Kiteworks, which specializes in private data governance, compliance and protection, announced a strategic partnership with Concentric AI to offer comprehensive data security governance and enforcement capabilities. In particular, the collaboration will address organizational needs in sharing data outside the enterprise—via file sharing, managed file transfer, SFTP, email, data forms and APIs—without relinquishing control, officials said.
Through integration, Kiteworks’ advanced security capabilities and automated policy enforcement are enhanced with context-based discovery, classification, and data risk insights from data security governance provider Concentric AI, allowing for the application of appropriate layers of security to data records, the company said.
Concentric AI specializes in securing data at rest, in motion and across GenAI applications users interact with. Its Semantic Intelligence platform uses patented AI to autonomously discover, classify, monitor and remediate sensitive data across cloud and on-premises environments, officials said.
The Kiteworks Private Data Network consumes Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) labels applied by the Concentric AI platform, which can then be used to create and automatically enforce policies when data is being shared externally. This includes whether it can be copied or downloaded, and how long recipients have access, the company said.
“Organizations invest in data security posture management (DSPM) to understand their sensitive data, but protecting this data requires comprehensive security data governance,” said David Byrnes, VP of global channels at Kiteworks. “Kiteworks transforms Concentric AI data risk insights into automated protection that follows data wherever it travels. Together with Concentric AI, we’re helping customers achieve continuous data protection—from discovery through secure external collaboration.”
“Enterprises struggle not just with discovering sensitive data, but also with maintaining control when that data needs to be shared with partners, customers or vendors,” said Dhruv Jain, VP of product at Concentric AI. “Our end-to-end data security governance capabilities combined with Kiteworks’ automated enforcement capabilities help ensure that data classifications drive real-world protection.”
The partnership is expected to help organizations maximize data security investments by ensuring data discovery and risk insights translate into automated protection. For example, when Concentric AI classifies data as “Confidential,” or when it applies compliance labels like “HIPAA” or “GDPR,” Kiteworks will automatically enforce appropriate controls—encryption, access restrictions, watermarking or possessionless editing—when that data is shared externally. This is intended to eliminate manual processes while providing audit trails for compliance and security analysis, officials said.
Kiteworks and Concentric AI intend to jointly engage customers through field events, enablement programs and industry-specific initiatives focused on regulated sectors including health care, financial services, energy and government. The partnership supports compliance with key frameworks, including HIPAA, GDPR, CMMC and NIST 800-53, officials said.
