Data Classification Solutions: Data443 Risk Mitigation Inc. Vs. Boldon James (Fortra)

If you are a part of an organization that deals with sensitive data and confidential documents, you would know how important data security is. Chances are you’re already looking into software that can help you achieve maximum security. So here’s a head-to-head comparison of 2 of the most popular software that offers data security: Data443 Data Identification Manager and Bolden James. Let’s find out the most dependable software service. 

What is Data443?

The Data443 Data Identification Manager is a data security software that also lets you with data classification and management. It classifies your data by implementing advanced technology, machine learning, consistent rules, and ongoing classification oversight across your entire organization to make sure your system and data stay within your circle.

This system can sync your data from your CRM and databases for better classification and incorporates machine learning for higher accuracy, and also end-user validation for the classifications so you always have the final say.

The Data Identification Manager also provides a centralized dashboard so you can manage your data across the departments of your organization and your repositories. It offers some of the most crucial features like defensible disposition, data loss prevention, reporting and analytics, to ensure your data security is on point. They also included some bonus features like global search and discovery, email archiving, audit trails, and seamless data migration to sweeten the deal. And what’s more, is that this system can be deployed through the cloud with a one-day setup.

The Data Identification Manager has over 1,300+ policies in over 40 languages, it can attach to over 400 data sources and support over 1,600 file and data set types. But enough with the stats, let’s get to the nitty gritty.

What is Bolden James?

Fortra’s Data Classifier Suite, better known as Bolden James, is a Data classifier specializing in (as the name suggests) data classifying and secure messaging. It includes various classifiers for applications like Email, Office, Files, and more. These classifiers are designed to ensure secure information sharing in Emails and documents on the desktop and server.

What they imply by data classification is the process of labeling and categorizing data according to its specific type, value, and sensitivity. This enables you to handle the data with the required attention and discretion, this is considered to be crucial when it comes to data security

Bolden James is also aiding compliance with big global data protection regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. So as you can tell, it’s pretty legitimate.

They also pride themselves on their secure collaboration, data loss prevention, and encryption. But let’s see how Bolden James does when put against Data443.

Data management and classification

The core functionality of a risk management tool is data classification and management. Data management ensures integrity, and accuracy and lets you monitor the availability of information. This is vital when it comes to making informed risk assessments. 

Effective Classification of data contributes to your data security by identifying sensitive or critical information, so you can prioritize the safety of your high-value assets. This is also important when it comes to regulatory compliance because certain types of data may have specific handling and protection mandates, so by classifying them you can arrange for them to be handled and stored with the required confidentiality.

When your data is well-managed and appropriately classified, it gives you the preparedness to have quicker response times during incidents, which gives you timely risk mitigation.

Boldon James

In terms of Data Management and classification, Boldon James (Fortra Classifier Suite) has only one major feature: Cross-platform support.

This implies the ability to classify and manage data across platforms allowing a more comprehensive approach to data security. But even though this is the only main feature in this regard, it can be argued that Boldon James does this well

The Classifier Suite helps protect data wherever your users work. It supports various Microsoft platforms like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, making sure that the data in it is appropriately labeled and protected. 

It supports G Suite applications like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Calendar and makes sure the data in them are as safe as possible. They also support storage solutions like OneDrive, Box, DropBox, and SharePoint, and ensure that the stored files are classified, which in turn helps in managing access, enforcing the mandated data handling policies, and preventing any possibilities of data loss.

Data443

Data443 on the other hand has many features in Data management and classification like Comprehensive Data Classification, Smart RuleSets, Business Specific Definitions, Trainable Machine Learning integration, End-user validation, Centralized Management, Discovery and global search, Defensible Disposition, Seamless Data Migration, Cross-Platform Data Security, Regulatory Compliance, Data Loss Prevention and Cross- Platform Flexibility. An arsenal to help you manage and classify your data. 

