The recent Snowflake Summit was a hub of innovative ideas and groundbreaking tools, showcasing how businesses can not only collect data but also derive significant value from it.  

Here are some of the major themes and highlights from the event:  

Beyond Data Collection: Extracting Business Value: One of the central messages of the conference was the importance of not stopping at data collection. The real business value lies in effectively extracting insights and actionable intelligence from the data. This means leveraging the immense power of cloud-scale data processing and bringing logic directly to the data.  

Coolest New Tool: RowZero.io: A standout tool introduced at the summit was RowZero.io, a spreadsheet for cloud products. I had the pleasure of meeting the young and energetic founder, and this tool shows great promise, potentially even for an infoSecur embedded opportunity. It combines the familiarity of spreadsheets with the power of cloud computing, making it a must-watch tool in the data space.  

Semantic Layers and Security: Semantic layers were highlighted for their ability to push left, reuse, and refine data workflows. However, a crucial point was that these layers also need to be secure. Access control should be treated as a fundamental business rule, ensuring data integrity and compliance.  

Best of Show: Data-Related Books: Several publications stood out at the summit. Best of Show, “Dat-a Jokes” by our friends at Coalesce. Second Place: Data Products for Dummies” by DataOps.live. Honorable Mention: Data Product by Passerelle, produced by our friend Carolyn Fernald. You can check out Carolyn’s work [here](https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynfernald?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app).  

The Importance of Trust: Trust was a recurring theme throughout the conference: “Trust the data,” “Trust the pipelines,” “Trust the users who trust us data professionals.” In an era where AI is obliterating the notion of security through obscurity (a flawed strategy to begin with), establishing trust is paramount. It’s essential to find a trusted partner who can help navigate the complexities of data security.  

Data Tech Stack Choices: The array of tools available in the data technology stack can be overwhelming and numbing. There are simply too many options, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. This is where infoVia comes in. As a tech-agnostic advisor, we can help you sift through the choices and make informed decisions. In fact, we recently released our Automation Selection Survey designed to help organizations figure out the best fit and give them direction. Take the survey now and we will get back to you with your personalized results.  

The Snowflake Summit was an incredible experience, full of insights and innovations. By focusing on extracting business value from data, ensuring security, and making informed tech stack choices, businesses can truly unlock the potential of their data.  

infoVia’s fractional CDO service provides expert advice and tools to help you succeed and achieve maximum ROI. Schedule a free consultation to get started down the right path in the evolving landscape of data technology. 

Request a free advisory consultation and demo here: Contact – infoVia