UNDERSTANDING DLP SOLUTIONS
Proofpoint vs. Traditional DLP Solutions
Traditional data loss prevention (DLP) solutions focus on data alone. See how a human-centric approach helps security teams better understand risk, protect sensitive data, and respond faster.
Traditional DLP struggles with how today's data moves
Sensitive data now moves across email, endpoints, collaboration tools, cloud applications, and AI-enabled workflows. Security teams need to see it all: what data moved, who moved it, where it went, and whether that amounts to real risk. In other words, they need visibility traditional DLP cannot provide.
Traditional DLP solutions rely on static policies, manual tuning, and siloed investigations. This can create alert fatigue, slow response times, and make it harder to identify meaningful risk.
When evaluating DLP solutions, organizations should prioritize visibility across channels, insight into user behavior, and efficient investigations. The strongest solutions also improve operational efficiency through more accurate detection and adaptive policy controls.
What defines the gold standard for enterprise DLP?
The gold standard for enterprise DLP is the ability to consistently protect sensitive data wherever it moves, with the context required to make confident decisions. It is not defined by a single feature, channel, or deployment model.
Modern data loss prevention software should provide visibility across email, cloud, and endpoints while connecting sensitive content with user behavior and investigation workflows. The strongest solutions help security teams focus on meaningful risk, respond faster, and adapt to how people work today.
DLP capabilities checklist: the gold standard
Cross-channel visibility
Protects sensitive data across email, cloud, endpoints, and other channels
Detection accuracy
Identifies sensitive data with fewer false positives, keeping the focus on real risk
User behavior context
Helps analysts understand intent, prioritize incidents, and respond appropriately
Unified investigations
Brings alerts, user activity, and data movement into one workflow to speed response
Adaptive controls
Applies controls based on risk, behavior, and business context rather than static rules alone
Operational simplicity
Helps security teams spend less time managing the tool and more time reducing risk
Why switch to Proofpoint?
Free migration services for DLP to make it easier on you. Join the thousands of organizations we've helped move from legacy DLP such as Broadcom (Symantec), Forcepoint, Fortra (Digital Guardian), and Trellix (McAfee) to Proofpoint.
Smooth transition to market-leading information protection solution across email, cloud, endpoint and web with our expert assistance.
Take advantage of our special offers and get the top-tier data protection you deserve. Talk to one of our experts today to learn more.
Visibility into user behavior
Legacy DLP tools are data-centric and miss important context on user intent and surfacing unknown risk. This results in flawed verdicts or failure to mitigate risk.
Proofpoint provides a human-centric approach to that gives you insight into user behavior, communication relationships and intent. This means analysts can quickly assess data loss risk, reach high-fidelity verdicts and take appropriate action.
Operational efficiency
Legacy DLP tools come with consoles that were built in a previous era. Analysts scramble to investigate cross-channel incidents using multiple dashboards and siloed tools. This drains resources and wastes valuable time.
Proofpoint provides you with a unified console and advanced analytics that streamline alert triage and correlation across email, cloud, endpoint and web. Our solution helps you build custom explorations to proactively manage data loss risk.
Modern architecture
Legacy DLP tools require costly-to-maintain on-premises infrastructure. With resource-heavy agents (kernel mode), legacy DLP tools can impact endpoint performance and user productivity.
Proofpoint delivers a solution that’s built in the cloud, deploys quickly, scales automatically and is easily maintained. It employs a highly stable, lightweight agent (user mode) which requires less than 2% of compute resources. The same agent elevates visibility to potential , which eliminates the need for yet another agent.
