Snowflake Product Guide
Interested in discovering how Snowflake really performs? This product guide was compiled from real user reviews and lays out how the product performs for them. Get an accurate picture of Snowflake from those who know it best.
Highlight the Right Reviews
Throughout the guide below, there are links directly to reviews. Select the reviewers most relevant to you, and those links will be highlighted in blue.
Table of Contents
Data Processing and Analytics
Query Processing and Analytics
Reviewers consistently praise Snowflake’s query processing and analytics capabilities. Users highlight the platform’s efficiency in handling large datasets and its ability to query terabytes of data in seconds. Snowflake’s SQL-based language and cloud-based analytical data store type workloads are particularly commended for their scalability and performance. Additionally, the separation of compute from storage and the secure and compressed storage for semi-structured data contribute to Snowflake’s appeal in delivering timely and scalable insights. While some users mention limitations with unstructured data and the need for more cost-effective data delivery methods, overall, Snowflake’s query processing and analytics functionalities receive positive feedback for their speed, efficiency, and ability to support various analytical tasks. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake is definitely suited for analytics, querying, reporting purposes.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“Snowflake is a cloud-based warehousing solution that is very quick and easy to maintain. Snowflake stores data in blocks by compressing the data. This allows query processing to be much faster compared to fetching rows.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
“Snowflake is very well suited if your organization wants to start small with minimal investment, and then grow at any pace. It is also good for teams that already know SQL from working on another platform, such as MS SQL Server.” – Administrator in Information Technology, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
Compute and Performance Optimization
Users consistently praise Snowflake’s performance and efficiency in data processing and analytics. Snowflake’s compute and performance optimization capabilities are highly regarded for their ability to handle large volumes of data with speed and ease. Users appreciate the platform’s dynamic compute options, which allow for cost-effective and efficient data processing. The separation of compute from storage in Snowflake’s architecture is highlighted as a key feature that enhances performance and scalability. While some users mention the need for careful cost monitoring and potential complexities in query history management, overall, Snowflake’s compute and performance optimization features are seen as strong assets that contribute to streamlined data operations. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake is a powerful warehousing solution and suits companies with large scale of data. It helps with fast querying of data, and there is little need to manage computation, since it is managed for you.” – Engineer in Other, Computer Software, 201-500 employees
“Snowflake has accelerated our ability to offer a single reporting solution that blends many disparate databases together; There is a need, however, to carefully monitor costs.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“Snowflake allows storage and computing to scale independently, so customers can use and pay for storage and computation separately. This cloud-based solution requires minimum support once the development is completed.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Real-Time Data Processing
User consensus seems to be that Snowflake excels in real-time data processing capabilities. Reviewers consistently praise Snowflake for its ability to provide data in almost real-time, with only a minimal lag time of 5 to 30 minutes depending on the database size. Users highlight the convenience of having all data accessible in one centralized location, enabling teams to efficiently carry out their tasks. Snowflake’s real-time data processing functionality is lauded for its time-saving benefits and its significant return on investment for businesses. Additionally, stakeholders find assurance in the platform’s reliability to handle heavy workloads, even amidst an increase in the number of employees. (Source Reviews: 1, 2)
“Snowflake is currently used as the main data warehouse for the company, by creating a replica of the databases in production and storing them all in one single data warehouse, it gives access to the whole company to data in almost real time, the lag is about 5 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the DB.” – Manager in Product Management, Financial Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Data Management and Storage
Cloud Data Warehousing
Users generally praise Snowflake for its robust cloud-based data warehousing solution. Reviewers consistently highlight Snowflake’s cloud data warehousing capabilities as a key strength, emphasizing its ease of use and scalability. While some users mention limitations when working with unstructured data, overall, Snowflake’s cloud data warehousing functionality is well-regarded for its efficiency and performance. Snowflake’s ability to provide a centralized solution for organizations, coupled with its support for multiple cloud platforms, makes it a preferred choice for those seeking a reliable cloud data warehousing solution. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake is a cloud-based warehousing solution that is very quick and easy to maintain. Snowflake stores data in blocks by compressing the data. This allows query processing to be much faster compared to fetching rows. Also, you can change the resource consumption as per need.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
