We do a deep dive into five leading cloud data platforms -- Databricks, Snowflake, Amazon RedShift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Fabric – to see which architectural approach matches your enterprise's goals.

InfoWorld is a source of news, analysis, and commentary on technology trends, IT strategies, and business innovation. With a focus on enterprise technology and digital transformation, InfoWorld offers insights and guidance for IT decision-makers, software developers, and technology professionals. From  articles on cloud computing and cybersecurity to product reviews and industry trends, InfoWorld helps readers navigate the complexities of modern IT environments and make informed decisions to drive business success.

InfoWorld

A structured comparison of five leading cloud data platforms — Databricks, Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Fabric — covering their core architectures, deployment models, pricing structures, strengths, and trade-offs. Databricks leads in open lakehouse and ML/AI workloads; Snowflake excels as a managed SQL cloud with strong governance; Redshift fits AWS-heavy enterprises; BigQuery offers truly serverless analytics on GCP; and Microsoft Fabric provides an all-in-one SaaS built on OneLake with tight Power BI and Copilot integration. The right choice depends on cloud strategy, workload mix, AI ambitions, and tolerance for vendor lock-in.

Buyer’s guide: Comparing the leading cloud data platforms