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Data Engineer at Natwest
Real User
Top 20
Good scalability and has a simple query process
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's computing time is less."
  • "Its stability could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to build the pipelines in stream sets, including data source, data warehouse, and destination endpoints.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable features are storage, run time, scalability, and minimum query time compared to other vendors.

What needs improvement?

The solution's stability needs improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for seven or eight months.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Recently, I encountered an issue with the solution's data warehouse. The resource monitor had exceeded its quota. I rate its stability as an eight.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the solution's scalability as a nine.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We use Hive and Hadoop as well. Snowflake is more stable and scalable.

What other advice do I have?

The solution is more straightforward to use than the other IDBMS tools. It has a simple query process. Its computing time is less as well. One can easily have access to it. I rate it as a nine.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Adnan Shafiq - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President - Database Management (Principal Solutions Architect) at Northbay
Real User
Highly scalable, full featured, and simple setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Snowflake is it's an all-in-one data warehousing solution."
  • "Snowflake could improve migration. It should be made easier. It would be beneficial if it could offer some OLTP features. One of our customers was using Oracle for both data warehousing and OLTP workloads, and they were able to migrate their data warehousing workloads to Snowflake without major issues. However, for some of their OLTP requirements, such as needing a response time of fewer than 10 milliseconds for certain queries, Snowflake is currently unable to provide that."

What is our primary use case?

I am using Snowflake for all our apps and data warehousing requirements.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Snowflake is it's an all-in-one data warehousing solution. 

What needs improvement?

Snowflake could improve migration. It should be made easier. It would be beneficial if it could offer some OLTP features. One of our customers was using Oracle for both data warehousing and OLTP workloads, and they were able to migrate their data warehousing workloads to Snowflake without major issues. However, for some of their OLTP requirements, such as needing a response time of fewer than 10 milliseconds for certain queries, Snowflake is currently unable to provide that.

It would be beneficial to see more integration and reporting tools embedded within the platform, similar to what Microsoft offers with its data warehouse and database solutions. Oracle, on the other hand, does not have such features. While Snowflake has a lot of options available on its marketplace, it would be helpful if it could provide more optimal options for users who are migrating from other environments. It would be great if they could follow the same path as Microsoft in this regard.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Snowflake for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Snowflake is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have two clients using this solution.

The solution is highly scalable.

How are customer service and support?

We don't have direct support for Snowflake as we support our clients. If any support is required, our clients connect with Snowflake's support team and get the necessary assistance. They own the support account.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Snowflake is easy. We only need to create a login, there is no conventional setup.

When it comes to migrating from a previous platform to Snowflake, it largely depends on the size of the data warehouse, the number of integrations, the existing data pipelines, and the type of data sources. The complexity and size of the current deployment will determine how difficult the migration process will be.

What was our ROI?

The ROI appears good on paper, particularly in terms of cost reduction in operations. However, as companies have only been using Snowflake for a year and it's hard to say for sure. It looks promising for now, but it will take a year or so to see if it holds up in practice.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Snowflake is a cloud-based solution that uses a pay-as-you-go model. The storage and processing are separated, and you are mainly charged for the processing power you use. Additionally, there is a charge for storage, but the primary cost comes from the processing. You can choose different sizes of processing units, also known as warehouses, for your specific workload or requirements. You pay for the per-second utilization of those computing resources.

Snowflake is cost-effective. However, the cost can depend on how it's being used and how efficiently the code is written. If engineers don't write efficient code and usage is billed based on processing, it can become costly. If they write optimal code and choose the best solution, it can reduce costs in comparison to other options, such as Oracle.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I 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
PeerSpot user
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Snowflake
December 2024
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Data Engineer at Naver Corp
Real User
Generates metrics efficiently, but the integration process needs enhancement
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform's most valuable features include its ability to effectively summarize and manage large datasets, allowing multiple teams to analyze and generate insights."
  • "Improvement is needed in integrating external tools, such as data catalogs, which can be complicated due to differing formats and usage across departments."

What is most valuable?

The platform's most valuable features include its ability to effectively summarize and manage large datasets, allowing multiple teams to analyze and generate insights. Its integration with data lakes for business impact analysis, performance metrics, and KPIs is particularly important.

What needs improvement?

Improvement is needed in integrating external tools, such as data catalogs, which can be complicated due to differing formats and usage across departments. The goal is to enhance collaboration and streamline workflows.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product's scalability is crucial for managing petabyte-scale data generated daily across various regions, allowing for efficient data validation and handling.

How was the initial setup?

The primary challenges during the initial setup were the high pricing and uncertainties regarding future costs associated with data usage. 

The deployment involved consultation among managers, agreement on on-site requirements, scale calculations, and collaboration with engineers for setup approval.

