Data Sharing
Snowflake's Secure Data Sharing lets you grant another Snowflake account live, read-only access to specific databases, schemas, or tables without copying or moving any data -- the consumer account queries the same underlying storage directly, so shared data is always current, not a periodic export.
Practical Details
Reader accounts (a Snowflake-managed account you provision) extend sharing to organizations that don't have their own Snowflake account, letting them query shared data through a full SQL interface without becoming a paying Snowflake customer themselves. The Snowflake Marketplace is a separate, public listing mechanism for publishing a data share more broadly (including commercial data products), distinct from a private, account-to-account share set up directly.
Actionable Considerations
- Use Secure Data Sharing for live, always-current access to specific data rather than scheduled exports or file transfers.
- Provision a Reader account for sharing with organizations that don't have their own Snowflake account.
- Use the Snowflake Marketplace specifically for public or commercial data products, not for a private share between two known accounts.