Getting Started In Data Leak Prevention

Bill Tomlinson, national security practice director at DynTek, an Irvine, Calif.-based security integrator, talks about the startup costs associated with data leak prevention solutions:

CHOOSE VENDORS WISELY: For startups in the DLP market, having the right vision and solution set is the key to success, especially given the market's rapid acceleration. ... For VARs, it's crucial to identify vendors that have a road map for both network-based and host-based protection, as well as an idea for where services around DLP fit into the equation.

LOOK FOR TWO-PRONGED STRATEGY: All vendors eventually will have a two-pronged strategy of host- and network-based DLP, and this will be a requirement going forward for federal, state and local governments. ... Some vendors in this space are more channel-friendly than others.

ADD SOLUTIONS AS YOU GO: You're not going to have every DLP technology at first, and you need to listen to your clientele and understand what's driving their buying decision. Understanding the DLP market, how the technology integrates with other products and which solutions are easiest to use and manage are important factors for success. The startups are getting very good at finding that type of information at an early stage of growth and usually have this figured out within the first two to three years.

EDUCATE THE CLIENT: Most of the work DynTek is doing around DLP is about teaching the client about the technology and how it can benefit them. We have several opportunities under way right now. ... When starting up as an integrator with DLP, the very first thing I would do is go to my clientele and find out if they even know where their intellectual property is. We've found that many clients don't realize the type of IP they have that needs to be protected. Helping them identify what that data is and where it lives on the network is one way of opening doors.

FIND TOP TALENT: You're definitely going to need security professionals with a strong understanding of governance, classification of data, where data resides and what it's connected to, whether it's in storage or an archive. You really have to have a thorough understanding of all the places data lives. ... But although security professionals have the basic technical skill set, it's also important to have a business-oriented mind when getting into the DLP market.

—Interview by Kevin McLaughlin