So let’s break them down:

  • The comprehensive data classification helps you to sort out your data into different categories by setting different rules and of course machine learning. It often checks your data to make sure it is classified appropriately. It also employs SmartRuleSets, a set of intelligent rules designed to maximize data security and compliance with 1300+ policies available in 40 languages. It also supports over 1,600 file and data set types, so you wouldn’t have to worry about compatibility issues.
  • Machine Learning integration is also a big feature of the Data443 Data Identification Manager. On top of being able to use it to check if the data is classified correctly, you can also teach the Machine Learning Library how to classify your data better. They can also be used to apply organization policies to your data and finalize them by setting up end-user validation.
  • The Centralized Management feature allows you to observe and control all your data from one place, regardless of the number of teams or departments involved. You can also perform data discovery, to locate sensitive files that are stored in your system, as well as global search and discovery across all unstructured and structured data sets. Therefore, you do not have to dispatch a search and rescue team every time
  • Defensible Disposition makes it easy for you to identify the type of document, assign the appropriate code, establish how long to keep it, and then delete it safely when it has served its purpose. If necessary, you could move your data quickly from one place to another with the seamless data migration feature and the smart data rules.
  • Just like Boldon James, the Data443 Data Identification Manager has cross-platform flexibility. But for optimized utility, it also has cross-platform data security, which safeguards your data from being accessed by unauthorized personnel.
  • To top it off, Data443 has Data Loss Prevention, preventing your data from being lost or stolen, and helps in adhering to the privacy requirements in regulated environments with Regulatory Compliance. So it looks like we might have an obvious winner in this category.

Security and Compliance

One of the core functionalities of a risk management tool would be to maintain security and compliance. They play a major role in protecting confidential data against threats of unauthorized access and making sure your organization is complying with legal and regulatory standards. 

The enhanced security in risk management software prevents breaches while their DLP (Data Loss Prevention) component confirms that there won’t be any sort of data leak, malicious or accidental. 

The reason that compliance support is so important for this software is that it makes sure that your company adheres to the regulations that you might have to obey in your industry. Keeping your legal and financial consequences at a minimum, and keeping your stakeholders happy while maintaining maximum data security. 

Data security also requires some crucial components like encryption, which is crucial to secure your data at rest and in transit, and Attack Surface Reduction, which reduces the number of potential entry points for attacks. When these are integrated with EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response), DLP (Data Loss Prevention, and DRM (Digital Rights Management), they keep your data circle tight-knit and your system locked in.

Boldon James

Boldon James demonstrates a commitment to security and compliance, offering features like enhanced security awareness and encryption control, which are critical in protecting information and managing risks. Its compliance support suggests that it can help organizations meet various regulatory requirements. However, the absence of data loss prevention, content-agnostic security, attack surface reduction, and EDR, DLP, and DRM integration indicates potential gaps in its ability to provide a complete security solution. This might suggest that while Boldon James can handle basic security needs, it may not be sufficient for organizations with more complex or stringent security and compliance demands.

Data443

Data443, in this comparison, stands out with a more comprehensive security and compliance offering. It includes enhanced security awareness and data loss prevention, which are essential for any organization looking to protect sensitive data and mitigate the risk of data breaches. The presence of encryption control and compliance support underscores its capability to secure data and assist with regulatory requirements. However, like Boldon James, it lacks content-agnostic security, attack surface reduction, and EDR, DLP, and DRM integration. While these missing elements do not diminish the overall robustness of Data443’s security features, they do represent areas for potential enhancement.

Functionality and integration

The functionality and integration capabilities of risk mitigation software depend on their capabilities to provide a thorough and seamless approach to risk management and mitigation. That being said, it is important to consider some of the contributing factors to functionality and integration. 

These include solutions that prepare the software for the challenges of their respective sectors, Integration with collaboration tools allowing for secure data transfers and exchanges, and application-specific classifiers ensuring a consistent risk mitigation strategy that has all stations covered.

Bolden James

Bolden James has good functionality and integration, with features like E-mail, Office, Power, Mac, CAD, Exchange, Notes, and SharPoint classifiers contributing to it by identifying and categorizing confidential and sensitive data across various platforms. The Classifier Mail add-in for OWA keeps your Email content classified and protected with its Outlook integration. The SafeMail Military Messaging maintains a similar but higher level of confidentiality and security.

Bolden James also has a Classifier Administration Server that acts as a central hub to manage all the classifiers from one place so you do not have to go to tend to them one by one while the Enterprise Address Book Multi Directory integrates with corporate directories to optimize the address book.

Its seamless integration ties it all together: allowing for a smooth flow of data through all the integrated applications.

