SQL Server to Snowflake: Introducing an Alternative to Matillion and Fivetran

SQL Server to Snowflake Migration using CDC

Do you have a SQL Server to Snowflake use case? Perhaps you need to load high volumes of data with low latency and minimal impact to the SQL Server source with parallelism for initial and delta extracts? Or you are hosting customer data in a multi-tenant database architecture, but need to replicate this data with low latency and with the tenant id per record identified for analytics? If you are looking for a reliable SQL Server CDC tool that can load initial and incremental data from SQL Server to Snowflake without coding and in real-time, you are absolutely in the right place. SQL Server to Snowflake in 4 Easy Steps

Need a Matillion Alternative or Fivetran Alternative?

Matillion and Fivetran are two great replication tools out there and like us they do offer log-based CDC for SQL Server to Snowflake migration. In fact, we have had clients coming to us after trying out Matillion and Fivetran, hoping to find a more efficient CDC solution to move their data from SQL Server to Snowflake. We also offer SQL Server Change Tracking. These are clients who typically have very high volumes of enterprise data to take across and they need their data NOW for real-time analytics. Some of them are ISVs with very large multi-tenant databases who are pleasantly surprised by the ease, speed (high throughput) and security that BryteFlow brings to their SQL Server to Snowflake migration. About SQL Server CDC

As an alternative how exactly does BryteFlow compare to Fivetran and Matillion?

BryteFlow when compared to Fivetran and Matillion is similar in a lot of ways. For example, all three are high quality, no-code replication tools with automated schema management, real-time Change Data Capture, intuitive GUIs, and monitoring dashboards, offering low latency, high throughput SQL Server to Snowflake migration. But the ways in which BryteFlow differs from Fivetran and Matillion could make all the difference to your SQL Server to Snowflake implementation. How to load terabytes of data to Snowflake fast

Why BryteFlow is a better alternative to Matillion and Fivetran for moving data from SQL Server to Snowflake

• 6X faster data extraction than GoldenGate and faster than Matillion and Fivetran
  BryteFlow Ingest extracts enterprise-scale data from SQL Server to Snowflake effortlessly (approx. 1,000,000 rows in 30 seconds), is at least 6x faster than GoldenGate and is much faster than either Matillion or Fivetran. More on GoldenGate CDC

• Excels in Multi-tenant Database Replication from SQL Server to Snowflake
  A multi-tenant database has many tenants or organizations occupying the same database, hence the name ‘multi-tenant database’. Multi-tenant databases share compute and storage resources across tenants unlike a single tenant database where every organization has its own database. Multi-tenant databases are used by ISVs (multi-tenancy is used by SaaS applications like Office 365, Zendesk, Boho, Slack and other on-demand apps). Cloud providers also offer multi-tenancy. BryteFlow effortlessly moves data from large SQL Server multi-tenant databases to Snowflake without coding and with zero impact on source systems.  How to cut costs by 30% on Snowflake

• BryteFlow handles multi-tenant database replication better than Matillion and Fivetran

  Multi-tenancy comes with its own set of issues. It can be challenging to load and merge large volumes of data from multi-tenant SQL Server databases. High data volumes can cause bottlenecks and slowdowns and deadlocked transactions. A large amount of scripting may be required to handle the number of databases and to deal with the issues of schema evolution not being in sync across tenants. Replication software vendors like Fivetran and Matillion falter in handling the enormous data volumes involved. While Matillion and Fivetran can handle smaller volumes of data, BryteFlow excels in moving large enterprise-scale data from SQL Server multi-tenant databases to Snowflake in real-time. It enables databases to be tagged with Tenant Identifier or Database ID from where the record originated, so it is simple to use this data.
  SQL Server to Snowflake in 4 Easy Steps

  BryteFlow automatically merges the tables across various tenants and provides configuration for identifying the source tenant per record. It automatically handles schema changes and scales effortlessly with low TCO. In contrast, Matillion and Fivetran need high compute resources for per tenant for this solution, and hence do not scale as costs rapidly balloon out. They also do not provide the complete automation that BryteFlow provides for this solution. BryteFlow for SQL Server Replication

• BryteFlow delivers the initial data and deltas from SQL Server to Snowflake with parallel multi-threaded loading and automated partitioning
  BryteFlow delivers the first full ingest from SQL Server to Snowflake with high throughput, using multi-threaded parallel loading and configurable, automated partitioning and compression, a feature not offered by either Matillion or Fivetran. BryteFlow provides SQL replication at scale, to load high volumes of enterprise data in real-time, from SQL Server to Snowflake (AWS, Azure, GCP). Subsequently, the deltas can also be made to run in parallel providing the replication speed and scale. Snowflake CDC With Streams and a Better CDC Method

• BryteFlow does not have metered pricing like Matillion and Fivetran
  
  Fivetran and Matillion have metered pricing that changes with the volume of data being replicated. They offer the initial extract of data free, but subsequent initial extracts (and there usually are) and deltas are not free. Users are charged for every byte of data taken across, (excluding the very first initial extract) and this can prove an expensive proposition. BryteFlow in comparison has a fixed annual fee structure based on the data volumes of the source and this pricing is much more transparent and cost-effective than that of Matillion and Fivetran. It is also fixed for the year, with no unexpected nasty surprises. Data Migration 101 (Process, Strategies and Tools)

• Unlike Matillion and Fivetran, BryteFlow supports SQL Server Change Tracking as an option to deliver incremental data
  BryteFlow supports both, SQL Server Change Data Capture (CDC) and SQL Server Change Tracking as mechanisms to load incremental data, unlike Matillion and Fivetran, who do not support SQL Change Tracking. BryteFlow provides merged, ready-for-analytics data that can be queried immediately with BI tools of choice on Snowflake.
  Snowflake CDC With Streams and a Better CDC Method

Replication from 3000 customer databases with low latency

Says Jan Jonak, Senior Director of Data Engineering, Brightly Software, “BryteFlow software enabled us to simplify a very complex data integration problem and provide scalable, low latency replication of updates from well over 3000 customer databases (continually growing list). This was deployed to merge data from single tenant databases on high availability SQL Server clusters, directly into the Snowflake-based Data Cloud, which enabled a variety of advanced analytics, dashboards, and operational reports applications. The Easy Way to CDC from Multi-Tenant Databases
The resulting data integration solution is a strategic enabler for our company, while being lightweight and easy to manage. We greatly appreciate BryteFlow’s collaborative approach to the implementation and how the team supported us throughout the process – from pilot to staging to production. The helped us create phases executed over time to avoid disruption to downstream application users.”

Summary: Why BryteFlow is a great alternative to Matillion and Fivetran for SQL Server to Snowflake Migration