New Era of Data Pipelines: Extract, Mask, Deliver

In today's interconnected world, where data flows freely across borders and boundaries, businesses face myriad of challenges when it comes to safeguarding sensitive information. From regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA and CCPA to the ever-present threat of cyberattacks and data breaches, the stakes have never been higher. That's where data masking comes into play, serving as a bulwark against the rising tide of data insecurity. By prioritizing enterprise-wide data compliance, businesses can not only mitigate risks and uphold regulatory standards but also foster a culture of trust and transparency with their customers. After all, in an era defined by data-driven decision-making, compliance isn't just a legal obligation; it's a strategic imperative for safeguarding trust in the digital age.

Challenge

In the labyrinth of modern data management, enterprise-wide data compliance is not merely about ensuring data security or adhering to regulatory requirements; it's about mastering the art of delivering consistent masked data across hundreds of sources and targets. Whether for analytical or transactional systems, data needs to be masked consistently so it’s usable across the entire data estate. Due to the perceived complexity of data masking, this is often viewed as a regrettable tradeoff, between speed and security. 

Why would an organization care about consistent and scalable compliant data delivery solutions across enterprise?

• Regulatory Compliance and Legal Obligations

• Avoid costly fines and penalties associated with non-compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA, etc.

• Ensure adherence to industry-specific standards and guidelines, mitigating legal risks and reputational damage.

• Foster trust with regulators, customers, and stakeholders.

• Operational Efficiency and Business Continuity

• Streamline data delivery processes across heterogeneous systems and environments, reducing complexity and operational overhead.

• Future-proof operations, ensuring agility and resilience in the face of evolving regulatory requirements and technological advancements.

• Scalability and Flexibility

• Scale data delivery pipelines up or down based on demand, allowing for seamless handling of varying workloads.

• Integrate data from diverse environments and deliver to compliant lower environments

By offering practical information and solutions to address the challenges associated with data compliance, organizations can empower their customers to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape with confidence. Whether it's implementing robust masking techniques or leveraging automation to streamline compliance workflows, the key lies in equipping customers with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive in an ever-evolving data ecosystem.

Enterprise-wide data compliance isn't just a buzzword or regulatory requirement; it's a strategic imperative for organizations looking to thrive in the ever-changing technological space. 

Solution

Microsoft products such as Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, and Synapse Analytics have revolutionized the way organizations manage and transform their data. Leveraging these powerful platforms, customers can seamlessly extract, transform, and load data across their organization, unlocking valuable insights and driving informed decision-making.

However, one critical component often overlooked in the ETL pipeline is data masking – a crucial aspect of ensuring data privacy and compliance. How do you ensure that data is secure when it is loaded into its final destination?

By incorporating data masking into their Azure ETL workflows, organizations can mitigate the risk of data breaches, comply with stringent regulatory requirements, and deliver the data in the most secure way possible. From healthcare organizations protecting patient data to financial institutions safeguarding sensitive financial information, the demand for seamless data masking solutions integrated with Azure ETL products is on the rise, empowering organizations to deliver secure and compliant data across the organization.

Delphix Compliance Services for Azure (DCS for Azure) is a purpose-built SaaS solution built in close partnership with Microsoft that discovers and masks sensitive data as it passes through an Azure Data Factory (ADF), Synapse Analytics or Microsoft Fabric pipeline. DCS for Azure processes data in Azure, by receiving data sets and masking instructions via a series of API calls, performs the masking operation, and delivers the masked data to the destination; all done at the fastest possible speed and within your existing pipelines.

How It Works

DCS for Azure is delivered as Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) offering, which is maintained and managed by Delphix without any infrastructure administrative burden for the customers. To onboard, customers can easily register their Azure tenant using the service principal mechanism with DCS. DCS seamlessly integrates with Azure ETL pipelines, empowering organizations to achieve unparalleled levels of data security and regulatory compliance. DCS for Azure has two primary components:

• Automated Sensitive Data Discovery (ASDD) - Discovers sensitive data in the source dataset and recommends masking rules. If you have any third party tools for data classification and data discovery, integrations can be easily built to incorporate results of those data classifications tools to the masking rules required by masking workflow.

• Masking - Transforms sensitive data into realistic but synthetic values, using regulation-specific algorithms in Extract, Mask, Load (EML) pipelines and delivers masked data across the homogeneous or heterogeneous systems.

Before DCS for Azure:

After DCS for Azure:

Let's delve into how DCS for Azure in combination with Microsoft Azure ETL products is transforming the data landscape with its innovative approach.

1. Maintaining Enterprise-wide Referential Integration: With DCS for Azure, organizations can maintain referential integrity across multiple datasets post-masking, regardless of the source or destination. Whether extracting data from Azure Data Factory, Synapse, or Fabric, DCS for Azure ensures that the masked data retains its integrity, facilitating smooth data flows across the enterprise.

2. Delivering Meaningful Compliant Data in AI/ML Environments: DCS for Azure’s EML (Extract, Mask, Load) pipelines enable organizations to deliver meaningful compliant data to AI/ML environments. By ensuring that sensitive information is masked before being fed into AI algorithms, DCS for Azure empowers organizations to leverage the full potential of their data assets while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.

3. Unified Solution for Comprehensive Data Masking: Gone are the days of piecemeal solutions for data masking. DCS for Azure provides a unified platform to address all data masking needs across the organization, streamlining processes and reducing complexity.

4. Achieving Higher Quality Compliant Data in Lower Environments: With DCS for Azure, organizations can achieve higher quality compliant data in lower environments, by replacing legacy manual workflows with automated EML pipelines.

Conclusion

DCS for Azure is revolutionizing data compliance by providing a masking layer between source and target environments, securing the data before it reaches the end user. With DCS for Azure, organizations can achieve higher levels of data security, regulatory compliance, and efficiency, empowering them to thrive in an increasingly complex and regulated data landscape.

Delphix Compliance Services for Azure is available in Azure Marketplace. Please see Delphix docs for more information or try it for free.