Enterprise Data Platform Modernization on to Snowflake Database Platform

The Business Problem

Eris Enterprise was engaged to consult on the migration from IBM Netezza to Snowflake, a cloud-based enterprise data platform. The client was at the end-of-life for their Netezza appliance. They were increasing the frequency of maintenance windows to replace bad hard-drives and components. The ability to service data during high business cycles was being limited. This restricted the growth of data on the Netezza appliance and the agility of the business to respond to emergent events. For the client, the migration was a strategic move away from high-cost appliance platforms to a consumption-based model.

Snowflake Enterprise Data Platform

Eris Enterprise’s role was to develop the setup Snowflake and establish a security model to ingest and process data during peak season without interruption. The selection of Snowflake for the new platform afforded the client the opportunity to create a new data architecture that would allow for growth and enterprise data access. Eris conducted workshops with the IT support staff that maintained the Netezza instance. This included the database administrators and data warehouse developers responsible for the loading and transformation of data.

With the as-is architecture and processes established, Eris Enterprise consultants constructed a new data architecture model that would be resilient and future proof. We understood that the Snowflake data platform was a seismic shift from the existing operational model.

For one, Eris Enterprise introduced with the ability to segment compute power by business function and use. This meant allowed for data scientists to be allocated dedicated compute for large, intensive queries while not impact the general business users from their daily reports. It also allowed for the scaling ETL processing based business cycle without interrupting business operations.

Another shift was the role of the database administrator. There was no longer any need to allocate data to specific drives and optimize hardware for data. The Snowflake data platform took care of that. The new role of database administrators was the establishment of security and functional capability roles. By focusing on high-value tasks such as securing data and allocation of compute resources, the database administrator is able to put more effort where the business will benefit.

To assist the DBA, Eris Enterprise consultants created a two-pronged strategy to manage generalized database objects across a class of users and the allocation of compute across business users. This model allowed for fine-grain control of functional roles to databases, schemas, and other database objects. Those roles were then allocated to organizational compute roles. This allowed for the Snowflake Warehouses to be developed for organizational specific compute while also managing data access and permissions.

With the core security being managed at the database, this allowed the application of row and column level security to be managed by the semantic layer and Azure Active Directory (AD). The client relied on Azure AD for securing the Office 365 and other IT assets. Extending this to data leveraged a known architecture that the client’s IT support staff was already intimately familiar with.

Outcome

The outcome of this project was a successful deployment of Snowflake across the enterprise. It established a compute usage model that eliminated downtime and allowed for scaling during high volume business cycles. The security architecture provided a multi-level plan that progressively tightened access based on a user’s role and position in the organization.

The establishment of a data management strategy that meets the needs of the enterprise for growth is a core capability of Eris Enterprise. It is our belief that the best approach to introducing new architectural components is to start with what a client has and knows. If a client cannot sustain a solution when a project ends, then it was not the right solution. Eris Enterprise proposes the right solution and our consultative implementation model works to help the client succeed long after we are gone.

Learn more about what Eris Enterprise can do for your organization.