Why Should You Migrate Database from Oracle to Snowflake

Oracle is a database management system that is widely and commonly used for the online transaction processing of databases. It can run on both Oracle hardware and third-party servers and is a fully automated operating system. Snowflake, on the other hand, is a highly-effective cloud-based data warehousing solution. Offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product, it has several scalable options and a flexible structure. So, why do organizations today prefer to migrate databases from Oracle to Snowflake?

The most important reason for Oracle to Snowflake database migration is that users on Snowflake can work with data that is not processed and in its native format – unstructured, semi-structured, or structured. This capability is not available in the Oracle database.

Further, users on Snowflake can scale up or down in both storage and computing powers as required by paying only for the quantum of resources used. Those working on Oracle have to pay flat fees regardless of what is used. Migrating to Snowflake is, therefore, a cost-effective proposition.

Snowflake also provides unlimited computing powers. Even if multiple users simultaneously execute intricate queries, there will not be any lag in speeds or drop in performance. The same cannot be said for the Oracle database.

Most of the benefits that accrue from migrating databases from Oracle to Snowflake are because of the cloud factor. Being based in the cloud, Snowflake follows a data lake approach that does not depend on where the data is located.

With the newly-introduced Database Replication feature of Snowflake, users can now replicate databases with accounts that exist already in various regions and cloud providers. This triggers business continuity and in the case of an outage or crash of the primary server, the secondary servers are automatically triggered and work continues without a break. After the issue is resolved, the data generated during the break period is immediately updated on the primary server.

The cloud-based environment of Snowflake also ensures seamless data portability. Users can easily migrate databases from Oracle to Snowflake in an ecosystem that is fully safe and secure.

How do you migrate database from Oracle to Snowflake?

There are four stages here.

In the first step, the data has to be extracted from the Oracle database with the SQL Plus Query tool of the Oracle database coupled with the Spool command. Next, this extracted data has to be processed and formatted so that it fits the data structures supported by Snowflake. It is then kept in a temporary internal or external cloud staging area. The final step of Oracle to Snowflake database migration is copying the data from the staging area to Snowflake. The complete process is fully automated without human intervention at any stage.

For a successful migration, choose a tool that can handle massive volumes of data and also has the Oracle CDC feature.