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Varun Garg - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Vice President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
Dec 28, 2020
Good at autoscaling and has a nice time machine feature but they need to add a basic ETL framework
Pros and Cons
    • "It's difficult to know how to size everything correctly."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for the data warehouse.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution offers everything you'd find on Azure or AWS. It has a lot of industry-standard features and capabilities.

    The product has excellent autoscaling. We can actually compute and scale-out at the same time without having to depend on other tools. You can do it on the fly, or within queries, etc.

    The Visual Copy Cloning is definitely one feature that everyone looks forward to due to the fact that it gives you regular backups. 

    The solution offers a very good time travel function that allows you to travel back in time to before your systems we corrupted. You can go back into your history and grab the last backup before corruption so that you regain almost everything you need. It gives you 90 days to fetch the data back if you need to. It's better than Azure options.

    What needs improvement?

    We've spoken with Snowflake about the fact that there are a few bare minimum requirements now these days for any data cloud, data lake, or platform. They've lacked a bit here, however, they're adopting some new measures that will be available in the next release, so that is sorted.

    Snowflake is partners with only AWS as a cloud platform. However, in India, Microsoft has got a big subscription. The product needs to be able to adapt to Azure a bit more in order to meet the local market demands. 

    It's difficult to know how to size everything correctly.

    They should incorporate at least a basic ETL framework.

    It's early days, however, I would put the solution at a seven out of ten. It needs a bit more time to mature. If I were to look at it strictly from a warehousing perspective, I'd rate it at an eight out of ten.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for about ten months. I started using it originally when we started our partnership with the organization.

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    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The one thing that seems to be unclear for Snowflake customers is the cluster sizing. No one seems ot know how to compute that.

    For example, if I'm running a warehouse that is extra small, as per my query performance, if I see like if this query will run perfectly on the machine I will have. However, I don't know which machine to go for. There's no direct comparison between an extra small, or a small, or a medium warehouse. I never get to know, unless I run the case query on different sizes, which to go for. It's hard to say "Buy only this and go for that particular size". Sizing seems to be a bit of trial and error. If they had some sort of benchmarking around their cluster size, that would be helpful.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is pretty straightforward. We didn't have any issues with implementation. It's not too complex.

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

    The pricing of the solution is fine. The storage is pretty cheap. They also offer a lot of discounts. The cost shouldn't really be a problem. 

    That said, the agreement should be more of a subscription basis instead of asking for a commitment. For example, Microsoft tells your the price and allows you to subscribe to that, whereas, Snowflake wants you to commit to a certain amount of time before they really give you firm pricing. 

    What other advice do I have?

    We're partners with Snowflake. We've been partners for just under a year at this point.

    I'd definitely recommend the product. It's worked quite well for us. 

    A new customer needs to understand, however, that they need a roadmap of at least five years when they are deciding on their data warehouse. They should compare costs and sizing to make sure they are getting the solution that makes sense for their current and future needs. 

    The solution integrates well with other applications, and if you need it to integrate with existing applications, you still should check to make sure it's possible.

    I wouldn't necessarily recommend Azure over Snowflake, as they aren't really a good comparison. Snowflake is more focused on data repositories and data warehouses. AWS does give you many options, however.

    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
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    NitinKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
    NitinKumarDirector of Enginnering at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User

    Very good review on Snowflake, very helpful.

    DBA Individual Contributor at a venture capital & private equity firm with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Oct 6, 2020
    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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
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    General Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    MSP
    Oct 5, 2020
    Great interface tool which is really useful for our computation and storage needs
    Pros and Cons
    • "Can be leveraged with respect to better performance, auto tuning and competition."
    • "Pricing is an issue for many customers."

    What is our primary use case?

    We work with multiple customers who were asking for this and other similar solutions. We've since had several team members certified in Snowflake and we have a certified team working with that solution and keeping up to date with developments. I'm the general manager of the company and we are implementers. 

    What is most valuable?

    Snowflake has its own features in comparison to other similar solutions like Exadata. This gives it huge competitive power. It has a very good interface tool with its own benefits and features which are really useful for our needs from a computation and storage perspective. I think this solution provides the best potential of any data warehousing product where they choose to use Snowflake instead of Oracle or DBII. The product can be leveraged with respect to better performance, auto tuning, competition and performance. From an architectural perspective, the solution has all the ingredients it requires. 

    What needs improvement?

    We've come to realize that for many customers, pricing of this solution is an issue. Maintaining Snowflake clusters is challenging and cost intensive. Reporting could also be improved. Any data that moves out of Snowflake is being cached. If I have 400 to 500 end users, with 100 or 200 reports on a daily basis, all the reports will be cached. It's a matter of ensuring that costs can be optimized. The combination of Red Warescape plus Snowflake is a combination from the design and development perspective. But the combination from the reporting perspective to micro strategy on top of Snowflake could be a better feature, so there's a combination that has to be considered.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for about 10 months. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Our customers tell us that it is a stable solution. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We're working in 32 countries with enterprise size customers. We're still waiting to see what happens with that level of scalability and how the solution performs. If this product can be further fine-tuned or optimized in such a way that it becomes a very good fit for the Azure platform, that would be great. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    They provide very good documentation on implementation design and development perspectives. 

