More and more organizations are now looking for ways to scale their operations, but there seems to be a heavy anchor pulling them down to the surface: a traditional database system.
Table of Contents
This is where the Snowflake database comes into the picture. Snowflake architecture is a brilliant solution to your scalability problem, and it treats your storage and computing resources independently. Snowflake is not a new tech fad, though. The database has been around for more than a decade, with 6,800 enterprise customers and a revenue of $1.2 billion. This spectacular growth is also proof of how Snowflake is helping businesses find a new way of thinking about data.
Let’s break down the perks of this database architecture, its structure, and the game-changing potential it has in the real world.
You can think of Snowflake as a single platform where you can manage and store all your company’s data and analyze it too. Snowflake rely
A snowflake database is basically a cloud-based platform for data warehousing that simplifies how your business manages, stores, and works on your data. Snowflake uses the cloud to offer a more flexible and efficient solution as compared to traditional data warehouses. You can use this cloud-native approach to tap into the complete potential of your datasets without getting bogged down by the complexities of an on-premise system.
This table will explain the important layers of a Snowflake architecture and their functions:
Here are some factors that make Snowflake a go-to database:
A traditional database ties storage and computes resources together, but a Snowflake database allows you to treat these as independent components. Let’s say your data storage needs to grow because there is a sudden influx of new data. In this situation, you can use a Snowflake database to increase the storage capacity without affecting the compute resources that handle queries or analytics.
On the other hand, there are situations where you would need month-end reporting during peak times. You can quickly scape up your resources for fast query performance without worrying about data storage. This way, you can adapt to a fluctuating workload without slowing down your performance.
A Snowflake architecture uses different optimization techniques to improve your query performance. These include automatic clustering, which organizes data for quicker access without the need for someone to intervene and do it manually. This means that a user can run a complex query and retrieve valuable insight within seconds.
When you use Snowflake, a lot of users can run queries at the same time without interfering with each other. There are virtual warehouses that operate independently, so you can divide it among teams or departments in your company. Every department can access and analyze data in real-time without creating any performance bottlenecks, even during high demand.
Is cost management the top-most priority for your business? Then, you will appreciate Snowflake’s pay-as-you-go pricing model. Instead of paying for a fixed capacity of space, you can pay for the storage and resources you actually plan on using. This way you won’t have to cash out in upfront investments on hardware and also reduce ongoing expenses on maintaining the database system.
Since Snowflake DB is a fully managed service, you don’t have to allocate IT resources like you would for an on-premise data warehouse. So, instead of working on software updates or performance tuning, your team can focus on other initiatives and strategies.
Organizations have data coming in from multiple sources. Snowflake gives you access to both structured and unstructured data formats like JSON and Avro to deal with data from various sources. These formats make it easier to ingest and assess data without preparing it beforehand.
Whether you are sourcing data from a cloud storage, a data lake, or an external application, Snowflake will build a unified data ecosystem for you. You can break down data silos so your teams can extract insights from data coming in from different channels.
As an organization, you need a database system that allows you to share information across teams and even external partners without compromising its security. Snowflake’s data-sharing feature is straightforward and secure, so your users can share entire datasets and decide who can access or control them.
This information-sharing pattern gives stakeholders instant and safe access to information they need, whenever they need it, without going through the rather annoying data request processes.
Handling sensitive data is a major concern for modern businesses that are always at risk of a hack or cyberattack. Snowflake database takes your peace of mind seriously and offers end-to-end encryption that keeps your data safe during rest and transit.
A Snowflake data warehouse stays in line with standards set by industry regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, so you can take a breather knowing your business is meeting all the legal requirements. Role-based access controls are put in place so only those users have access who actually need to work on a dataset.
You will find Snowflake being implemented in applications across industries where the benefits we discussed above shine the most.
The usual problems that a retail company deals with include managing inventory and understanding the underlying intentions of a customer’s behavior when they make a purchase. When such a company uses a Snowflake data warehouse, it can pull in data from different resources like POS systems and online sales channels. This way, they can manage stock levels without the risk of going under or over and forecast their inventory needs with immaculate accuracy.
A healthcare provider needs data analytics to work on their patient outcomes and improve them. Snowflake databases can manage and organize volumes of patient data and get it ready for analysis and reporting. They can consolidate different formats of data like EHRs, lab results, and insurance claims in a single Snowflake warehouse. A single in-depth analysis will tell all the key metrics like trends in patient health, treatment efficacy, and resource utilization.
If your business is considering a way to organize your data strategy, shifting to a Snowflake architecture might be the next best move you make. The database system has powerful features, a simple approach, and strong security measures – the trifecta that most modern organizations need to thrive.
Create a free profile and find your next great opportunity.
Sign up and find a perfect match for your team.
Xperti vets skilled professionals with its unique talent-matching process.
Connect and engage with technology enthusiasts.
© Xperti.io All Rights Reserved
Privacy
Terms of use