EBOOK
3 Steps to Accelerate Data Warehouse Migrations to Snowflake
Expert Tips, Tricks and Tool Recommendations
Migrating data assets to a new platform can be a complex process with many moving parts. But Snowflake is on a mission to keep the process as simple as possible for customers in pursuit of its mission to “put customers first.”
With experience supporting hundreds of migration projects, Snowflake created this step-by-step guide with a proven methodology for migrating your data to Snowflake, all with insights, tools and lessons learned from experience.
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- Step 1: Decide Which Data Warehouse Migration Approach to Take
- Step 2: Decide Who Will Execute the Data Warehouse Migration Process
- Step 3: The Data Warehouse Migration Process to Snowflake
STEP 1
Decide Which Data Warehouse Migration Approach to Take
The first task in any data warehouse migration is deciding whether to take a “lift and shift” approach or pursue modernization. While it’s true that no migration is purely a lift and shift — since some adjustments are always required — Snowflake has developed a third option: pragmatic lift, adjust and shift.
The goal of this third option is the same as lift and shift: to migrate the assets that are critical to your business and have already been identified for Snowflake, focusing on getting them moved as quickly as possible — without a complete redesign. A full redesign may be necessary if your current system is poorly architected or has major functional flaws. However, in most cases, pragmatic lift, adjust and shift offers a faster and more cost-effective way to move your assets to Snowflake.
This approach allows you to provide Snowflake access to your business users quickly, enabling them to start deriving value from the platform as soon as possible. In comparison, lift and shift is generally the fastest and most cost-effective data warehouse migration method. Many organizations underestimate the effort required for a full redesign.
Regardless of the approach you choose, it’s important to decide on your modernization strategy upfront and stick with it throughout the data warehouse migration process.
STEP 2
Decide Who Will Execute the Data Warehouse Migration Process
Snowflake recommends this nine-step process to complete a successful data warehouse migration. Before starting, it’s important to decide who will execute the migration process.
Will the migration be handled in-house, or will you engage a system integrator or Snowflake Professional Services? This is a crucial decision that should be made upfront. Your chosen migration partner must be involved from the very beginning, during the scoping, planning and design phases.
For example, you might have a system integrator supporting your legacy system. However, this partner may lack the expertise required for a data warehouse migration. It's essential to assess your migration partner’s capabilities in advance. The ideal partner is familiar with your current environment and has data warehouse migration expertise—and some of those are listed on our website. If you cannot find a partner with both qualifications, you will need to ensure you plan the corresponding ramp-up time and cost to cover the specific lack of expertise.
Understanding the current environment is especially important if you intend to implement significant modernization. On the other hand, data warehouse migration expertise is critical, particularly for lift and shift and some adjusted approaches.
STEP 3
The Data Warehouse Migration Process to Snowflake
Planning and design
Planning and design are often overlooked steps in the migration process. The main reason is companies typically want to show progress quickly, even if they haven't fully understood the scope of the project. Time spent on planning is sometimes seen as an unnecessary overhead. However, this is one of the biggest mistakes seen in practice.
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