The Forrester Wave™: Data Security Platforms, Q1 2025

Data Security Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2025

Key features and pros and cons of top Data Security Platforms products:

Google - Leaders

Pros:

Vision of a compliance-first, privacy-centric, and sovereign-aware platform stands out
Footprint with cloud workloads, Chrome browser, and Chromebooks plus approach to innovation including co-innovation establishes foundation for market impact
Differentiates with data threat and risk visibility, access controls, masking, encryption, and addressing supplier risk
Superior for privacy (including confidential computing), information governance, and AI security and governance use cases
Roadmap, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility, community, and supporting services ensure it stays in sync with customer demands

Cons:

Data discovery capabilities extend to third-party data stores via API but lack performance metrics and tuning
Capabilities for reporting and manageability are solid but can be cumbersome depending on what an admin is trying to achieve
Customers desired greater understanding of downstream impact of enabling a feature and how to better take action on insights surfaced
References were dissatisfied with a roadmap that has 'so much changing, it's hard to find' and the 'way they release features and communicate'

Varonis - Leaders

Pros:

Vision of harnessing deep data insights to automate remediation for data security outcomes stands out
Demonstrated ability to execute and approach to innovation and supporting services reinforce differentiation
Excels in data discovery, classification, access controls, and data threat and risk visibility
Outclasses competition in operational areas of reporting, investigations, manageability and support, and addressing supplier risk
Pricing is easy to understand with first-rate community efforts
Customer Favorite in this evaluation with customers praising careful, planned use of AI and automation

Cons:

Customers wish for minor UX improvements to dashboard navigation
High cost is liked least by customers, though they assert benefits achieved were worth the expense

Forcepoint - Strong Performers

Pros:

Vision to provide data security everywhere augmented with focus on automation to remove complexity and gaps resonates with market demands
Strong in data classification, DLP, rights management, and tokenization
Solid capabilities for data discovery, access controls, encryption, reporting, investigations, and manageability and support
Enables great value for added use cases across privacy, information governance, and AI security and governance
Ongoing disciplined investment maintains solid approach to innovation, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility, community, and supporting services

Cons:

Roadmap hits on critical elements to further bolster platform and bringing many existing on-premises features into cloud offering is still in progress
Customers desire improved consistency and faster product feature development
Customers wish for a 'more mature SaaS service'
Does not lag by much but could improve in data masking and data threat and risk visibility

IBM - Strong Performers

Pros:

Vision for managing full data security lifecycle via unified experience to break down organizational silos including managing protection needs for AI and quantum era is compelling
Roadmap sets it apart
Shines for encryption and solid across data discovery and classification, data threat and risk visibility, and data masking
Excels in reporting capabilities for compliance including visibility into cryptographic posture
Notable for support of AI security and governance
Approach to innovation, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility, and supporting services help continue to meet market demands

Cons:

Lags peers in other data controls like DLP and rights management for unstructured data
Customers had mixed experiences with support and professional services for implementation
References highlighted how support and services and IBM product expertise were instrumental to success but also felt pain noting 'cases open a long time'
While there is sizable investment in community for vendor of its size, it could improve with more targeted engagement

Microsoft - Strong Performers

Pros:

Bold and all-encompassing vision for data security is notable for extensibility outside Microsoft environment and goal of unification to break down silos
Prevails with breadth of capabilities and depth in access controls, DLP, rights management, and encryption
Differentiates with support for enabling AI security and governance
Exemplary partner ecosystem for enabling Zero Trust
Solid approaches to innovation, roadmap, community, and supporting services enable maintaining market momentum and impact

Cons:

Reporting as well as manageability and support could improve
Pricing flexibility and transparency is an ongoing challenge due to complexity
Customers had mixed support experiences and found reporting desired metrics frustrating
Tuning to reduce noise from alerts is cumbersome
New features sometimes appear 'not totally thought out, then enhancements come'

OpenText - Strong Performers

Pros:

Vision to forge unified approach to data security, identity and access management, and content services is powerful especially with outcomes like purpose-based data access
Offers outstanding tokenization, encryption, data masking, and rights management
Holds its own with data discovery, classification, and access controls
Differentiates in enabling use cases for privacy and information governance
Solid approach to innovation, roadmap, and pricing flexibility enable continued trajectory