“Snowflake is a modern cloud data platform that InterWorks refers, resells, and implements for our data analytics clients. We also use it to back our internal data analytics initiatives within InterWorks. Customers of ours use Snowflake across every vertical and industry for any problem where they need an efficient, easy to use, scalable data environment.” – Director in Engineering, Information Services, 201-500 employees
“However, it does require a dedicated team and an upfront cost in setting up and structuring the warehouse. Some solutions such as AWS’s Redshift or GCP’s Bigquery could be better alternatives if already within the AWS or GCP ecosystem. Bigquery in particular has a low upfront cost and a better pricing model.” – Engineer in Other, Computer Software, 201-500 employees
Data Storage Solutions
User feedback on Snowflake’s data storage solutions consistently highlights the platform’s robust capabilities in storing, managing, and utilizing data efficiently. Customers appreciate Snowflake’s cloud-based architecture, which allows for scalable and flexible storage options tailored to varying business needs. The ability to separate compute from storage is a standout feature, enabling users to optimize resource allocation and enhance overall data storage performance. Snowflake’s support for structured and semi-structured data formats further enhances its appeal, providing users with a versatile solution for handling diverse data types effectively. Additionally, the platform’s intuitive interface and granular security features contribute to a positive user experience when managing data storage within Snowflake. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake is a cloud-based warehousing solution that is very quick and easy to maintain. Snowflake stores data in blocks by compressing the data. This allows query processing to be much faster compared to fetching rows. Also, you can change the resource consumption as per need.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
“Snowflake is very well suited if your organization wants to start small with minimal investment, and then grow at any pace. It is also good for teams that already know SQL from working on another platform, such as MS SQL Server. It pairs really well with integration tasks because of its native ability to handle JSON data, for both import and querying.” – Administrator in Information Technology, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
Structured and Semi-Structured Data Management
Users consistently highlight Snowflake’s robust support for structured and semi-structured data management, particularly praising its ability to handle various data formats such as JSON, CSVs, and XML with ease. The platform’s efficient processing of semi-structured data like JSON and its dynamic compute capabilities are frequently commended by reviewers. Snowflake’s native solutions for managing semi-structured data and its SQL-based querying language are often cited as key strengths by users. Additionally, the platform’s secure and compressed storage for semi-structured data receives positive feedback for enhancing data management workflows. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
“Efficient handling of large data sets in a scalable way; Ability to connect from a variety of tools (Tableau, Metabase, JDBC, many more); Querying and output of data in JSON format; Built-in query and export tools. Snowflake is very well suited if your organization wants to start small with minimal investment, and then grow at any pace.” – Administrator in Information Technology, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
“The beauty of Snowflake is virtual warehouses. This provides an isolated workload and capacity (Virtual warehouse). This allows separating or categorizing workloads and query processing according to our requirements. Snowflake provides a unique architecture that supports structured and semi-structured data, provides the ready-made solutions to process with the semi-structured data such as JSON, Avro, ORC, Parquet, and XML.” – Engineer in Information Technology, Financial Services, 10,001+ employees
“Impressive data retrieval and data compression ratio. Semi-structured data (JSON, XML) can be loaded as is and retrieved in a tabular structure on the fly using the flatten function. Zero-copy cloning is an excellent feature which saves hours to refresh latest data in development instance.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Consumer Goods, 51-200 employees
Development, Deployment, and Management
Database and Schema Design
User consensus seems to be that Snowflake excels in database and schema design capabilities. Reviewers appreciate Snowflake’s user-friendly interface for creating databases, schemas, tables, and assigning permissions with ease. The platform’s ability to separate compute from storage and accommodate varying workloads for different scenarios is highly valued by users. Snowflake’s unique architecture and features like row-level security and data masking contribute to its strong reputation in database and schema design. Despite some minor drawbacks mentioned by users, Snowflake’s database and schema design functionalities are generally well-regarded for their efficiency and effectiveness. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake has a vast array of excellent built-in features such as row-level security, data masking, secure sharing, and other items that allowed us to push security right down to the database level so we secure data no matter how customers access it.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“Snowflake is definitely suited for analytics, querying, reporting purposes. It is not so well-suited for being your operational database.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“Snowflake works really well when you have all different levels of data analysts in one team. Snowflake can be the common tool to pull data and create tables since SQL is such a basic and easy-to-use data science language without the requirement of fully understanding the data type.” – Analyst in Professional Services, Financial Services, 10,001+ employees
