7 Essential Steps to Connect Microsoft SharePoint with Snowflake in 2025

Connecting Microsoft SharePoint with Snowflake turns everyday documents into live, analytics-ready data. Teams can explore insights in real time, apply AI models, and make smarter decisions with speed and accuracy.

While the 2024 release of the Snowflake Connector for SharePoint simplified this process, with the CData Sync no-code platform, you can build automated data pipelines in just minutes; no heavy scripting or engineering effort required.

For organizations that need even greater flexibility, CData Sync supports enterprise-grade replication not just from SharePoint, but from 100+ other SaaS, database, and file sources directly into Snowflake. In this article, we will explore a few steps that you need to build a secure, scalable integration.

Assess data and security requirements

Before you connect anything, a short discovery phase helps both IT and business stakeholders align on what data to move and how to protect it.

What to inventory:

• File types: documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, images

• Metadata fields: file name, author, modified date, custom tags

• Version history: whether to retain or flatten versions

Must-capture items:

• File type coverage

• Key metadata columns (FileName, ModifiedDate)

• Versioning rules

Security considerations:

• OAuth scopes: request only the Files.Read.All scope for least privilege

• Permission inheritance: ensure parent library permissions propagate correctly

• Compliance: validate against GDPR and SOC 2/ISO 27001 standards

Definitions:

• OAuth: a secure standard for delegated authentication.

• CDC (change data capture): a technique for syncing only new or updated records.

• Permission hierarchy: the layered structure of who can access what within SharePoint.

Once requirements are documented, you’re ready to configure the connector.

Configure the CData SharePoint connector

The CData Sync SharePoint connector makes establishing a secure connection straightforward:

1. Install & launch: Download the connector and open CData Sync

2. Add source: Choose Microsoft SharePoint as the source type

3. Authenticate: Use OAuth 2.0 or Kerberos to authenticate securely

4. Select objects: Pick lists, document libraries, and metadata fields to replicate

5. Validate & save: Test the connection and confirm schema detection

CData Sync supports SharePoint Online and on-premises SharePoint Server with enterprise-grade security (OAuth, Kerberos, fine-grained ACLs). For detailed instructions, refer to CData Sync - Microsoft SharePoint.

With the connector live, the next step is configuring Snowflake as your target.

Set up Snowflake as the replication destination

Inside Snowflake, create a dedicated environment for SharePoint data.

Run SQL commands to create the database, schema, and role, then grant privileges in the worksheet.

CREATE DATABASE sharepoint_db;
CREATE SCHEMA sharepoint_schema;
CREATE ROLE sharepoint_loader;
GRANT USAGE ON DATABASE sharepoint_db TO ROLE sharepoint_loader;
GRANT USAGE, CREATE TABLE ON SCHEMA sharepoint_db.sharepoint_schema TO ROLE sharepoint_loader;
GRANT INSERT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA sharepoint_db.sharepoint_schema TO ROLE sharepoint_loader;

Best practices:

• Use a dedicated warehouse for ETL jobs

• Enable automatic clustering for better query performance

• Apply data masking policies to sensitive columns like user emails

Snowflake’s best-practice data loading guide provides more recommendations.

Define replication queries and map schemas

CData Sync’s preview feature lets you inspect available SharePoint tables before mapping.

Schema mapping checklist:

CData Sync automatically pushes filters down to SharePoint, ensuring efficient extraction without extra tuning.

With schemas mapped, you can now start scheduling jobs.

Schedule incremental sync jobs

Set up incremental updates in Sync to avoid full reloads and keep data fresh.

Configuring incremental updates:

1. In your job, enable incremental updates for selected tables

2. Choose the watermark column (e.g., ModifiedDate)

3. Run a test sync to confirm only new/changed rows are pulled

4. Save and schedule your job
   

   

Scheduling options:

• Time-based: every 15 minutes, hourly, nightly

• Chained jobs: trigger after another ETL task finishes

• API-triggered: call Sync’s REST endpoint programmatically

For detailed steps, see the CData Sync Jobs documentation.

Tip: Keep under 900 API calls per 60 seconds by batching data and using watermarks to avoid duplicates.

Once scheduling is live, you’re ready to monitor performance.

Monitor performance and enforce permissions

Monitoring ensures ongoing reliability.

• Use CData Sync’s built-in dashboard to watch job status, row counts, error rates, and latency in real time

• In Snowflake, query ACCOUNT_USAGE.QUERY_HISTORY or Snowsight History to validate job completion times and row counts

Verifying permissions:

1. Query the PERMISSIONS_JSON column in Snowflake to confirm that user/group ACLs from SharePoint are stored correctly

2. Create row access policies to enforce row-level security

3. Attach the policy to your replicated table
   

This ensures Snowflake respects the same access rules as SharePoint.

This step ensures your governance model remains intact as your data grows.

Troubleshoot issues and plan for scaling

Even with automation, issues can arise.

Scaling roadmap:

• Start with a single warehouse

• Add multi-cluster warehouses for concurrent analytics

• Use bulk load mode when data exceeds 10 TB

Frequently asked questions

Start your SharePoint to Snowflake integration journey with CData

To modernize your document analytics pipeline, focus on data discovery, secure connector configuration, schema alignment, and continuous monitoring. CData Sync provides a no-code, enterprise-ready way to replicate SharePoint data with support for permissions, incremental updates, and governance across cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments.

Sign up for a free trial today and start building your SharePoint-to-Snowflake pipeline with confidence.