Why use Snowflake data warehouse? This article will showcase 5 different reasons

Why Use Snowflake Data Warehouse? Here are 5 Reasons

As the data revolution continues, organizations that embrace the power of data warehouses will find themselves at the forefront of transformation. By recognizing the importance of these sophisticated data storage solutions, businesses can effectively navigate the data-driven landscape, unlock hidden opportunities, and propel themselves toward sustained success. Although each data warehouse solution brings different benefits to the table, Snowflake’s Data Warehouse is a fast, reliable, and cost-effective solution that industry professionals are flocking to. So, Why use Snowflake Data Warehouse over any other solution?

Why Use Snowflake’s Data Warehouse?

Data warehouses are a foundational element in data management, acting as a strategic bridge between raw data and actionable intelligence. Snowflakes Data Warehouse provides the innovation of on-demand availability to data storage that others don’t.

  1. Built For The Cloud

While most data warehouses are built as traditionally hosted solutions that later adapt to the cloud environment, Snowflake’s data warehouse was created with the cloud in mind. This makes Snowflake’s data warehouse more flexible and scalable than other solutions. Other solutions will see data silos more commonly than in Snowflake’s data warehouse due to the lack of fault tolerance, making continuous access to data more complex with more downtime.

  1. Fully Supports Unstructured Data

Unstructured data contains valuable information that can provide deeper insights and a holistic view of business operations. Still, it is very complex and challenging to store, search, and analyze unstructured data. Traditional data warehouses and data lakes cannot fully support unstructured data formats. Although, Snowflake’s data warehouse is not conventional. By fully supporting unstructured data, organizations can gain a more comprehensive understanding of customer sentiments, market trends, and emerging patterns by utilizing Snowflake’s data warehouse over alternative solutions.

  1. A Unique Micro-Partitioning Approach
What Is a Micro-Partition?
Micro-partitions are small physical cloud storage blocks that are adjoining and in contact with each other. Each micro-partition stores between 50 MB to 500 MB of uncompressed data, with about 16 MB of compressed data.

Why use Snowflake data warehouse? Snowflake’s micro-partitioning approach provides users with unique transparency they cannot get elsewhere. With Snowflake’s thoroughly evaluated compression algorithm, the small cloud storage block keeps data always compressed in the most efficient way possible for each micro-partition column. These small, self-contained data storage units allow for granular and optimized query execution causing Snowflake’s data warehouse to run efficiently with high-performance rates.

Traditional Table Example

CID Channel Amount Date
2 Retail $2,500 10/12/22
1 Web $450 10/13/22
3 Web $1,220 10/13/22
7 Retail $3,315 10/13/22
5 Retail $795 10/14/22
6 Direct $490 10/14/22
4 Retail $1,115 10/15/22
2 Web $635 10/16/22

Physical Structure Example

 
Micro-partition 1
Micro-partition 2
CID
2 1 3
7 5 6
4 2  
     
Channel
Retail Web Web
Retail Retail Direct
Retail Web  
     
Amount
$2,500 $450 $1,220
$3,315 $795 $490
$1,115 $635  
     
Date
10/12/22 10/13/22 10/13/22
10/13/22 10/14/22 10/14/22
10/15/22 10/16/22  
     

Other benefits of Snowflake’s Unique Micro-Partitioning Approach include:

  • Efficient scanning of columns
  • Effective finer-grain query pruning of large tables
  • Prevention of skews
  • Incremental updates
  • Minimizing data transfer 
  • Minimizing storage costs
  1. Supports Data Vault 2.0 
What is Data Vault?
The Data Vault system, invented by Dan Linsted, organizes data by separating structural information from its attributes. The Data Vault method initially focused on data warehouse modeling techniques and data loading processes. Still, it evolved to Data Vault 2.0, which includes a reference architecture, agile project delivery, automation, and continuous improvement.

Data vault models ensure data integrity and traceability by employing a hub-and-spoke architecture, as each piece of information is linked back to its source through a central hub. This approach enables easier data integration from disparate sources, allowing organizations to effectively incorporate diverse data types and handle complex data relationships. Snowflake supports Data Vault 2.0. This model takes advantage of Snowflake’s massively parallel processing compute clusters and optimized columnar storage format to obtain better results in all aspects of performance.

  1. A Single & Consistent Entry Point

Another answer to the question: ‘Why use Snowflake data warehouse’ is that Snowflake’s data warehouse reduces complexity and administrative overhead by utilizing a single and consistent entry point for all users. Users can quickly locate and access the information they need without navigating through multiple systems or interfaces by providing a unified interface or portal. This streamlines the user experience and reduces the learning curve, enabling users to quickly find relevant data and insights. Snowflake’s data warehouse also reduces data silos by ensuring consistency in data representation and interpretation, eliminating confusion or discrepancies that may arise from accessing data through various sources or tools.

Get Started With Snowflake Data Warehouse

If you are asking: ‘Why use Snowflake data warehouse,’ then we hope to have answered your question. Sign up for a free 30-day trial period with this signup page. If you have more questions on optimizing Snowflake’s data warehouse uses per your business operations, contact a specialty tech consultant such as Concord. Concord USA is a consultancy that combines technology and industry depth with a get-it-done culture to enable resiliency, efficiency, and innovation. Whether you are trying to improve customer satisfaction, data strategies, security, or other technological issues, Concord can help. Contact us today to learn more about Snowflake’s data warehouse, our Technology Integration Services, and how we can help your business thrive.

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