Development and Deployment
User consensus seems to be that Snowflake’s development and deployment capabilities receive mixed reviews. While some users appreciate the ease of development and deployment on the platform, others find certain aspects challenging or lacking. The ability to scale storage and computing independently is highlighted as a positive feature, allowing for cost-effective usage. However, concerns have been raised about the complexity of security roles and access management, as well as the need for improvements in the user interface for developers. Despite these varying opinions, Snowflake’s development and deployment functionalities continue to be a subject of discussion among users. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Snowflake has been wonderfully positive for our business as we are a data analytics consultancy and it enables us to deliver analytic outcomes for our customers with less worry about database performance or management.” – Director in Engineering, Information Services, 201-500 employees
“Snowflake UI can be clunky and breaks sometimes, which can be annoying; Snowflake has to be paired with the Data Build Tool (DBT) to allow for templating and macro usage. No inbuilt solution.” – Engineer in Other, Computer Software, 201-500 employees
“Ingesting these CSVs, transforming the data, then delivering it to a destination would’ve involved so much more coding than my current process if we were on any other platform.” – Engineer in Information Technology, Wholesale, 10,001+ employees
Cost Management and Efficiency
Users generally praise Snowflake’s cost management and efficiency features. Reviewers highlight the platform’s ability to provide cost-effective solutions, allowing for efficient utilization of resources. Some users mention the ease of monitoring costs and optimizing expenses, contributing to overall operational efficiency. However, a few reviewers express concerns about the complexity of pricing tiers and the need for clearer cost structures. Despite some mixed feedback, Snowflake appears to offer valuable cost management and efficiency capabilities for organizations seeking streamlined operations and cost-effective solutions. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“With the right administration, I’ve seen Snowflake implementations of mine cut cost to run on a monthly expense in the area of $75k per month.” – Director in Product Management, Marketing & Advertising, 501-1000 employees
“It’s easy to scale up/down or expand/shrink. However, without any tuning capabilities in SQL, more materialization of the data needs to be done to use the database cost effectively.” – Team Lead in Information Technology, Information Technology and Services, 501-1000 employees
“There is a need, however, to carefully monitor costs. It’s easy to bring costs up significantly through larger compute warehouses than needed, or by scaling too soon, or by not pairing the warehouse with the workload appropriately.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
Scalability, Sharing, and Collaboration
Scalability and Elasticity
Users consistently highlight Snowflake’s scalability and elasticity as standout features, praising the platform for its ability to effortlessly scale up or down based on workload demands. The separation of compute and storage resources is particularly lauded, allowing for efficient resource allocation and cost-effective operations. While some users mention minor drawbacks such as the need for additional data materialization for cost optimization, overall sentiment leans heavily towards the platform’s robust scalability and elasticity capabilities. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
“Snowflake allows storage and computing to scale independently, so customers can use and pay for storage and computation separately. This cloud-based solution requires minimum support once the development is completed. Complex calculation and computation are very fast using Snowflake.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
“It’s easy to scale up/down or expand/shrink. However, without any tuning capabilities in SQL, more materialization of the data needs to be done to use the database cost effectively. It is time to look into other services that don’t charge arm and leg. Customer service is slow to respond.” – Team Lead in Information Technology, Information Technology and Services, 501-1000 employees
“As a small, growing business, the model is ideal for us as it can scale perfectly with us, and our needs of this layer of our stack. We are able to manage our usage perfectly, keeping costs down; It will scale with us, immediately and transparently.” – Analyst in Information Technology, Media Production, 11-50 employees
Data Sharing and Collaboration
User feedback on Snowflake’s data sharing and collaboration capabilities is largely positive, with many highlighting the platform’s ability to securely share data without physically moving it. The separation of compute from storage and the flexibility to scale based on varying workloads have been particularly praised. Additionally, reviewers appreciate Snowflake’s features like secure sharing, row-level security, and data masking, which contribute to a robust collaborative environment. While some users have noted limitations in certain areas such as dashboard creation and graphic solutions, overall, Snowflake is recognized for its strong performance in facilitating data sharing and collaboration among teams and across different databases and clouds. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
