Key Insight:Content and context aware DLP has emerged as the baseline for viable vendors leaving behind solutions that apply policies without viewing content or analyzing the context. Simple regulatory compliance solutions no longer serve the general market as demand grows for comprehensive, multi-faceted DLP solutions. Timeline Information:How did we get here?Data loss prevention (DLP) entered the security scene in the mid-2000s as the next effective solution to enterprise security concerns. Originally, all of the DLP providers on the market were startups specializing in the area.Primary usage of DLP was centered on meeting compliance and regulatory requirements. The existing DLP technologies were able to demonstrate data protection. By 2010 unstructured data became more important and more numerous than structured data. DLP had grown in protective capabilities and was now being used to protect intellectual property. Advanced data fingerprinting and detection methods enabled organizations to secure their sensitive and valuable data. DLP functionality has progressively branched out to other security products such as email and web security gateways. Understand where we are now:Heterogeneous environment coverage:As the environment in which organizations operate expands and becomes more versatile (mobile devices, cloud services, operating systems, databases, etc.), the ability to scan, detect, and enforce actions across these mediums becomes paramount to effective data protection. Breadth of enforcement actions:Effective data protection does not only come from strong visibility, but also the ability to take action once sensitive data is detected. A breadth of actions enables greater data protection and information governance. Data discovery and knowledge:The ability to stop data leakage or theft is based on knowing what data is sensitive and where that data lies. The DLP product’s ability to identify data as sensitive across the organization is essential to stopping its extraction.