4 Transferring Data with Delta Sharing
Delta Sharing is an open protocol for sharing data between platforms without requiring each recipient to build custom file extracts. For Oracle Utilities Opower data transfer, the utility publishes agreed-upon data sets through a Delta Sharing-compatible service, and Oracle Utilities consumes those shared data sets into an OCI database or Oracle Utilities target environment for validation, ingestion, and transformation into the Opower data model.
Because the Delta Sharing path must connect securely to the OCI target environment, Oracle Utilities and the utility must complete security, connectivity, credential, and testing configuration before the shared data can be used in production.
Recommended Use
Delta Sharing is a good option for utilities that use non-Oracle cloud platforms, non-Oracle CIS systems, or data lakehouse platforms such as Databricks or other similar cloud data lakes. It can be useful when the utility already has cloud data engineering practices in place and wants a cloud-agnostic way to make source data available to Oracle Utilities.
Moreover, since this option requires a configured path from the utility’s Delta Sharing-compatible platform to the Oracle Utilities OCI target environment, it is best suited for utilities that can support the required security, connectivity, and joint testing work.
High-Level Process
Oracle Utilities and the utility work together to confirm that Delta Sharing can support the required Opower data transfer, then configure and test the shared data before production use.
- Confirm that the required data can be published through a Delta Sharing-compatible platform.
- Agree on the data sets, schemas, refresh cadence, history requirements, and method for representing changed or deleted records.
- Configure the share, recipient access, credentials, network rules, and security controls. This utility-owned step enables Oracle Utilities to consume the shared data for use in the OCI target database or target environment.
- Test Oracle Utilities consumption of the shared data, including access to the OCI target environment, schema stability, data completeness, refresh behavior, and security controls.
- Establish production monitoring, support contacts, and change-management expectations before moving the share into ongoing use.
Utility Requirements
The utility must be able to host or operate a Delta Sharing-compatible provider and publish the required data, including but not limited to customer, billing, and metering data. The shared data should include stable identifiers, reliable timestamps or watermarks for incremental processing, and enough historical data to support the initial Opower load.
Because Delta Sharing requires Oracle Utilities to consume the shared data into an OCI target database or target environment, the utility should plan for joint security, connectivity, and testing configuration. This configuration may include recipient access, credentials, network rules, allowlisting, and security review.
The utility should also provide advance notice of schema changes, source-system changes, or platform changes that could affect Oracle Utilities Opower consumption of the share.