My company works with BigID since it serves as a data governance and security management tool. My company currently has a customer for BigID in the pipeline for whom we configured the product's PoC phase recently, so we are planning to close the deal in the first quarter of the upcoming year. While selling BigID to our customers, my company discovered that the product does not solve the problems of its users. The product is meant to help users with the areas related to data and data splits, and users may expect it to cover areas like data masking, data encryption, and DLP. BigID gives users visibility over where a particular data resides in their environment, like whether it is stored in the cloud, on-premises, Google Drive, or whatever other locations are there, after which the product gives its users control of the data. With BigID, users can decide what to do with their data and check whether a particular piece of data has duplicates in several places within their environment, after which users can leave just a copy of such data. In general, BigID gives the user complete control over where a particular data resides. BigID is also involved in the area of compliance. When discussing GDPR, especially EU GDPR, the product helps users remain compliant with the required type of laws since BigID understands the need to do so for the financial sector, especially for the ones that issue ATM cards, where the solution can offer help and cover. BigID does not take care of the security aspects, because of which it does not take care of areas like encryption, data masking, and DLP. What BigID can do for its users is integrate with all the solutions of its users that take care of all the security functions. BigID can help its users by offering its seamless integration capabilities with other security solutions. Considering the aforementioned details, my company has started to provide some sort of a bundled offer to our customers. When we speak with our company's customers about BigID, we also speak to them about Nutanix, which can help handle the security aspect.

BigID's scanning feature is its most valuable component. The scanning feature of the product is used maybe at least every week. BigID doesn't have the ability to store data on a flash drive. The product should also include the attributes to cover or scan flash drives, external drives, and all such areas. It doesn't matter where the data is stored to BigID, as it is going to scan the data and files and show them to the users, after which they can decide what to do with the data. I think that an important feature of BigID is its ability to deal with structured and unstructured data. BigID has the ability to identify which data is personal and has identifiable information. Users of BigID need not worry too much when it provides them with false positives or when some of the scanned data is not accurate. BigID itself is intelligent enough to say that the data it scanned does not contain any sensitive information, so there is no need to worry about anything. BigID also figures out the data that has been duplicated elsewhere, after which it gives users a choice on whether to keep it or delete it. BigID also points out the data that is in somebody's email, after which it asks what its user wants to do with the data. With Big ID, a user can also do something around DLP. BigID asks its users if they want to prevent people from spilling their company's information by copying such information to a flash drive or if they want to get information if somebody has tried copying and pasting the company's information. The aforementioned areas are very important to consider when it comes to trying to achieve organizational security goals or to help with whatever strategy a company follows. The tool helps protect data, making it a product that provides value to the organization.

It would be great if improvements can be made to the product. Based on one of the meetings that I have had with those who work for BigID, I feel that they don't intend for BigID to focus on the area of security. We would not get good feedback from BigID if our company suggested BigID's personnel focus more on the area of security as it does not fall under the main part of the product's offering.

When I talk to the prospects, I should be able to tell them that they need not worry in terms of security, especially data security, since such issues can be resolved by buying just one solution, which is BigID. I should be able to tell prospective customers that apart from scanning and compliance, the product also offers data security. The tool currently lacks security features. If the tool can include security features in its offering, it can be fantastic.

I have experience with BigID.

BigID's technical support team is very responsive and even responds to emails on time, making them very prompt. Even for meetings, BigID's technical support team arrives on time. BigID's technical support team has answers to every concern and question. You know? BigID's technical support team always tries to make sure that customers are happy. In terms of support, I think BigID does a very decent job. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

Positive

Nutanix is one of the other solutions my company plans to work with for data security in the future.

My company has only dealt with the PoC phase of the product for our customers, so we haven't onboarded the solution for any of our customers. I don't have an idea of how the setup phase works since my company stopped with the PoC phase carried out for the clients to show them how the product works and the value they can expect if they decide to onboard the solution in their environment.

From my perspective, during the product's PoC process for our customers, I realized that there were around 12 to 15 use cases that we couldn't achieve or do with BigID, so there was a need to bring in a third-party help or expert, making it a stressful process. If we get to work more with the technical team and become more grounded when it comes to solutions that fall under the same category that users may need to integrate during the deployment stage, I think it would be fantastic. With SharePoint, a user can deal with a lot of standard use cases, and it can be really helpful if one can become an expert with SharePoint. The entire process and functions of the product did not offer a smooth experience for the customer.

BigID has its own AWS account, so if users decide to deploy the solution on the cloud, then they need not worry about the cloud plan. BigID works better on the cloud for me.

I think that BigID's pricing is very reasonable. Maybe when my company can see the product with more leads, I will be able to comment on whether the product's price is too high or too low. As of now, I think that the product's price is okay.

In 2024, BigID will be one of the key solutions my company works with, considering the new data privacy law passed in Nigeria. BigID will be one of the strategic products my company will work with soon.

I don't have an idea of what the maintenance of the solution looks like. When I asked BigID whether there would be downtime or some issues in the product each time during an update, I was told that the updates could be done outside working hours so that no one would experience any downtime. With BigID, users can decide if they want to run the update on the product or not. During critical time periods, like holidays or festive seasons, if there is a lot of mobile and internet banking traffic, the update can be pushed to a later date. Users can also decide on a date on which they want to update the product. BigID makes it compulsory for its customers to ensure that they have at least done the last two recent updates released. In short, if BigID releases a new update and you have not updated to the previous release of the product, then you need to choose the update that you want, making the update feature very flexible for users. With Big ID, you can decide to run the update you want or schedule the update for a later date, and it won't cost you any downtime.