Cons:

Some minor gaps such as DLP coverage
Can continue to enrich capabilities for data threat and risk visibility
Needs to improve manageability and support
Can improve how it uses partner ecosystem for Zero Trust and engages data security community as well as types of added services offered
Customers had mixed experiences with manageability and support
References dissatisfied with 'old-fashioned UI' and slow move to SaaS offering for data encryption and tokenization that 'did not incorporate all features'

Thales - Strong Performers

Pros:

Vision for data security is holistic and distinguishing with market impact resulting from focus on enabling postquantum preparations and cryptoagility
Offers superior capabilities for data discovery, encryption, tokenization, and data access controls including visibility of cryptographic posture and governance of keys and secrets
Well suited to supporting added use case of privacy including confidential computing
Impressive roadmap and robust community strategy for engagement
Underway with efforts to combine Thales CipherTrust and Imperva Data Security Fabric into combined DSP

Cons:

Data classification is on par but has limited support for other data controls for unstructured data like DLP and rights management
Stands to improve partner ecosystem and supporting services
Customers felt it was 'very complex trying to understand everything' it offers
Customers highlighted 'how separate a lot of features feel from acquisition with too many UIs'
While it has solid support and communications, complexity remains a challenge

Broadcom - Contenders

Pros:

Offers solid capabilities for data discovery, DLP, encryption, and tokenization
Provides comprehensive capabilities for reporting, investigations, and manageability and support
Has differentiating capabilities for drive disposal and data deletion to support information governance
Solid and growing partner ecosystem and supporting services enable steady market presence
Invests in roadmap and community in areas that matter to customers

Cons:

Vision for data-centric hybrid security will be less differentiating over time
Has some gaps in data classification, data threat and risk visibility, and other data controls like masking and rights management
Approach to innovation will entice fewer new customers in a crowded market
Customers acknowledge challenges like cost, time to resolve issues, and in-house resources required to manage the solution

Proofpoint - Contenders

Pros:

Excels in DLP and insider risk
Offers solid data discovery, classification, data threat and risk visibility, and investigation capabilities
Has strong capabilities for enabling AI security and governance
Stands out for services that it delivers directly and via certified partners
Vision is seen in approach to innovation, roadmap, and community

Cons:

Vision of human-centric approach to information protection and AI-driven technology is compelling but lacks differentiation in crowded market
Focus is narrow (DLP, insider risk, and DSPM) and must fully integrate acquisitions to advance as a platform
Lags in data controls such as masking and tokenization and needs to improve manageability
Customers have grievances with onboarding of managed services with 'too many players and not a cohesive, customer-facing process'
Customers want more consistent experience and visualization across insights surfaced by platform

Trellix - Contenders

Pros:

Offers solid capabilities for DLP and encryption
Shines with capabilities for reporting for compliance and manageability and support
Well suited to use cases in compliance and data security where DLP and encryption controls have major impact
Has pulse on customer needs with roadmap, good supporting services and offerings, and differentiating partner ecosystem for Zero Trust
Revamped vision is pragmatic combining core data security products into single-stack DSP with integration across portfolio

Cons:

There are gaps to varying degrees across other capabilities like data discovery, classification, data threat and risk visibility, and other data controls
Approach to innovation lags for now
Room to improve pricing flexibility and community
Customers desired greater investment in AI-driven capabilities, updates to very dated product UX, and operational improvements for pushing out patches and product versions

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2025?

A: Google, Varonis

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

A: Leaders in Forrester Wave evaluations demonstrate the strongest current offering and strategy. They have been evaluated to have superior performance relative to other vendors across both the current offering criteria (vertical axis - strength of current offering) and strategy criteria (horizontal axis - strength of strategy). Leaders typically excel in multiple capability areas, have a compelling and differentiated vision for the market, demonstrate strong execution and innovation, and receive above-average to outstanding customer feedback. In the context of Data Security Platforms, Leaders show excellence in data security capabilities, operational management, strategic vision, market impact, and customer satisfaction.

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

A: https://www.forrester.com/policies/forrester-wave-methodology/

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Data Security Platforms in 2025

Data Security Platforms Vendor Product Comparisons 2025

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FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2025?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in Forrester Wave terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Forrester Wave?

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