SnowPro Associate: Platform Question 349
Single answer4.2 Define Snowflake data sharing capabilities.A data provider company maintains curated reference tables in a Snowflake database and needs to share them with several external business partners. The partners should be able to query the shared data in their own Snowflake accounts without the provider copying the data into each partner environment. The provider also wants to avoid managing separate physical copies of the same dataset. Which Snowflake capability best meets these requirements?
- A
Create a secure data share and grant the partner accounts access to the shared database objects
- B
Unload the tables to cloud storage for each partner and let them load the files into their own Snowflake accounts
- C
Replicate the database into each partner's Snowflake account using cross-account database replication
- D
Create reader accounts for all partners because shares can only be consumed through reader accounts
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Snowflake Secure Data Sharing enables providers to share live, read-only data with other Snowflake accounts without copying or transferring the underlying data. This is a core Snowflake platform capability and is commonly used for sharing curated datasets with internal business units, subsidiaries, or external partners. A share can include objects such as tables and secure views, and consumers can create a database from the share in their own Snowflake accounts. Reader accounts are an extension of this model for consumers who do not have a Snowflake account, but they are not required when the consumer already uses Snowflake. By contrast, unloading/loading data or using replication introduces extra copies and management overhead, making those options less suitable for this requirement. This aligns with Snowflake documentation on Secure Data Sharing and reader accounts.
- A. Correct.
Correct. Secure data sharing is designed for exactly this scenario: a provider can share selected database objects, such as tables and secure views, with consumer Snowflake accounts without copying or moving the underlying data. Consumers query the provider's live shared data from their own accounts, which minimizes duplication and administrative overhead.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Unloading to cloud storage and having each partner reload the files creates separate physical copies of the data and adds operational complexity. While this is a possible data distribution pattern outside of sharing, it does not use Snowflake's native data sharing capability and does not satisfy the requirement to avoid managing multiple copies.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Database replication is intended for disaster recovery, business continuity, or regional/account-level replication use cases, not as the primary mechanism for provider-to-consumer data sharing. Replication creates additional replicated copies and is not the most appropriate solution when the goal is live sharing without copying data into each consumer environment.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Reader accounts are only needed when the consumer does not already have a Snowflake account. If business partners already have their own Snowflake accounts, the provider can share data directly with those accounts. This option reflects the common misconception that reader accounts are required for all data sharing scenarios.