Simon Data and RudderStack both are platforms that allow you to sync data to downstream marketing destinations like CRM tools, email tools, and advertising platforms. Both platforms have the functionality to collect events via an SDK, and functionality to resolve identities.
However, there are plenty of differences across feature sets, functionality, usability, and more. Below we take a deep-dive into both platforms to highlight the differences.
Compare Simon Data and RudderStack
| Functionality | Simon Data | Rudderstack |
|---|---|---|
| Data Collection | Client-side, server-side, & other 3rd-party sources | Client-side, server-side, & other 3rd-party sources |
| Data Storage | Simon Data's managed Snowflake instance or your existing owned Snowflake instance | Your existing data infrastructure (data warehouse, data lake, or database) |
| Data Retention | 2 years for Simon's managed Snowflake Instance (unlimited lookback & history available when using your existing Snowflake instance) | Unlimited lookback & history |
| Data Schema | Supports custom objects, but you must rebuild your data warehouse models to fit in Simon Data
| Controlled by you (supports any custom entity or object) |
| Audience Management | No-code audience builder (can reference data from Snowflake) | Limited audience-building capabilities for non-technical users |
| Journey Orchestration | Yes | Yes |
| Identity Resolution | Deterministic IDR managed in Simon Data's infrastructure | Warehouse-native, code-based, deterministic IDR |
| Identity Graph Storage Location | Owned by Simon Data | Lives in your warehouse |
| Reverse ETL | Limited to Snowflake as a source | Available with limited capabilities (visual mapping is not available for all destinations) |
| Real-Time Audience Computation | Yes (limited to clickstream/behavioral data with no time-based lookbacks) | Dependent upon data landing in the warehouse |
| Real-Time Streaming (Event Forwarding) | Yes | Yes |
| Low-Latency Profile API | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming Reverse ETL | No | Yes |
| Data Activation Flow | Snowflake to destinaton | Data warehouse to destination |
| Activation Destinations | 45+ | 200+ |
| Source of Truth | Snowflake Data Cloud | Single: Your owned data warehouse |
| Security & Compliance | Data lives in your Snowflake instance or a Snowflake instance managed by Simon Data (can be configured to be GDPR, CCPA, & HIPAA compliant) | Can be configured to be GDPR, CCPA, & HIPAA compliant |
| Pricing | Bundled (variable-based pricing) | Dependent on event volume & add-on features |
| Proof of Concept (POC) | 4-6 months | Variable |
Pros and Cons of Simon Data
Pros
- Non-supported cloud sources can be ingested into Simon Data via Stitch ETL pipelines
- Built-in email service provider (ESP) via Simon Mail
- Some AI capabilities to build predictive data science models
Cons
- Only integrates with Snowflake
- Limited number of activation destinations
- Some aspects of IDR are outsourced via FullContact
Pros and Cons of RudderStack
Pros
- Open-source SDKs
- Can leverage your existing data platform for underlying storage
- Supports ETL pipelines to ingest data in addition to event collection
Cons
- Not marketer-friendly (built for data teams)
- Audience builder is difficult to use
- Identity resolution mapping/merging logic is inflexible & purely deterministic
- Reverse ETL is limited & underdeveloped
Should I Buy Simon Data or RudderStack?
Before you purchase a customer data platform, there are a few important factors to consider:
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Time-to-value: You need to show ROI quickly to your internal stakeholders to validate that the platform can provide business value. Many customer data platforms can take upwards of 6-12 months to implement and get started.
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Usability: Tools like Segment and ActionIQ can come with steep learning curves that make them difficult to use, especially for non-technical marketing teams. It doesn't matter how good the technology is if your marketing team doesn't use it.
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Functionality: Before you purchase any tool you need to ensure that it has functionality to solve your business-specific use cases, and that means supporting your proprietary data. Your main goal should be to purchase a solution that actually solves the problem you're facing.
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Flexibility: Not every company is the same. Make sure the tool you're purchasing can dynamically adapt and conform to your data. Otherwise, you'll end with a failed implementation and an upset marketing team.
What's the Best Alternative to Simon Data and RudderStack?
Hightouch is a Composable Customer Data Platform that is the perfect alternative to both Segment and ActionIQ because the platform offers the following:
Fast Implementation: Hightouch enables you to start activating your data immediately. The average customer is powering live use cases within weeks and sometimes days.
Ease-of-Use: Hightouch was specifically built for non-technical users. The platform has an easy-to-use audience builder, built-in analytics, and experimentation and measurement capabilities your marketers can drive value and optimize performance without getting blocked by your data team.
Completeness: Hightouch offers a complete suite of capabilities to collect data, resolve identities, build audiences, sync data to any destination, and increase match rates. You won't end up with a bloated tech stack because you can select the functionalities you need for your specific use cases.
Flexibility: The Composable CDP approach that Hightouch provides allows you to have the most flexible data activation solution. Unlike traditional CDPs, Hightouch lets you access any data in your organization and use any schema structure imaginable to power your most complicated marketing use cases.
Our team of experts at Hightouch is comprised of former CDP experts, so if you have any questions about CDPs, schedule some time with a Hightouch expert so we can point you in the right direction.
