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Three Top Challenges Businesses Face in Data Security and How DSPM Solves Them

Three Top Challenges Businesses Face in Data Security and How DSPM Solves Them

In a cloud-first world, businesses rely on cloud infrastructure to innovate and support their digital transformation efforts. However, this dependence on multi-cloud environments comes with a host of data security challenges. Entities need to manage complex data flows, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect proprietary data, all of which can be difficult in fragmented cloud ecosystems.

Gartner’s latest report on Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) gives readers an in-depth view into how DSPM solutions are being seen as the answer to these challenges. These solutions give visibility, automation, and streamlined compliance to businesses that are struggling to secure data in their cloud environments.

Key Data Security Challenges in the Cloud

How DSPM Solutions Address These Challenges

DSPM is fast becoming the answer for entities wanting to tackle the inevitable data security challenges that arise in multi-cloud environments. Gartner’s report describes DSPM as a suite of tools designed to give organizations the visibility, control, and automation needed to maintain a robust data security posture.

These tools help businesses discover, monitor, and secure their data across cloud service providers (CSPs), hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as within SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS applications. Unlike Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), which zones in on infrastructure security, DSPM is all about data security, offering a bottom-up approach to managing and protecting data assets.

The analyst believes DSPM is rapidly gaining traction within organizations with sensitive data assets. By 2026, it is estimated that over 20% of businesses will adopt DSPM tools to detect, secure, and manage known and unknown data repositories. These tools’ capabilities, such as shadow data discovery, real-time compliance monitoring, and risk assessment, allow firms to secure data assets across complex, multi-cloud ecosystems.

The Key Benefits of DSPM Tools

DSPM tools offer several compelling benefits.

Comprehensive Data Discovery

These tools feature advanced capabilities to identify hidden or shadow data across cloud environments. This means that all data assets, irrespective of their location, are accounted for and safeguarded, mitigating the risks posed by unknown data stores and reducing security blind spots.

Automated Risk Management

Manual oversight is impractical with such a high volume of data traffic in multi-cloud environments. DSPM tools offer automated risk assessments, data flow mapping, and vulnerability identification. This helps entities proactively address potential (and hidden) security risks, like misconfigurations and data exposures, strengthening their overall data security posture.

Streamlined Compliance and Data Governance

These solutions provide critical support for regulatory compliance by arming companies with insights into data residency, access controls, and data movement. This is vital for organizations operating in highly regulated industries, as DSPM solutions monitor access patterns and detect potential compliance violations. Hence, businesses are able to act before any issues escalate.

Integration with Existing Security Investments

DSPM solutions are designed to integrate easily with identity and access management (IAM) systems, DLP, and other existing security tools. This compatibility enhances a company’s data security posture and helps it get the most from its existing security infrastructure, creating a unified approach to data protection.

Evaluating DSPM Solutions: Key Features for Businesses

When considering DSPM tools, security leaders should weigh up specific features that align with their data security needs:

The Rising Importance of DSPM

As data security risks increase in multi-cloud environments, organizations must begin prioritizing DSPM as a core element of their cloud security strategy. DSPM tools offer businesses the means to safeguard sensitive information, reduce security risks, and maintain a resilient security posture by addressing the challenges of shadow data, fragmented tools, and regulatory compliance.