Learn why Snowflake analytic data warehouse makes sense for BI including data loading flexibility and scalability, consumption-based storage and compute costs, Time Travel and data sharing features, support across a range of BI tools like Power BI and Tableau and ability to allocate compute costs. View this on-demand webinar: https://senturus.com/resources/10-reasons-snowflake-is-great-for-analytics/. Senturus offers a full spectrum of services in business intelligence and training on Cognos, Tableau and Power BI. Our resource library has hundreds of free live and recorded webinars, blog posts, demos and unbiased product reviews available on our website at: http://www.senturus.com/senturus-resources/.

1. 10 Reasons Snowflake
Is Great for Analytics
2

2. 3
Hundreds of resources
Visit the Resource Library
on the Senturus website
to download this presentation
and explore other assets:
senturus.com/resources
3

3. 4
Introductions
Michael Weinhauer
Director
Senturus, Inc.
4
Bob Looney
VP Software & Architecture
Senturus, Inc.
Reeves Smith
Principal Snowflake Architect
Senturus, Inc.

4. Agenda
• Introduction
• Snowflake overview
• 10 reasons Snowflake is built for analytics
• Answers to questions
• Senturus overview
• Additional resources
5

5. Enjoy the full webinar presentation
This slide deck is from the webinar 10 Reasons Snowflake is
Great for Analytics
To view the FREE video recording and download this deck,
go to https://senturus.com/resources/10-reasons-snowflake-
is-great-for-analytics
6

6. Snowflake overview
7

7. Snowflake overview
• SaaS, not PaaS
• Low administration
• Start a trial online for free
• Consumption based pricing
• Compute & storage
• Cloud agnostic
• Abstracted on top of AWS, Azure or GCP
• Analytics focus, not transactional
• OLAP, not OLTP
8
Modern,
Cloud-Built
Data Lake
Modern,
Cloud-Built
Data
Warehouse
Data
Exchange

8. Consistent database concepts
• Database
• Schema
• Table
• Column
• View
• User
• Role
• ANSI SQL compliant
9

9. Unique concepts
10
Snowflake (company and product)
• Does not refer to a preference for the snowflake
data model
• “Our founders just really love skiing and
Snowflakes are made in the cloud.”
• Also a reference to each client being unique and
the flexibility of the platform to fit each use case
Cloud data platform
• SaaS product that Snowflake sells consisting of
storage and compute resources

10. Unique concepts
11
Procedures
• A mix of JavaScript (loops, logic) and SQL (data access)
• Unlike database procedures, don’t return queries of data

11. Unique concepts
12
True decoupled compute & storage
• Multiple, independent compute resources
access the same database
• "virtually unlimited number of concurrent
workloads against the same, single copy
of your data"
Warehouse
• Sized compute capacity
• Acts on a database
• Start/pause/stop, scale up & down = Warehouse

12. 10 reasons Snowflake
is built for Analytics
13

13. 10 reasons Snowflake is built for analytics
1. Large data volumes
2. Data loading flexibility
3. Broad BI tools support
4. Supports “Analysis Ready”
data models
5. Minimized administration
14
6. Performance scalability
7. Semi-structured data
8. Cloning
9. Time Travel
10.Data sharing

14. 1) Large data volumes
• Highly reliable & scalable
• Storage backed by cloud providers
• Flexible staging
• Internal stage: part of the Snowflake
tenant
• External stage: Amazon S3, Azure Blob,
Google cloud storage
• Fast data loading of large data
sets
15

15. 2) Data loading flexibility
• File based data loading
• Structured and unstructured
• Snowpipe event driven loading
• Tool support
• Enables rapid lift and shift of on-prem SQL
based EDW
• Integrate web applications
16
prep

16. Web Applications
Cloud Storage
(External Stage)
On Premises
Databases & Files
Snowflake
Internal Stage
Snowflake
Database
AWS
S3
COPY
PUT + COPY
Snowpipe
REST API
Azure
Blob
GCS
Data loading options
3rd Party Tools
17

