About the Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) category
What belongs in this category
The Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) category covers products that answer three questions: where sensitive data is, who and what can reach it, and how exposed it is. Typical entries scan cloud, SaaS and on-premises data stores without moving the data, and classify what they find. They map access by users, service accounts and AI tools, and flag risks such as public storage, forgotten copies of data and excess permissions.
Data classification products, whose own category was retired, can enter here or Data Governance. Those built on AI or machine learning can also enter AI-Assisted Data Protection. DSPM finds and ranks data risk; stopping data as it moves fits Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and a product that also enforces protection can enter Data Security Platform. Products for unstructured data can enter here or Data Security. Every DSPM product is also welcome in the broad Data Security category.
Related categories to enter
Each category is judged separately, so you can enter a product in every category that matches what it does, with a separate nomination for each. Tailor each nomination to that category's focus. Entering several related categories gives the product more than one chance to be recognized.
How entries are judged
An independent jury of security practitioners, analysts and CISOs scores each nomination on leadership, innovation and impact. Each nomination competes in its category against organizations of similar size and region, so a mid-sized firm is not ranked against a global enterprise. Your entry package, any sponsorship and public votes do not affect the jury's scores.
Strong entries in this category show:
- Leadership — the data estate the product covers: data stores and clouds scanned, volume of data classified, accuracy of classification, and customers in regulated sectors.
- Innovation — a data visibility problem solved in a new way, such as classification accurate enough to act on, scanning without copying data out, or tracing which AI tools can reach sensitive files.
- Impact — results for customers: unknown sensitive data found, exposed stores fixed, excess access removed, forgotten copies deleted. Give figures from customers.
The jury awards Gold, Silver or Bronze, or a Finalist badge, and results are published on this site and announced to the 600,000+ member Cybersecurity Insiders community. Every approved nomination also enters the separate Community Choice award, decided by public votes.
How to enter
A vendor can enter its own product or service, and a PR agency can enter it on a client's behalf. The nomination form has a confidential field for detail that is shared with the judges and not published, such as customer names, deployment figures or roadmap. Deadlines, pricing and entry steps are on the How it Works page.
