Snowflake Data Warehouse Consultant
Your reports pull from too many systems and take too long to build. We help you decide if Snowflake is the answer, then set it up and keep the bill sensible.
- 20+ years connecting business systems
- Works with Xero, MYOB and the systems you already use
- Fixed quote after a free chat
All Your Data, One Place
The problem: your numbers live in Xero or MYOB, a job or sales system, a stock system and a pile of spreadsheets. Every report means exporting, pasting and checking, and the figures still don't quite match. Snowflake is an online data warehouse: one place that collects information from all your systems so reports can be built from one set of numbers. We help you decide whether it is the right fit (for many mid-sized businesses something simpler will do, and we'll say so). If it is, we set it up, move your data in, and keep the monthly bill under control.
What Snowflake Does Well
The features that matter to a business owner or finance team
Pay for What You Use
Instant Test Copies
Undo Recent Changes
Share Without Copying
How We Help
Moving From an Old Data Store
Move your reporting data out of an ageing database or older data warehouse into Snowflake, without losing history.
- A check of what you have now
- A plan for what moves and when
- Old and new run side by side
- Figures checked against the old system
- A planned switch-over
Setting Up Snowflake
A new Snowflake account set up properly from day one, with your key systems feeding into it.
- A sensible layout for your data
- Account and access setup
- Security settings
- Regular feeds from your systems
- Training for your team
Bringing the Bill Down
Snowflake charges for what you use. We find out what is driving your bill and cut the waste, without slowing reports down.
- A review of what you use
- Right-sized computing
- Fixing wasteful reports
- Cheaper storage for old data
- Spending alerts
Speeding Up Slow Reports
Reports or dashboards that take too long to load are tracked down and fixed.
- Finding the slow reports
- Organising data for faster reads
- Pre-built summary tables
- Better use of Snowflake’s caching
- Checks after each change
The Technical Side: Moving to Snowflake
From Oracle or Teradata
What to watch for:
- Complex built-in logic
- Vendor-specific query language
- Large amounts of data
- Little room for downtime
Approach: Move in stages, with old and new running side by side
From AWS Redshift
What to watch for:
- Different table layouts
- Custom functions to rewrite
- Data feeds to update
- Comparing running costs
Approach: Move as-is first, then improve
From Azure Synapse
What to watch for:
- Microsoft-specific queries to convert
- Links to other Azure services
- Different security setup
- Connected tools to update
Approach: Use conversion tools, then check by hand
From SQL Server on Your Own Servers
What to watch for:
- Old data-loading packages to rebuild
- Links between servers
- Windows-based logins
- Network access to the cloud
Approach: Run both for a while, then switch over
Keeping the Snowflake Bill Under Control
Right-Size the Computing
How: Usage review and automatic pause settings
Fix Wasteful Reports
How: Find the heaviest reports, then tune them
Store Old Data Cheaply
How: Rules for how long data is kept
Spending Limits
How: Snowflake resource monitors
Snowflake vs Older Data Warehouses
| Aspect | Snowflake | Older Data Warehouses | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it’s built | Built for the cloud from the start | Often older designs moved to the cloud | Keeps up as data and users grow |
| Billing | Billed by the second; pauses when idle | Often billed by the hour, or a fixed server | You don’t pay for idle time |
| Upkeep | Updates handled by Snowflake | Regular maintenance windows | Less for your team to look after |
| Sharing data | Built-in secure sharing | Usually needs exports or custom feeds | Easier to share with partners |
| Many users at once | Extra computing can start automatically | Limited by the server size | Reports stay quick at busy times |
Examples by Business Type
Typical reports:
- Combined reporting across several Xero or MYOB files
- Intercompany totals in one place
- Board reports from one set of numbers
Typical reports:
- Sales by customer, product and region
- Stock and reorder reporting
- Margin after freight and rebates
Typical reports:
- Production and quality records over time
- Real job costs against quotes
- Supplier and purchasing trends
Typical reports:
- Job profit across many projects
- Work-in-progress reporting
- Subcontractor and supplier spend
Training for Your Team
Report Users
- Finding and trusting the right data
- Connecting Power BI or Excel
- What the costs mean
Analysts
- Writing efficient queries
- Building summary tables
- Keeping costs down
Administrators
- Users and access
- Spending limits and alerts
- Backups and recovery
Tailored to You
- Built around your reports
- Hands-on with your data
- Written notes to keep
The Technical Side
For whoever looks after your systems: what Snowflake supports.
- Storage and computing are billed separately; computing can grow for busy periods and shrink after
- Handles semi-structured data such as JSON, Avro and Parquet files
- Snowpipe loads new data automatically as it arrives
- Secure data sharing without copying or moving data
- Transactions are all-or-nothing, so data stays consistent
- Row- and column-level security controls who sees what
- Built-in connectors for Power BI, Tableau and Looker
- Works with Python, Java and Spark for advanced analysis
Plain-Speaking, Practical Help
We're a small Australian consultancy with over 20 years of experience solving real technology problems for local businesses. We won't oversell or overcomplicate things; we build what does the job.
Not Sure Snowflake Is Right for You?
Whether you're moving from an older system, worried about the monthly bill, or starting from scratch, begin with a free initial chat. We'll tell you honestly whether Snowflake fits, then give you a fixed quote. If you want a deeper look first, our $5,000 Process & Systems Audit is a separate, paid review of your systems with a written report.