17. 3) Broad BI tool support
• Chartio
• Cognos
• Domo
• Looker
• MicroStrategy
• Power BI
• Qlik
• QuickSight
• Sisense
• Tableau
• Tibco
• ThoughtSpot
• …
18

18. To see demos of BI tools and all demos
To see the demos and download the slide deck go to
https://senturus.com/resources/10-reasons-snowflake-is-
great-for-analytics
Visit our website to access our library of free BI
knowledge resources including events, blogs, demos,
whitepapers, other on-demand webinars and our
dashboard gallery https://senturus.com/senturus-
resources/
19

19. BI tool - Cognos
Ref: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/how-set-snowflake-data-source-connection-cognos-analytics 20

20. 4) Supports analysis ready data models
• Modern BI tools work best with star
or Snowflake data models
• Create a schema with BI views on
top of ingestion tables
• Create security so that BI users only
see BI views
FACT
DIMENSION
DIMENSION DIMENSION
DIMENSIONDIMENSION
21

21. Corp BI Tool
Finance Department
BI Tool
Data Science
Warehouse
BI data modeling in Snowflake
Finance
Warehouse
BI
Views
Ingest
Tables
Corporate
Warehouse
“BI” schema Connects as “BIUser”
Connects as “BIUser”
Connects as “DSUser”
22

22. 5) Minimized administration
Availability &
Maintenance
Replication
Backups
Re-Clustering
Account Management
Statistic Collection
Memory Management
Parallelism
Query Plan Hinting
Workload Management
Query
Tuning
Partitioning
Indexing
Ordering
Vacuuming
Physical
Design
Initial Setup
Upgrading
Patching
Capacity
Planning
Storage
Security
Infrastructure
Loading
Moving
Transforming
Copying
Securing
Data
Collaboration
TRADITIONAL PLATFORMS
23

23. Snowflake minimized administration
24
Availability &
Maintenance
Replication
Backups
Re-Clustering
Account Management
Statistic Collection
Memory Management
Parallelism
Query Plan Hinting
Workload Management
Query
Tuning
Partitioning
Indexing
Ordering
Vacuuming
Physical
Design
Initial Setup
Upgrading
Patching
Capacity
Planning
Storage
Security
Infrastructure
Loading
Moving
Transforming
Copying
Securing
Data
Collaboration
Simply load, share and query data
SNOWFLAKE CLOUD DATA PLATFORM

24. 6) Performance scalability
• Workload isolation
• Data loading
• Data query
• Data science
• Auto-scale out
• Scale up/down
• Ad hoc warehouse use
cases
• Auto-pause
25

25. Performance scalability demo
26
Create warehouse Scale up/down warehouse

26. Performance scalability demo
27
Multi-cluster warehouse – scale out

27. 7) Semi-structured data
• Query directly from XML, JSON, and other semi-structured data
• Define a table with a VARIANT column
• Create a file format that aligns with the data being imported (JSON)
28

28. Load data from file
Load data from a JSON file into table using the JSON file format.
29

29. Create structured view
30

30. 8) Cloning
• Copy a huge database very
quickly without consuming
additional storage (cost)
• DevOps implications
• Promoting table changes through Dev
 Test  Prod
• Copy Prod database back to Dev or
Test quickly
Ref: https://www.snowflake.com/blog/saving-time-space-simplifying-devops-fast-cloning/
ZERO-COPY data cloning
31

31. Cloning demo
Ref: https://www.snowflake.com/blog/saving-time-space-simplifying-devops-fast-cloning/
Clone Prod to a Dev database
Promote a new table from Dev to Test or Prod
• With data…
• Without data…
32

32. 9) Time travel
• Query data back in time
• SQL extensions for “AT” and “BEFORE” keywords
• Automatically enabled with a 1-day retention
• 90-day max
• Impacts storage costs
• Benefits
• Troubleshoot data loading and transformations
• Don’t have to worry as much about making data mistakes
33

33. Time Travel demo
Example: select what the data was 5 minutes ago.
34

34. 10) Data sharing
• Pull in curated data sets
• Share your data with partners, safely, securely, efficiently
35