Data443

Data443 Risk Mitigation has a good suite of functionality and integration-related features as well, allowing it to enhance its risk mitigation capabilities. The features include Enhanced connectivity, giving the software the ability to seamlessly communicate with a range of tools.

Industry-specific solutions alter the software to the needs and anticipations of the sector, making sure it aligns well with the requirements of the clients and the industry. Integration with Secure Collaboration is crucial for an organization handling sensitive data and also requires teams to work together on tasks, so it is equipped with Data443 to improve the client’s data security. 

Data443 also has API Support facilitating smooth integration with other software systems, allowing for a streamlined workflow. This is supported by the Robust File Type that accommodates various file formats used in different industries. 

Reporting and Analytics

The best way to improve a system is by understanding how well it did and reiterating it by capitalizing on its shortcomings. That is exactly what reporting and analytics features do in your risk management tools. They study your system and how well it performs on guard, then give you the information to maximize it.

Effective reporting lets your organization track compliance, audit authorized personnel activity, and point out patterns that could be potential security threats. When this process is followed by analytics, it helps you analyze the data to identify trends, and risk predictions, and provide valuable information for strategic decision-making. 

When synchronized, they allow your organization to make smart decisions through the thorough analysis of data and optimize your risk management process.

Boldon James

Boldon James seems to offer some fundamental reporting capabilities, which would allow an organization to perform essential tracking and logging of activities, crucial for maintaining compliance and understanding the risk landscape. However, it lacks in providing performance dashboards, which are key to visualizing data and trends quickly. The absence of a metadata-powered catalog indicates potential limitations in harnessing metadata for deeper analytical insights. 

Moreover, the tool does not support business decision support, suggesting that users might not receive proactive suggestions or insights based on their data, which could be a significant drawback for organizations looking to leverage their risk management tool for strategic planning.

Data443

Data443, on the other hand, appears to provide comprehensive reporting features, including the essential audit trails that enable tracking of user and system activities. Its capability to support performance dashboards likely means that it offers visual tools to represent data, making it easier to interpret complex information at a glance. 

However, like Boldon James, it does not include a metadata-powered catalog, suggesting a potential area for improvement in utilizing metadata for analytical purposes. Data443 also seems to miss business decision support, which could enhance the tool’s value by providing actionable insights and recommendations for risk mitigation.

Deployment

When it comes to risk management tools, the flexibility and availability of deployment options are crucial. Organizations vary significantly in their infrastructure, security requirements, and operational models. Thus, a risk management tool that offers a range of deployment options can cater to a broader spectrum of business needs.

Boldon James

When compared to Data443, the deployment options of Boldon James are quite limited. To be more specific, Boldon James does not provide a cloud-deployed solution or an on-premises option. This means organizations looking to leverage cloud computing benefits, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness will not be able to perform well. The lack of these options might be because of Boldon James’s focus or a reflection of their target market, which doesn’t include businesses that consider cloud or on-premises deployment. 

Data443

Data443 on the other hand, offers a comprehensive set of deployment options, including both cloud-based and on-premises solutions. This shows Data443’s commitment to serving a wide array of customer needs. 

For businesses that are cloud-forward, Data443’s cloud-deployed solutions can provide the ease of access, reduced IT overhead, and scalability that the cloud enables. Meanwhile, for organizations with lesser data governance or regulatory compliance requirements that require on-premises data management, Data443’s on-premises option ensures that they can maintain full control over their data environment. 

Furthermore, the Data Identification Manager offers a free trial, demo, and quotation-based pricing indicating that Data443 is keen on allowing potential customers to experience their service in a risk-free manner, ensuring that it fits the organization’s needs before any financial commitment is made.

Scalability and efficiency

In the evaluation of risk management tools, scalability, and efficiency are crucial factors. Scalability is what ensures that when your organization grows, it can handle the increased workload and increased complexity of data while maintaining its performance. Efficiency is important in risk management tools because it determines the tool’s ability to operate with minimal resources so that it stays cost-effective and independent from manual intervention.

In this context, when combined, these elements ensure that your risk management software stays effective and dependable over time. Especially in dynamic environments where threats related to data constantly pop up.

Boldon James

Boldon James’ risk management solution appears to have certain limitations in scalability. It may not support the seamless expansion necessary for organizations experiencing rapid growth or those handling large volumes of data. 