It might not be very important for a lot of banks to look into solutions like BigID. I don't think there has been enough investment to create awareness about the product in the Nigerian market. When my company engages with a new bank, we need to provide them with data sheets, first-hand reports, and other such reports to convince the banks that BigID is a useful solution. BigID needs to invest in branding and also create more awareness in the website market.

In Nigeria, for those who plan to implement BigID in the company, I would say that BigID is a very good solution since the value and its offerings are unique. Most people feel that with the help of a standard solution, they can stay secure and don't think about the compliance aspect, which involves having you put in the data, manage it, and what you do with it. People also don't worry about the regulatory aspects, like GDPR and the PRA, as they feel that with a simple solution, they can protect the data or use it for data masking. It is important to give people an insight as to where their data resides. When you ask people where the data resides in their environment, some may say that it is stored either in the servers or on an on-premises model. When my company conducted a scanning with BigID, we found out that some people have stored their data with the help of flash drives and that it contains some sensitive data, while some have stored data in an Excel document on their computer, meaning BigID has the ability to provide visibility to its users over where data is stored. Without proper visibility, users won't be able to protect the data properly, which is why I feel that the value BigID provides to its users is unique. Those who are willing to onboard the solution need to consider the fact that the security of data is equally important since, in Nigeria, certain organizations have started getting fined, which comes up to around fifty percent of their gross revenue, if there is a data breach and if the organization had not taken care of every possible procedure in terms of securing your data. For organizations in Nigeria, it is actually very important to get BigID because, you know, it is really good to meet the compliance and regulatory requirements.

I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I'm an implementing consulting partner for BigID. Initially, the clients used the solution for compliance with GDPR and CCPA. However, more recently, the software has evolved significantly to be useful for data governance and areas such as security posture and related aspects.

One of the most valuable things in a data-focused world is a tool, a technology that's data-centric, not trying to master data management or whatever else. 

It's a source of truth for what data an organization holds, giving it the ability to catalog, categorize, and understand its data in a way that other technologies like Alation, Collibra, or Informatica didn't afford. So, that's probably the biggest value in the data center.

BigID is making some forays into the GRC space, and that's a natural progression. I'd like to see that improve so that data governance is better, data risk is identified, and the ability to control and mitigate it. So, that's where I see the opportunity for advancement.

I have been using this solution for five and a half years.

BigID is stable. I've positioned it as the market leader in privacy data technologies for some time. In comparison to other technologies I've used, it's far superior.

The product is scalable. For one of my customers, there are not more than half a dozen. It's not a broad adoption tool. It's more like a utility. So, fewer users but many beneficiaries.  

The initial setup is complex. There's a nuance to it, and that's one of the things that's been interesting as the technologies evolve. It's not complex in and of itself. You can install it quickly and attach data quickly. 

The complexity arises because most organizations I've worked with are thinking about their data for the first time. So, while installing the software and operationalizing it is easy, the onboarding and understanding of the data, design, legacy systems, and everything from Oracle to side-based to MS Access, that's where it gets tricky. They need to catalog, correlate, combine, rationalize, and really think through it all. 

So, the software itself is easy to implement and operate. But the operational side, from the client's perspective, requires a commitment. It's like buying a circular saw and expecting to build a house. The tool will take you some of the way, but if you don't have the underlying knowledge, you're going to struggle.

The deployment model is a client-driven decision. I've been the implementation consulting partner. Ultimately, the client makes the decision on the deployment model. When BigID first came out, it was originally only available on-premises. Later, clients could choose to deploy it on the cloud, whether on AWS, Azure, or another platform.

BigID does maintenance releases periodically, requiring updates. Major releases are probably monthly to quarterly. Maybe four times a year now, or two, they just changed the cycle. Then, there are minor releases occasionally. These need to be done, but underlying maintenance isn't bad. It is like applying periodic updates to any other software package.

It is an expensive product. There are different price points for different BigID functions and features now. So, it depends on your specific needs.

In the time I've been working with BigID (over half a decade now), it's gone from a monolithic software package to something with more modular parts. Now, the customer or client can buy only the required pieces, making it not terribly expensive.

So, the pricing depends. If you have thousands of data sources to connect and manage, and you struggled with an MDM package in the past, you'll find BigID valuable and even cheap. But if you're a small business, it's probably not the right tool for you.

So, it depends on your goals, past experiences, business problems, and organizational direction. If you're in healthcare, technology, or manufacturing with tons of data sources to control, understand, and manage (data disposition, cataloging, reporting, GDPR/California compliance, etc.), and you have the right discipline and understanding of what you're trying to do, you'll find it inexpensive. 

But without management commitment to using the tool effectively, it's like buying an expensive Oracle or SAP system and not getting the desired results.

My first question is: what are you trying to achieve? What business problem are you trying to solve?  It's like asking if you should buy a calculator or Excel for basic math. A cheap calculator even does simple calculations! So, what's your goal?

If your answer is data inventory and starting your data governance journey, then BigID is absolutely worth exploring.

Overall, I would rate the solution a solid nine out of ten. Compared to the market, it's a ten. There are a few things I'd like it to do better, but they're working on it. So, nine now, with room to grow on.