Jayanta Datta - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Director at Morgan Stanley
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Smooth initial setup, scalable, with comparable market cost
Pros and Cons
  • "We have found Machine Learning use cases are very nice."
  • "Infinite storage is available in Snowflake and is not available in Redshift."

What is our primary use case?

It is storing warehouse data for the organization. We commission data warehousing, storage of data, and reporting.

What is most valuable?

Data Science and Machine Learning are valuable features. We have found Machine Learning use cases are very nice.

What needs improvement?

Infinite storage is available in Snowflake and is not available in Redshift. Analytical tools for integration would be helpful in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Amazon Redshift for seven years now.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have found Amazon Redshift to be stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have no problems with scalability.

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

The initial setup is very smooth and took us about six months to deploy.  The cost is comparable to Snowflake.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Amazon Redshift a nine out of ten. I am very satisfied with it.

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.
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Coby Jefferson Gardner - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Consultant at Align BI
Real User
Top 10
A highly stable solution that has the ability to handle really large sets of data
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Amazon Redshift is its ability to handle really large sets of data."
  • "Amazon Redshift is a little more expensive than other products."

What is our primary use case?

We use Amazon Redshift for our data warehouse to store a lot of our data for a client.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Amazon Redshift is its ability to handle really large sets of data. In our case, the solution does a lot of things that would be difficult to do otherwise.

What needs improvement?

Amazon Redshift is a little more expensive than other products.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Amazon Redshift for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Amazon Redshift is super stable, and we haven't faced any outages or other issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution's scalability has been fine regarding how much data we can load into it. Once the solution is set up, we pay for what we use. Three people are using the solution in our organization.

What other advice do I have?

Users should select Amazon Redshift depending on what their needs are. Amazon has other cheaper database products, but Amazon Redshift is a really good option for users who need a lot of computation.

Overall, I rate Amazon Redshift ten 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.
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Amazon Redshift
March 2024
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Soullution Architech at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Excellent for reporting solution requirement
Pros and Cons
  • "Redshift has an advantage when it comes to administration, making it easier to manage and collaborate."
  • "Amazon Redshift does not have the capability to dynamically increase the VM file."

What is our primary use case?

I have used it for our reporting solution requirement. We gathered data from different processes and applications, like the high system process. Clients can review the data; we use it for connections and reports. Additionally, Redshift generates some configuration files without using an application.

What is most valuable?

For reporting purposes, Redshift is a great tool to use. Redshift has an advantage when it comes to administration, making it easier to manage and collaborate. Additionally, its server architecture allows for faster processing. Redshift also supports prepaid costs, which is another great feature. However, similar features are also available in Azure.

Redshift has some advantages in terms of administration and performance.

What needs improvement?

When compared to Snowflake, Amazon Redshift does not have the capability to dynamically increase the VM file. However, Amazon Redshift provides a virtual database called 'VW' that allows you to increase the size of the warehouse to run faster on a monthly basis without changing anything. This feature is not available in Redshift. So it's a limitation of Redshift.

It's not possible to immediately increase the virtual warehouse size in Amazon Redshift. When compared to Snowflake, we cannot increase the virtual warehouse size in Redshift. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since 2015. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I don't see any issues with data loss or any other problems. Although there might be some loss in the data center, we monitor it, and everything is enabled. In such scenarios, the turn-up time is much faster. We've been using it since 2018, and I've got the same product for another customer using a limited rate. So, I don't see any significant impact, and it's a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have to consider the scalability of this solution carefully. In production, we have a proper size. We allocate 40% for data storage and 60% for temporary segments. We cannot increase data storage usage beyond 50%. It cannot exceed 80% of the total utilization, including network speed and query performance. We monitor all of these carefully.

So if the CPU utilization goes beyond 80%, I recommend upgrading to multiple nodes. It ensures that there won't be any issues. Around 30 people are using AWS and Azure modules along with me.

How are customer service and support?

We have contacted the Redshift team for support related to other installations, such as WDL configuration for project implementation for a web application. When it was not working as expected, we had to provide authentication for the web chat. So, we used to contact them for that kind of knowledge.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup depends on who is doing it. In my opinion, it doesn't require much knowledge. Since we've been using it for a long time, it's much faster for me, but it might not be the same for others.

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

It's on the expensive side.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

One reason we chose this solution is that we are in the process of moving everything to the cloud. But that's not the only reason. My company wanted to consolidate everything into one system, and AWS provided all the necessary information in one place. For example, Lambda is for specific storage and limited membership; all this information is available in one cloud network. This way, data segregation is much faster and easier to use. It's just everything in one cloud network, so we decided to use it.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend it. However, I think we need to consider other configuration levels. You need to decide, and I would not go with the first option.

To evaluate the data you are planning to migrate, we need to assess the environment. What is the value of your data, and what type of data is it? The density of the data is also important. Before implementing Redshift, we need to ensure that the AWS configuration is activated. After that, you need to set up enrollment and increase your storage. I don't recommend making a purchase on the same day, but it is a critical moment at a high level.

