# Partner & Tenant Data Sharing on Kafka

Expose Kafka topics to partners without spinning up clusters. Secure zones with policy-based access, field-level masking, and usage tracking on your existing Kafka estate.

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## Why per-partner clusters don't scale.

### Infrastructure Sprawl

New Kafka clusters per tenant or partner inflate cost and operational load. Topics and schemas get duplicated across clusters.

### Security Fragmentation

Inconsistent security and compliance rules between environments. Manual setup and rotation of certificates, keys, and identities for each external party.

### Slow Time-to-Revenue

Long onboarding timelines involving many teams before a partner can consume or publish events. No clear way to package feeds as commercial data products.

## Why Conduktor for Kafka Partner Data Sharing

- **Logical Partner Zones** — Create tenant zones on existing clusters. Each partner gets controlled access without dedicated infrastructure or VPC peering
- **Conduktor Gateway** — Partners connect through a protocol-compatible proxy. Kafka brokers stay inside your network, never exposed
- **Enterprise IAM** — Map partners to your IdP via OIDC or LDAP. Use groups and attributes for policy binding
- **Field-Level Masking** — Encrypt, redact, or filter fields per partner contract. One topic serves multiple contractual views
- **Usage Tracking** — Measure bytes produced and consumed per zone. Export via API for billing integration
- **Audit Trail** — Centralized audit logs for all partner activity across clusters. Export to SIEM or compliance systems

- **Policy-Based Access** — Control topics, fields, filters, and rate limits per partner zone. Policies enforce automatically
- **Crypto-Shredding** — Delete encryption keys to revoke partner access instantly without data deletion. Meet GDPR right-to-erasure and retention requirements
- **Multi-Cluster Zones** — Partner zones span Confluent Cloud, AWS MSK, Azure Event Hubs, and self-managed clusters. One consistent experience
- **Rate Limiting** — Set throughput limits per partner zone. Premium partners get higher quotas
- **Self-Service Onboarding** — Partners request access via API or Conduktor Console. Approval workflows route to platform team. Policies auto-enforce on approval
- **No Replication** — Share topics without duplicating data. One source of truth, multiple controlled views

## How Partner Data Sharing Works

From signed deal to live data feed without new infrastructure.

- **Define Partner Zone** — Create a logical zone with topics, fields, filters, and rate limits. Attach to IdP group or external identity
- **Set Protection Policies** — Configure field-level encryption and masking per partner contract. Bind zones to regional clusters for data residency
- **Enable Metering** — Track bytes produced and consumed per zone. Export to billing systems for chargeback
- **Onboard Partner** — Partner connects through Conduktor Gateway. Policies enforce automatically. Kafka brokers never exposed

## Key Use Cases

- **OEM Dealer Networks** — Share vehicle telemetry and maintenance events with dealers. Different tiers of access and SLAs per dealer class
- **Supplier Integration** — Expose production streams to design partners and suppliers. Keep sensitive fields encrypted per contract
- **Logistics Partner Feeds** — Open warehouse, order, and shipment events to carriers and 3PLs for planning and capacity optimization
- **Commercial Data Products** — Package Kafka feeds as products for partners with clear tiers, usage limits, and revenue sharing
- **Aftermarket Services** — Share equipment telemetry with service partners for predictive maintenance and parts optimization
- **Regional Rollouts** — Onboard local partners into standard tenant zones while central platform keeps control on policies and audit

For Kafka cost allocation and compliance across your estate, see [Kafka platform governance and FinOps](https://www.conduktor.io/solutions/industry/transport-and-logistics/platform-governance). For the full data sharing overview, see [Data Sharing](https://www.conduktor.io/solutions/use-case/data-sharing).

## Read more customer stories

- [Swiss Post: Governed Kafka](https://www.conduktor.io/customer-stories/how-swiss-post-governs-democratizes-kafka-usage)
- [Bitvavo: Secure Data Sharing](https://www.conduktor.io/customer-stories/bitvavo-ensures-compliance-dora-mica)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Do external partners need Kafka knowledge to consume data?**

No. Partners consume through standard Kafka clients or REST APIs. They see a simple, governed interface. Your complexity stays hidden.

**Can different partners see different fields from the same topic?**

Yes. Field-level policies let you expose, mask, or encrypt specific fields per partner. One topic, multiple views.

**How does Kafka usage tracking and chargeback work?**

Usage metering tracks bytes, messages, and consumers per partner zone. Use for internal cost attribution, chargeback, or commercial agreement reporting.

**How do I share Kafka data with partners in different regions?**

Partner zones can be bound to specific regional clusters. Configure zones to route to EU, US, or APAC clusters based on your data residency requirements.

**How fast can we onboard a new Kafka data partner?**

A new partner zone can be configured in minutes via API or Console. No cluster provisioning, no network changes.

## Launch your first partner zone

See how platform teams use Conduktor to share Kafka data with partners without the infrastructure sprawl. Get a personalized demo with your architecture.

[Book a demo](https://www.conduktor.io/contact/demo)