Secure External Data Access with Connections, Secrets, and Functions in Unity Catalog

Modern data platforms are rarely islands; they exist in a sprawling ecosystem of external databases, APIs, and third-party services. However, managing the "connective tissue"—JDBC drivers, secret rotation, and custom logic—often creates security silos and governance gaps.

In this session, we will hands-on demonstrate how the next generation of Unity Catalog Connections, Secrets and Functions work in concert to centralize external data access, eliminate hardcoded credentials, and deploy governed UDFs across any compute type. 

Attendees will learn how to build a "zero-trust" data architecture that simplifies the user experience while providing full lineage and auditability from the source to the final insight.