I suggest purchasing a renewal that meets the deposit requirements so that you can have a good experience and optimal performance. You can increase the budget for the building process. If you have the right team, such as those with experience in AWS or those who are learning about Azure databases, they can start using Redshift without any issues.

Overall, I would rate the solution 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.
PeerSpot user
Syed Zakaulla - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Softway
Integrator
Top 5Leaderboard
Despite the tool's extensive documentation, the setup is relatively fine
Pros and Cons
  • "Though Amazon Redshift is good, it depends on what kind of business you're trying to do, what type of analytics you need, and how much data you have."
  • "If you require a highly scalable solution, I would not recommend Amazon Redshift."

What is our primary use case?

We were using the solution for our data backup, but we wanted to optimize it, so we turned to AWS Glue. Amazon Redshift wasn't really great for us and wasn't working out.

What is most valuable?

Amazon Redshift was used for data storage while moving back from S3 to Amazon. However, it lagged, taking its own sweet time for data backups which also depended on the server location. Because of the aforementioned reasons, we started losing a lot of data that wasn't even real-time data. Ultimately, this affected our analytics at the end of the day. Also, we have been trying to do some work on our AI models, which emit out recommendations based on the live dataset. There were a lot of lagging issues. So, for example, sending out somewhere around 0.1 million or 100,000 emails used to take almost 12-14 working days, and this also includes the process of pulling all the data and sending them to CronJobs. Since we wanted all this work to happen in real-time, we had to get rid of the tool.

What needs improvement?

I would like Amazon Redshift to improve its performance, analytics, scalability, and stability. Other than these points, I am not aware of any other areas to address since Amazon provides a variety of independent services for their customers to choose from, and if one were to express dissatisfaction with Amazon Redshift, Amazon would likely suggest AWS Glue as an alternative. Similarly, if another issue arose, Amazon might recommend Amazon RDS. There are a lot of things they try to upsell to you, each with its own pros and cons and in different packages offering different perks. So, it all depends on your business needs and what you choose for your business. I wouldn't criticize Amazon for this because they have created packages tailored to their customer's needs, which helps to prevent customers from looking elsewhere.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Amazon Redshift as an implementer for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, it has a lot of issues with threats, and that is why we went for a threat shift optimization. In short, I mean to say that it is not stable at all.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you require a highly scalable solution, I would not recommend Amazon Redshift. We currently have 12 clients using Amazon Redshift, and the scalability of the solution is terrible. In terms of scalability, I would rate this solution a three or four out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

Amazon Redshift has a lot of documentation, but the setup is fine. Three years ago, the solution's deployment process took over a month or a month and a half.

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

Every solution has a cost and comes in different packages. Considering these factors, AWS Glue is on top. Though Amazon Redshift is good, it depends on what kind of business you're trying to do, what type of analytics you need, and how much data you have.

For Amazon Redshift, we pay around INR 60,000 annually. The cost factor also depends on the number of existing customers. In addition to the standard licensing fee paid for AWS, we incur a cloud storage cost of around a quarter million for the amount of data. We also have to bear additional costs for data security and cybersecurity, which are well taken care of by Amazon, hence the premium pricing. There are several other features and services provided by Amazon that justify the premium pricing.

What other advice do I have?

Amazon Redshift is a horrible solution. I recommend my customer to use AWS Glue since while dealing globally with real-time data, which you need to make decisions, factors like how much cost and data is needed to make a decision should be considered. Apart from this, if customers are paying a huge price for the solution, then probably Amazon shouldn't mind spending on the tool. However, it may not be necessary for small businesses with only a few thousand data points. Although Azure is a better option, some clients prefer AWS, and we had to develop a solution using AWS for our client. Overall, I rate this solution a three or four out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
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Liana Iuhas - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Quark Technologies SRL
Real User
Top 5
Is scalable, stable, easy to use, and has good query performance
Pros and Cons
  • "It's very easy to migrate from other databases to Redshift. There are migration tools dedicated for this purpose, enabling migration from other databases like MS SQL directly to Redshift. The majority of the scripts will be automatically transposed."
  • "AWS Snowflake has a very good feature for cloning databases. It makes it easy to clone a data warehouse, which is useful. I would like to see this feature in Redshift."

What is most valuable?

It is scalable, easy to use, and has very good query performance. It is serverless as well.

They introduced machine learning directly in to Redshift, and you can now query using machine-learning functions.

It's very easy to migrate from other databases to Redshift. There are migration tools dedicated for this purpose, enabling migration from other databases like MS SQL directly to Redshift. The majority of the scripts will be automatically transposed.

What needs improvement?

AWS Snowflake has a very good feature for cloning databases. It makes it easy to clone a data warehouse, which is useful. I would like to see this feature in Redshift. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Amazon Redshift from 2013.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For stability, I would give a rating of ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 16 Redshift users in our company, and I'd rate the scalability at ten out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

Redshift's technical support has been great.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple.

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

In comparison to the price of similar solutions, Redshift's cost is the lowest.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Amazon Redshift and would rate it at nine on a scale from one to ten, where one is the worst and ten is the best.

