The ability to efficiently and affordably unlock insights from vast amounts of data is critical to accelerating innovation and optimizing time to value. This is especially true as organizations seek to modernize their tech stacks and migrate their analytics workloads from on premises to the cloud.
Many cloud analytics and data platforms now enable companies to process, analyze, and visualize data at unprecedented levels. But, as data volumes expand and analytical complexity increases, the associated costs can rapidly escalate. To outpace the competition, companies must choose a platform that reduces costs while maximizing performance.
So, how do you know which one may be right for your organization’s unique needs and goals? We conducted a workload comparison of Teradata VantageCloud Lake—built on next-generation, cloud-native architecture—against Snowflake Data Cloud and found three key factors to help business leaders choose the right solution for their organizations.
1. Workload comparison
A key step in identifying the best performance is to analyze platforms side by side. That’s why we conducted a comprehensive workload comparison between VantageCloud Lake and Snowflake.1
Workload comparison evaluations illustrate how well different platforms handle specific workloads and how efficiently they do them. Unlike many benchmark studies that rely on idealized scenarios, this comparison used a real-world workload mix.
By combining industry-standard TPC-H queries with custom queries designed to simulate the diverse demands of modern data-driven organizations, the study offered a glimpse into how these two platforms perform under pressure.
Our comparison examined two critical elements:
Query performance
Our analysis included 50 queries spanning multiple query types to simulate a modern, data-driven workload. We tested them over a two-hour period designed to gauge each platform's ability to handle complex analytical queries, operational reporting, and tactical queries that reflect the demands of data-driven organizations.
The analysis showed a massive difference between platforms:
- Teradata: 197,366 queries
- Snowflake: 3,144 queries
That means VantageCloud Lake was able to handle 62 times more queries than Snowflake in the same amount of time, under similar circumstances.
Cost per query
We also analyzed the operational cost per query for each platform, using a base unit of $70 per compute hour. That represented the hourly cost of running each cloud-based platform under the following conditions:
- Generally available software versions
- Mid-tier platform offering
- One-year service pricing commitment
Each system was configured to maximize value within this budget constraint, utilizing the best publicly available knowledge for configuration and setup. The analysis demonstrated a stark contrast:
- Teradata: $0.0009 per query
- Snowflake: $0.0686 per query
Teradata was found to be more than 20x cheaper than Snowflake. In this particular instance, for every dollar spent on Teradata, approximately $76 would need to be spent on Snowflake to achieve the same workload.
2. Security
Privacy and security are important factors to consider when choosing a cloud analytics and data platform. VantageCloud Lake features best-in-class identity, data, and network protection throughout the entire platform, so you can safely store and protect sensitive data:
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Trust
Our comprehensive security strategy includes secure development lifecycle practices, threat modeling, penetration testing, vulnerability management, and more to ensure and maintain a secure platform.
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Regulatory compliance
Your most sensitive data is safe with us. At Teradata, we adhere to stringent security protocols and maintain the highest standards of regulatory compliance.
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Security features
We safeguard your data against threats with a comprehensive multilayered data protection strategy and suite of security features.
We need an analytics and data ecosystem that allows us to handle large volumes of information efficiently and with high performance and security. The integration between Teradata VantageCloud on Azure and Anonomatic allows us to do that.
René AnguloData Warehouse Architect of Business Intelligence, C&A Mexico
3. Industry recognition
Teradata recognized as a Customers’ Choice in 2024 Gartner® Peer Insights™ Cloud Database Management Systems report
When comparing platforms, consider evaluations from leading industry analysts. Teradata has been recognized on Gartner® Peer Insights™ as a Customers’ Choice for 2024 in the Cloud Database Management Systems category—ahead of Snowflake.
Teradata also ranked #1 in Logical Data Warehouse and Traditional Data Warehouse2 use cases against several other cloud database management system vendors, including Snowflake, on the ability to deliver various capabilities across three use cases.
Achieve more. Spend less.
Join leading enterprises that are maximizing business value with Teradata, the Trusted AI company. Get the speed, performance, and flexibility you need with VantageCloud Lake—all for a fraction of the cost of Snowflake.
Now is the time to experience VantageCloud Lake, the most complete cloud analytics and data platform for AI.
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- Claims above are based on real-world mixed analytical workloads on competitive systems of comparable configurations. For more information on the Teradata competitive workload comparison methodology and process, go to www.teradata.com/competitive-workload-comparisons or contact John.Myers@Teradata.com.
- Tied for #1 rank in Traditional Data Warehouse use case.