Snowflake is making significant strides in India, with a vision that transcends traditional go-to-market strategies. AIM caught up with Vijayant Rai, the managing director of Snowflake India, at Snowflake’s Data Cloud Summit 2024. Rai elaborated on the company’s multifaceted approach to establishing a robust presence in the country.
“We’re looking at India in a multi-dimensional way,” Rai said, underscoring the company’s diverse operations. This includes a significant presence in Pune, where a team of 500 professionals handles operations and support. Additionally, Snowflake is leveraging India as a hub for global customers through its Global Capability Centers (GCCs).
“It’s not just about go-to-market; it’s also about what we can do for global customers from India,” he explained. Snowflake aims to be an integral part of this transformation by partnering with enterprises and SMBs to drive innovation.
The company’s engagement with India is driven by the country’s rapid economic growth and digital transformation. “India is the fastest growing global economy, with a growth rate of over 7%,” he said. Rai noted that the widespread adoption of digital public goods like the UPI framework has positioned India as a data-driven economy.
The AI in India Approach
Snowflake’s approach to AI is pragmatic, focusing on laying strong data foundations. “There’s no AI strategy without a data strategy,” Rai asserts. The company is helping enterprises break data silos and establish robust data governance frameworks. This is essential for leveraging advanced technologies like generative AI, which Rai believes will revolutionise how businesses operate.
Snowflake is launching boardroom-level workshops to support this transformation and educate senior management on devising effective data strategies. “We believe it’s part of our charter to educate the market,” Rai said. These workshops are designed to ensure that enterprises can maximise the potential of AI and other emerging technologies.
Snowflake is also addressing the demand for skilled developers by offering extensive training and certification programs. These initiatives extend beyond major cities to Tier-2 and Tier-3 locations, even small villages in India, reflecting Snowflake’s commitment to democratise access to AI.
“India is front and centre in our strategy,” Rai affirmed, highlighting Snowflake’s dedication to making a meaningful impact in the country.
The Tech Talent Prowess
One of Snowflake’s key initiatives is to leverage India’s talent and technological prowess. “We see India not just as a support hub but as a centre for innovation, especially in AI and data-driven technologies,” Rai stated.
He highlights the significant role of GCCs, with over 600,000 tech professionals in India driving data innovation. Snowflake is committed to supporting these centres to scale and enhance their capabilities.
The company is also focused on nurturing the developer community in India. “We’re investing heavily in skilling and ensuring that people are exposed to the Snowflake platform and various aspects of data and AI,” Rai said. This includes initiatives like language support in their large language model, which accommodates all major Indian languages.
Teams from Pune and other locations are already contributing to Snowflake’s global projects, and this collaboration is set to deepen over time.
In terms of market strategy, Rai emphasised the importance of understanding local business cultures and nuances. “We have experienced teams in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai who have worked in various verticals and understand the unique needs of different industries,” he said.
This local expertise is crucial in navigating the fast-paced technological changes that Indian enterprises are embracing.
Snowflake’s Shift to Generative AI Paying Off
Snowflake has been on an acquisition spree and much of its focus is on expanding its generative AI capabilities. Ever since Sridhar Ramaswamy joined as the CEO of Snowflake after the acquisition of Neeva, generative AI has been one of its biggest focuses.
In an exclusive interview with AIM, Snowflake head of AI Baris Gultekin said that he had worked with Ramaswamy for over 20 years at Google, and called him an incredible leader. “Sridhar brings incredible depth in AI as well as data systems. He has managed super large-scale data systems and AI systems at Google,” Gultekin said.
In addition, Microsoft announced an expanded partnership with Snowflake, aiming to deliver a seamless data experience for customers. As part of this, Microsoft Fabric’s OneLake will now support Apache Iceberg and facilitate bi-directional data access between Snowflake and Fabric.
Moreover, in a recent interview, Ramaswamy revealed that the cloud data company plans to deepen its collaboration with AI powerhouse NVIDIA. “We collaborated with NVIDIA on a number of fronts – our foundation model Arctic was, unsurprisingly, done on top of NVIDIA chips. There’s a lot to come, and Jensen’s, of course, a visionary when it comes to AI,” Ramaswamy said.
