Databricks, the data and AI company, is introducing OpenSharing, the next evolution of the open source Delta Sharing protocol for the agentic era.
OpenSharing, now a project of the Linux Foundation and the first open protocol to cover agent skills, AI models, and unstructured data, further expands the cross-platform collaboration ecosystem by adding support for Iceberg IRC clients, enabling asset providers to reach a new set of recipients, according to Databricks.
With new on-premises storage partners adopting OpenSharing, customers can now connect their on-premises assets directly to cloud platforms with no data movement. The OpenSharing project is now available on GitHub.
“Delta Sharing proved the industry would choose open over locked-in,” said Matei Zaharia, co-founder and CTO of Databricks. “OpenSharing extends that principle to the full AI stack, while expanding the cross-platform ecosystem to Iceberg recipients and on-premises providers. The agentic era deserves an open foundation, and OpenSharing delivers it.”
In 2021, Databricks pioneered open data sharing protocols with Delta Sharing, a sub-project within the Delta Lake open source project.
OpenSharing enables the following capabilities and features:
- First open protocol for sharing AI assets: Now enterprises can publish agent skills and AI models via a single open protocol that any partner can consume, with standard APIs for discovery, authorization, and access, regardless of platform. For example, a data provider may want to share a proprietary agent skill with their customers to make their data readily usable by agents. Instead of manually delivering files that need to be copied over to each customer and constantly updated, OpenSharing enables seamless and secure zero-copy access to agent skills directly at the source.
- Publish once, reach every client: Delta Sharing enabled enterprises and data providers to break down platform silos and collaborate across clouds, regions, and platforms, with customers receiving shares in Databricks, Apache Spark, Oracle, Power BI, Tableau, Snowflake, and many more. Today, OpenSharing further expands this cross-platform ecosystem by adding support for Apache Iceberg APIs. Providers using OpenSharing can now use the same sharing protocol to reach a larger universe of consumers, including those using Iceberg-native tools.
- Bring modern AI to on-premises data: Organizations that must keep data on-premises or in private clouds no longer have to forgo modern cloud AI and analytics capabilities. Through native integrations with on-premises storage partners, cloud platforms can now connect directly to on-premises data without data movement. Storage partners providing a managed OpenSharing service today include Everpure, MinIO, and Qumulo, with additional partners coming soon, including Cohesity, Commvault, HPE, NetApp, Nutanix, Rubrik, and VAST Data.
“We chose OpenSharing for SAP Business Data Cloud because it is the open protocol for sharing data and AI assets, and allows us to reach customers wherever they are,” said Senthil Krishnapillai, VP engineering, HANA big data fabric services, data and analytics at SAP. “We’re excited to continue partnering with Databricks to lay the open foundation for AI-first collaboration.”
OpenSharing is now available on GitHub.
For more information about this news, visit www.databricks.com.