Did you know that approximately two thirds of Snowflake customers capture the latitude and longitude of some business entity or event in their account? While latitude and longitude columns can often be used by BI tools and Python libraries to plot points on a map, or shade common administrative boundaries such as states, provinces and countries, companies can do so much more with this valuable geospatial data to perform complex analyses.

Snowflake Marketplace is a vibrant resource, with hundreds of providers offering thousands of ready-to-try or ready-to-buy third-party data sets, applications and services. Many of these providers make their products available on Snowflake Marketplace for Snowflake customers to purchase — and they use our integrated Marketplace Monetization capabilities to simplify the process and speed up procurement and sales cycles.

A lot of the buzz around AI focuses on its future potential. And we get it — we’re talking about a transformative technology that presents seemingly limitless possibilities. But an important aspect of this world-changing tech story that gets lost in the hype is understanding exactly what AI solutions are available for you and your team to employ right now, today.

We previously announced Snowflake’s Unistore workload, which continues Snowflake’s legacy of breaking down data silos by uniting transactional and analytical data in a consistent and governed platform. Today, we are pleased to announce that Hybrid Tables — the core feature powering Unistore — is in public preview in select AWS regions. Hybrid Tables is a new table type that enables transactional use cases within Snowflake with fast, high-concurrency point operations.

As the world grapples with the escalating climate crisis, many industries are re-examining their operations to identify and implement sustainable practices. The telecommunications industry is no exception. Telecom companies face growing pressure from consumers, investors and regulators to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve net-zero emissions. This shift towards sustainability aligns with environmental responsibility and presents lucrative business opportunities for telecoms.

Nearly every facet of society has felt the impact of AI since it burst into the mainstream in late 2022 with the public launch of ChatGPT. In 2024, the retail and consumer goods industry is expected to experience massive upheaval due to the proliferation of generative AI (gen AI) tools as well as changes in customer engagement and the general manner in which products are now sold.

At Snowflake, we believe in empowering our customers to harness the full potential of their data while maintaining robust compliance standards and safeguarding data privacy. We recognize the critical importance of quickly identifying and safeguarding sensitive data objects, and we consistently strive to provide solutions that help achieve these goals — from advancements such as classification and tag-based policies to the intuitive Data Governance UI.

Generative AI’s (gen AI) capabilities seemed startlingly novel a year ago, when ChatGPT’s release led to an explosion of public usage and, simultaneously, intense debate about its potential societal and business impacts. That period of initial amazement and suspicion has given way to business urgency, as companies scramble to adopt gen AI in ways that leverage its potential for maximizing workforce productivity and profitability.

Snowflake kicked off 2024 with exciting releases, including Snowpark Model Registry, Streamlit in Snowflake for Azure, and new enhancements around security features in Snowflake Horizon. Read on to learn more about everything we announced in January.

Investment in AI for manufacturing is expected to grow by 57% by 2026. That’s hardly surprising — with AI’s ability to augment worker productivity, improve efficiency and drive innovation, its potential in manufacturing is vast. AI’s predictive capabilities can help manufacturing leaders anticipate market trends and make data-driven decisions, creating financial opportunities for suppliers as well as customers.

Earlier this year at Snowflake Summit, we announced the public launch of the Snowflake Performance Index (SPI), an aggregate index for measuring real-world improvements in Snowflake performance experienced by customers over time. In this post, we provide our biannual update to showcase the latest improvements.

In an iconic Top Gun scene, Charlie tells Maverick that a maneuver is impossible. Maverick replies, “The data on the MIG is inaccurate.” In the more recent sequel, despite his extensive, firsthand knowledge, Maverick is told “the future’s coming and you’re not in it.” While flying may be more automated now, the importance of accurate and diverse data for aviation safety remains — and is likely even more critical.

Generative AI tops every list of major financial services trends for 2024. And it’s no wonder — this new technology has the potential to revolutionize the industry by augmenting the value of employee work, driving organizational efficiencies, providing personalized customer experiences, and uncovering new insights from vast amounts of data.

It’s not hyperbole to say that generative AI (gen AI) is radically transforming the advertising, media and entertainment industry. There has been widespread excitement about the potential of gen AI to open brand-new creative opportunities and unlock unprecedented efficiencies. At the same time, there has been understandable concern about issues such as inherent bias, deep fakes and the impact of gen AI on jobs.