Businesses have many options for technology solutions, and the choice can be overwhelming. In recent years, the “Snowflake Effect” has taken the business world by storm, with more and more companies moving away from traditional databases in favor of cloud-based data management systems. But what are Snowflake competitors, and why are they gaining popularity? This article will explore the answer to that question and provide an overview of some of the top Snowflake alternatives.
#1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Founded: July 2002
- Headquarters: 410 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-5210, ATTN: AWS Legal
Need to know
AWS is a cloud-based platform that provides on-demand computing resources. It offers users access to various services, such as compute power, storage space, and databases. These resources can be accessed through the internet and do not require users to set up their local servers
In 2001, Amazon web services debuted to select developers. It was a cloud-based hosting service that allowed users to access hardware and software without setting up their local servers. AWS opened its doors to the public after 2 years of internal development in 2006.
The company made 19 billion dollars in revenue through various businesses that use AWS. It includes Netflix (Cloud-based streaming media), Pinterest (cloud-based social networking), and Spotify (cloud-based music streaming service). Currently, there are about 1 million active users every day.
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#2. Google
- Founded: September 4, 1998
- Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States
Need to know
Google is an American multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, and software.
In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google as a Stanford University research project. The company’s name results from a misspelling of the word “googol,” which refers to the number 1 followed by 100 zeros.
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Today, Google operates dozens of services and has over 60,000 employees worldwide. In addition to its namesake search engine, Google offers a wide range of products and services, including:
Gmail is a free email service with over 1 billion users that offers 15 GB of free storage. Google Drive is a platform for storing files on the cloud in various formats, including documents, spreadsheets, presentations, photos, etc. Google Plus is a social networking platform where you can stay connected with your family and friends by sharing updates about your life using text posts or images directly from your mobile device or computer. Others include YouTube, Google Arts and Culture.
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#3. Microsoft
- Founded: April 4, 1975
- Headquarters: One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, USA
Need to know
Microsoft is a technology company founded in 1975. It has since become one of the largest and most influential companies globally. Its products include the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Xbox game console. Microsoft has also been involved in several controversies over the years, including antitrust lawsuits, allegations of bribery, and data breaches. Despite this, it remains one of the most successful and profitable companies globally. Itt has made several significant acquisitions recently, including LinkedIn and GitHub.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The company’s first product was the Altair 8800, a computer kit intended for hobbyists, followed by Microsoft BASIC, the company’s first programming language.
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#4. IBM
- Founded: June 16, 1911
- Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States
Need to know
IBM is a multinational technology company that manufactures and sells computer hardware, software, and services. It is one of the world’s largest providers of information technology services. IBM has been in business since 1911 and today employs more than 380,000 people worldwide. The company is divided into five segments: Cognitive Solutions, Global Business Services, Technology Services & Cloud Platforms, Systems, and Global Financing.
In 2012, IBM’s Sequoia supercomputer was awarded the title of fastest supercomputer in existence, according to TOP500.org. This computer achieved a peak performance of 17.1 petaFLOPS, surpassedInitiallywith by the Chinese Tianhe-2 in 2013 with 33 PFLOPS – nearly three times Sequoia.
IBM is also a significant player in the blockchain space. In March 2016, they announced the launch of the IBM Blockchain Platform, a cloud-based platform that allows businesses to build and deploy blockchain applications. The IBM Blockchain Platform has since been used by many large organizations, including Bank of America, HSBC, and ING.
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#5. Cloudera
- Founded: June 27, 2008
- Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, United States
Need to know
Cloudera is a company that provides software and services for managing big data. Cloudera’s big data platform includes Apache Hadoop, a distributed processing system that enables organizations to store, manage, and analyze large datasets.
Cloudera was founded in 2008 by Jeff Hammerbacher and Amr Awadallah. They were part of the team that developed Hadoop while working at Yahoo! Research. In 2014, Intel acquired Cloudera for $4.1 billion.
Walmart, eBay, and Twitter use Cloudera’s products. Cloudera’s notable customers include Disney, Goldman Sachs, and Pfizer.
Cloudera is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company has offices in Austin, Texas; Beijing, China; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Dublin, Ireland; and London, England.
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#6. Oracle
- Founded: June 16, 1977
- Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States
Need to know
Oracle specializes in developing and marketing database software and technology, cloud-engineered systems, enterprise software, and business process management software.
The company was founded by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates in 1977. The company has more than 430,000 customers worldwide.
Oracle is the world’s second-largest software company by revenue after Microsoft, with total revenue of $37.7 billion for 2017.
Oracle has more than 190,000 employees worldwide.
The company’s headquarters are in Redwood Shores, California. Oracle also has significant development facilities in Austin, Texas; Beijing, China; Burlington, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Hyderabad, India; Krakow, Poland; Redwood City, California; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Singapore.
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#7. Teradata
- Founded: 1979
- Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Need to know
Teradata is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that supports SQL queries. It is designed for data warehousing, big data analytics, and data mining. Teradata’s origins date to the early 1980s, when it was developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories. It was first released as a commercial product in 1989.
Teradata is one of the most popular RDBMSs on the market. It has been used by major corporations such as Walmart, Coca-Cola, and Amazon. In addition, Teradata has a strong partner network, with over 1,000 partners worldwide.
Teradata is a good option if you’re looking for a powerful and versatile RDBMS. It has a robust feature set and a large user base. However, it can be expensive compared to other options. Also, IT skills are required to use Teradata effectively. So if you don’t have the necessary expertise, you’ll need to hire someone who does.
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#8. Databricks
- Founded: 2013
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
Need to know
Databricks was founded in 2013 by the creators of Apache Spark, Matei Zaharia, Andy Konwinski, Patrick Wendell, and Reynold Xin. Databricks is a company that provides a Unified Analytics Platform (UAP) for data science teams.
The company has raised over $280 million in funding from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Data Collective (DCVC), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Some of the company’s notable customers include Airbnb, CERN, Comcast, eBay, Expedia, Goldman Sachs, Hulu, John Deere, Netflix, Pfizer, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Salesforce.com, Shell Oil Company, Spotify, Twitter, and Uber.
Databricks’ goal is to make data science teams more productive and help them solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. The company has a strong belief that everyone in the world should have access to data-driven insights. Databricks is one of the few companies, both a technology provider and an operator of a big data platform. This gives the company a unique perspective on designing solutions for data science teams.