This year, Gartner® identified Spirion as a Sample Vendor across seven different 2021 Hype Cycle™ reports, which highlight both our data classification and file analysis data protection capabilities.
Spirion was represented in the following Gartner reports:
- Hype Cycle for Privacy (data classification and file analysis)[1]
- Hype Cycle for Cyber and IT Risk Management (data classification)[2]
- Hype Cycle for Security Operations (file analysis)[3]
- Hype Cycle for Enterprise Information Management (data classification)[4]
- Hype Cycle for Data Management (file analysis)[5]
- Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection Technologies (file analysis)[6]
- Hype Cycle for Data Security (data classification and file analysis)[7]
CEO Kevin Coppins states: “In our opinion, inclusion in seven Gartner Hype Cycles across two different technology categories underscores the depth and breadth of our data privacy and protection solutions. We are proud of the unrivaled accuracy of the data classification and file analysis capabilities that underlie our platform’s protection of personal, sensitive, and regulated data across the key stages of enterprise readiness—from data security and data privacy to broad data governance initiatives.”
Behind the Hype
“Gartner’s Hype Cycle depicts a common pattern that occurs when an innovation emerges. An innovation often progresses through a period of overenthusiasm, to a period of disillusionment, to an eventual understanding of the innovation’s relevance and role in a market or domain. Each year, Gartner creates more than 100 Hype Cycles across various domains to help clients track the maturity and future potential of innovations”.[8]
According to the Gartner report [8]“Hype Cycles and Priority Matrices help strategists and planners to evaluate innovations based on perceived value, business benefit, adoption rate and future direction.”
Inside the Hype Cycle With Data Classification and File Analysis
Where do data classification and file analysis live on the technology Hype Cycle curve?
Data classification technologies, are positioned as “climbing the slope in early mainstream maturity.” Gartner defines data classification as enabling “an effective and efficient prioritization for data governance programs that span value, security, access, usage, privacy, storage, ethics, quality, and retention. It is vital to security, privacy, and data governance programs. It also allows organizations to have the required knowledge about the sensitivity of the data they process.”
Data classification supports a wide range of use cases, including applying data security controls, privacy compliance, risk mitigation, master data and application data management, data stewardship, content and records management, data catalogs for operations and analytics, data discovery for analytics and application integration, efficiency and optimization of systems, including tools for individual dataops. Gartner points out, “When properly designed and executed, classification serves as one of the foundations supporting the ethical processing of data throughout the organization.”[2]
Meanwhile, file analysis technologies, are positioned as an adolescent in market maturity. Gartner defines file analysis, stating: “They increase visibility to disparate, unorganized sources of information, allowing IT teams to establish qualified operational efficiencies; compliance teams to improve insight to sensitive information, including personal information (PI); and security team exposure to areas of data access risk.”[1]
Gartner highlights key drivers for the adoption of file analysis technologies. Among them are “the hype associated with the growing trend of privacy regulations, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which has greatly increased interest in and awareness of FA software and the desire to mitigate business risks (including security, breach and privacy risks); identify sensitive data; optimize storage costs; and implement information governance.”[1]
Tracking Spirion Across Seven Hype Cycles
In our opinion, Spirion’s Privacy-Grade data classification and file analysis capabilities enable organizations to automate and protect against data breaches, maintain consumer trust, and comply with ever- changing data privacy regulations.
These foundational capabilities for security, privacy control, and privacy management were recognized in these seven Hype Cycle reports:
- Hype Cycle for Privacy: Technologies highlighted in this report “enable or enhance control over personal data use (for example, discovery and data classification); create transparency and demonstrate compliance (for example, privacy management tools); mitigate the risk of data misuse (for example, zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption); mitigate the impact of unintended consequences (forexample, format-preserving encryption); aid in procedural decision-making for risk reduction (for example, privacy by design); improve the customer experience (for example, influence engineering, which is a new entrant on the Hype Cycle). Spirion is a Sample Vendor across the data classification and file analysis categories.
- Hype Cycle for Cyber and IT Risk Management: “The Hype Cycle for Cyber and IT Risk Management describes the related concepts, methods, processes, software tools and services that organizations can use to develop programs to withstand risk events or seek risk-related opportunities.”” Spirion is a Sample Vendor in the data classification category.
- Hype Cycle for Security Operations: Technologies highlighted in this report “defend IT systems from attack by identifying threats and exposure to vulnerability, enabling effective response and remediation.” Spirion is a Sample Vendor in the file analysis category.
- Hype Cycle for Enterprise Information Management: As per this report, “enterprise” in “enterprise information management” does not mean “enterprisewide”; it means “enterprise class,” whether scaling big or small. Its scope is “information,” meaning all forms of data, content, insights and analytics, encompassing the entire global data ecosystem — data creation, data rights, data acquisition, integration and data sharing.” Spirion is a Sample Vendor in the data classification category.
- Hype Cycle for Data Management: As per this report “adoption of some hyped technologies could dramatically change how data management is performed as well as transform organizations that depend on data management.” Spirion is a Sample Vendor in the file analysis category.
- Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection Technologies: As per this report, “exponential data growth, changing demands for skills, rapid digitalization and globalization of business, requirements to connect and collect everything, and the expansion of data privacy and sovereignty laws are demanding changes in storage platforms and operational models..” Spirion is a Sample Vendor in the file analysis category.
- Hype Cycle for Data Security: As per this report, “the continued upsurge in ransomware, data breaches, and privacy incidents is driving the increased adoption and rapid emergence of new data security technologies.” Spirion is a Sample Vendor across the data classification and file analysis categories.
You can learn more about Gartner’s Hype Cycle research can be found here.
[1] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Privacy, 2021” Bart Willemsen, July 31, 2021.
[2] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Cyber and IT Risk Management, 2021”, Jie Zhang, Deepti Gopal, Claude Mandy, July 19, 2021.
[3] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Security Operations 2021”, Pete Shoard, Shilpi Handa, July 23, 2021.
[4] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Enterprise Information Management, 2021” Donna Medeiros, Andrew White, August 2, 2021.
[5] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Data Management”, Philip Russom, Donald Feinberg, July 27, 2021.
[6] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection Technologies”, Julia Palmer, July 22, 2021.
[7] Gartner, “Hype Cycle for Data Security”, Brian Lowans, July 27, 2021.
[8] Gartner, “ Understanding Gartner’s Hype Cycles” Philip Dawson, Alexander Linden, Keith Guttridge, Katell Thielemann, Nick Jones, Jackie Fenn, July 2, 2021.
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