Commvault rebuilds analytics platform with new data protection addons

Commvault has rebuilt its data analytics platform "from the ground-up" with a host of fresh features that aim to tackle customers' data protection requirements.

The firm's data analytics and governance service, Commvault Activate, has been issued with three additional tools that are geared towards addressing concerns around data protection compliance.

The update was announced at Commavult GO 2019 in light of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as moves in the US to replicate these laws, for instance, in the form of the California Consumer Privacy Act.

"Enterprises today need to be ready to take on complex data governance, compliance and storage optimisation challenges if they want to avoid heavy government data privacy fines, reduce unnecessary IT costs, and build customer trust," said the firm's vice president for product management, Ranga Rajagopalan.

File storage optimisation allows for the visualisation of data and file access controls, while the sensitive data governance tool can give customers a way to profile particular types of data and give it additional layers of security through encryption. The final dimension, dubbed search and ediscovery, allows for processing legal hold requests.

Together, the additional functionality aims to give customers the tools to ensure the data they manage is compliant with these tough regulations.

The platform itself, meanwhile, can now be used as a standalone product without adopting Commvault's other product and services centres on backup and recovery.

"We built this product, we reimagined it from the ground-up, we rebuilt it," the company's newly-appointed CEO Sanjay Mirchandani told delegates. "This product has incredible potential. We've recalibrated pricing to make it easier for you to consume.

"All of this without requiring our backup product to drive it. You can use it just as it is, as a standalone product. We're giving you this so you can truly protect, manage, control and use the data."

One example of the new functionality in practice, outlined by Rajagopalan during a press event at the conference, centres on identifying sensitive data such as social security numbers. Users could, hypothetically, identify data patterns like social security numbers, and purge them from primary storage, as well as from backups.

As part of the file storage optimisation module, customers can also customise how long data is retained, and set policies that automatically archive or remove data after a period of time has elapsed.