ARA-C01 Question 18
Select 2List the benefits and limitations of one Snowflake account as compared to multiple Snowflake accounts.A global enterprise is redesigning its Snowflake deployment for three business units: Finance, Research, and Customer Analytics. Today, all workloads run in a single Snowflake account. The platform team likes the simplified administration, shared governance objects, and easy cross-database joins. However, security leaders are concerned that administrators for one business unit can still operate within the same account boundary, and Finance wants stronger isolation for regulated data and independent lifecycle management. The architects are evaluating whether to keep one account or move to multiple Snowflake accounts. Which TWO statements are the most accurate when comparing one Snowflake account to multiple Snowflake accounts in this scenario?
- A
Using a single Snowflake account can simplify administration because users, roles, warehouses, and governance policies can be managed within one account, and cross-database access is more straightforward than sharing data across separate accounts.
- B
Moving to multiple Snowflake accounts provides stronger administrative and security isolation boundaries between business units, but cross-account data access typically requires mechanisms such as Secure Data Sharing, replication, or data movement patterns instead of simple intra-account joins.
- C
A single Snowflake account is required if the company wants to separate compute costs by business unit, because cost attribution is not possible when multiple warehouses exist in one account.
- D
Multiple Snowflake accounts automatically eliminate the need for role-based access control design, because each account is fully isolated and users no longer need privileges within an account.
- E
Moving to multiple Snowflake accounts guarantees lower operational overhead than a single account, because account-level objects such as users, roles, and integrations no longer need to be managed separately.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answers: A, B
Explanation
When comparing one Snowflake account versus multiple accounts, the key architectural tradeoff is centralized simplicity versus stronger isolation. A single account often reduces administrative complexity and makes data collaboration easier inside the account, including cross-database access and centralized governance administration. Multiple accounts are commonly chosen when organizations need stricter isolation boundaries for security, compliance, separate ownership, regional or organizational separation, or independent release/lifecycle management. The downside is more operational complexity and the need to use Snowflake cross-account capabilities such as Secure Data Sharing, replication, and other integration patterns instead of relying solely on same-account object access. Snowflake documentation and architecture best practices consistently frame this as a balance among security isolation, governance model, collaboration needs, and operational overhead rather than a one-size-fits-all decision.
- A. Correct.
Correct. One of the main benefits of a single-account design is centralized administration. Identity objects, roles, warehouses, resource monitors, and many governance constructs can be administered in one place. In addition, accessing data across databases in the same account is generally simpler than designing cross-account sharing or replication patterns. This is a common reason organizations keep related workloads in one account when strict isolation is not the primary requirement.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Multiple accounts create a stronger isolation boundary at the account level, which is often desirable for regulated data, separate business ownership, or independent environment lifecycle management. The tradeoff is that direct access patterns become more complex across accounts. Instead of simple same-account database/object access, architects typically use Secure Data Sharing, database replication/failover groups, listings, or ETL/data movement depending on the use case.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. A single account is not required for cost separation. In one account, organizations can separate compute costs by assigning dedicated virtual warehouses to business units and using tagging, resource monitors, and usage views for chargeback/showback. Multiple accounts may help with billing separation in some organizations, but the statement is wrong because cost attribution is very feasible within a single account.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Account isolation does not remove the need for RBAC. Each Snowflake account still requires roles, grants, and privilege design for users, applications, and administrators operating inside that account. A common misconception is that account separation replaces least-privilege design, but in practice it complements RBAC rather than eliminating it.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Multiple accounts usually increase, not decrease, operational overhead. Administrators often need to manage identity integration, roles, network policies, integrations, replication configuration, and governance standards in each account. While this overhead may be justified by isolation or organizational boundaries, it is not automatically lower than a single-account model.