At Snowflake, we are dedicated to helping our customers effectively mobilize their data while upholding stringent standards for compliance and data governance. We understand the importance of quick and proactive identification of objects requiring governance, as well as the implementation of protective measures using tags and policies. Over the past two years, we have introduced a range of features, including Object Tagging, Dynamic Data Masking, Tag-based Masking, Conditional Masking, and Row Access Policies, to empower Snowflake customers to govern their data at various levels. 

Today, we are thrilled to announce the general availability of the Data Governance Interface in Snowsight.  

With the new Data Governance experience in Snowsight, users can effortlessly explore objects of interest and perform essential actions. Whether assigning tags, implementing masking policies, or applying row access policies, the process is now easy and simple. The intuitive dashboard provides seamless navigation to desired databases and schemas, offering detailed reporting on tags and policies. The Data Governance Interface enhances your data management capabilities, empowering you to optimize your governance practices and safeguard the integrity of your valuable information.

The new experience in Snowsight provides users with actionable data governance insights without the need to write any SQL. Users can now efficiently address queries related to governed and ungoverned objects, drill down into specific items, and promptly execute targeted actions. Generating reports for auditing and compliance use cases also becomes quick, convenient and hassle-free.

To access the Data Governance Interface, navigate to the Data > Governance tab in Snowsight. Please ensure that you have account_admin permissions. Once you enter the dashboard, you will find an overview of the number of objects (tables and columns) that either have tags and those that don’t have tags, and policies applied to them. This gives you a quick snapshot of the governance posture of your data. 

The image below illustrates the Data Governance Interface. Here, you can view the number of objects with tags and policies, as well as gain insights into the most widely used tags at the table and column level.

If you wish to delve deeper into your data governance, simply click on one of the panels in the above dashboard. This action will take you to the Tagged Objects page, which presents a comprehensive list of all the objects across your databases and schemas that have and don’t have tags and policies. This granular view allows you to filter and customize the displayed details according to your requirements. For instance, you can narrow down your focus by selecting a specific database and schema and quickly identify tables that are not protected with tags and policies.

The second illustration below shows the Tagged Objects page, where you can access a comprehensive list of objects with customizable filters to analyze the governance status of your data.

To apply tags and policies from the Data Governance Interface, navigate to the object of interest from the Tagged Objects page. With a simple click on the +Tag or +Policies button, you can quickly protect the data by assigning appropriate tags or implementing necessary policies. This streamlined process saves time and ensures that your data is consistently governed across your Snowflake environment.

The Data Governance Interface within Snowsight brings a user-friendly and intuitive interface to help you effectively manage your data governance. By seamlessly integrating data governance into Snowsight, Snowflake empowers you to monitor, analyze and take necessary actions to ensure compliance and governance without the need to write SQL. Visit the documentation for the Data Governance Interface to get started today!