This limitation could stem from an inherent architectural design that does not facilitate easy integration with other systems or automated scaling processes. Furthermore, Boldon James might not offer the flexibility in deployment options needed to adapt to changing business sizes and needs. 

When it comes to efficiency, while it may perform adequately in smaller, more controlled environments, the increased overhead in larger deployments could challenge resource optimization and operational streamlining.

Data443

In contrast, Data443 is recognized for its scalability, which suggests that it can accommodate growing amounts of data and an increasing number of users without a corresponding decrease in performance. This characteristic is essential for risk management tools, especially when they need to adapt to the expanding scope of data protection regulations and the complexities of global operations. 

Furthermore, Data443’s efficiency is highlighted by its capacity for real-time monitoring and easy adoption features. These aspects suggest a system designed with proactive growth management in mind, offering easier adoption through user-friendly interfaces and requiring less specialized training, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership and ensuring a more streamlined operational posture.

Pricing Model

No matter how good the product is, The pricing model has to be reasonable for an organization to invest in. It reflects the tool’s accessibility and adaptability to different organizational budgets and needs.

Boldon James

Boldon James offers a two-tiered pricing model: The first category is a Personalized Live Demo, giving potential customers the chance to see if the product meets their specific environment and requirements, the second option is Quotation-based, which means that the pricing can be customized based on the industry-specific demands and scale for each customer.

Data443

Data443, on the other hand, has a three-tiered pricing structure. They offer a Free trial for the first 30 days, allowing businesses to test the tool in their operational environments without any upfront cost. So when they’re ready to make a financial commitment, they can purchase the product.

This is followed by a general Demo, which provides an overview of the tool’s features and capabilities. Finally, similar to Boldon James, Data443 provides Quotation-based pricing, offering customized pricing plans based on the specific requirements of the client.

Integrations

Integration is important because it allows you to seamlessly move connect and operate the software systems relevant to your organizations. This ensures that instead of manually transferring data between software, your data can flow between systems with ease. This not only makes the process more convenient and efficient but also erases the possibility of human error. 

So when your Risk Management tool has good integration capabilities, it lets you monitor and manage risks across various platforms. This is essential when it comes to maintaining a comprehensive overview and safeguarding your data.

Comparison of Integration Capabilities

The integrations of “Data Identification Manager” and “Classifier Suite” differ in both scope and focus, reflecting their respective target use cases and customer needs.

“Data443 Data Identification Manager” offers a broad range of integrations that cover a variety of functions from CRM to cloud services like Azure DevOps and Google Ad Manager. This array of integrations suggests that it is designed to work across a diverse set of platforms, providing flexibility for businesses that use a mix of services for their operations.

On the other hand, “Boldon James Classifier Suite” seems to focus on a more specific set of integrations that are highly relevant to enterprises with strong needs for document handling and security, such as integration with Microsoft and Oracle EBS. The support for platforms like AutoCAD and DraftSight indicates a slant towards businesses that require robust document and design file classification and security.

Here is a head-to-head comparison table of the integrations supported by each tool.

So what’s the verdict?

Boldon James’s Classifier Suite has commendable strengths in protecting sensitive data, improves user awareness of data classifications, is easy to use and understand, and is easy to deploy. But these strengths are overwhelmed by its immobilizing weaknesses like lack of optical text recognition which could lead to mismatched or unsuitable data classification and thereby giving them the wrong level of mandated confidentiality. It also lacks a single view of unstructured data classification, limiting its ability to show a holistic view of the data.

But it’s different with Data443’s Data Identification Manager. This risk management tool has impeccable data security solutions, and comprehensive data visibility, and control, allowing your organization to manage its data efficiently and effectively. It also has a strong commitment to compliance support, which will ultimately help your organization in a legal setting. Most notably, it offers cloud and enterprise data protection, so regardless of your data type, you will receive the maximum security they deserve. And to top it all Data443 Data Identification Manager has Operational Efficiency Enhancement to optimize its risk mitigation capabilities.

While Boldon James’s Classifier Suite has its merits, its fatal shortcomings in handling unstructured data classification and optical text recognition may impact its overall performance.

So it looks like Data443’s Data Identification Manager comes out on top as the most favorable choice in risk management software due to its robust security, making sure that your organization’s data stays exactly where you want it to, and as safe as you want it to be!