# Best Sensitive Data Discovery Software - Page 9 *By [Brandon Summers-Miller](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/brandon-summers-miller)* Sensitive data discovery software helps businesses locate sensitive data—such as personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), payment card industry (PCI) data, intellectual property (IP), and other important business data—stored across multiple company systems including databases and applications, as well as on user endpoints. Businesses use sensitive data discovery software to uncover the location of their important data, often to comply with common industry regulatory standards for data protection and privacy; these include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS); standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); and others. Sensitive data discovery software is typically deployed and managed by information security teams, while privacy teams may request data from the reports. These solutions search structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data stored in on-premises databases, cloud storage, email servers, websites, applications, and more. Sensitive data discovery can be achieved through multiple ways, including through manual surveys (managed via workflows) or via automated discovery tools. To be included in this category, a product must provide automated data discovery functionality. Sensitive data discovery software shares similarities with many types of tools, including [data loss prevention (DLP) software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-loss-prevention-dlp), [data-centric security software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-centric-security), [database security software](https://www.g2.com/categories/database-security), and [privacy software](https://www.g2.com/categories/privacy). Generally speaking, sensitive data discovery is offered as a native function of these tools. Sensitive data discovery is different than data discovery software, which is a subset of [business intelligence software](https://www.g2.com/categories/business-intelligence) and helps companies explore their data to uncover trends, identify outliers, and analyze their data trends in a visual way. Sensitive data discovery software also differs from [eDiscovery software](https://www.g2.com/categories/ediscovery), which is used for litigation purposes to gather and compartmentalize data files from companies and individuals involved in pending court cases. To qualify for inclusion in the Sensitive Data Discovery category, a product must: - Provide automated data discovery tools - Monitor data stores in real time to search for newly created sensitive data - Offer contextual search functions to understand factors such as file type, sensitivity, user type, location, and other metadata - Facilitate compliance and enable adherence to common industry regulatory standards (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO, and others) ## Best Sensitive Data Discovery Software At A Glance - **Leader:** [IBM Guardium Data Protection](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-guardium-data-protection/reviews) - **Highest Performer:** [Safetica](https://www.g2.com/products/safetica/reviews) - **Easiest to Use:** [Egnyte](https://www.g2.com/products/egnyte/reviews) - **Top Trending:** [Safetica](https://www.g2.com/products/safetica/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Egnyte](https://www.g2.com/products/egnyte/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### Cyera Cyera is the world’s leading AI-native data security platform. Its platform gives organizations a complete view of where their data lives, how it’s used, and how to keep it safe, so they can reduce risk and unlock the full value of their data, wherever it is. Backed by more than $1.3 billion in funding from top-tier investors including Accel, Coatue, Cyberstarts, Georgian, Lightspeed, and Sequoia, Cyera’s unified data security platform helps businesses discover, secure, and leverage their most valuable asset - data - and eliminate blind spots, cut alert noise, and protect sensitive information across the cloud, SaaS, databases, AI ecosystems, and on-premise environments. Recent innovations like Cyera’s Omni DLP extend this platform with adaptive, AI-native data loss protection, bringing real-time intelligence and contextual understanding to how data moves and is used across the enterprise. [Visit company website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=2262&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=1011677&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=neighbor_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=1862&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=1214164&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=2262&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fsensitive-data-discovery%3Fpage%3D9&secure%5Btoken%5D=dc1e4a2352ebeffb0a8f83f4af940ed29285305b2cd5bb25060eb8951497f9a8&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyera.com%2Fdemo%3Futm_medium%3Dreferral%26utm_source%3Dg2&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url) --- ## Parent Category [Data Privacy Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-privacy-3d79da1e-6384-42b3-a11f-d04b6694e806) ## Related Categories - [Data-Centric Security Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-centric-security) - [Data Privacy Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-privacy-management) - [Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/data-subject-access-request-dsar)