35. Data sharing demo
36

36. Data sharing demo
37

37. 10 reasons Snowflake is built for analytics
1. Large data volumes
2. Data loading flexibility
3. Broad BI tools support
4. Supports “Analysis Ready”
data models
5. Minimized administration
38
6. Performance scalability
7. Semi-structured data
8. Cloning
9. Time Travel
10.Data sharing

38. To see all the demos from this presentation
To see the demos and download the slide deck go to
https://senturus.com/resources/10-reasons-snowflake-is-
great-for-analytics
Visit our website to access our library of free BI
knowledge resources including events, blogs, demos,
whitepapers, other on-demand webinars and our
dashboard gallery https://senturus.com/senturus-
resources/
39

39. Answers to questions
asked during the webinar
40

40. Snowflake Q/A
41
Q: Q: Can you go over a possible Snowflake use case for a
small/medium company (<200gb) that has several OLTP systems with
SQL Server backends and a SQL Server data warehouse that is used to
model data into fact tables and dimensions for use in Cognos? What
would be the benefits of moving to Snowflake over accessing it from
the SQL Server warehouse?
A: One benefit of moving to the Snowflake is the lack of maintenance.
Another benefit is the ability to scale past what SQL Server can do. If those
two items are not an issue and performance is acceptable at present, we
don’t see a reason to move.
Q: Is there any support for any geospatial data types in Snowflake?
A: Currently Snowflake supports the geography data type. Read more on the
Snowflake support page.

41. Snowflake Q/A
42
Q: Do we still need to cluster instead of index when data is huge when
using Snowflake?
A: We have not seen the need with large tables (+22 billion rows per day) to
cluster, but we would imagine there could be a benefit at some level. It is
something to consider when performance is not acceptable. In general,
tables in the multi-terabyte (TB) range will experience the most benefit from
clustering, particularly if DML is performed regularly/continually on these
tables. Read more about clustering on the Snowflake support page.
Q: Is Snowflake good for streaming data?
A: Yes, Snowflake can handle streaming loads, but it uses the term micro-
batches. Read more about data load Snowpipe on the Snowflake support
page.

42. Snowflake Q/A
43
Q: What happens to existing data connections during a clone operation
in Snowflake? Are the connections terminated, the cloning suspended
or are the users none the wiser?
A: Connections are still referencing the original object, and nothing would
happen to that connection. Clones are new metadata objects that point to the
original object.
Q: Is data retrieval through JDBC slow compared to native connectors?
A: We have not seen issues with JDBC connectors vs. other connectors.
Q: Do I need to create a presentation layer for the report’s consumption
in Snowflake? Or can I query directly?
A: You can query tables or views directly, just like other databases.

43. Snowflake Q/A
44
Q: What are the top reasons to pick Snowflake over Azure Synapse
Analytics?
A: 1. It’s easier to manage with no indexes and excellent performance. Other
solutions need to distribute data among nodes and add indexes to achieve
performance.
2. True separate storage from compute. Snowflake starts and stops
depending on demand; it does not need to be running all of the time like
other cloud offerings.
3. Low cost to start a project because you pay for what you use. Even an
extra-small warehouse can load 35+ million rows in under 30 seconds. extra-
small warehouse is between $2.00-$4.00 per hour.
4. Incredible scale.

44. Snowflake Q/A
45
Q: How does the reader account work in Snowflake?
A: You can share data with customers that do not have a Snowflake account
and they will be able to see the shared data on your account. This is a very
detailed subject that will require a lengthy response, read the Snowflake
support documentation for more information.
Q: Where would you recommend the transformation of data into a star
schema, on Snowflake or on-prem?
A: It depends, could happen in both easily. If scale is not an issue and it is
already done on-prem it might be hard to justify moving it unless there are
other reasons. If you want to discuss this, please contact us for a free
consultation at 888 601 6010 ext. 1 or info@senturus.com.

