Snowflake vs Azure Synapse ETL Tool Comparison: Understanding Key Differences, Pros & Cons, Limitation

Azure Synapse and Snowflake offer excellent ETL (extract, transform, load) tools. They are both powerful and feature-rich, making them excellent choices for businesses of all sizes. However, there are some critical differences between the two platforms that should be considered when choosing an ETL tool.

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Snowflake is designed to be easy to use, with a user-friendly interface and minimal setup required, while Azure Synapse offers a more robust set of features and is geared toward advanced users. 

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In terms of performance, Snowflake is generally considered to be faster and more efficient than Azure Synapse. In addition to it, Snowflake offers a unique feature called time travel, which allows users to view data as it existed at any point in the past. 

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This can be useful for auditing purposes or recovering lost data, while Azure Synapse does not offer this functionality. To learn more about Snowflake and Azure Synapse, read the below article:-

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Introduction to Azure Synapse

Azure Synapse Analytics is a cloud-based data warehousing and analytics service designed for large businesses. It offers a single service for all workloads related to data processing, management, and serving, making it possible to carry out immediate business intelligence and data predictions. 

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The service is integrated with Power BI and Azure Machine Learning, allowing users to apply mathematical machine learning models to data using the ONNX format. 

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Synapse Analytics provides the freedom to handle and query large amounts of data either on demand serverless or with provisioned resources at scale. This makes it an ideal solution for businesses that need to work with large volumes of data.

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Introduction to Snowflake

Snowflake is a popular big data platform that enables businesses to quickly scale their storage and compute power. The platform is fully managed and offers a variety of features, making it a great choice for businesses of all sizes. Snowflake is built on either the Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure, which makes it highly scalable and reliable. 

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Additionally, the platform is built with key trends in business intelligence automation in mind, making it a great choice for businesses that are looking to automate their workflows.

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Azure Synapse and Snowflake: What’s the same?

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• Both Azure Synapse and Snowflake offer advanced analytics capabilities, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Both platforms also support a range of data formats, including structured and semi-structured data.

• As with most cloud-based offerings, both services are easily scalable in computing power and storage capacity. This capability is important for businesses that need to quickly adjust their resources as their data needs change.

• Both Azure Synapse and Snowflake offer comprehensive security features, such as encryption at rest, role-based access control (RBAC), and secure multi-factor authentication (MFA), to ensure that data is kept secure.

• Both Azure Synapse and Snowflake are designed for data warehousing, so there are a few similarities between them.

• Data virtualization and data drop both allow you to query files by format (CSV/Parquet/JSON, etc.).

• Both platforms also provide a range of analytics features, such as data visualization, predictive analytics, and machine learning.

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Pros of Snowflake

Highly secure environment with Built-in security features:

Snowflake provides robust data security features to ensure that sensitive data remains secure. To protect against unauthorised access, Snowflake implements IP whitelisting, two-factor authentication, and federated authentication with SSO. Additionally, AES 256 encryption, encryption of data-in-transit, and at rest provide additional layers of protection, so users can have the confidence that their data remains safe and secure.

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Storage capacity:

Not only is Snowflake user-friendly, but it's also highly affordable and scalable. Additionally, since it has a high storage capacity, it can be used by organisations that handle large amounts of data.

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User-friendly interface:

Snowflake has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for businesses to manage their data warehouses. It also allows users to organize their data flexibly, making it easier for them to work with the data and extract insights from it.

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Disaster recovery:

Some organizations worry about data loss if they don't have physical access to the servers. With Snowflake, this is not a problem. Data is replicated across multiple centers so that it can be easily accessed during a disaster.

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Server capacity:

With a legacy data warehouse, you had to pour loads of money into servers and other equipment. With Snowflake, there's much more capacity without needing new machines. Plus, it's all cloud-based, with the software being able to be deployed on a small scale at first that can be later changed according to necessity.

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Highly scalable and low latency performance:

Organizations often have times when there are more users on the network or an increased workload. Snowflake clusters can handle these changes as they are scalable up and down depending on the demand so that however many additional users there may be, they will all be comfortable.

