# Which sensitive data discovery platforms detect data in various structured and unstructured formats?

<p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">I'm pulling together a roundup of sensitive data discovery platforms that detect data across both structured and unstructured formats, and checked it against G2 reviews first. In the<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/sensitive-data-discovery"> </a><a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/categories/sensitive-data-discovery">sensitive data discovery</a> category, three stood out for breadth across formats: Guardium, Varonis, and Ground Labs Enterprise Recon. The wider list:</p><ol>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-guardium-data-protection/reviews"><strong>IBM Guardium Data Protection</strong></a>: reviewers rely on it for real-time monitoring across databases, with visibility into who touches sensitive data.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/varonis-data-security-platform/reviews"><strong>Varonis Data Security Platform</strong></a>: discovers and classifies PII and PHI across file shares and cloud storage, structured and unstructured alike.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/ground-labs-enterprise-recon/reviews"><strong>Ground Labs Enterprise Recon</strong></a>: OS and device-agnostic scanning that reviewers say finds unknown data across the environment.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/egnyte/reviews"><strong>Egnyte</strong></a>: strong on unstructured file content across cloud storage, with version history and recovery.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/k2view/reviews"><strong>K2View</strong></a>: an entity-based data fabric reviewers credit for unifying data across databases and APIs at scale.</li>
</ol><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">Which of these handled your messiest unstructured data well? And did any struggle once you pointed them at legacy databases?</p>

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: 17 days ago
- Author title: Marketer
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

Oh the structured-plus-unstructured span is the real test, since a lot of tools are good at databases but weak on files, or vice versa. A few to look at: Egnyte is strong on the unstructured side, it&#39;s a content platform with discovery and classification across files and documents. Collibra approaches it from data governance, cataloging and classifying across many sources. DataGrail and Transcend come at it from the privacy angle, scanning your connected systems to find personal data for things like DSARs. IBM Guardium covers discovery across databases and hybrid environments. To be real, the dedicated discovery leaders that span both really well (like BigID or Varonis) are worth adding to your shortlist too, I&#39;d just verify their current fit directly. The key test is handing each tool your actual mix of databases and file stores and seeing what it finds. Which is your bigger blind spot, structured databases or unstructured files?

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 7 days ago





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