DSPM Use Cases for 2025: Compliance, AI and Cloud Security

Getting board buy-in for Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) solutions can be difficult, especially when key decision makers assume that your more reactive solutions are already doing all the heavy lifting. 

Even hearing about Gartner analysts' opinions on DSPM isn’t always enough. That’s why examining top DSPM use cases is essential for demonstrating how modern data security solutions help organizations close the visibility gap and achieve greater control over data – a first step toward measuring ROI for DSPM.

In this blog post, we’ve summarized leading Data Security Posture Management use cases in order to help you learn more about how this kind of solution helps with compliance, data security, AI readiness and more.

Data Discovery

The first step in improving data security posture is to become aware of all the data that an organization holds. This is the function of data discovery, which shines a light on dark data by thoroughly investigating all data-at-rest.

DSPM continuously discovers data across cloud, network and on-premises storage to uncover and catalog every piece of data your organization has. You can't protect data that you aren't aware of, so this process is essential for cutting data risk and preventing breaches. 

AI-Powered Data Classification

In order to better help organizations get visibility and control over sensitive data, DSPM solutions classify massive amounts of data to clearly set aside sensitive data, often falling into multiple categories. 

Forcepoint DSPM exhibits special power in this area, with data classification powered by AI. More specifically, it utilizes highly accurate AI Mesh technology for efficient and reliable data discovery and classification, reducing false positives and enhancing incident alert accuracy.

Forcepoint AI Mesh is a highly networked classification architecture that uses a Small Language Model (SLM), classifiers and other predictive AI capabilities.

The AI-powered data classification that Forcepoint DSPM provides enables real-time classification and protection of sensitive data across your entire digital ecosystem, with a degree of accuracy that legacy solutions can’t reach. 

Compliance Readiness

Moving beyond these key DSPM capabilities, we take a look at compliance readiness.

Ever-changing regulations worldwide make it difficult for organizations to stay on top of compliance. And failure to meet compliance standards can result in hefty fines, data loss and damaged trust with customers. Manual compliance processes increase risk and cost.

Forcepoint DSPM is here to help reduce costs and reduce risk, while helping with continuous compliance. With Forcepoint DSPM, organizations can simplify compliance processes with automation to ensure consistent and continuous alignment with evolving regulations, reducing manual effort. 

Securely Enable AI

In addition to compliance benefits, DSPM is ideal for organizations that need to securely enable AI. Employees around the world have been embracing emerging AI technologies, so it’s crucial to mitigate the risk of data loss and misuse with a solution that can help manage guardrails for AI usage.

One of the most exciting features of Forcepoint DSPM is that it can enhance security for popular AI tools. More specifically, it can help manage GenAI data leakage risks.

Unmanaged shadow AI usage poses numerous risks to sensitive data, and without the right guardrails, sharing sensitive data with the wrong AI vendor can put data at risk and wipe out any theoretical productivity gains.

ChatGPT Data Security

We mentioned a bit earlier how Forcepoint DSPM helps securely enable AI, but we want to revisit that in the context of ChatGPT data security. While ChatGPT may be used often by many companies, its use could put companies at risk.

Forcepoint DSPM offers visibility and control into data readiness for GenAI applications. It is also able to help secure ChatGPT Enterprise usage. 

Data Access Governance

DSPM also helps organizations strengthen their data access governance.

As data sprawls across cloud, SaaS and on-prem systems, it can be a struggle to maintain visibility, enforce access controls and meet compliance mandates. Traditional tools lack the context and automation needed to manage data risk at scale.

By providing a centralized view of your data, Forcepoint DSPM makes it ultimately easier to implement and enforce data governance policies. 

Secure M365 and Copilot

Given today’s rising usage of GenAI tools and other cloud apps, we’re especially excited about Forcepoint DSPM’s ability to help secure M365 and Copilot.

Unchecked Microsoft 365 and Copilot usage turns productivity into risk. Forcepoint DSPM can help by supporting security of business-critical data with visibility of files and AI‑powered classification.

With Forcepoint DSPM, organizations can discover and classify data automatically with advanced AI Mesh for proactive defense. 

Mitigate Data Risk

Data is everywhere and so are its risks. With the ability to identify and remediate ROT ("Redundant, Obsolete or Trivial") data, DSPM helps mitigate data risk.

On top of this, Forcepoint DSPM provides actionable insights that enable organizations to manage permissions, move misplaced data and dress data sovereignty, access and duplicate or ROT data issues.

A lack of data awareness inflates cost and attack surface. That’s why Forcepoint DSPM is an essential solution to mitigate data risk. 

Extends Visibility Across the Cloud

DSPM also provides extensive visibility, ideally across cloud and on-premises environments alike, helping organizations identify and manage sensitive data effectively.

Many organizations use DSPM in addition to SSPM and CSPM to enhance their data posture across cloud infrastructure and SaaS applications.

DSPM Is a Necessity, Not an Option

You now know the primary ways in which DSPM works within an organization to bring visibility and control to sensitive data while eliminating risk. See Forcepoint DSPM in action with a free Data Risk Assessment for OneDrive.