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Pros of Azure Synapse

Flexible pricing model:

Azure Synapse offers a flexible pricing model that allows businesses to pay for what they use and scale up or down depending on their budget. This makes it easier for businesses to plan their costs and ensure that they are getting the most bang for their buck.

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Data integration support:

Azure Synapse allows businesses to integrate with other services such as Power BI, Microsoft Flow, and Azure Machine Learning. This makes it easier for businesses to move data between different systems and analyze data in various ways.

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Comprehensive machine learning capabilities:

Azure synapse has comprehensive machine-learning capabilities to help businesses extract insights from their data. This makes it easier for businesses to gain deeper insights into their data and make more informed decisions.

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Near-Real-Time streaming capabilities:

Azure synapse has near-real-time streaming capabilities that allow businesses to quickly process large amounts of data as soon as it is available, making it easier for them to respond in real-time to changing market conditions.

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Cons of Snowflake

Only bulk data load:

Snowflake is not suitable for streaming data and loading micro-batches of new data. It only supports bulk loading, which can be resource-intensive and time-consuming.

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Limited compute resources:

Snowflake imposes limits on the available compute resources you can use to run queries. This may lead to slow processing times or even query failures if too many users are accessing the system at the same time.

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Limited query options:

Snowflake's SQL dialect supports only a limited set of queries and functions, which may not meet the needs of more complex data analysis tasks.

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No support for streaming data:

Although Snowflake doesn't have any in-built support for streaming data, you can still stream data by using third-party solutions.

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No data constraints:

Although Snowflake is scalable and users only have to pay for what they need, storage and computing-wise, there are no limits. This can be easy to take advantage of for some organizations if care is not taken. The problem usually arises during billing when it's too late.

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No support for unstructured data at the moment:

As of now, Snowflake only includes structured and semi-structured data. However, this might switch in the future to encompass unstructured data as well.

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Cons of Azure Synapse

Limited data integration capabilities:

Azure Synapse's data integration capabilities are limited, which can make it difficult to move data between different systems.

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No support for streaming data:

Azure Synapse does not have any built-in support for streaming data. This makes it difficult to process large amounts of data in real-time.

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Limited query capabilities:

Azure Synapse supports a limited set of queries and functions, which may not meet the needs of more complex data analysis tasks.

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No support for unstructured data:

Azure Synapse does not have any built-in support for unstructured data, which can be a challenge if you want to analyze large amounts of unstructured data. You will need to use third-party tools or services in order to process this type of data.

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Understanding the key differences between Azure Synapse and Snowflake

There are several key differences between Azure Synapse and Snowflake, which include the following:

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Administration

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: PaaS vs. SaaS

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Cost

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Compute Resources

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Scalability

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Interoperability with Azure Stack

• Azure Synapse vs. Snowflake: Performance and Future-proofing

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Administration:

Snowflake is a SaaS platform that requires little to no administration, thanks to features like automatic clustering and built-in performance optimization. This lack of administration lets companies focus on other tasks rather than dedicating full-time staff to manage Snowflake.

However, with Azure Synapse, some administration is necessary to manage concurrency and performance. Luckily, performance monitoring and tuning are built into the platform to make these tasks easier.

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PaaS vs. SaaS:

There are a few key differences between Azure Synapse and Snowflake, most notably how they are sold. Snowflake is a SaaS platform that uses an abstraction layer to separate the Snowflake storage and compute credits you pay for from the actual underlying compute cloud and storage. 

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Conversely, Azure Synapse is a PaaS platform that comes with a free Azure Synapse Workspace development environment on top of the resources. This means you pay for the Azure resources themselves rather than just storage and compute credits.

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Cost:

Azure Synapse and Snowflake have very different payment structures. Azure Synapse offers a more transparent pricing structure, while Snowflake separates the charges for compute time. 

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Azure Synapse is priced on a per-use basis, with charges for data storage, processing, and snapshot storage. Snowflake is priced differently, with monthly charges for data storage and cloud services and credits for virtual warehousing.

