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# Understanding the Costs and Benefits of DSPM Tools

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By [Sharon Farber](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/sharon-farber/?ts=markdown "Posts by Sharon Farber")  
Oct 16, 2024  
4 minutes  
[Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cloud-security/?ts=markdown)  
[Data Detection and Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-detection-and-response/?ts=markdown)  
[Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

*The following article is an abridged version of our new Prisma Cloud datasheet* [*Understanding the True Costs of a DSPM Solution*](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources/guides/dspm-costs-benefits)*.*

Today's organizations face an uphill battle when it comes to protecting their data. As business and technical teams grow their cloud footprint, deal with extensive data volumes and navigate an increasingly complex compliance landscape, securing cloud data has become a serious priority. Growing interest in [artificial intelligence (AI)](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/artificial-intelligence-ai) and [machine learning](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/machine-learning-ml) further increases organizational appetite to store and process massive volumes of data while introducing new domain risks and compliance considerations.

[Data security posture management (DSPM)](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/what-is-dspm) offers a comprehensive approach to understanding, managing and securing your organization's data across diverse cloud environments. Most DSPM tools aim to reduce security risks, simplify compliance workflows and increase cost-effectiveness compared to manual solutions. While such tools aim to deliver these and other benefits, there are big differences between them regarding how they're deployed and implemented. And these differences can impact both the effectiveness and the overall cost of a DSPM implementation.

## **3 Deployment Considerations That Will Impact the Cost and Security Value of Your DSPM Solution**

Choosing certain deployment characteristics can impact the cost of your DSPM solution, especially when it comes to cloud resource utilization. It can also affect the security benefits the product delivers, as well as the security and compliance overhead that the tool creates.

### 1. Agent-Based Vs. Agentless Tools

Agent-based solutions require the installation of software on each asset being monitored. Agentless solutions, including [Prisma Cloud](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud/cloud-data-security), rely on APIs and snapshots for [data discovery](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/data-discovery) and classification.

Agentless approaches are also easier to manage, deploy and maintain across large, dynamic cloud environments, and can monitor third-party managed services where an agent installation isn't possible.

### 2. Data Privacy and Data Residency

Some tools will move your data to the vendor's cloud account to run [data classification](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/data-classification) jobs. Prisma Cloud's "outpost" approach deploys the classification engine in your cloud account.

This method keeps [sensitive data](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/sensitive-data) within your environment, provides full control over data processing, ensures compliance with data residency requirements and enables granular security controls. It also increases deployment flexibility, which can be important for data residency and compliance purposes.

### 3. Out of Band Vs. Direct Scanning

Out-of-band analysis, used by Prisma Cloud, examines data copies or snapshots, while direct connection scanning looks at live production data. The former is often preferable because it doesn't impact the performance of production systems. It also reduces the risk of data corruption or unintended changes, and enables a more comprehensive analysis.

## **Behind the Price Tag: Cost Components and Potential Savings**

To calculate the total cost of ownership (TCO) for a DSPM solution, you need to consider cloud costs, licensing fees and operational expenses, and then weigh these against potential savings.

### Scanning Costs (Compute, Storage, Egress)

DSPM solutions use cloud compute (e.g., EC2 machines on Amazon Web Services) to classify data and analyze log traffic. They may create temporary snapshots of databases or storage buckets for the same purpose. Most notably, when scanning is done in the customer's cloud account --- as with Prisma Cloud --- there are no costs associated with data transfer.

### Licensing Costs

Licensing costs vary between vendors and can be based on either the number of assets protected or the volume of data scanned. Asset-based pricing, used by Prisma Cloud, is often more predictable and cost-effective than volume-based methods. It also facilitates budgeting, scales efficiently as your data volumes grow and prevents unexpected cost spikes (e.g., during periods of high traffic).

### Operational Costs

Operational costs will generally be very low for modern DSPM solutions, since they're agentless, automated and built with many components (e.g., classifiers, risks, policies). It's also why these DSPM solutions rarely require specialized training. Compared to legacy data security systems or manual classification processes, DSPM significantly reduces the need for ongoing management and maintenance, which translates into lower personnel expenses while eliminating costs associated with human error.

### Uncovering Cloud Cost Reduction Possibilities

DSPM isn't just a cost center. In some cases, and when accompanied by certain tools, it can reduce your cloud bills. [Prisma Cloud DSPM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud/cloud-data-security) can be used to identify stale or redundant data, which then can be removed to optimize storage costs. Prisma Cloud DSPM also highlights unnecessary snapshots, suboptimal data retention policies and large data assets that enable optimization. By addressing these issues, organizations can save tens of thousands of dollars annually.

## Learn More About the ROI of DSPM

Read [*Understanding the True Costs of a DSPM Solution*](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources/guides/dspm-costs-benefits) to discover:

* A more detailed overview of the benefits of DSPM
* 5 questions to ask when evaluating DSPM deployments
* An example of how Prisma Cloud delivers a rapid ROI and low TCO

*** ** * ** ***

## Related Blogs

### [Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cloud-security/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

[#### Use Microsoft Sensitivity Labels in Your Multicloud Security Strategy with Cortex Cloud DSPM](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/mpip-sensitivity-labels-dspm/)

### [CIEM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/ciem-2/?ts=markdown), [Cloud Posture Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/cloud-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown), [Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cloud-security/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown), [DSPM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/dspm/?ts=markdown)

[#### Weak Identity Governance Leads to Data Exposure --- 3 Attack Paths Explained](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/identity-goverance-data-exposure/)

### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cloud-security/?ts=markdown), [CNAPP](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/cnapp/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

[#### Prisma Cloud Innovations: September's Highlights](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/feature-innovations-2024/)

### [Data Detection and Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-detection-and-response/?ts=markdown), [Data Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/data-security/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

[#### How to Build an Enterprise Data Security Team](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/how-to-build-enterprise-data-security-team/)

### [Data Detection and Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-detection-and-response/?ts=markdown), [Data Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/data-security/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

[#### Redshift Security: Attack Surface Explained](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/redshift-security-attack-surface-explained/)

### [Data Detection and Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-detection-and-response/?ts=markdown), [Data Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/data-security/?ts=markdown), [Data Security Posture Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/category/data-security-posture-management/?ts=markdown)

[#### Redshift Security: Access and Data Flows Explained](https://www2.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/cloud-security/redshift-inside-out-part-1/)

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