I rate the process a seven out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

Snowflake is integrated through a complex workflow that involves collecting data on the publisher side, using tools like Airflow and Kafka for batch jobs, and frequently importing data into the product from various sources, including S3 and Data Lakes. It creates a smooth data pipeline.

I rate it a seven out of ten. 

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.
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Practice Head at Vyom Labs
Real User
Top 5
Users can pay as they use and not worry about the maintenance of the data warehouse
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Snowflake are that you have to pay per usage, and you don't have to worry about the maintenance of the data warehouse because it is on the cloud."
  • "It would be helpful if Snowflake could create good reports instead of using Power BI reports."

What is our primary use case?

The solution has use cases related to retail stores and sales.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Snowflake are that you have to pay per usage, and you don't have to worry about the maintenance of the data warehouse because it is on the cloud.

What needs improvement?

The solution’s pricing could be cheaper. It would be helpful if Snowflake could create good reports instead of using Power BI reports.

For how long have I used the solution?


What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the solution a nine out of ten for stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Snowflake is a scalable solution. We have four to five customers for Snowflake who use it regularly.

How was the initial setup?

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The solution's deployment in a development environment takes only a couple of minutes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Users have to pay a licensing fee for the solution, which is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Snowflake is deployed on the cloud. The solution is providing HIPAA compliance, which is sufficient. Users looking for a pay-as-you-use product available on Azure or AWS should consider Snowflake.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Hussain Modu - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Wipro Limited
Real User
Allows us to connect to the database and import required tables into our system
Pros and Cons
  • "This is the advanced version of the cloud version, so it's really a flexible tool. If you have it implemented at home, you can access it from anywhere."
  • "These aren't as crucial, but there are common errors sometimes where the database is down, or a table is nullified and a new table is added and you are not given access to that. With those errors, you don't have permissions."

What is our primary use case?

We're using Snowflake for Power BI Cloud. We had a cloud version of Snowflake, so we were connecting to the Snowflake database and importing required tables into our system, Power BI Desktop. From there, we linked those tables and created a semantic layer, an internal layer between the frontend and backend, and then we tuned the data. Then we used both the tables to tie into the dashboards that we developed. The dashboards show the sales information or marketing information.

It's a cloud solution.

What is most valuable?

I like the entire database. This is the advanced version of the cloud version, so it's really a flexible tool. If you have it implemented at home, you can access it from anywhere.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes when I'm trying to refresh the data, my different application or tool has to connect to its backend database through the connection I create. Sometimes, I face some issues like not having permissions. These aren't as crucial, but there are common errors sometimes where the database is down, or a table is nullified and a new table is added and you are not given access to that. With those errors, you don't have permissions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Snowflake for a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. It handles a lot of data, and the processing speed is very high.

How was the initial setup?

It's straightforward. You have to have a rule, database names, and a schema name.

When somebody deploys it and gives me the URL and the required tables to use, I use the URL and configure it from the frontend side, reporting side that could be more like Power BI or Tableau, and I start using it.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1429782 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
Handles multiple data flows, useful data enrichment, and beneficial reports
Pros and Cons
  • "Snowflake's most valuable features are data enrichment and flattening."
  • "The complexity of the initial setup of Snowflake depends on the use case. However, Snowflake itself, we don't set it up. The difficulty comes from the ingestion patterns, depending on what data I'm putting in, what kind of enrichment, and what additional value we have to add. However, it does tend to get complex because we have a lot of semi-structured data which we need to handle in Snowflake. There have been some challenges."

What is our primary use case?

We are also using Apigee we have various consumption patterns, data enrichment, and few shedding of the data, and everything goes into Snowflake. If it is multiple consumers, it goes into AMQ, Kafka, or multiple streams to consume. There are specific APIs that we offer after we send the data into the S3 bucket. We have Apigee APIs for consumption, and there are three to four different patterns. For example, we enrich the data, flatten it, and structure everything before the customers going to go into Snowflake. 

There are going to be specific clients who need specific data from the overall data lake, those are going to be exposed as APIs. We have multiple customers needing the same data and for this, we move them into the streaming Kafka.

Apigee does not communicate directly with Snowflake. We have data registration, and everything is coming into something that is called the trusted bucket. The  Apigee interface API is written off the S3 bucket. The S3 bucket data is moved into the Delta Lake, and where the data are stored from the Delta Lake, it sends it to Snowflake. We have Apigee going to Delta Lake and S3 bucket, but  Apigee does not go to Snowflake, these are two areas where it goes to. 

We have Kafka consuming directly off Delta Lake, and it sends data to Kafka through the AMQ. We have its setup, and we have interfaces that come directly to Snowflake to pull the data. It is then flattened and enriched, and it is used for many purposes, such as reporting.

