ADA-C01 Question 492
Single answerManage the process of becoming a data providerA company plans to monetize a curated dataset by sharing it with external customers through Snowflake. The administrator must prepare the environment so the company can act as a data provider while minimizing ongoing maintenance and preserving the ability to update shared data centrally. Which action should the administrator take first?
- A
Create a share, add the required database objects to the share, and then add consumer accounts to the share
- B
Create reader accounts for all external customers, because only reader accounts can consume provider data
- C
Unload the curated dataset to cloud storage and provide customers with pre-signed URLs so they can load the data into their own platforms
- D
Convert the curated tables to temporary tables so consumers only see the latest session-level data
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
To act as a Snowflake data provider, the standard process is to create a share, grant usage on the necessary database and schema objects, add the shareable objects, and then authorize one or more consumer accounts to access the share. This enables secure data sharing without copying the underlying data, which is a core Snowflake best practice for providers. Reader accounts are only needed for consumers that do not have their own Snowflake accounts. This question focuses on the administrator's first step in establishing the provider workflow: creating and configuring the share. Relevant Snowflake documentation includes Secure Data Sharing, Provider tasks for creating shares, and Reader Accounts guidance.
- A. Correct.
Correct. In Snowflake, becoming a data provider starts with creating a secure share and adding supported objects, typically databases, schemas, secure views, and tables as appropriate. The provider then grants the share to specific consumer accounts. This approach lets the provider maintain a single source of truth and update shared data centrally without copying data into each consumer environment.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Reader accounts are optional and are used when a consumer does not already have a Snowflake account. They are not required for all customers. If customers already have Snowflake accounts, the standard provider workflow is to create a share and add those consumer accounts to it.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Unloading data to cloud storage is a data distribution pattern, but it is not the Snowflake-native process for becoming a data provider. It increases operational overhead, creates additional data copies, and removes many benefits of secure sharing such as centralized updates and governed access.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Temporary tables are session-bound objects intended for transient session use and are not the correct mechanism for provider-consumer data sharing. They would not support the governed, persistent sharing model used by Snowflake data providers.