NextLabs Releases Digital Rights Management Platform for SAP Data

extLabs has released its Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) product for SAP. The platform applies data protection to all file types so organizations can share their critical information internally and throughout the extended enterprise with the proper level of security and now this level of protection is available for SAP data to ensure that as data leaves the SAP application, it is continually protected.

NextLabs EDRM offers protection for any file type, not just Office and Adobe PDF documents. Files are classified and encrypted based on policies and then the policies are applied to determine whether access should be granted upon request. The solution can be accessed via a rich client, mobile app or web browser.

NextLabs EDRM is a policy-driven rights management solution that provides user-driven, event-driven, workflow-driven, batch, and automated digital rights protection of data stored in documents and files. The solution enables users to classify and protect documents, irrespective of the document type, based on policies that are defined and enforced in a centralized platform. Protection is automatically applied upon upload and download and when users access protected documents seamlessly through the SAP user interfaces.

EDRM for SAP also protects structured business data in transactions when it leaves ERP systems. This includes master data and transactional data that is accessed in SAP through transactions, reports, data dictionary, table browsers, smart forms and queries. The solution classifies the data through a set of policies and applies rights protection to the content as it is being downloaded and saved as a local file (in any format) or as it is sent to the SAP inbox. The controls to classify and rights protect the files are applied through the policy engine.

NextLabs has developed deep integration with the SAP ERP application object model and core business process transactions to incorporate digital rights management into the ERP application layer in order to make data protection transparent to the end user. Data protection becomes an integral part of the business process and based on security policies, protection happens immediately when the information is uploaded to or downloaded from the ERP application – whether on premise or in the cloud.

NextLabs EDRM for SAP also enables users to apply rights protection to documents on upload using a context menu to initiate classification and rights protection using the applicable policies. The users with the rights to access the document would be able to access the documents transparently using the SAPGUI.

Additionally, the solution provides an option to protect and classify several documents, based on policies, using a batch operation. This operation can be triggered manually or through a batch process. Once classified and rights protected, the documents can be accessed seamlessly within ERP through the SAPGUI. The documents remain protected when they are downloaded from SAP as the classification and the digital rights are persistent, with the documents, so, enabling access control to be enforced outside the ERP system.

The solution leverages the NextLabs Dynamic Authorization technology to provide fine-grained access and usage controls. The system uses information about the user, the data they want to access, and other contextual factors to determine whether access should be granted – all at runtime. This additional analysis ensures that the most relevant and current information is used in the authorization process providing an extra layer of protection.