What is most valuable?

Snowflake's most valuable features are data enrichment and flattening.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used Snowflake within the last 12 months.

How was the initial setup?

The complexity of the initial setup of Snowflake depends on the use case. However, Snowflake itself, we don't set it up. The difficulty comes from the ingestion patterns, depending on what data I'm putting in, what kind of enrichment, and what additional value we have to add. However, it does tend to get complex because we have a lot of semi-structured data which we need to handle in Snowflake. There have been some challenges.

Snowflake has multiple implementations. For example, it can be implemented on Amazon AWS and on-premise. The data between these two cannot work together because they have different time zones. That's where the integration can be difficult because it is similar to them being on separate islands, they are completely separate. At some point, everything is going to go into the Amazon AWS Snowflake, but right now there are two islands that are completely different. We have to pull the data out and send it out again separately through a different pipeline.

In the future, this type of implementation should be easier. The integration could be better. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate Snowflake an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
HarishAjjarapu - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Stable tool with a variety of useful, unique features
Pros and Cons
  • "The Time Travel feature is helpful for accessing historical data and the ability to clone external tables is useful."
  • "I would like to see more transparency in data processing, ATLs, and compute areas - which should give more comfort to the end users."

What is our primary use case?

I am a solutions architect for Snowflake.

What is most valuable?

The Time Travel feature is helpful for accessing historical data and the ability to clone external tables is useful.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see more transparency in data processing, ATLs, and compute areas - which should give more comfort to the end-users. 

Improvement to the end-to-end process of loading data into Snowflake could be made as well.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable enough.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I believe that pricing is reasonable for this solution.

What other advice do I have?

Snowflake is easy for business users to implement, allowing them to start small and grow big.

I think people are still debating on whether they should still continue with S3 and add Snowflake or, whether they should take away S3 and completely rely on Snowflake.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1613421 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Snowflake Data Architect @ COOP Financials NC at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
High performance, useful features, and scales well
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are sharing data, Time Travel, Zero Copy Cloning, performance, and speed."
  • "The UI could improve because sometimes in the security query the UI freezes. We then have to close the window and restart."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for a data warehouse and we generating reports and dashboards.

How has it helped my organization?

Snowflake has improved my organization because of its high performance compared to the old way we used to operate with Microsoft SQL Server. We are migrating everything from SQL Server to Snowflake. It used to take a lot of time to query the database but now it is done a lot faster, we receive millions and billions of reports. This is a major benefit because it is our major use case.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are sharing data, Time Travel, Zero Copy Cloning, performance, and speed.

The solution is very easy to run the queries. We have a built-in query optimizer in Snowflake that works very well.

What needs improvement?

The UI could improve because sometimes in the security query the UI freezes. We then have to close the window and restart.

There should be an IDE concept similar to the Java IDE or Eclipse feature. I should be able to see all of the functions available on a particular object. Every time we need to go to the Snowflake documentation and look if there are any methods we need. It is hard to remember everything, go and search, and use that that eventually found method. If it was possible to list out all the methods and functions available in an object that would help the developer's a lot.

In an upcoming release, we should be able to send or receive data from external systems but this is not able to be done. There should be built-in logging and monitoring features, we should not need to be dependant on third-party solutions, such as Splunk. There should be more DevOps features to reduce the usage of third-party tools. If these features were part of Snowflake it would be a fully functional complete solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Snowflake for approximately two and a half years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

They claim zero maintenance support and from my experience, I would agree with that statement. When I was on a previous project we had a lot of support for the Netezza platform we were using. We had approximately twelve people, three onsite and seven offshore. When we migrated from Netezza to Snowflake we reduced the number of people required and kept only some of the team as developers. There is very little support required for this solution. Stability is very good in SnowFlake.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is built into this solution as being on the cloud. It is able to scale in all directions. Additionally, they have a multi-cluster warehouse, and based on the business use case it is very good.

There are approximately 4,000 portals. However, we do not know how many users our clients have that are using their portals.

We are building new data warehouses and we are migrating from SQL Server to Snowflake.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support is very good. We create tickets and they respond with a solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using SQL Server previously and we switched because of the increased performance, multi-clustered shared environment, scalability, and we wanted to use a cloud-based solution.

How was the initial setup?

Everything with the installation went smoothly. I believe when I joined the company Snowflake was already here. They bought the Business Edition that is encrypted everywhere because they are a financial insurance company and most of them choose the Business Edition because of the security.

What about the implementation team?

The company I work for used SnowFlake integrators for implementation assistance.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Eclipse and IBM Netezza.

What other advice do I have?

The solution is very easy and flexible to integrate with any type of API.

I rate Snowflake a nine 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Snowflake Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Snowflake Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.