Top 5 DLP Software Solutions for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Regardless of the size of a business, data is the most valuable asset. Whether it is customer data, designs, financial documents, or anything else, the information in all forms is worth something. This also indicates that data breaches and accidental leaks can be disastrous! It can lead to loss in finance, legal liabilities, damage to reputation, and significant penalties. Evolving regulations, such as India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act, 2023), are not of great help either.

Large enterprises typically have well-funded security teams with resources to implement robust Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions. On the other hand, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face challenges with the complexity and cost of DLP solutions. Fortunately, many great DLP software programs are built with the needs of SMBs in mind to deliver powerful features that are easy to work with, simple to deploy, and budget-friendly.

This blog post will look at the top 5 DLP software solutions ideal for small and medium-sized businesses and why you should consider using them. Let’s begin with why DLP is important:

Protecting Sensitive Data: Just like larger companies, SMBs handle as much sensitive data, but often lack protection. DLP provides protection against the accidental or malicious exfiltration of customer PII, financial data, intellectual property, and other sensitive information.

Compliance: Regulation mandates, like the DPDP Act in India, put a lot of pressure on how personal data is managed. DLP helps SMBs comply with both state and federal compliance laws to avoid future fines or lawsuits.

Preventing Insider Threats: It’s well-known that a significant number of data breaches occur from inside an organization, whether intentional or not. DLP can help counter such data breaches, as it monitors and tracks user activity.

Defend your Reputation and Trust: Whenever there is a data breach, it can absolutely destroy an SMB’s reputation, which would lead to customer distrust and impact future business opportunities. DLP can help protect your brand.

Cost-Effective: DLP solutions require an upfront investment. However, a breach is going to cost you much more than paying for a DLP solution.

Some of the Best DLP Software for SMBs

1. Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention

For SMBs already using Microsoft 365, Microsoft Purview DLP is usually the most practical and affordable solution. Since it’s not a standalone product, but rather a set of features embedded within the Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 subscriptions, these prices are usually very competitive.

Key Features for SMBs:

Interconnected with Microsoft 365: DLP can protect data in Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Microsoft Teams, eliminating the need for separate deployment or management.

Out-of-the-box Templates: Some pre-configured DLP policies for common data types containing sensitive information, such as financial data like credit card numbers, health information including HIPAA, or personal identifiable information (PII), help you work quickly and easily.

Content Classification: Microsoft Purview can identify and classify sensitive data automatically based on its built-in classifiers, keywords, and regular expressions.

Policy Enforcement: You can define controls to stop authorized personnel from sharing sensitive data externally, from printing or copying sensitive data to an unauthorized location. Enforcement actions could include blocking, auditing, or notifying users and/or administrators.

User training and coaching: Notifications can be generated to inform users when they share sensitive information and to educate them simultaneously on data protection policies.

Simplicity: Easy to use, easy management with the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. It has a familiar field for IT Administrators’ experience.

Why it’s good for SMBs: It has a native connection to Microsoft 365, eliminating complexity and cost for companies already in that ecosystem. Ease of setup, availability of pre-built policies, and access with credentials make it easy for teams without security experience.

2. Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys

Endpoint Protector is classified as an enterprise-level DLP solution with a primary focus on endpoint protection. It offers granular control over data flow, while also operating compatibly in cross-platform environments common in SMBs.

Key Features for SMBs:

Complete Endpoint Protection: Monitors and controls data across endpoints using Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems on USB devices, cloud services, email, web browsers, and applications.

Content and Context Aware DLP: Detect sensitive data from content, context, and file types with high accuracy policy enforcement.

Granular Device Control: Enables granular control for USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other peripheral devices, helping to avoid or discourage data exfiltration through removable media.

eDiscovery and Content Logging: The more detailed logs of data may assist eDiscovery, as well as tracking of sensitive data.

Flexible Deployment: Can be deployed as an on-premise appliance, physical or virtual, or cloud-based. Deployment can be used for various types of SMB infrastructure.

Compliance Templates: Contains templates to help satisfy the various regulatory compliance needs.

Why it’s good for SMBs: If you’re an SMB that needs solid endpoint control and you’ve got a mixed OS environment, then Endpoint Protector is a great one for you! The product offers good features and is easy to use, with numerous deployment options, making it highly flexible. To enhance your data security plan, consider implementing a comprehensive endpoint security solution that safeguards all internal user devices against unauthorized access, data leaks, and internal threats.