Proofpoint vs. Legacy DLP at a glance:
across multiple channels
User interactions with files (e.g., file renaming)
Application and website usage
Riskiest users’ dangerous behaviors, (e.g., removing security controls)
Alerting and user notifications
Unified cloud-hosted console for alert management, investigations and response
Custom explorations for a custom dashboard
Timeline of data and user activities across channels
Cloud-native architecture
Highly stable user-mode agent for DLP and insider threat management
across multiple channels
User interactions with files (e.g., file renaming)
Application and website usage
Riskiest users’ dangerous behaviors, (e.g., removing security controls)
Alerting and user notifications
Unified cloud-hosted console for alert management, investigations and response
Custom explorations for a custom dashboard
Timeline of data and user activities across channels
Cloud-native architecture
Highly stable user-mode agent for DLP and insider threat management
"Proofpoint Information Protection is a mature and comprehensive DLP solution based on a cloud-native platform..."
Consolidate with Proofpoint Information Protection
Proofpoint human-centric information protection can also help you consolidate your discrete data security solutions in critical areas, such as insider threat management and managed services.
Market-leading insider threat management
Proofpoint provides visibility into risky behavior that leads to business disruption and revenue loss by careless, malicious and compromised users. Proofpoint Insider Threat Management gathers irrefutable evidence to accelerate investigations. This allows you to work cross-functionally and helps ensure the right response while mitigating business disruption and data loss.
World-class managed services
Many organizations struggle to find qualified security professionals and desire their trusted vendor to co-manage their DLP program for faster time to value. Unlike most legacy DLP vendors, Proofpoint offers optional managed services to ensure the ongoing success of your DLP program.
We’re recognized as an industry leader by leading analyst firms and customers
Proofpoint Recognized in 2023 Gartner® Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention
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Transforming Data Security
2025 Data Security Landscape
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FAQ
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What is the gold standard for DLP?
The gold standard for data loss prevention (DLP) combines accurate data detection, user behavior insights, unified investigations, and protection across email, cloud services, and endpointsThe gold standard for data loss prevention (DLP) combines accurate data detection, user behavior insights, unified investigations, and protection across email, cloud services, and endpoints. It helps security teams understand what data moved, who moved it, where it went, and whether the activity creates real risk.
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What should buyers look for in enterprise DLP software?
The best DLP solutions help protect sensitive data, reduce false positives, and provide visibility into how data moves across the organization.When comparing data loss prevention software, focus on six key areas: cross-channel visibility, detection accuracy, user behavior context, investigation efficiency, adaptive controls, and operational simplicity. The best DLP solutions help protect sensitive data, reduce false positives, and provide visibility into how data moves across the organization.
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What is the best alternative to Symantec DLP?
Organizations replacing Symantec DLP often look for solutions that are easier to deploy, easier to manage, and better suited to modern work environments.Organizations replacing Symantec DLP often look for solutions that are easier to deploy, easier to manage, and better suited to modern work environments. Compare vendors based on detection accuracy, user behavior insights, investigation workflows, operational complexity, and visibility across email, cloud applications, and endpoints.
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Is Microsoft 365 enough for data loss prevention?
When evaluating DLP solutions, look for user behavior insights, strong incident response capabilities, and visibility across the full data journey.Microsoft 365 provides important data protection capabilities. However, many organizations need broader visibility into how sensitive data moves across email, cloud services, endpoints, and AI-enabled workflows. When evaluating DLP solutions, look for user behavior insights, strong incident response capabilities, and visibility across the full data journey.
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What does modern DLP look like?
Modern DLP goes beyond content scanning and static rules. It combines content detection, behavior analytics, machine learning, and risk contextModern DLP goes beyond content scanning and static rules. It combines content detection, behavior analytics, machine learning, and risk context to help security teams identify data exfiltration, investigate incidents faster, and prevent data loss. It also provides visibility across email, cloud applications, endpoints, and AI-enabled workflows.
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What is the future of DLP?
The future of DLP is adaptive, human-centric, and closely connected to AI-driven workflows.The future of DLP is adaptive, human-centric, and closely connected to AI-driven workflows. Organizations need visibility into sensitive data in motion and data at rest, along with controls that adjust to user behavior and risk. As cloud and AI adoption grow, DLP solutions will combine data detection, behavior analytics, and automated response to help organizations protect sensitive data more effectively.