Send data to Azure Blob Storage

Azure Blob Storage is an object storage solution for the cloud that is optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data.

Important

Use this destination to send data from Amperity to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1 or Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2.

This topic describes the steps that are required to send files to Azure Blob Storage from Amperity:

1. Get details

2. Add destination

3. Add data template

Get details

Amperity can be configured to send data to Azure Blob Storage. This may be done using Azure Data Share (recommended) or by using Azure credentials.

Use Azure Data Share

Azure Data Share is a simple and safe service for sharing data in any format and any size with Amperity. Azure Data Share requires no infrastructure setup or management and uses underlying Azure security measures as they are applied to both Azure accounts. Snapshot-based sharing of data can be automated and does not require a special access key.

Amperity prefers to send data to customer-managed cloud storage. This approach ensures that customers can:

• Use security policies managed in Azure Data Share to manage access to data

• Directly manage the files that are made available

• Modify access without requiring involvement by Amperity; access may be revoked at any time by either Azure account, after which data sharing ends immediately

• Directly troubleshoot incomplete or missing files

Amperity recommends to use Azure Data Share to manage access to customer-managed cloud storage in Azure. This allows managed security policies to control access to data.

Note

If you have already configured Azure Data Share for an Azure Blob Storage data source you may use the same process credential for this destination. If you have not configured Azure Data Share, ask your Amperity representative to help you with those configuration steps.

Use credentials

Azure Blob Storage requires the following configuration details:

1. The name of the container.

2. The blob prefix.

3. The credential details. (These vary depending on the chosen credential method.)

4. The public key to use for PGP encryption.

Optional workflows

The following sections describe additional workflows that are available. After Amperity sends data to Azure Blob Storage, you can configure downstream applications to consume that data and make it available to additional workflows.

• Synapse Analytics

Synapse Analytics

Azure Synapse Analytics is a limitless analytics service and data warehouse. Azure Synapse Analytics has four components: SQL analytics, Apache Spark, hybrid data integration, and a unified user experience.

Amperity can be configured to send data to Azure Blob Storage, after which Synapse Analytics can be configured to load that data. Applications can be configured to connect to Synapse Analytics and use the Amperity output as a data source.

You may use the Azure Blob Storage bucket that comes with your Amperity tenant for the intermediate step (if your Amperity tenant is running on Microsoft Azure). Or you may configure Amperity to send data to an Azure Blob Storage bucket that your organization manages directly.

The following applications can be configured to load data from Synapse Analytics as a data source:

• Microsoft Power BI

• Tableau

Add destination

Azure Blob Storage is a destination that may be configured directly from Amperity.

To add a destination

1. From the Destinations tab, click Add Destination. This opens the Add Destination dialog box.

2. Enter the name of the destination and a description. For example: “Azure Blob Storage” and “This sends query results to Azure Blob Storage”.

3. From the Plugin drop-down, select Azure Blob Storage.

4. From the Credential Type drop-down, select a credential type: “azure-blob-connection-string” or “azure-blob-shared-access-signature”.

5. From the Credential drop-down, select a credential that has already been configured for this destination or click Create a new credential, which opens the Create New Credential dialog box. For new credentials, enter the credential details, and then click Save.

   For new “azure-blob-connection-string” credentials, enter the name of the credential and the connection string.

   For new “azure-blob-shared-access-signature” credentials, enter the name of the credential, the account name, and the shared access signature.

6. Under Azure Blob Storage settings, add the name of the container and blob prefix. For example: “Blob Storage” and “upload”.

7. From the File Format drop-down, select Apache Parquet (recommended), CSV, TSV, or PSV.

8. Add a single character to be used as an escape character in the output file.

   Note

   If an escape character is not specified and quote mode is set to “None” this may result in unescaped, unquoted files. When an escape character is not specified, you should select a non-“None” option from the Quote Mode setting.

9. Specify the encoding method. Encoding method options include “Tar”, “Tgz”, “Zip”, “GZip”, and “None”.

10. Add the PGP public key that is used to encrypt files sent to Azure Blob Storage.

11. Set the quote mode.

    Note

    If the quote mode is set to “None” and the Escape Character setting is empty this may result in unescaped, unquoted files. When quote mode is not set to “None”, you should specify an escape character.

12. Optional. Select Include success file upon completion to add a .DONE file to indicate when an orchestration has finished sending data.

    Tip

    If a downstream sensor is listening for files sent from Amperity, configure that sensor to listen for the presence of the .DONE file.

13. Optional. Select Include header row in output files if headers are included in the output.

14. Select Allow business users to use this destination.

    This allows users who have been assigned to the Amp360 User and/or AmpIQ User policies to use this destination with orchestrations and/or campaigns.

15. Select Allow business users with limited PII access to send data.

    This allows users who have been assigned to the Restrict PII Access policy option to use this destination with orchestrations and/or campaigns.

16. Click Save.

Add data template

A data template defines how columns in Amperity data structures are sent to downstream workflows. A data template is part of the configuration for sending query and segment results from Amperity to an external location.

To add a data template

	From the Destinations tab, open the menu for a destination that is configured for Azure Blob Storage, and then select Add data template. This opens the Add Data Template dialog box. From the Destinations tab, open the menu for a destination that is configured for Azure Blob Storage, and then select Add data template. This opens the Add Data Template dialog box.
	Verify business user access to queries and orchestrations and access to segments and campaigns. A business user may also have restricted access to PII, which prevents them from viewing and sending customer profile data. If business user access was not configured as part of the destination, you may configure access from the data template. Important To allow business users to use this destination with campaigns, you must enable the Make available to campaigns option. This allows users to send campaign results from Amperity to Azure Blob Storage. If you enable this option, the data extension settings require using campaign name and group name template variables to associate the name of the data extension to your campaign.
	Verify all configuration settings. Note When the settings required by Azure Blob Storage were are not configured as part of the destination, you must configure them as part of the data template before making this destination available to campaigns.
	Review all settings, and then click Save. After you have saved the data template, and depending on how you configured it, business users can send query results and/or send campaigns to Azure Blob Storage.