3. Safetica

Safetica is a simple, all-in-one DLP solution aimed specifically at an SMB audience. It offers a complement of great features and management ease, all with the goal of providing the same level of protection that an enterprise could achieve without headaches (or much complexity).

Key Features for SMBs:

Complete Data Lifecycle Protection: Whether your data is at rest, in motion, or in use, it is covered on endpoint, network, and cloud apps.

Risk Detection and Classification: Detects sensitive data and classifies it according to predefined policy or created rules.

Insider Threat Prevention: Focuses on reducing the risk of insider threats (both accidental and malicious) by monitoring user behavior and data flow.

Real-time Monitoring and Alerts: Sends instant alerts on suspicious activities and possible data breaches, allowing for instant prevention.

Deployment and Manageable: Easy to work with, and comes with an intuitive management console, so you don’t have to be a DLP ninja to use it.

Cost-Effective Licensing: Often includes flexible licensing models, which may be attractive to SMBs.

Why it’s good for SMBs: Safetica’s all-in-one DLP solution was intended for SMBs that desire an adequate DLP solution that is intuitive and not complicated or heavy to manage.

4. ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus

ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus is a complete data security solution that includes comprehensive DLP capabilities. It’s part of the larger ManageEngine suite, which many SMBs may find appealing for its integrated IT management.

Key Features for SMBs:

Data Discovery and Classification: Assists in identifying and classifying sensitive data across file servers, endpoints, and cloud storage using discovery methods such as content analysis and pattern matching.

Endpoint DLP: Monitors and controls data movement at the endpoint, including USB, email, web, and printing, to prevent unauthorized movement of data.

File Server Auditing: Provides detailed auditing of file and folder access for Windows file servers to identify suspicious activity and potential data exfiltration.

Cloud DLP (via integrations): Despite being largely on-premises, it connects to cloud storage platforms to improve DLP functionality.

Compliance Reporting: Create solid compliance reports to use during compliance audits and to demonstrate compliance with data protection regulations.

Pricing: ManageEngine products are generally affordable and competitively priced, making them a great choice for small to medium-sized businesses.

Why it’s good for SMBs: If an SMB is looking for detailed file server auditing and access control from an endpoint perspective and is using other ManageEngine products, then DataSecurity Plus can be a feature-rich and cost-effective option for them.

5. MyDLP

MyDLP is an open-source DLP solution that gives SMBs an affordable option if they have some knowledge of technical configuration. It usually requires quite a bit of hands-on configuring, but being open-source is great because of the ability to customize and adjust.

Key Features for SMBs:

Endpoint and Network DLP: Monitors data at endpoints (USB, clipboard, printing) and network channels (email, web, and instant messaging).

Content Inspection: Has the ability to check content to recognize sensitive data.

Policy Enforcement: Create and enforce DLP policies to block or alert on any sensitive data transfer.

Centralized Management: Has a console for managing DLP policies and incidents.

Cost-effective: Since it is open-source, the cost to run core software will be free, which means they reduce some initial licensing costs. In-house expertise is required for deploying the software, configuring settings, and providing ongoing support.

Community Support: MyDLP support relies on community forums and documentation.

Why it’s good for SMBs: MyDLP will be a good fit for SMBs that have a viable internal IT team or an IT consultant willing to work with open-source, free software products. There is a zero licensing cost for the core software, which can be beneficial for SMBs with limited budgets.

Finding the appropriate fit for your business!

How do you find the right DLP solution for your SMB? Many factors to consider:

Your Budget: There is a wide range of costs between different DLP solutions. Keep in mind not just the costs of the licensing but also implementation costs, onboarding/follow-up training, and continued maintenance plans.

Your Current Ecosystem: If you have heavily invested in a particular ecosystem (i.e., Microsoft 365), then the most efficient option would be an integrated solution.

Your Technical Resources: Some solutions are more ‘plug-and-play’ than others. If you have a small IT team, then you may want to consider more ‘ease of use’ and management.

The Types of Data You Need to Protect: Solutions excel and fail at protecting certain types of data or in certain channels.

Your Compliance Requirements: Verify that the chosen solution will enable you to meet your data protection-related regulatory obligations.

Scalability: Select a solution with the appropriate capacity for growth as you add data and employees.

Investing in a solid DLP solution is not simply an option for SMBs, but a requirement. You can find a DLP software solution that provides a 360-degree coverage of your needs, complies with sensitive data legislation and legislation that relates to data loss, and protects your business from the risk of data loss by thoroughly assessing your needs and reviewing what’s available in the market.