Delta Sharing

Delta Sharing is an open protocol for secure data sharing between organisations, described by the project as the first open standard of its kind. Rather than exporting and transferring files, a provider grants access to data where it already sits and the recipient reads it directly.

Sharing without copying is the idea that makes the protocol worth having. The usual method is to export a dataset and send it, which creates a copy that is stale the moment it lands, cannot be revoked once delivered, and multiplies with every recipient. Granting live access means the recipient always reads current data, the provider can withdraw access, and there is one authoritative copy rather than one per consumer.

Being an open protocol rather than a product is the second point. A proprietary sharing feature only works when both parties use the same platform, which in practice means data sharing follows platform choice. An open standard lets a provider on one system share with a recipient on another, and permits independent implementations.

Recipients can read shared data from a range of tools and languages rather than needing the provider's stack, which is what makes it usable across an ecosystem. The protocol sits within the Delta Lake project and is free and open source.