Data breaches and insider threats are some of the hardest-to-spot cyberattacks. Given the ever-increasing pressure from privacy and regulatory standards on one hand, and the cost of data breaches on the other, the demand for data loss prevention (DLP) solutions is still considerable.

The concept of data loss prevention has evolved massively over the last decade. DLP is still a primary strategy to protect an organisation’s data assets and minimise the human attack surface. However, modern data loss protection solutions need to respond to rapidly, ever changing needs. Effective DLP tools need to cover countless data types — including structured and unstructured data, data in motion and data at rest. Additionally, DLP solutions must be increasingly pervasive to protect an organisation’s data assets without leaving any blind spots — covering endpoint machines, desktops, servers, and cloud IaaS and SaaS environments. And finally, with the rise of remote working and the exploding number of productivity tools, DLP oversight must extend over endless exfiltration channels to prevent data loss.

This year, Gartner named Ava Security as an example, for vendors that offer branded managed security services, in its Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention¹. In our opinion, this earmarks Ava Security as an established cloud-based, human-centric data protection solution, recognising Ava Reveal’s customer-centric approach.

Organisations of any size, from multinationals and large enterprises to small companies, local businesses and “solo acts”, will handle sensitive data. So, virtually every company needs a DLP solution. But despite sharing this fundamental need, organisations of different sizes will express different requirements, have very different perspectives, and consequently take different routes to DLP.

Human-centric data-loss protection for all

Small businesses and medium enterprises often lack the scale to deploy sizeable investments in people, processes and technology. Facing a dynamic threat landscape and a lack of security skills and resources, small and medium businesses often rely on third parties like managed security service providers to take them through the data loss prevention journey.

This journey goes from defining a DLP programme and a data-loss protection strategy to conducting a data inventory and assessment to selecting, implementing and managing a DLP deployment.

But innovative DLP vendors can come to the rescue, offering managed security services that ease this massive burden.

For instance, Ava Security’s portfolio includes a distinctive managed services offering. Ava Analyst Services can help customers understand business processes and identify critical data assets. Admittedly, while leveraging cybersecurity knowledge and product-specific expertise, services such as foundational cyber-hygiene checks and customised insider risk discovery can add great value to a DLP solution.

Ava Analyst services can extend Ava Reveal’s standalone product capabilities, or they can add value to a managed service provider’s deliverables. Notably, Ava Reveal’s MSSP console enables managed service providers to scale and manage different accounts, onboarding customers quickly and improving operational efficiency, service delivery and customer service.

Large businesses

Large businesses opting for endpoint DLP face a different set of problems instead. They need a reliable solution that scales quickly to tens or hundreds of thousands of machines while covering different IT environments (virtual desktops, laptops, desktops, servers), and different platforms and operating systems, while also protecting workers inside and outside the office. This is where Ava Reveal’s cloud-based solution can provide the protection level needed to address the DLP problem effectively. Employees have access to millions of sensitive files on average, can work from anywhere, and are exposed to an increasing number of threats, like social engineering. Cloud-based data loss protection is a clear strategy that the modern digital enterprise can adopt to protect its information assets.

As per Gartner’s website – with reference to this year’s Market Guide for DLP – the research “offers guidance on market trends and their impact on data security strategies”. We believe that Ava Security earned a mention in the 2021 Gartner Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention because of our innovative, unique capabilities that help businesses of all sizes define and execute a DLP strategy, manage data risk, and ultimately reduce the human attack surface.

About Ava Security
Ava is a global technology company with offices in the UK, Norway and the US. We exist because we believe that we can create a better, smarter way to deliver security. We help organisations see, understand and act on their surroundings to protect their people, business and reputation in real time. For more information, please visit www.avasecurity.com.