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What: The Snowflake connection allows you to enrich BlueConic profiles with data from Snowflake and vice versa, via an Amazon S3 server or Google Cloud Storage bucket. This connection supports scheduled batch import and export and real-time import.

About BlueConic: The BlueConic customer data platform harnesses the data required to power the recognition of an individual at each interaction, and then synchronizes their intent across the marketing ecosystem.

Why: By exchanging profile data between BlueConic and Snowflake, you can share first-party customer data from BlueConic profiles using data stored in Snowflake, and vice versa.

Creating a Snowflake connection

1. Click Connections in the BlueConic navigation bar.
2. Click Add Connection.
3. A pop-up window appears. Enter "Snowflake" in the Search bar.
   
4. Click Snowflake connection.
   The Snowflake connection page opens. You can expand or collapse the metadata fields (to mark it as a favorite, add labels, or write a description) by clicking the gray chevron icon .
5. In the metadata section you can choose whether to get email notifications when the connection runs or fails to run.
6. Enter a name for your connection at the top of the page and save your settings.
   A new Snowflake connection page opens.

Configuring a Snowflake connection with BlueConic

To set up a connection between BlueConic and Snowflake, you need to add your Snowflake account credentials as well as your Google Cloud Storage or Amazon Web Services (S3) account information, to authenticate the connection. 

Snowflake database privileges required 

For all databases that will be accessed via the BlueConic Snowflake Connection, your account must have the following grants:

• SELECT
• INSERT
• UPDATE
• DELETE
• CREATE STAGE
• CREATE FILE FORMAT
• CREATE OR REPLACE FILE FORMAT

Setting up a Snowflake connection in BlueConic

Select Set up and run in the Setup section in the left panel. On this page, you enter your file storage and account authentication details.

Snowflake authentication

1. Authentication method
   Here, you will choose your authentication method:
   • If you choose to enter the credentials for your Snowflake account, add your account credentials for Snowflake authentication with the corresponding account name and region, username, and password.
     
     Note: To authenticate with Snowflake, enter your account name supplemented with the region. For example, “blueconic.eu-west-1” or “blueconic.dev.us-central1.gcp” would be accepted values. See the Snowflake documentation for assistance finding your account name and region.
   • If you select Vault authentication, enter your authentication details: Vault URL, Vault credentials file, Vault role, Vault client ID, Snowflake Vault path, and S3 or GCS Vault path.
   • If you chose Amazon Web Services (S3) as your storage provider in Step 2, enter the Amazon Web Services (S3) access key ID, secret access key, and S3 bucket.
     
     Note: BlueConic saves files to the bucket root of the S3 server.
   • Save your settings. Once the authentication is complete, you'll create at least one import or export goal, turn the connection on, and either schedule or run the connection. Follow the steps outlined below.
2. Snowflake authentication
   To connect to your Snowflake account, enter your account name (with the region), username, and password.
   

For real-time import goals only

• Define channels
  Select the channels for the connection to be active on or leave it as the default "All pages on all channels."
  

For batch import and export goals only

• Selecting a storage provider
  Select the storage provider for importing and exporting batch data: Google Cloud Storage or Amazon Web Services (S3).
  
  • If you choose Amazon Web Services (S3) as your storage provider, enter your access key ID, secret access key, and S3 bucket in the Amazon Web Services (S3) authentication section.
    
  • If you choose Google Cloud Storage (GCS) as your storage provider, enter your client ID, client secret, Project ID, and bucket details in the Google Cloud Storage authentication section.
    
    Note: You need to be connected to your Google Cloud Storage account to retrieve bucket and authentication details.
  • Save your settings.

Creating batch import goals

Click Add goal in the lower left panel and select Import profiles - Batch to open the page to configure your data import from Snowflake to BlueConic.

1. Select a BlueConic domain group.
   Only profiles in the domain group you select will be added or updated.
   
2. Select the location of the data in Snowflake.
   Here, you can tell BlueConic where to find the data to be imported by selecting your Snowflake database, schema, and table. You can select multiple nested tables to import data from. Use the circular link icon to link tables together through IDs that exist in both tables.
   
3. Optional: Correct your files before the import
   Add a data processor to transform, filter, or manipulate your data (e.g., email cleansing, name normalization).
   
4. Link identifiers between Snowflake and BlueConic.
   To match customer data between the two systems, enter one or more customer identifiers. Use the dropdown menu in the BlueConic field to select either the BlueConic profile identifier or a profile property. 
   
   Use the "Allow creation..." checkbox to allow BlueConic to create new profiles for data that does not match an existing BlueConic profile.
5. Map Snowflake data to BlueConic profile properties.
   Match Snowflake fields on the left with BlueConic profile properties on the right. Use the dropdown at the right to select how imported content should be added to existing values:
   • Set
   • Set if empty (if the profile property is empty)
   • Set or clear (if the Snowflake field is empty) 
   • Add the data field to the list of existing values
   • Sum a number with the existing values (if the data field is a number)
   
   Use the Add mapping button to create additional mapping rows. You can add multiple mapping rows at once with the "Add remaining fields" option. BlueConic detects the remaining Snowflake fields and matches them with BlueConic profile properties. You can set the merge strategy for imported field (set, set if empty, set or clear, add, sum) and also provide a custom prefix to the names of BlueConic profile properties (optional). 
6. Optional: Import events to the BlueConic Timeline
   Click Import data into BlueConic events, select a BlueConic timeline event type, and map the correct Snowflake fields into the corresponding BlueConic Timeline event properties.
   
