Three Ways SEDs Improve Business Applications
Recently, a survey by the Ponemon Institute and WinMagic examined the use of self-encrypting drives (SEDs) for business critical applications. The results of the survey compared the total cost of ownership (TCO) of using software to encrypt disk drive contents vs. using hardware-based encryption now available in self-encrypting disk drive models. The study found that hardware-based encryption solutions such as SEDs offer an average of approximately 75 percent cost savings when compared to software-based encryption solutions.
These results serve to underscore the real benefits that SEDs provide for SMBs and enterprises. The survey highlights specific real-world benefits IT professionals will experience when adopting self-encrypting disk drives, including:
Ease of deployment. Since the drive industry and security management solutions providers have uniformly adopted industry-wide standards for SED features and capabilities, SEDs provide IT managers with a simple deployment without compromising on security monitoring and management. Most systems vendors offer SEDs as a configuration option today. And leading security management solutions providers seamlessly support mixed deployments of pre-existing software encryption and SED-based encryption. SEDs can easily and almost “instantly” be crypto-graphically erased, simplifying the secure retirement of assets. With the latest technologies employed in Toshiba's SEDs, government-grade encryption and support of the Trusted Computing Group's storage device specifications is easier than ever before.
Cost Savings. The Ponemon Institute survey found that companies can save up to 75 percent when deploying hardware-based encryption over software-based security measures. SEDs can streamline storage deployments for IT managers in many ways. In a previous blog post , we examined the ways in which SEDs can improve worker productivity, as a result.
Reduced Resource Strain. Software encryption is both intrusive and a burden on system resources. Applications do not run as fast, versus hardware-based encryption and are therefore not as efficient in business applications. When software-based encryption runs, it adds another task in communications between the operating system and the software stack, causing delays, increasing compatibility risks and adding strain on resources. Hardware encrypting SEDs eliminate the risks of inundating software and hardware with additional application and processing burdens.
SEDs will continue to be a smart choice in enterprise applications, as data security and encryption remains top of mind for end-users and IT professionals. We're pleased to see the continued research and discussion around hardware-based encryption and look forward to more discussions on the topic.
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The views expressed on this post are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TAEC or Toshiba Corporation.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.