What is Big Data Analytics? Insights from Forrester on "Enterprise Hadoop: The Emerging Core of Big Data"

With the recent launch of our Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection solution, you've probably noticed that Proofpoint is increasingly referring to "big data" and "big data analytics" as important components of our security-as-a-service solutions.

We're not alone in this, as "big data" and related terms have become an extremely hot topic in IT circles today. But what, exactly, is big data and why are big data analysis techniques important in enterprise computing?

A recent report from analyst firm Forrester helps explain big data analysis and its importance in today's enterprise. "Enterprise Hadoop: The Emerging Core of Big Data" by analyst James G. Kobelius, gives a good overview of enterprise applications for big data and explains how and why organizations are using Hadoop, a massively parallel cloud environment for performing advanced data analysis.

According to Kobelius, "big data" refers to the "technologies, techniques and skills for handling data on an extreme scale" -- and doing so with agility and affordability.

We've made this report available as a free download. To read it, follow the link above to our registration page, or simply complete the form below.

 

Making Office 365 More Secure and Compliant: New Whitepaper from Proofpoint and Osterman Research

We recently published a new report with Osterman Research, Making Office 365 More Secure and Compliant.

In this report, Osterman describes the various security, compliance and governance features of Microsoft Office 365, and identifies areas where those features may not meet the specialized requirements of organizations in highly-regulated industries or those enterprises with special security requirements.

There is also a good discussion of why the email archiving capabilities of Office 365, while useful, may not be sufficient to satisfy many of the common eDiscovery and regulatory obligations faced by large enterprises.

To download a complimentary copy of this report, follow this link, or simply fill out the mini-form below.

Complete this form to access a PDF copy of Making Office 365 More Secure and Compliant: 

Check Out the Updated Proofpoint Corporate Website and Our New Brand Video

As regular Proofpoint watchers will no doubt have already realized, last week we launched an updated version of the www.proofpoint.com website featuring a new look and feel, completely revised product content, a refreshed resource center (where you can find a wide variety of datasheets, whitepapers and other collateral) and much more. 

A few updated features are still coming, including an updated look for this blog and the return of our "Security, Compliance and the Cloud News" service.  Stay tuned! If you're a recent or frequent visitor to the site, you may need to clear your browser's cache (or shift-click your browser's refresh button) to force your browser to download the very latest versions of files used and display the new site properly.

One of the most interesting new assets on the site is right on the home page:

Proofpoint's new brand video, "Defending the Ever-Changing Now" is a short, evocative (and cool-looking!) spot that explores the theme of how Proofpoint's solutions defend the "ever-changing now" — keeping enterprises safe from inbound threats (such as spam, phish, viruses, malware); guarding against leaks of private and confidential information; archiving information for legal readiness, governance, investigations, compliance and eDiscovery; and securely encrypting email communication.

You can watch it right here... and feel free to share it with your friends and colleagues.

How Does Proofpoint Compare as a Google Message Security (aka Postini) Alternative? Read Our New Comparison Guide

We continue to see many enterprises re-evaluating their email security stances and, in the SaaS email security world, Proofpoint has come across many customers of Google Message Security (the service formerly known as Postini) that are considering alternatives.

In the past year, there have been quite a few large enterprises that have switched from Google's solution to Proofpoint.

If your organization is curious about how these solutions compare—in areas including anti-spam effectiveness, support for outbound spam and virus scanning, data loss prevention and email encryption—you'll find our newest comparison guide useful.

In addition to a feature comparison, this paper also provides some useful advice on what email security capabilities enterprises should consider when evaluating any new solution.

Visit our registration page to download Comparison Guide: Proofpoint Enterprise Vs. Google Message Security (Postini) or simply complete the following form to access this whitepaper immediately:

Email Encryption: New Osterman Research Whitepaper Says Encryption Investments "Pay for Themselves"

Our friends at Osterman Research recently published a new white paper - How Encrypting Content in Transit and at Rest Reduces Liabilities and Costs for any Organization- about email encryption and similar topics. You can get a free copy, compliments of Proofpoint, by following the link or by filling out the form at the bottom of this post.

In this new report, Osterman Research notes that investments in encryption "pay for themselves" through a number of different avenues. As regular readers of this blog are aware, encryption technologies can play a crucial role in regulatory compliance and regulatory fine avoidance. But email encryption and other types of encryption can also enable secure business and deliver other forms of business value, as described in this new paper.

If you're looking for help in creating a business case for deploying an encryption solution (such as the Proofpoint Encryption email encryption solution), this 15-page report can be extremely helpful. It includes a good summary of the various US state laws that govern security breach notification (or that may require or imply encryption) as well as the many US and international regulatory obligations (such as GLBA, PCI-DSS, FINRA, HIPAA, the UK DPA, Canada's PIPEDA) that imply similar requirements.

To read a copy of the complete Osterman Research report, register at the following link — How Encrypting Content in Transit and at Rest Reduces Liabilities and Costs for any Organization — or simply complete the form below:

 

Gartner, Inc. Positions Proofpoint in the Leaders Quadrant in 2011 Secure Email Gateways Magic Quadrant

In case you missed it, Proofpoint issued a press release on Friday, announcing that Proofpoint has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant of the 2011 "Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways" report (for the full release see, "Proofpoint Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant in 2011 Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways").