“Data sharing without physically moving data and without compromising security aspect; Unlimited scalability and elasticity (with proven client examples); Almost no to very little maintenance (Snowflake takes care of it for you)” – Professional in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees
“Implementing a data lake in Snowflake greatly empowered my team to make tremendous reporting, blending data from many sources, without adding any load to the transactional databases.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“This is a cloud-based application that provides me a secure platform for the easy sharing of data with my clients. I feel confident to connect with my numerous business partners just because of its advanced security and effective programming.” – Manager in Other, Venture Capital & Private Equity, 11-50 employees
Data Lakes and Warehousing
User sentiment regarding Snowflake’s data lakes and warehousing capabilities is generally positive, with many users highlighting the ease of use and efficiency of the platform. Snowflake’s ability to serve as both a data lake and data warehouse has been commended for streamlining data processes and enabling centralized solutions for organizations with diverse data sources. Users appreciate Snowflake’s cloud-based approach and its support for various cloud service providers, making it adaptable to different organizational landscapes. Additionally, the separation of compute from storage in Snowflake’s model has been noted as a valuable feature that enhances scalability and performance for different workloads. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
“Snowflake is giving a very robust cloud-based data warehousing solution with all the benefits of going to the cloud. Data sharing is one critical area in data management and Snowflake’s innovative way of sharing data without physically moving it as a great feature.” – Professional in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees
“Implementing a data lake in Snowflake greatly empowered my team to make tremendous reporting, blending data from many sources, without adding any load to the transactional databases.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“Snowflake is a powerful warehousing solution and suits companies with large scale of data. It helps with fast querying of data, and there is little need to manage computation, since it is managed for you.” – Engineer in Other, Computer Software, 201-500 employees
Integration, Security, and Compliance
Data Integration and ETL Processes
Users generally praise Snowflake for its data integration and ETL processes capabilities. Reviewers highlight the ease of creating pipelines from multiple sources, scalability of compute, and the ability to blend data from various sources efficiently. Snowflake’s model of separating compute from storage and accommodating different workloads for varying scenarios is also well-received. However, some users mention challenges with monitoring costs, finding the best tools for data ingestion, and limitations with unstructured data and bulk loading. Despite these minor drawbacks, Snowflake is commended for its ability to empower teams to generate valuable insights through effective data integration and ETL processes. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
“Implementing a data lake in Snowflake greatly empowered my team to make tremendous reporting, blending data from many sources, without adding any load to the transactional databases.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“We use Snowflake in our organization as both our data lake & data warehouse. Instead of ETLing from source to a data lake to then architect our data, we have made internal schemas that we can ETL the data into.” – Engineer in Information Technology, Wholesale, 10,001+ employees
“Our data engineers have been able to focus more on development rather than query optimization has given Snowflake’s out-of-box high performance.” – Engineer in Engineering, Marketing and Advertising, 51-200 employees
Security and Compliance
User sentiment regarding Snowflake’s security and compliance features is generally positive, with reviewers highlighting the platform’s robust security measures such as role-based access control, row-level policies, and data masking. Snowflake’s ability to provide secure data sharing without compromising security aspects and its cloud-agnostic nature are also well-received by users. However, some reviewers have expressed challenges in understanding and managing security roles and access within the platform. Despite this, Snowflake is commended for its advanced security protocols and effective programming that instill confidence in users when sharing data with clients and business partners. (Source Reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
“Security; Scaling; Support; Separating compute from storage; Flexible disparate compute models; Detailed history of all your queries and activity, for analysis/review/troubleshooting; Cloning, undeletion, sharing – all tied to how Snowflake stores data.” – Manager in Information Technology, Information Technology & Services, 51-200 employees
“CONS: Security roles and access are hard to understand and manage; Rollout of new features seems to heavily favor US West coast, everyone else has to wait; Visual interface does not allow you to manage custom functions and routines. For those, it is code only. Management of tables and views is visual.” – Administrator in Information Technology, Higher Education, 501-1000 employees
“PROS: This is a cloud-based application that provides me a secure platform for the easy sharing of data with my clients.; I feel confident to connect with my numerous business partners just because of its advanced security and effective programming.” – Manager in Other, Venture Capital & Private Equity, 11-50 employees
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