cimt

Technology Partner · Snowflake

Snowflake — your cloud data platform

The leading cloud data platform that combines data warehouse and data lake into one lakehouse architecture. cimt delivers lakehouse design, Data Vault 2.0 modelling, migration and managed services.

Snowflake is a cloud-native data platform that combines the benefits of a data warehouse (ACID, governance, SQL performance) with those of a data lake (cost, flexibility, unstructured data) in a single lakehouse architecture. cimt positions Snowflake as the storage- and-compute layer in our reference architecture, combined with Data Vault 2.0 for modelling flexibility and Qlik Talend Cloud for data integration. Multi-cloud (AWS / Azure / GCP), consumption-based pricing, and near-zero maintenance — we implement, model, migrate and manage end-to-end.

Core benefits

Why Snowflake

Four properties that set Snowflake apart from legacy data warehouses and generic cloud database instances.

Consumption-based pricing

Pay only for storage and compute you use — no upfront investment, no tuning per warehouse.

Multi-cloud

Run on AWS, Azure or GCP — replicate data across clouds without vendor lock-in.

Near-zero maintenance

No indexes, no vacuum, no tuning — Snowflake manages the infrastructure.

Data sharing

Share data safely with partners and customers via Marketplace and Private Data Exchange — no copies.

Data Vault 2.0

Scalable modelling on Snowflake

We implement Data Vault 2.0 as the modelling methodology on Snowflake — Hubs, Links and Satellites that admit new sources without breaking existing models, with full audit trail.

Hubs, Links, Satellites

Standardised modelling structure that admits new sources without breaking risk.

Full audit trail

Every change traceable — essential for compliance and governance.

Parallel loading

Inherently parallelisable, optimal for Snowflake multi-cluster compute.

Source-agnostic

Integrate ERP, CRM, IoT, APIs and flat files into one uniform model.

Our Data Vault implementations are supported by erwin Data Modeler for visual model design and Qlik Talend Cloud for automated pipeline generation.

cimt Snowflake services

From first design to ongoing operations

Service Description More
Architecture & design Lakehouse reference architecture, Data Vault 2.0 modelling, zone layout (Raw / Curated / Consumption) View →
Data integration ETL/ELT pipelines via Qlik Talend Cloud, CDC, API integration, Snowpipe streaming View →
Migration Migration of on-premises data warehouses (Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata) to Snowflake — parallel run, validation, rollback View →
Analytics & BI Qlik Sense dashboards on Snowflake data, direct query and import mode View →
Managed Services Ongoing management, monitoring, cost optimisation and warehouse tuning View →

Snowflake for your organisation

Request Snowflake licence advice

In a first conversation we look at your current data warehouse situation and which Snowflake deployment model fits — including a first cost indication.

Frequently asked

cimt + Snowflake — what clients ask us

What does Snowflake cost?

Snowflake uses consumption-based pricing: pay separately for storage (per TB/month) and compute (per credit). No upfront cost or minimum contract period. Cost depends on your data volume, user count and query complexity. cimt helps optimise through proper warehouse sizing, auto-suspend and resource monitoring — we often save 20-40% on the initial Snowflake bill.

Can I migrate my existing data warehouse to Snowflake?

Yes. cimt has extensive experience with migrations from Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata and other platforms. Our approach covers schema conversion, data movement, query rewrite and parallel validation. We use Data Vault 2.0 to lay a future-proof modelling layer during the migration — not just "as-is" relocation but modernising as we move.

How does Snowflake compare to Databricks?

Both are powerful cloud data platforms with different focus. Snowflake excels at SQL-based analytics, data warehousing and data sharing. Databricks is stronger in data engineering with Spark and ML workloads. cimt picks Snowflake when the primary need is analytics and BI, and when a SQL-first approach fits your organisation and team skills.

Do we have to use Data Vault 2.0 on Snowflake?

Not strictly — star schemas and dimensional models work fine on Snowflake too. Data Vault 2.0 pays back especially with multiple source systems, long historical retention, compliance requirements (audit trail) and teams that want to develop in parallel. For simple use cases we often recommend star schema; for enterprise scope almost always Data Vault.