As we've done in previous years, Proofpoint has licensed a reprint of the new report and you can read it by visiting the following URL (or by completing the form at the bottom of this post):

http://www.proofpoint.com/email-security-magic-quadrant

Quoted in the announcement, Proofpoint CEO Gary Steele said, “We believe Proofpoint’s positioning by Gartner in the leaders quadrant is a great confirmation of our continued success in helping large, global enterprises control a wide variety compliance and security risks associated with email. Proofpoint continues to lead the market with a focus on security, innovation and customer satisfaction, delivering solutions for email security, encryption, data loss prevention and email archiving that help organizations reduce costs while making email safe, secure, compliant and easier to manage. We continue to see some of the largest and most security conscious organizations worldwide switching from legacy email security solutions to Proofpoint.”

Writing in the “Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways,” Gartner analysts Peter Firstbrook and Eric Ouellet note that, “The secure email gateway market is a mature market. Buyers must look at advanced functionality, service delivery, vertical integration of related email products and strategic vendor relationships to differentiate solutions.”

Gartner also says that, “Policy-based encryption is an increasingly important capability and a significant differentiator of leading products.” Explaining further that, “The adoption of DLP drives the adoption of encryption. Companies that search for sensitive or private information in email often find it. However, exchanging this content with third parties is often a business imperative, and blocking it outright is rarely an option. Encryption becomes an enabling tool to send sensitive content safely and in compliance with regulations.”

To read a copy of the complete Gartner report, register at the following link — Gartner 2011 Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways — or simply complete the form below:

 

Video: Email Archiving and eDiscovery for Legal, Steven Heller of Graubard Miller

Earlier this year our friend Steven Heller, director of IT for New York-based law firm Graubard Miller, kindly sat down with me to explain how his organization uses our hosted email archiving solution, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, to reduce the size of their Microsoft Exchange email store, simplify (and speed up) electronic discovery and save time and money in the process.

Steven and his firm have been using Proofpoint's email archiving service for several years now (first purchasing the product when it was known as Fortiva, before that company's acquisition by Proofpoint) and he continues to be a very vocal supporter.

In this short video, Steven talks about the issues the firm had with email retention prior to Proofpoint and explains what he likes about Proofpoint's solution:

Steven will be presenting "How to Save Hundreds of Thousands on eDiscovery," an educationalcase study on email archiving and eDiscovery at the MIS Training Institute's upcoming IT Governance, Risk and Compliance event (co-located with Audit World 2011) at the Hilton Boston Back Bay on September 20, 2011.

He'll also be presenting a similar case study at Computerworld's Fall Storage Networking World 2011 event (October 10-13, 2011 in Orlando, Florida). If you're attending either event, make a point of attending his sessions - he's a great presenter and very knowledgeable about these topics.

We also recently published a short PDF case study on Graubard Miller that you can find here:
Proofpoint case study, Graubard Miller.

Thanks again, Steve, for taking the time to chat with us and for your ongoing support!

Email Security Alternatives: New Whitepaper Compares Proofpoint Enterprise, McAfee Email Gateway (Ciphertrust Ironmail, Secure Mail)

One trend we've been seeing in the enterprise email security market this year is that organizations are, increasingly, taking a closer look at their current email security stance and their choice of solutions.

In part, this is being driven by recent spam trends (targeted phishing attacks, low-volume hard-to-detect spam campaigns, etc.) and the continuing wave of high-profile data breaches that - in many cases - have started as a phishing attack.

Many customers of legacy email security solutions are seeing deteriorating anti-spam effectiveness or support from their current vendors. And at the same time, organizations are looking to add more robust data loss prevention and compliance capabilities than they get from their current email security solutions.

In some cases, enterprises are looking to move to a different deployment model (for example, moving from an on-premises, appliance-based environment to a cloud-based solution) and that will cause them to evaluate solutions from other vendors. 

In response to this trend, Proofpoint recently published a new whitepaper that compares the Proofpoint Enterprise email security and DLP solution to the McAfee Email Gateway solution (formerly known as Ciphertrust's Ironmail and Secure Computing's Secure Mail solution). 

In addition to a detailed comparison of the Proofpoint and McAfee solutions, this whitepaper also discusses some of the latest spam and malware trends I mentioned above and also provides a good overview of today's enterprise requirements for email security solutions (regardless of what solution you currently use).

Visit our registration page to download Comparison Guide: Proofpoint Enterprise Vs. McAfee Email Gateway or simply complete the following form to access this whitepaper immediately:

Spam and Email Security in 2011: New Whitepaper

Proofpoint has just published a new whitepaper about the current spam environment, how spammer tactics have been changing recently and the impact those changes are having on anti-spam defenses.

Spam 2011: Protection Against Evolving Threats gives a brief overview of botnets, phishing tactics, blended threats, social engineering and the issue of outbound spam.

Then it goes into a more detailed discussion of the technology capabilities that email security solutions need to have today to stop today's attacks.

To download your copy, click the graphic at left to visit Proofpoint's download page for this whitepaper... or just fill out the form below:

Proofpoint.com... Now Available in Deutsch and Française

Did you ever notice that little green arrow in the upper right corner of the blog (or on www.proofpoint.com)? It's actually a pulldown that lets you navigate between different language versions of the Proofpoint site.

Now it's more useful than ever because, in addition to the full English language site and our Japanese microsite, we've just added microsites in French and German.

You can also navigate to these sites by visiting http://www.proofpoint.com/fr (that'd be the French site) or http://www.proofpoint.com/de (that'd be the German site).

And yes, there'll be more of these to come in the near future. In the meantime, our Email Security & Compliance Learning Center also includes links to translated versions of our datasheets and other collateral, when those items are available in other languages.