45. Snowflake Q/A
46
Q: What security considerations do we need to consider if we put
financial data into Snowflake?
A: Snowflake is very secure and has additional options like:
• Customer-managed encryption keys through Tri-Secret Secure
• Support for secure, direct proxy to your other virtual networks or on-
premises data centers using AWS PrivateLink or Azure Private Link
• Support for PHI data (in accordance with HIPAA and HITRUST CSF
regulations)
• Support for PCI DSS
Read more on the Snowflake support page.

46. Snowflake Q/A
47
Q: Does Snowflake use any ColumnStore Indexes? What makes it so
responsive?
A: Micro partitions have columnar storage/compression and metadata that
helps with partition elimination. Read more about micro partitions on the
Snowflake support page.
Q: If Snowflake is so fast, do we need to worry about our data scientists
terrible SQL? Is there still a way to analyze a query for efficiency?
A: Yes, like other tools Snowflake has query profile that displays execution
details for a query. Read more about query profile on the Snowflake support
page.

47. Snowflake Q/A
48
Q: Can we secure data in Snowflake so certain users see only certain
subsets of data from the same warehouse?
A: You can use secure views for this use case. According to Snowflake,
when deciding whether to use a secure view, you should consider the
purpose of the view and weigh the trade-off between data privacy/security
and query performance. Read more about secure views on the Snowflake
support page.
Q: What is the licensing/cost structure for adding accounts that need to
access data in Snowflake?
A: The is no licensing cost to users or for access. It is managed with storage,
compute and cloud services, like Snowpipe use cost. Read more about use
costs on the Snowflake support page.

48. Snowflake Q/A
49
Q: Currently we have Snowflake, and we are configuring Cognos to
access it. Using Cognos, there is a performance degradation. How do
we improve performance?
A: The first thing to try is to increase the warehouse size or if there are a lot
of requests at the same time scale out the warehouse. If you’d like to discuss
your issue in more detail, contact us for a free consultation at 888 601 6010
ext. 1 or info@senturus.com. Read more about warehouse performance on
the Snowflake support page.
Q: If I need a data lake, and build API's for data retrieval (large or small
data set), is Snowflake a good candidate?
A: Yes, Snowflake sounds like it would be a good solution, but to say for
sure, we’d need more information. Contact us to discuss your situation at
888 601 6010 ext. 1 or info@senturus.com.

49. Like what you see?
To view the video recording and download the slide deck go
to https://senturus.com/resources/10-reasons-snowflake-is-
great-for-analytics
Visit our website to access our library of free BI knowledge
resources including events, blogs, demos, whitepapers, other
on-demand webinars and our dashboard gallery
https://senturus.com/senturus-resources/
50

50. Questions?
51
Schedule a complimentary call to address your specific
questions regarding using Snowflake for analytics
• Migration
• Performance
• Architecture
• info@Senturus.com | 888 601 6010

51. The authority in
Business Intelligence
Exclusively focused on BI,
Senturus is unrivaled in its
expertise across the BI stack
52

52. Decisions and actionsBusiness needs
Bridging the data and decisioning gap
53
Analysis-ready data

53. Full spectrum of BI services
• Dashboards, reporting and visualizations
• Data preparation and modern data warehousing
• Hybrid BI environments (migrations, security, etc.)
• Software to enable bimodal BI and platform migrations
• BI support retainer (expertise on demand)
• Training and mentoring
54

54. A long, strong history of success
• 19+ years
• 1300+ clients
• 2500+ projects
55

55. Expand your
knowledge
Find more resources
on the Senturus website
senturus.com/senturus-resources
56

56. Upcoming event
•Data Integration Options for Microsoft Power BI
•Choosing the right tool for the job
•Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, 11am PT/2pm ET
57

57. Complete BI training offerings
58
Instructor-led online courses Self-paced learning
MentoringTailored group sessions

58. Additional resources from Senturus
59
Insider viewpointsTechnical tipsUnbiased product reviews
Product demos Upcoming eventsMore on this subject

59. © 2020 by Senturus, Inc. This presentation may not be reused or distributed without the written consent of Senturus, Inc.
www.senturus.com 888 601 6010 info@senturus.com
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