Snowflake Reviews

We have used Snowflake as a data warehouse solution in one of my projects and as a combination of data lake and DWH for another project.

In the second project, we migrated from a SQL DB to Snowflake as the DB was becoming a bottleneck in terms of storage and also in speed of execution of the queries as the data was growing. We also have JSON, which is hard to store and process in a SQL database. This is something that is handled beautifully by Snowflake.

In the first project, we used Snowflake as a simple DWH to store and process data. Also, as a BI reporting source.

Snowflake helped us to improve query performance as the data was growing. Also, we could store and process JSON and XML using Snowflake, which was not possible with RDBMS solutions. This also helped us to store huge amounts of data in Snowflake as a single source of truth and we could also use it as DWH. It is a single technology for multiple use cases.

Snowflake also helped us improve query performance to a great extent. The inserts of large JSON objects are very quick and processing them is very easy.

The most valuable features are:

1. The Virtual Warehouse and separate storage is definitely one of the best features. It automatically scales the warehouse up and down as per the usage.
2. Processing semi-structured data like JSON and XML has helped reduce a lot of coding that was needed earlier.
3. The speed of execution is definitely good.
4. There is zero maintenance activity required from users on the database, which is a big plus.
5. Working with Parquet files is supported out of the box and it makes large dataset processing much easier.
6. Automatic scaling up and down.

Several areas need to be improved, as follows:

1. Cost reduction: This is always good to have, and nobody would say no to it.
2. Implement multiple result windows as tabs to compare results. If we can have a feature where the results can be moved to different tabs, so that I can compare the results with earlier queries before applying the changes, it would be great. Also, it should be optional, where it can be enabled or disabled as needed.
3. I would like to be able to copy the results onto the clipboard and paste them directly into Excel.

We have been using Snowflake for two years.

I work as a data scientist and our primary use of Snowflake is for machine learning.

Recently, we were trying to extract data to determine the best configuration settings for one of our products.

As it is SQL-like, it is easy to write queries.

The querying speed is fast.

We would like to have an on-premises deployment option that has the same features, including scalability.

I have been working with Snowflake for six or seven months.

From what I have seen and heard, I think that Snowflake is pretty stable. I haven't faced any such problems, myself. I am not aware of the entirety of the lifecycle, but I haven't heard any complaints.

My impression is that this product is pretty scalable.

I have not been in contact with technical support, although my team has been and they are okay with it. My impression is that they are good.

The pricing for Snowflake is competitive.

My advice for anybody who is considering implementing Snowflake is that from a user's standpoint, it is a good product. Having a database in a cloud setup means that you don't have to scale and it has got many features already included.

For our use case, we found this Snowflake was good enough and did not need any enhancements. I recommend using it.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

We use the solution for data storage and integration purposes.

The solution's most valuable feature is path application.

They should improve the performance of the solution's transaction application.

It is a stable solution.

We have 20-30 solution users in our organization.

The solution's customer service is good.

The solution's initial setup was very straightforward.

The price for the solution's license depends on the use cases.

I recommend the solution to others and rate it as a nine. It efficiently processes the data and gets reports as well.

We are using it for a migration from on-prem to cloud.

Its performance is most valuable. As compared to SQL Server, we are able to see a significant improvement in performance with Snowflake. 

There are a lot of features that they need to come up with. A lot of functions are missing in Snowflake, so we have to find a workaround for those. For example, OUTER APPLY is a basic function in SQL Server, but it is not there in Snowflake. So, you have to write complex code for it.

It has been almost two years.

A great feature of Snowflake is that you can resize your warehouse according to your needs. Whenever we are expecting a huge amount of data, we can scale it up. It does that automatically as well, which is the best thing. We don't have to worry about that, and there is also no need for a database administrator. We do not need any DBA for this.

We have contacted them only for the basic setup. Most of the time, we were able to get the right solution at the right time. We got great support from them.

They're doing a pretty great job in providing all the information. They have a great community and great coverage, and there is a lot of information available over the internet.

Its setup was quite straightforward. I did not find any complexity with that.

I am not much aware of the price, but based on what I have analyzed so far, its cost is reasonable as compared to on-prem data warehouse solutions. It provides a great deal for production.