    How was the initial setup?

    I think the initial setup is straightforward. Anyone who has worked on these types of solutions will pick it up quickly.

    What other advice do I have?

    It really depends on the nature of the implementation. If it's a small or medium sized company, we focus more on the pricing. If that can be brought down, I think Snowflake has a high potential that it can meet and can create a big name for itself in the big data cloud implementation platform. It has all the features. It already has all the complementary features to deal with the challenges. Those are built in and taken care of. It could be on Google cloud, or it could be on Azure or it could be on Amazon.

    I'll rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

    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. Implementer
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2179353 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Soullution Architech at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    May 10, 2023
    Has good stability and processes the data efficiently
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution's customer service is good."
    • "Its transaction application needs improvement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the solution for data storage and integration purposes.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution's most valuable feature is path application.

    What needs improvement?

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

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have 20-30 solution users in our organization.

    How are customer service and support?

    The solution's customer service is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution's initial setup was very straightforward.

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

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

    What other advice do I have?

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

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2009835 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Solutions Architect at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Top 10
    Apr 20, 2023
    Highly stable, extremely scalable, and easy to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "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."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Snowflake as a data migration platform.

    What is most valuable?

    Data Science capabilities are the most valuable feature.

    What needs improvement?

    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.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Snowflake for two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I give the stability a nine out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I give the scalability a nine out of ten.

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support team is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    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.

    What other advice do I have?

    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.

    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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2124444 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Solutions Architect at a recruiting/HR firm with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Top 10
    Apr 4, 2023
    Easy to query, provides accurate results
    Pros and Cons
    • "Very easy to use and easy to query."
    • "The cost of the solution could be reduced."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Snowflake as a data warehouse and analytics platform. I'm a solution architect and we are customers of Snowflake. 

    What is most valuable?

    It's very easy to use, easy to query, and it provides pretty accurate results. It's a market leader. 

    What needs improvement?

    The price could be reduced, it's quite high.  

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using this solution for about three months. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is highly scalable. 

    How are customer service and support?

    I haven't used the technical support. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very easy, especially if you have cloud knowledge. We have around 150 users. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We moved from Red Shift to Snowflake because of scalability and the independence it provided. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate this solution eight out of 10 and recommend it to other users. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1292229 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Big Data & Cloud Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Mar 20, 2022
    A cloud solution with many useful features and data science capability
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a cloud solution with many useful features. It has the data science capability. It can transform data and prepare data for a data science project with scalability."
    • "We would like to be able to do modeling with Snowflake. It should support statistical modeling."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using it for optimizing costs and using financial data.

    What is most valuable?

    It is a cloud solution with many useful features. It has the data science capability. It can transform data and prepare data for a data science project with scalability.

    What needs improvement?

    We would like to be able to do modeling with Snowflake. It should support statistical modeling.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for more than a year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is very scalable. We currently have more than 50 users. We can increase its usage.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not contacted their support.

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

    I used Cloudera One about two years ago.

    How was the initial setup?

    It is easy. It is a SaaS solution, so there is no installation. Therefore, you don't need the infrastructure team, but you need a few data analysts.

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

    It is pay-as-you-go. Its cost is in the medium range.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate it a 10 out of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    Mohammad-Huda - PeerSpot reviewer
    Data & Analytics Practitioner (BI Dw, Big Data) at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Jan 13, 2022
    Internally optimizes well, scales automatically, and offers great performance features
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like the fact that we don't need a DBA. It automatically scales stuff."
    • "It's not that flexible when compared to Oracle."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using the Matillion as the ETL tool and Snowflake has storage and there is no data warehouse component for storage.

    What is most valuable?

    I like the fact that we don't need a DBA. It automatically scales stuff.

    Snowflake has better performance features; it automatically knows the difference between the data volume. It adjusts itself.

    The performance is great. It internally optimizes well.

    The product is stable.

    The solution is scalable.

    What needs improvement?

    There are certain special features that are not available. For example, in Oracle, we have an SQL field. We have functions, procedures, packages, et cetera, which you can create similarly in Snowflake. However, it's not that flexible when compared to Oracle.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've used the solution in the last year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The product is stable and the performance is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's extremely reliable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Snowflake scales well. If a company needs to expand, it can do so.

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

    We also use Matillion. I find Snowflake a bit better.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're partners.

    While I can't speak to the version number we are using, we're always on the latest version of the solution.

    Snowflake is a good product. It is quite robust and scalable. However, a few of the functions are a little complex in Snowflake. 

    I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
    PeerSpot user
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