This post was co-written by Mayank Singh and Ayush Kumar Singh.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to truly unlock the full potential of your data and start driving informed decision-making that ultimately will gain your business the upper hand from your most formidable competitors? The good news is that this reality is possible!
Organizations utilizing Salesforce as their customer relationship management (CRM) platform are potentially sitting on a goldmine of valuable insights hidden within their Salesforce data.Â
To uncover this data, it needs to be consolidated, easily accessible, and living in a central location, which is precisely why many of our customers turn to the Snowflake Data Cloud.Â
In this blog post, we will explore the different ways in which Salesforce data can be ingested in Snowflake to in turn be used to drive revenue-generating insights for your business.
Why is it Important to Ingest Salesforce Data in Snowflake?
Salesforce is a powerful CRM platform that provides businesses with a wealth of customer data. However, this data is often siloed within the Salesforce ecosystem, making it difficult to consolidate with other data sources. By ingesting Salesforce data in Snowflake, businesses can create a unified view of their customer data and gain previously unavailable insights.Â
Snowflake’s cloud-based architecture also allows for easy scalability, making it an ideal platform for ingesting large volumes of data.
What Are the Different Ways to Ingest Salesforce Data in Snowflake?
1. Code-Based Ingestion
One of the most common ways to ingest Salesforce data in Snowflake is through code-based ingestion. This involves writing custom code to extract data from Salesforce and load it into Snowflake. This method provides businesses with a high degree of flexibility and customization, allowing them to tailor the ingestion process to their specific needs.
Advantages
One of the main advantages of this approach is that it enables businesses to centralize their data in Snowflake, which can improve data accuracy and consistency. It also permits enterprises to perform advanced analytics on their Salesforce data using Snowflake’s powerful analytics capabilities.
Disadvantages
There are a few disadvantages to this approach. For example, coding the data ingestion process using the Salesforce API can be complex and time-consuming, which may require specialized skills and expertise. Additionally, this approach may require ongoing maintenance and updates to ensure the integration remains functional and up-to-date.
Here’s an example of code that can be used to extract Salesforce data and load it into Snowflake using Python:
2. Third-Party Tools
Third-party tools like Matillion or Fivetran can help streamline the process of ingesting Salesforce data into Snowflake. These platforms offer several advantages, including ease of use, flexibility, and scalability. With these tools, businesses can quickly set up data pipelines that automatically extract data from Salesforce and load it into Snowflake. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the risk of human error.
Advantages
One of the biggest benefits of using third-party tools is that they provide pre-built connectors that make it easy to integrate Salesforce with Snowflake. These connectors are designed to handle complex data structures and can automatically map data fields between the two systems. This saves time and effort for businesses that would otherwise need to develop and maintain custom integrations.
Some third-party tools like Fivetran provide exceptional data modeling capabilities, which can be extremely helpful down the road.
This is the easiest and fastest way to onboard your data into Snowflake. This approach not only connects with Salesforce but with hundreds of other APIs, RDBMS, and file systems.
Disadvantages
One potential drawback is the cost. These tools typically require a subscription fee, which can be expensive for small businesses or startups. Additionally, some tools may not offer the level of customization or control that the business requires.Â
For example, if a business needs to perform complex transformations on their data before loading it into Snowflake, they may need to develop custom scripts or use a different tool altogether.
3. Salesforce Sync Out
As part of a continued collaboration among Salesforce, Snowflake, and Tableau (who Salesforce acquired in 2019), the Tableau CRM Sync Out connector has been created to move Salesforce data directly into Snowflake, simplifying the data pipeline and reducing latency.
Advantages
Salesforce Sync Out offers a range of advantages for data integration. It consolidates internal and third-party data onto a single platform, eliminating data silos and movement challenges. This consolidation enables businesses to discover valuable insights easily. By combining Salesforce data with external sources, a deeper understanding of customers, service needs, and other analytics is achieved.Â
The Tableau CRM Sync Out connector simplifies the data pipeline by directly transferring Salesforce data to Snowflake, reducing latency in the process. It also automates the creation of Data Definition Language (DDL) on the Snowflake side, saving setup time.Â
Additionally, the connector ensures fresh data by capturing incremental loads from multiple Salesforce objects. These combined benefits streamline data integration, enhance analytical capabilities, and keep the data repository up to date.
Disadvantages
It’s important to call out that using Snowflake can be expensive, particularly for small organizations with limited budgets. Additionally, the integration process requires some technical expertise due to the complexity involved. Organizations should be prepared for the associated costs and ensure they have the necessary technical resources or support for a successful integration.
Interested in learning more about Salesforce Sync Out?
Explore our insightful blog about it!
Conclusion
Ingesting Salesforce data in Snowflake can provide businesses with valuable insights that were previously unavailable. While code-based ingestion offers a high degree of flexibility and customization, it can be time-consuming and requires technical expertise.Â
Third-party tools and Salesforce Sync Out offer user-friendly alternatives for ingesting Salesforce data in Snowflake. By choosing the right ingestion method for your specific needs, your business can create a unified view of customer data and gain insights that drive operations forward.
Need help ingesting data into Snowflake? phData can help! As Snowflake’s 2023 Partner of the Year, phData is your go-to partner for succeeding with Snowflake. Reach out to our team today for help, answers, and advice.
