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Microsoft announced its expansion to their partnership with Snowflake during the Build Conference 2024. This collaboration promises to revolutionize data management by offering seamless bi-directional data access and a commitment to open standards. OneLake, the cornerstone of Fabric, shines even brighter with this partnership. As a single, unified, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) open data foundation, OneLake empowers organizations to simplify and unify their data landscape. By combining the strengths of Fabric and Snowflake, users gain a powerful toolkit to unlock the true potential of their data.

The key takeaways of this partnership are –

Unified Data Experience: Breaking down the siloes

Traditionally, data has been siloed across various platforms and applications, hindering its effective utilization. This partnership between Fabric and Snowflake aims to dismantle these silos by enabling seamless data flow through bi-directional data access. Data can be effortlessly transferred between Fabric and Snowflake, fostering a more holistic data environment.

Commitment to Open Standards

This partnership proves Microsoft’ commitment to open standards and their vision for the future of data. Microsoft has included the integration of Apache Iceberg into Fabric OneLake. This comes in addition to Apache Parquet and Delta Lake which OneLake uses to bring the data from external sources. Apache Iceberg is an open-source data format, renowned for its scalability and efficiency. It plays a pivotal role in this partnership.

By embracing this open standard, Microsoft demonstrates its dedication to fostering an open data ecosystem. Users are no longer are confined to a single vendor’s proprietary format. They gain the flexibility to choose the tools and platforms that best suit their specific needs. Developers can build tools and integrations that work seamlessly across different platforms, accelerating the pace of technological advancement.

Enhanced Capabilities

Previously, data movement between Snowflake and Fabric involved format conversions, which impacted the efficiency. With Iceberg support, both platforms can now natively understand and work with data stored in this format. This eliminates the need for conversions, streamlining data movement and simplifying data management workflows. In the coming months, Snowflake will gain the capability to store data directly in Iceberg format within Microsoft Fabric’s OneLake. This allows users to leverage Snowflake’s strengths like its cloud-native architecture and elastic scaling alongside the benefits of Iceberg.

To support Iceberg, Fabric will also be enhanced using Apache XTable. This tool translates data into the Iceberg format within OneLake. This empowers organizations to manage their data more efficiently and unlock its full potential for deeper insights and data-driven decision making.

These capabilities are built in addition to Microsoft Fabric’s existing strengths. One interesting feature that was previously released was the database mirroring capability in Fabric. This empowers users to seamlessly copy and synchronize data between different environments, ensuring data consistency for development, testing, and production purposes. This allows you to bring your databases (including Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, and Snowflake) into OneLake in Fabric. This enables centralized access and management.

The Road Ahead: A Brighter Future for Data Management

The expanded partnership between Snowflake and Microsoft Fabric paints a bright picture for the future of data management. This will help businesses to streamline data movement and eliminate the need for complex integrations and data duplication, saving time and money. Easier data access means faster data-driven decisions. By combining the strengths of Fabric and Snowflake, businesses can unlock a wider range of data analysis techniques that lead to better informed strategies. VNB Consulting is your one-stop shop for navigating the exciting world of Snowflake and Microsoft Fabric. With our proven expertise in both platforms, we can help you design, implement, and manage a seamless data management solution that unlocks the true potential of your data. Let VNB Consulting be your guide on the road to a brighter data-driven future. Contact us today for a free assessment of your business landscape.