Data catalogs are essential for organizations using Cloud Data Warehouse solutions like Snowflake, serving as a centralized source of truth for data assets. They enhance data understanding, optimize cost savings, and improve query performance while fostering transparent governance and collaboration. By aggregating metadata from various sources, data catalogs minimize errors and increase data accessibility across the organization.
How to evaluate a data catalog
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With a data catalog, your organization can consolidate metadata from various sources, reduce errors, and make data more accessible. Implementing a data catalog for Snowflake is a strategic decision that improves data quality, increases cost efficiency, and enhances operational effectiveness, making it a key resource for any large organization.
Table of contents
What is Snowflake?
Snowflake’s native data cataloging features
Secoda as your command center for Snowflake data
Unifying cataloging, discovery, and governance
Unlocking cost efficiency with Secoda and Snowflake
How organizations are maximizing their data with Secoda
Customer spotlight
Conclusion
What is Snowflake?
Snowflake is a cloud-based data warehouse tool that allows users to store and analyze large amounts of data quickly and securely. It's scalable and cost-effective, freeing users from the burden of hardware and software maintenance. Snowflake supports both structured and semi-structured data, enabling various tasks, including data warehousing, data lakes, and data engineering.
Snowflake’s native data cataloging features
Snowflake provides a strong foundation for data cataloging through its ACCOUNT_USAGE schema, which captures essential metadata about data assets. Key features include:
Technical metadata is provided to understand the structure and properties of tables, views, and other objects within the data warehouse.
Logging and auditing features are available to monitor data access and usage through detailed activity logs, ensuring security and compliance.
Basic data classification and quality metrics features allow for categorizing data and monitoring basic integrity indicators.
While Snowflake offers some data cataloging features, they mainly serve as a technical data catalog with basic business descriptions, tagging, and categorization. For a more comprehensive metadata management solution that is accessible to all users, regardless of technical expertise, integrating Snowflake with broader solutions like Secoda is essential.
Secoda as your command center for Snowflake data
As data volumes grow, organizations need a modern approach to metadata management. Secoda addresses this need with a powerful data cataloging solution that integrates seamlessly with Snowflake. This integration allows organizations to fully leverage their data assets, enhancing discovery and collaboration.
Secoda utilizes Snowflake’s metadata, enabling users to find reliable data assets, collaborate with team members through shared workspaces, and adhere to governance policies.
Here’s a summary of the key metadata Secoda pulls from Snowflake:
Tables and views: Insights into names, descriptions, last updated timestamps, external usage, schemas, databases, frequent users, and tags.
Columns: Detailed information, including names, descriptions, types, and keys, along with performance statistics and value distributions.
Lineage: Mapping of relationships between columns, tables, and views to track data flow and usage.
Column profile: Statistical insights such as min, max, median, and percent filled, providing a comprehensive view of data quality.
And if enabled, Secoda can push metadata back to Snowflake. This bi-directional sync means that any edits made in Secoda on Snowflake assets keep everything in parity, ensuring a single source of truth for your data.
Unifying cataloging, discovery, and governance
Secoda simplifies data discovery and analysis with a suite of features that enhance the discovery, trust, and governance of your data:
Intuitive discovery: Quickly find and access data assets across all your systems, including Snowflake. No more digging through endless folders—just search for what you need and let Secoda do the rest!
Data Quality Score: Get a clear snapshot of your data's performance. This feature not only highlights areas needing attention but also provides automated suggestions to help you improve data quality in Snowflake, ensuring your decisions are based on reliable information.
No-code query monitoring: Keep an eye on your query performance without needing a technical background. This user-friendly feature allows anyone on your team to track metrics and identify inefficiencies effortlessly.
Lineage tracking: Visualize how your Snowflake data flows throughout your organization. Understand how changes in one area can impact upstream or downstream assets, such as your BI dashboards, helping you maintain data integrity across the board.
With Secoda, organizations can make informed decisions backed by a comprehensive view of their data assets. This holistic approach not only drives substantial cost savings but also enhances collaboration through established governance practices, reduces errors, and elevates analytical insights.
Unlocking cost efficiency with Secoda and Snowflake
In an environment where every dollar counts, organizations are looking for ways to manage their resources more effectively. Secoda is your trusted partner in achieving cost efficiency with Snowflake. With the Snowflake Cost widget integrated into our Analytics Dashboard, tracking your expenses has never been easier. This tool offers a clear, visual representation of your cost trends, helping you make informed decisions that keep your data operations running smoothly.
With our monitoring features, you can set alerts for any changes in daily costs. You’ll be able to catch fluctuations before they escalate into larger issues. By adding filters for usage type and balance source, you can effortlessly track your Snowflake expenses.
How organizations are maximizing their data with Secoda
Organizations leveraging Secoda to manage their Snowflake metadata have seen significant improvements in key areas:
Efficient data discovery: Teams are spending much less time searching for critical data assets. With Secoda, finding the right information is just a few clicks away, allowing analysts to focus on insightful analysis and decision-making.
Strengthened governance: Secoda helps establish solid frameworks for data access and compliance. Organizations can be confident that their data governance policies are implemented and actively monitored, ensuring adherence across the board.
Enhanced data quality: With automated processes and the Data Quality Score (DQS) feature, Secoda ensures high data quality, reducing errors and building trust in your data.
Improved cost management: By optimizing data management, organizations are realizing significant reductions in storage costs. With better insights into data usage, teams can make informed decisions about resource allocation and avoid unnecessary expenses.
Secoda empowers organizations to make informed decisions by providing a complete view of their data assets. This comprehensive perspective leads to substantial cost savings, fosters collaboration among teams, and enhances analytical insights, driving overall business success.
Customer spotlight
One of our valued customers, Loop, demonstrates the transformative impact of integrating Secoda with Snowflake. As the fastest-growing return management platform, Loop has turned the hassle of online returns into a seamless experience for thousands of brands. With their data team expanding from 3 to 16 members in just two years, Loop faced challenges managing data accessibility and onboarding new team members efficiently.
After implementing Secoda, Loop achieved remarkable results:
50% reduction in data discovery time
100% documentation of frequently used data assets
145% increase in active data users
Improved onboarding experience
Secoda has enabled Loop to automate responses and direct users to self-serve their data inquiries, fostering a culture of data democratization and empowering teams to find answers quickly. This successful integration with Snowflake illustrates how a data catalog can significantly enhance data operations, ensuring a single source of truth and supporting sustainable growth. Read the story to see how they did it.
Get started with Secoda
Secoda makes data discovery and analysis straightforward. With user-friendly automated features, anyone can quickly access and analyze data from any source. Its seamless integration with the modern data stack simplifies data exploration and insight extraction, enabling informed decision-making and driving powerful data analytics for a competitive advantage.