If managing costs is a priority, Azure Synapse offers a more transparent pricing structure. Users can choose on-demand pricing but can also pre-purchase data storage to earn a discount. Snowflake also delivers on-demand pricing and storage capacity but separates the charges for compute time.

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Compute resources:

In terms of compute resources, Azure Synapse offers more flexibility. The platform can automatically scale up or down based on the needs of the business, which helps to save on costs. 

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Additionally, Azure Synapse offers the ability to pause and resume data pipelines, which is not possible with Snowflake. This makes it easier to control costs when using Azure Synapse.

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Scalability:

When it comes to scalability, Snowflake is hard to beat. Its built-in auto-scaling capabilities and auto-suspend feature make it easy for administrators to dynamically manage warehouse resources as their needs change. And with its per-second billing model, Snowflake can provide immediate cost savings when scaling storage and computing up or down.

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Azure does offer strong scalability, but it lacks some of the features that make Snowflake so flexible. Serverless SQL Pools and Spark Pools in Azure have automatic scaling by default, but Dedicated SQL Pools require manual scaling. Overall, Snowflake is the clear winner when it comes to scalability. Its features make it easy to scale up or down as needed without incurring additional costs.

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Interoperability with Azure Stack:

Azure Synapse and Snowflake both offer built-in support for Azure Stack. This makes it easy to deploy and manage hybrid cloud environments that span on-premises and Azure resources. 

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Additionally, both platforms offer the ability to connect to other Azure services, such as Cosmos DB, Power BI, and Logic Apps. This gives you the flexibility to build comprehensive data solutions that span on-premises and Azure resources.

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Performance and future-proofing:

Azure Synapse and Snowflake both offer great performance. However, Azure Synapse provides more control over query optimization and scheduling, which is essential for ensuring optimal performance.

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Snowflake also offers strong performance, but its cloud-native architecture makes it easier to scale quickly as your data grows, while Azure Synapse's on-premises architecture can be more complex to manage.

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In terms of future-proofing, Snowflake is the clear winner. Its cloud-native architecture allows for quick scaling when needed as your data grows and new features are introduced. On the other hand, Azure Synapse relies on third-party tools to keep up with the latest trends in data analytics. 

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Limitations of Azure Synapse and Snowflake

While both platforms offer many benefits, there are some limitations to consider as well.

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• Azure Synapse has a longer learning curve if you're not experienced in using it.

• Azure Synapse doesn't support queries that run across databases.

• The setup process for Azure Synapse is lengthy.

• Snowflake isn't suitable for use in database scenarios like online transactional processing.

• Snowflake can be challenging to use for newbies, and its user interface is also not friendly.

• Most users and small companies find Snowflake too expensive for them.

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Which is right for your business: Azure Synapse or Snowflake?

When choosing between Azure Synapse and Snowflake, there are a few factors to consider. If you're looking for more control over query optimization and scheduling, then Azure Synapse is the right choice. It's also more suitable for on-premises solutions that require dedicated compute resources.

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On the other hand, if you need a cloud-native platform with built-in scalability and flexibility, then Snowflake is the better choice. It's also ideal for users who want to take advantage of its low-cost and per-second billing model.

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At the end of the day, it comes down to your specific needs. If you're unsure which one is right for you, it's best to consult an experienced data analyst or BI consultant who can help you make the right decision.

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No matter which platform you choose, both Azure Synapse and Snowflake offer great features that enable organizations of all sizes to get the most out of their data. With the right strategy and implementation plan in place, you can ensure that your data analytics solution meets your organization's needs now and in the future. Good luck!

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Conclusion

Azure Synapse and Snowflake are powerful ETL tools that can help businesses manage their data. However, they have different strengths and weaknesses. With Boltic, you can use either Azure Synapse or Snowflake to manage your data, depending on your needs.

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Our platform is a no-code data pipeline that is easy to use and offers all the features you need to get the most out of your data. You can also build complex ELT pipelines in just a few clicks.

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Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you manage your data efficiently and effectively.

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