Data Sharing via Snowflake

Updated Sep 23, 20261 page in this section

Data Sharing is enabled through Snowflake (opens in a new tab), a cloud-based data warehousing platform. With Data Sharing enabled, Element451 can share data straight to your Snowflake account. Data shared through Snowflake will be automatically updated as it is created or changed in Element451.

Don’t have a Snowflake account? As an add-on Element451 can provide a reader account for you to use. Once accessed, you'll be able to query your data using Element451's account compute resources, or move your data to another warehouse of your choosing.

Learn more:

Access tables of “raw” JSON objects, lookup tables to convert codes to labels, and staging tables that can kickstart your analysis. See the Snowflake Data Dictionary for details.

Snowflake Data Dictionary

Can I build an integration with Element451 using Snowflake?#

Data consumed through Snowflake Data Sharing is not intended to support an integration. Data shared via Snowflake can be read, but not changed. We suggest using Snowflake to build your own reporting and analysis features.

Getting Started#

Snowflake Data Sharing was added to my institution’s contract with Element451, now what?

After adding Data Share, the Element451 team will initialize the share for the method you’ve selected.

To review, Data Sharing can occur through two methods: Direct Share and Reader Account. In Direct Share, your institution has it’s own Snowflake account, and Element451 shares data to your warehouse. In Reader Account, Element451 creates a “reader” account within our own Snowflake account. The reader account allows you to query data, and move data to external locations.

After adding Data Share, you’ll need to provide the Element451 team with your Snowflake account locator. Find your locator. (opens in a new tab)

Once provided, the Element451 team will initialize the share and you will receive an invitation to access the Data Share. Follow the steps outlined in this Snowflake documentation article (opens in a new tab) to accept the invitation, create a local database for the share and grant permissions.

Getting Started with Reader Account#

After adding Data Share, the Element451 team will begin initializing your reader account. You’ll then be provided with a login URL. The first time you log in, you’ll be prompted to reset your password.

Snowsight Overview#

“Snowsight” is the name of the Snowflake interface. When logged in, you’ll likely begin on the “Worksheets” tab. Notice the navigation on the left side of the screen.

Worksheets are documents where you can execute SQL select statements against the data in the database. Worksheets allow you to preview the results, download the results, and create simple charts.

Also notice the “Data” tab in the left-side navigation. By selecting data, you’ll be able to view the shared database, called “ELEMENT451_SHARE”.

Sample Worksheets#

On the Worksheets tab, you’ll see two sample Worksheets.

The SELECT Worksheet lists some sample queries you can execute against the database.
The COPY INTO Worksheet can be used to copy data from Snowflake to an external location.
The CREATE VIEW Worksheet shows an example for creating new views and tables.
The CREATE USER Worksheet shows an example of creating a new user.

Roles and Warehouses#

By default, your user account will be assigned to the “PUBLIC” role and will be able to access the “COMPUTE_WH” warehouse. Be sure these are assigned when creating new Worksheets.

Creating New Users#

The reader account is delivered with one user. This user can create other person or service users. See the sample CREATE USER worksheet.

Creating New Views or Tables#

In addition to the shared views, the reader account can be used to create views or tables that reference the shared views. These can serve as transformation steps or stand alone models to power dashboards and reports. See the sample CREATE VIEW worksheet.

Connecting to Microsoft Power BI#

Connect (opens in a new tab) your Snowflake account (Direct or Reader) to your Power BI / Power Query environment. Fill in the fields below as follows:

Server - <account-locator-url> (provided by Element451 team in handoff email)

Warehouse - COMPUTE_WH

Role - PUBLIC (under “Advanced options”)

Connecting to Microsoft Fabric#

Connect (opens in a new tab) your Snowflake account (Direct or Reader) to your Microsoft Fabric environment.