Are Data Security Solutions Worth It?

As data security moves up the priority list of almost every boardroom, picking the right solution is as important as the data that requires protection.

Determining the actual value of an investment? Well, that can be as elusive as capturing a shadow.

Skepticism often lingers because the worth of security tools is shrouded in a fog of technical jargon and hypothetical scenarios. It’s a quandary that keeps CISOs awake at night: how do you justify allocating scarce resources to something you hope you’ll never need to use?

Or put another way, Are data security solutions worth it?

The only way to determine true ROI is to deploy the data security solution in your environment to gain clear visibility into how much data you have at risk.

With some concrete numbers from organizations that have completed a Proof of Value (POV) exercise with Concentric AI’s Data Security Posture Management solution, we can show that the right data security platform is more than just a line item on the security budget.

It’s a strategic business decision with clear payoffs.

Let’s lift the veil of uncertainty and explore the concrete outcomes that two large organizations gained after their POV with Concentric AI.

The results? Far from abstract.

Determining ROI with real-world data

We recently worked with two large organizations that deployed Concentric AI in their environment for a POV. The verdict was unmistakably positive; see for yourself how they clearly demonstrate the robust value proposition of our platform.

Ultimately, Concentric AI quickly identified data at risk, classified that data accurately, fixed access permissions, and performed a cost cleanup.

The first customer was managing 80 TB of scoped data. Once the POV began, they discovered a staggering 63.18 million files/data records were at risk. During the POV, their total risk reduction was 79%.

If you consider the cost of the Concentric AI platform — which includes our comprehensive managed support — at just over $180,000, the cleanup cost per record is minimal.

With Concentric AI’s Semantic Intelligence, cleanup cost worked out to a mere $0.03 per record — a figure that pales in comparison to the jaw-dropping $155-$175 cleanup cost per record, post-breach (according to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach report).

For the second customer, the story was similar. The total estimated risk reduction was 80%, with Concentric AI’s proactive cleanup/remediation costs coming in at just $0.02 per record.

Their data landscape included 62% unclassified sensitive data—encompassing PII, PCI, and customer information. Duplicate and near-duplicate sensitive data constituted 39%, and stale sensitive data was 25%. Additionally, there were significant concerns with 30% of privacy data being shared externally and 6% of data subjected to risky or over-permissive sharing practices.

Diving deeper into the types of data at risk for the first customer, we found that unclassified sensitive data—like personal identifiable information (PII), payment card information (PCI), and customer data—amounts to 71%. 29% of their data was found to be duplicate or near duplicates, 37% was stale, and 33% was shared inappropriately, with risky or over-permissive sharing settings affecting 6% of the data.

Cost-benefit analysis: answering whether data security solutions are worth it

The ROI becomes strikingly clear when we consider the cost of inaction. For the first customer, the potential cost of cleaning up after a data breach could have reached an astronomical range between $9.79 billion and $11.07 billion, considering the volume and sensitivity of the data at stake. Instead, an investment in Concentric AI represents a mere fraction of the potential loss, not to mention the intangible costs of a breach such as reputational damage and loss of customer trust.

For the second customer, the proactive measures taken represent a similar cost avoidance, demonstrating that the upfront investment in Concentric AI can be exponentially beneficial when contrasted with the potential fallout of a data breach.

So yes, investing in the right data security solution is worth it. With Concentric AI’s Data Security Posture Management solution, you’re protecting sensitive data while also making a strategic financial decision that significantly impacts the bottom line.

The ROI is tangible, measurable, and substantial. But best of all, it brings about the peace of mind that goes along with having a robust data security solution to protect against all types of data risk. That means you reduce risk, lower costs, improve compliance, and keep your reputation intact.

Want to see, with your own data, how you can get true ROI with a data security solution?

Contact us today for a demo. You’ll see value in minutes.