7. Run the connection.
   Review Scheduling and running connections for details.

Creating real-time import goals

By creating a real-time import goal, you can activate data stored in Snowflake in real time. For details and use cases, see Using Real-Time Sync for dynamic personalization.

To set up a real-time Snowflake connection goal, click Add goal in the lower left panel and select Import profiles - Real time to open the page to configure your real-time data import from Snowflake to BlueConic.

1. Select data location.
   Select the location in Snowflake (the database, schema, and tables) where the data you want to import is located.
   
2. Link identifiers.
   Link identifiers to match the data from Snowflake to BlueConic profiles.
   
3. Map Snowflake data to BlueConic.
   Map the Snowflake fields you want to import into BlueConic to the corresponding BlueConic profile properties.
   

Make sure your configuration is saved and your import goal is enabled to start collecting data from Snowflake in real time.

Creating batch export goals

Click Add goal in the lower left panel and select Export profiles to open the page to configure your data export from BlueConic to Snowflake.

1. Select a BlueConic segment for the export.
   Only profiles in this segment that have matching identifiers in Snowflake will be exported.
   
2. Select a location in Snowflake for the export.
   Select the Snowflake database, schema, and table to export profile data to (or create new ones here). 
   
   Note: If you set the export goal to use a predefined Snowflake table, BlueConic will try to merge the new values into the existing table without rewriting, overwriting fields defined in the mapping, or adding new rows.
3. Optional: Correct your files before the export
   Add a data processor to transform, filter, or manipulate your data (e.g., email cleansing, name normalization).
4. Link identifiers between BlueConic and Snowflake.
   Here, you match identifiers between BlueConic profiles and Snowflake fields. You can optionally choose to let BlueConic create new records in Snowflake if no existing match is found.
   
5. Map BlueConic data to Snowflake.
   Match the BlueConic data fields you're exporting to Snowflake fields. In each mapping row (created via the Add mapping button), select the type of information you want to export by clicking the BlueConic icon and choosing one of these options from the dropdown:
   • Profile property: The value of a specific profile property.
   • BlueConic profile identifier: The unique identifier for a profile.
   • Associated segments: All segments, or a selection of one or more specific segments that the profile is associated with.
   • Associated lifecycles: All lifecycles this profile is associated with. Learn more about Lifecycles here.
   • All viewed interactions (all time): The interactions that the profile has seen.
   • Permission level: The permission level set in the profile.
   • Text value: Any static text
   • Processor value (optional): If you have selected one or more data processors in step 3, map the processor value(s) here. For example, if you are using a data processor that outputs several values, add them here as fields to be mapped to Snowflake.
   
6. Optional: Export BlueConic Timeline events to a Snowflake table
   To create a new set of mappings, click the Export events to Snowflake button. Here, you select a table from Snowflake, select your BlueConic Timeline event type, and then map your Timeline events on the left with Snowflake fields on the right. Additional mappings let you export BlueConic profile property data with your event data. (Note: If you have installed data processors in your tenant, the processor(s) you select in step 3 can filter or transform your event data.)
   Tip: To help manage the amount of event data exported, choose a time period for the events you want to export through the Timeline period section at the bottom of this step.
   
   
7. Run the connection.
   You'll notice the arrows running between BlueConic and Snowflake in the upper left corner of the page. Green arrows in each direction indicate active import and export goals, ready to be run.

   

   Review the article Scheduling and running connections for more details.

Data exchange

Once the connection has been run, the data exchange section in the Setup page shows the number of unique BlueConic profiles imported from and exported to Snowflake via this connection.

Scheduling the Snowflake connection

To run the connection on a schedule, follow these steps:

1. Click Set up and run in the left-hand panel.
2. Click the settings icon  in the Run history section of the Set up and run page.
3. Schedule the connection to run by choosing options in the Schedule window.
4. Click OK.
5. Switch the connection On and Save your settings.
6. To run the connection immediately, click Run now.
   After the connection has run, scroll down to the Run history section. This table shows all past and scheduled runs for the connection. In the details column, it also lists the last five created or updated profiles and links to the profile identifier so you are able to see exactly how and whether profiles were created or updated correctly.
   Note: BlueConic does not clean up or delete files from the S3 bucket after the connection runs.
   

Learn more about scheduling and running BlueConic connections.

Privacy management

Connections can be added to Objectives, allowing for privacy management of the information that is being picked up. A connection will only process the profiles of visitors who have consented to at least one of the objectives that the connection is linked to.