The integration capabilities of the product are good and you get what you pay for when it comes to Snowflake.
I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Jun 7, 2024
Flag as inappropriateDBA Individual Contributor at Aristeia Capital
Good performance, straightforward to set up, and there is flexibility in pricing
Pros and Cons
- "It's ultra-fast at handling queries, which is what we find very convenient."
- "Snowflake has support for stored procedures, but it is not that powerful."
What is our primary use case?
Snowflake is used for very large data, such as in the case where tables might contain 600 to 700 million records.
What is most valuable?
It's ultra-fast at handling queries, which is what we find very convenient.
The pricing and licensing model is good.
What needs improvement?
Snowflake has support for stored procedures, but it is not that powerful. They have a lot of limitations. For example, it is really basic and there are limitations on subqueries.
The functions are not very good. Improving this would help to make sure data manipulation much easier. Right now, the inbuilt stored procedures and functions are all Java-based.
For how long have I used the solution?
I Have been using SnowFlake for about five months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 10 people in the organization who are using Snowflake.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use Snowflake in conjunction with Matillion, which is another AWS-based ETL tool. It is being used as a bridge between our on-premises data and Snowflake.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. You simply log in and start using it.
When it comes to deployment, you can choose between the AWS and Azure cloud. We chose AWS.
What about the implementation team?
It is easy to create an instance and you can do it yourself if you have an AWS account. Snowflake will give you the connection ID and other relevant details.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is flexible in that, for example, if I run a query and it is slow then I can increase the processing power while it is still running, and they charge more for the time. The cost is on a per-query basis.
If you're running with a base processor, called a warehouse, the query might cost 1.0 cents. But, if my query is slow and I want to increase the speed, the next level adds a little more cost to that.
On average, with the number of queries that we run, we pay approximately $200 USD per month.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Recently, we have been doing a review of Redshift. However, we finally decided to go with Snowflake.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is considering Snowflake is that it is a really good product, especially if you are having issues with Big Data. It is not good for a typical OLTP environment, such as a small table.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Program Manager at InfoCepts
A scalable and cost-effective solution that stores data streamed from the source system
Pros and Cons
- "The best thing about Snowflake is its flexibility in changing warehouse sizes or computational power."
- "Currently, Snowflake doesn't support unstructured data."
What is our primary use case?
We use Snowflake as a database to store all the data we stream from the source system.
What is most valuable?
The best thing about Snowflake is its flexibility in changing warehouse sizes or computational power. If I want to change the computation with other tools like Netezza, I would have to add a hard disk to it. With Snowflake, being on the AWS side, changing warehouses provides me with faster execution of my queries.
What needs improvement?
The real-time streaming feature is limited with Snowflake and could be improved.
Currently, Snowflake doesn't support unstructured data. With Snowflake, you need to be very particular about the type of data in your source systems. It has to be in a proper structure. You cannot push data to Snowflake in any possible way.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Snowflake is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Around 400 users are using the solution in our organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used IBM Netezza. We switched to Snowflake in 2020 because it provided us control over its scalability and costing model.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is comparatively easier.
What was our ROI?
Snowflake is a cloud-based, scalable solution that provides strong data security. Handling all the data is much easier in Snowflake, and it has a very nice interface to control user access. The administration of Snowflake is also comparatively easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Snowflake is a cost-effective solution.
What other advice do I have?
Choosing Snowflake completely depends on the quantum of data your organization has and the requirements. Snowflake is suitable for someone looking for a scalable and cost-effective solution that provides quick analysis.
Overall, I rate Snowflake a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Architect at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Increases productivity, is stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Snowflake is faster than on-premise systems and allows for variable compute power based on need."
- "Snowflake can improve its machine learning and AI capabilities."
What is our primary use case?
In our organization, data is often spread out over multiple on-premise and cloud-based platforms. Snowflake is an agnostic platform, meaning it can be used regardless of which cloud provider we use and can serve as a single source for all of our data. Our use case then is to ensure that all data is located in one place, utilizing Snowflake as the platform.
