ETR's recent drill down surveyed shared customers of both Databricks and Snowflake to understand their platform usage and attitudes toward each company's vision, as well as thoughts on governing open data. The full report offers a comprehensive look at the usage and perceptions of the two popular platforms and a detailed analysis of how customers are utilizing each, as enterprises are increasingly relying on advanced data management and analytics tools. While this summary provides some key insights, the complete survey results are available on the ETR Platform and deserve closer examination.
Key Takeaways
- Snowflake excels in core data storage and warehousing, while Databricks leads in developing AI/ML models and building applications.
- Security and governance are top priorities for respondents, more so than innovation, and key drivers for platform selection.
- A majority of respondents utilize, and plan to continue utilizing both Snowflake and Databricks together rather than shifting entirely to one.
- Utilization of features like Snowflake’s Polaris and Databricks’ Unity catalog is still in early stages among large enterprises.
- Respondents show a slight preference for Databricks due to its alignment with machine learning expertise, but Snowflake's deep data architecture integration is also highly valued.
Additional Insights
Platform Preferences and Strengths. Snowflake is recognized for its robust capabilities in data storage and warehousing. It is a preferred choice for enterprises focused on deep data architecture integration. In contrast, Databricks is favored for its strong AI and machine learning capabilities, making it the go-to platform for developing complex models and applications. A small majority of respondents lean towards Databricks due to its perceived historical alignment with machine learning expertise, while half of the respondents are aligned with Snowflake due to its perceived benefit of deep data architecture integration.
Despite these preferences, the majority of respondents plan to continue using both platforms, highlighting a trend towards hybrid usage rather than exclusive reliance on one. Respondents cited usage of Azure Synapse, AWS Redshift, and Google’s Big Query alongside Snowflake and Databricks, as well as Microsoft SQL, Oracle, and MongoDB for on-prem or hybrid platforms.
Priorities and Key Drivers. Security and privacy emerged as the top priorities for respondents, closely followed by governance. These concerns drive the choice of platform, with many enterprises preferring tools that offer strong security measures and governance frameworks. While innovation is important, only a smaller segment of respondents prioritize it over security.
Open Table Formats and New Features. The survey also explored the adoption of open table formats and new features like Snowflake’s Polaris and Databricks’ Unity catalog. The findings indicate that these features are still in the early stages of adoption. Less than 10% were fully committed to open table formats, with a significant portion awaiting more clarity on governance. Interest in these features is growing, but active usage remains limited.
Snowflake’s strong data storage capabilities and Databricks’ AI/ML prowess create a balanced approach for data management and analytics. As the adoption of open table formats and new features evolves, enterprises will continue to navigate these platforms to optimize their data strategies.
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Enterprise Technology Research (ETR) is a technology market research firm that leverages proprietary data from our targeted IT decision maker (ITDM) community to provide actionable insights about spending intentions and industry trends. Since 2010, we have worked diligently at achieving one goal: eliminating the need for opinions in enterprise research, which are often formed from incomplete, biased, and statistically insignificant data. Our community of ITDMs represents $1+ trillion in annual IT spend and is positioned to provide best-in-class customer/evaluator perspectives. ETR’s proprietary data and insights from this community empower institutional investors, technology companies, and ITDMs to navigate the complex enterprise technology landscape amid an expanding marketplace. Discover what ETR can do for you at www.etr.ai
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