One of the concerns related to Snowflake is about longevity in terms of how long can we use Snowflake. It is a big question in the market. It is a new baby in the market, and we don't know for how long will it trend. It has some big competitors. Firebolt claims to be the number one in this area. They have much better features than Snowflake. I would not say that Snowflake is the best and in the right position at this point in time. Snowflake is good for the next year, but Firebolt is going to bring it down.

I would rate Snowflake an eight out of 10.

The ETL and data ingestion capabilities are better in this solution as compared to SQL Server. SQL Server doesn't do much data ingestion, but Snowflake can do it quite conveniently.

They need to improve its ETL functionality so that Snowflake becomes an ETL product. Snowpipe can do some pipelines and data ingestion, but as compare to Talend, these functionalities are limited. The ETL feature is not good enough. Therefore, Snowflake can only be used as a database. You can't use it as an ETL tool, which is a limitation. We have spoken to the vendor, and they said they are working on it, but I'm not sure when they will bring it to production.

They should also make its initial setup easier. Its customization and configuration are not very straightforward.

Their technical support is awesome, but it is just too expensive.

I have been using this solution for about two years. I am currently using its latest version.

It is very stable.

It is very simple to scale up and down depending on the project or situation, which is an advantage.

They are fantastic but just too expensive. They charge hourly rates and are very expensive.

Its setup is not very straightforward. Its customization and configuration are not very straightforward. For two large data factories, the configuration is too complicated. They should work on it.

It is a good solution. At the moment, I can't find another product that is better than Snowflake, but it needs better ETL functionality, easier configuration, and cheaper support. All products have got some limitation.

I would rate Snowflake an eight out of ten.

We are using it for our security products. We have a trial account, and we are using the trial database and practicing on top of it. We have the latest version of this solution.

Its performance is a big advantage. When you run a query, its performance is very good.

The inbound and outbound share features are also very useful for sharing a particular database. By using these features, you can allow others to access the Snowflake database and query it, which is another advantage of this solution. 

It has good security, and we can easily integrate it. We can connect it with multiple source systems.

I am still in the learning stage. It has good security, but it can always be more secure. 

I have been using this solution for a few months. I am in the learning stage.

It is stable. Its performance is very good.

It is scalable. We have four users who are using Snowflake. 

We are going through the online version, and we don't find any difficulty with this.

I also use Azure. Snowflake has more advantages than Azure.

There is no installation as such. After you register with Snowflake, you get a demo database, which you can configure and use. It only takes around 30 minutes. 

I did it myself.

Currently, we have a trial account, so we don't need a license. After our project starts, we would need a permanent license.

I would recommend this solution to others. We plan to keep using it. 

I would rate Snowflake a nine out of ten.

We use Snowflake as a data migration platform.

Data Science capabilities are the most valuable feature.

To ensure the proper functioning of Snowflake as an MDS, it relies heavily on other partner tools. As a result, our solution architects must devote most of their time to addressing this issue.

I have been using Snowflake for two years.

I give the stability a nine out of ten.

I give the scalability a nine out of ten.

The technical support team is good.

The initial setup is straightforward. Since Snowflake is software, the only requirements to start using it are to select a subscription and activate our account.

I give Snowflake a nine out of ten.

Snowflake is being used at the enterprise level.

If an organization is interested in embarking on its cloud journey and Snowflake fulfills its requirements, I would recommend it as a viable solution.

We use this solution for business intelligence. We have three persons in the team for developing the end product.

Snowflake is a database, and it is very good and useful. The most interesting part is that memory management is very good in Snowflake. For a business intelligence project, SQL Server is taking a lot of time for reporting services. There are a lot of calculations, and the reporting time is shown as two minutes, whereas Snowflake is taking just two seconds for the same reporting services.

For the Snowflake database, there should be some third-party features for the ETL. It would also be good to be able to use some kind of controls to get the data either from another database or a flat file.

Its price should be improved. It should be cheaper than Microsoft.

I have been using this solution for eight to ten months.

It is stable.

It is scalable.

Their technical support is good. I always get a response from them when I send an email to their support team.

It is very easy to install. After the installation, you just have to input some information into the Snowflake database. It is very easy.

Its price should be improved. It should be cheaper than Microsoft.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Snowflake an eight out of ten.