How has it helped my organization?
With Snowflake, productivity can be increased. Snowflake is faster than on-premise systems and allows for variable compute power based on need. We are currently experimenting with ways to reduce processing time from eight hours to six hours or even less.
What is most valuable?
The vendor claims that the provision of warming sensors quickly enables warmth to compute nodes, which is their Unique Selling Point. From my experience, this has proven to be true.
What needs improvement?
For the past year and a half, I have experimented with different proof of concept. I have wanted to use Snowflake, however, I have not been able to do so. Microsoft Azure is superior to Snowflake in terms of its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities. Snowflake has its own unique products, but Azure surpasses it in those areas. Snowflake can improve its machine learning and AI capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I found that Snowflake is highly stable, which is a reflection of the quality of its network.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have gone to the extremes from a scalability perspective and I give Snowflake's scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
As a premium customer for all these solutions, we have received excellent support overall with no issues encountered thus far. However, it is possible that some users of the free version may be experiencing some issues. I cannot confirm this, but from my experience, there have been no difficulties.
How was the initial setup?
I give the initial setup a seven out of ten for ease and time required.
What about the implementation team?
We are leveraging Snowflake, a cloud-based platform, both independently and in collaboration with the vendor. Our objectives for utilizing Snowflake are distinct from those of the vendor.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Comparing Snowflake to on-prem options such as Oracle or SAP, it seemed more cost-effective. With Vantage, a one-time purchase allows for use as many times and to a large capacity, whereas Snowflake, Azure, and similar services become increasingly expensive as the scale increases. Determining the best point of cost-effectiveness requires further study.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have tested all the different alternatives to Snowflake as well. It is hard to determine which one is the most suitable, as each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
Deciding between Azure Synapse and Snowflake can be difficult, as the best choice depends on one's own use case. Ultimately, it comes down to the available connectors; the product with more connectors is likely the better option. When making a decision, one should consider which other sources they would want to get data from and where they want to send data to. This can help inform their product selection.
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
Manager IT BRM/FRM at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Supports different development languages, but needs better data sharing capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "The adaptation to development languages is most valuable. Our developers can SQL code or something else. It has been convenient in that regard."
- "The data sharing capabilities across business units within the organization should be better."
What is our primary use case?
We're ingesting third-party data analytics into a database held within Snowflake. We have pre-production and production environments with integration to staging and production schemas.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved the way our organization functions. However, we're still pretty elementary in our understanding of how it all works and the complete capabilities of Snowflake.
What is most valuable?
The adaptation to development languages is most valuable. Our developers can SQL code or something else. It has been convenient in that regard.
What needs improvement?
The data sharing capabilities across business units within the organization should be better. There could also be better integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Snowflake for a year and three months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have high confidence in it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have high confidence in its scalability. In terms of its users, for our solution, we only have a team of 10, but we have plans to increase its usage.
How are customer service and support?
We haven't had any technical contact. All of it has been internal for our organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This is a net-new solution. So, it's brand new. We chose Snowflake for a variety of reasons, but mainly, we chose it for its scalability and data sharing capabilities.
How was the initial setup?
I would rate it a three out of five in terms of complexity just because we didn't have any Snowflake developers that were available. The implementation took about three months.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it on our own.
What was our ROI?
We have not yet seen an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We're based on credits. So, we're paying four and a half dollars of credit. There are no additional costs. I would rate it a two out of five in terms of pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise ensuring that you have the expertise with domain knowledge in Snowflake. The time from initial concept to deployment could be expedited extremely fast. Just from our internal learnings, we see that our time to production has increased month over month.
I would rate it a six out of ten just because we're unaware or naive to the full capabilities of the product. However, I would highly recommend it in terms of setting up data warehousing internally over an Azure solution, such as Synapse, or something else.
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?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: October 2024
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