AWS vs Azure vs Google vs Snowflake: What is the best cloud-based Data Warehouse

A Data Warehouse (DWH) is one of the most important data science tools for any company, as it offers a way to centralize corporate information and from there execute analytics which improve decision making.

Due to flexibility in growth and costs, companies are currently preferring data warehouse solutions in the cloud over local systems. Another important reason is that cloud systems allow secure access through users distributed in different geographic locations safely and without the need to incorporate more technology.

Today We have a wide variety of Data Warehouses available, all of them with unique features, costs, and functionalities. This article allows us to differentiate the four most popular cloud solution providers with the greatest presence in the market, Amazon, Microsoft Azure, Google, and Snowflake. These providers share several similarities, but also some differences that can make a significant difference when selecting a DWH platform.

Exploring Cloud-based Data Warehouses

What is AWS Redshift

Redshift is a cloud Data Warehouse and analytics solution and is part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services platform. This service provides a platform where users can store their data and extract metrics that improve business visualization. Learn more about Redshift here.

What is Azure Synapse

Azure is Microsoft’s cloud DHW platform, which allows users to create a modern and very easy-to-use data warehouse. With Azure Synapse you can query data across dedicated users or resources in Serverless mode at scale. This platform provides Microsoft SQL technologies for the creation of DWH, Data Explorer to simplify visualization and complete integration with other Microsoft services such as AzureML, Power BI and CosmosDB. Learn more about Synapse here.

What is Google BigQuery

BigQuery is a Data Warehouse in the cloud and is part of Google Cloud Platform. In this service, users can create reports with the help of the analytical data engine, which also allows executing SQL queries on Petabytes of data and obtaining results in minutes. This DWH is based on Serverless infrastructure, so its scalability and high availability are assured. Learn more about BigQuery here.

What is Snowflake

Snowflake is a DWH with a Solution as a Service (SAAS) model designed specifically for the cloud. Regarding its data architecture, it uses Azure Blob as its internal storage engine and Azure Data Lake to store structured and unstructured data. Snowflake provides data security through AWS S3 security policy controls, Azure tokens, SSO, and Google cloud Storage access permissions. Learn more about Snowflake here.

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Architecture

Amazon Redshift: This warehouse is cluster-based, and each cluster can host multiple databases. Every database contains multiple objects like tables, views, stored procedures, etc. As this service is distributed in cluster mode, it is made up of nodes and slides, so the data is stored in multiple nodes.

Connectivity with applications, it uses JDBC and ODBC.

Azure Synapse: This service uses a scale-out architecture to distribute data processing between different nodes. Like all Azure architecture, processing is separated from storage, which allows greater scaling of data in the system.

Connectivity with applications, it uses ADO.NET, ODBC, PHP and JDBC.

Google BigQuery: This DWH as a service is built on Dremel technology, which has been used by Google since 2006 and is the execution engine for BigQuery. The system stores data in a columnar form, reading data from a file system called Colossus and through a powerful data network called Jupiter.

Connectivity with applications, it uses ODBC and JDBC.

Snowflake: This technology was created exclusively for the cloud by combining the power of the cloud platform with an SQL query engine. The system uses a hybrid system of shared disks and distributed architecture where each node is independent (Shared-nothing). Queries are processed using MPP (Massively Parallel Mode Processing) processing.

Connectivity with applications, it uses .NET, JDBC, ODBC and PHP.

Integration

Amazon Redshift: Redshift supports integration with the entire Amazon Web Services ecosystem, including DynamoDB, Amazon RDS, Amazon S3, AWS Data Pipeline or AWS EMR. It also allows integration with third-party solutions.

Azure Synapse: Synapse has several integration tools, such as logic apps, APIs, Service Bus, and Event Grid, which allow you to connect very easily with third-party solutions.

Google BigQuery: BigQuery provides several proprietary solutions for integration, through RestAPIs, Cloud Data Fusion or third-party solutions.

Snowflake: Offers native integration with multiple BI and data analysis tools, such as Azure Data Factory, IBM Cognos, Oracle Analytics Cloud, Google cloud and many more.

Both Azure Synapse, AWS Redshift, Google BigQuery and Snowflake can be integrated with relational database systems, analytical systems, or big data systems through Change Data Capture technology, allowing these technologies to be integrated in near Real-Time. Continue reading about Syniti Replicate.

Security

Amazon Redshift: Security is shared between the user and AWS, the user manages the security of access and data transmission, while AWS takes care of the security of the cloud. AWS allows SSL connections, cluster encryption, column, or row access control, and VPC.

Azure Synapse: Azure offers multiple levels of data protection for both on-premises and cloud data loads. These services include access management, authentication, network security, and threat protection.

Google BigQuery: Google provides access authentication via IAM (Identity and Access Manager), allowing security policies to be assigned to the different identities within Google. Automatic encryption of all data before writing it to the disk, decrypting it when required by the user.

Snowflake: Data stored in Snowflake tables is encrypted using AES-256, as are files stored in temporary files. Supports SSO, MFA (Multifactor Authentication) and Key Pair Authentication for secure access. Role management through SCIM and validation with Soc 1 Type II and Soc 2 type II standards.

So, the choice is in your hands, which Cloud-based Data Warehouse is your preferred?