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Mikalai Surta - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Big Data Department at IBA Group
MSP
Top 5
Provides excellent features, enables fast reporting, and can be deployed easily
Pros and Cons
  • "Redshift Spectrum is the most valuable feature."
  • "The product must become a bit more serverless."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for data storage of reports.

What is most valuable?

Redshift Spectrum is the most valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

The product must become a bit more serverless. Users should have to pay only for the resources they consume.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Around 20 people in our organization use the product. The tool’s scalability is good.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is deployed on the cloud. The initial setup was pretty easy.

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

The product is quite expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also tried using Athena. However, Redshift was faster.

What other advice do I have?

We use the tool because we have everything on AWS. Amazon Redshift is best for fast reporting. People who want to use the solution must try using Athena. If it is not fast enough, they can try Redshift. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Martin Gregor - PeerSpot reviewer
DWH, BI & Big Data consultant / developer /modeler - independent contractor at Freelancer
Real User
Top 10
Helps us create SQL ETL procedures in a business system
Pros and Cons
  • "I like it because the usage is very similar to Microsoft SQL server. The structure of the query and the temporary tables are very similar."
  • "The explain panel in the Redshift database could be better."

What is our primary use case?

I use Amazon Redshift for the creation of SQL ETL procedures in a business system. Business people check this in a front-end application, and it helps them plan sales for the next year.

Redshift is being deployed on a Microsoft Azure server.

There are about six people working on this project and using the solution, but there are many similar projects running on Oracle and Redshift.

What is most valuable?

I like it because the usage is very similar to Microsoft SQL server. The structure of the query and the temporary tables are very similar. Until recently, I thought it was the superior database, but now I think that Redshift is better.

What needs improvement?

The explain panel in the Redshift database could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used this solution for 10 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. I haven't had any problems or downfall with the database in the 10 months that I have used the solution.

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

I have also used Microsoft SQL server and Oracle.

How was the initial setup?

Setup was difficult because I had to set up 25 connections with different users and passwords. The connections have been predefined, but there were still problems when trying to connect for the first time. I had some problems with some certifications that were malfunctioning. This might have had something to do with the functionality of my keyboard because if I pushed a random combination on the keyboard, it would delete the certificate from the folder and the connection wouldn't work. I think this is a problem with the remote desktop rather than with Redshift.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten. I can't give it a higher score because there are some issues with variable character columns in the table. Otherwise, it's a great database.

Some of my former colleagues from a previous job have joined my organization, and they have had some issues with the SQRs because some things work differently in Redshift, like the partition bar. If someone has issues with Redshift, my advice is to check with support.

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.
PeerSpot user
Service Manager & Solution Architect at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy to use and simple to setup, but the performance is low, and there is no tool to support the CDC
Pros and Cons
  • "It is quite simple to use and there are no issues with creating the tables."
  • "It takes a lot of time to ingest and update the data."

What is our primary use case?

We stored all of the data in the S3 bucket and would like to have it stored in a data warehouse, which is why we chose this database. 

It would be very easy for us as an end-user, who would like to access the data, rather than draw it post-transformation and store it at a database level.

What is most valuable?

The TP transactions for the creation of the tables does very well.

It is quite simple to use and there are no issues with creating the tables.

What needs improvement?

The managing updates, deletes, and role-level change performance is very low. For example, while you are doing inserts, updates, deletes, and amalgamates, the performance is very, very poor.

If you want to query the database after you have a lot of terabytes of data, the load, performance-wise, is very low.

Looking at the performance of the query, querying the database, and especially with the amalgamates when it is getting updated, it is really poor.

We like this solution and have tried all of the native services; they were working quite well. The only concern about Redshift was managing the cluster, especially the EMR cluster. Our company policy was not to use EMR clusters, especially with the nodes failing. There were many instances of downtime happening. Essentially, there was too much data traffic.

The other drawback was the CDC, as we do not have any tools that can support it.

Creating the structure is easy on the DDL side, but after you create the table and you want to transform the data to store it in a database, the performance is poor.

It takes a lot of time to ingest and update the data. After you ingest the data and someone wants to fetch it in the table, it takes a lot of time performance-wise to return the results.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for three months.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are issues with stability and it should be compared with Snowflake.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable. We scale up and scale down manually when we are required to, we do not have an automatic setup.

We have three or four people using this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have contacted technical support to give our opinion and recommendations or feedback and they agreed that it needs improvement.

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

Previously, we tried the Snowflake database, which works really well. The expectations were really good with the performance, also the DDL, DML operations on the processing of the data.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple and we did not find it very complex at all.

The time it takes to deploy depends on how many tables you want to create, or how many tables will you merge the data with.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are switching to Azure, although not because of the product or the services that we did not like. It's about AWS being competitors for logistic companies that we are working with. Also for security reasons, we do not know how secure the data is on the cloud.

If you are competitors then you don't know if the data can be accessed by your competitor, and the team can be looking at a demographic, which could impact your sales.

What other advice do I have?

We have only just started using Redshift, but we are not really satisfied with it.

I would rate this solution a six 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?

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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Updated: March 2024
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