Top Demo Security Considerations for Enterprise SEs

For enterprise Solutions Engineers, maintaining control and security in a demo environment is essential. No one wants to share private customer data in a real demo instance — but it happens more often than you’d think. SEs are often the gatekeepers of data anonymization and customization, which isn’t always easy in a homegrown sandbox environment.

Beyond these data privacy issues alone, there are many other security factors for presales teams to consider. Enterprise assurances and features like SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and role-based access control (RBAC) can help presales leaders maintain sky-high security standards. Let’s dive into some of the top security concerns for demo environments and how to address them.

Anonymization and data privacy 
For presales teams, showing another customer’s data during a demo can not only be problematic, it can also be against the law. Between GDPR in the E.U. and state-by-state data privacy laws in the U.S., it’s important to be vigilant about how and when customer data is shared (if at all).

With that said, the right demo creation platform can help you avoid these issues. Rather than a sandbox environment, where it’s easy to make the mistake of demoing live data or sensitive customer information, a demo creation platform creates a clone of your application and allows you to make relevant changes to the data before presenting to a prospect.

Demo creation platforms work by reliably capturing and replicating the full functionality of your web-based applications. That way, SEs can create demos faster. Rather than spending time in a production environment, you can edit, customize, and anonymize data so it’s hyper-relevant to your prospect. Most importantly, you can avoid accidentally showing live customer data.

Too many people in the demo environment
Too many people in your demo environment without the proper security controls in place can be a recipe for disaster. That’s why it’s wise to apply the security principle of least privilege to your demo creation platform, to ensure that employees only have access to the data and parts of the application they need to do their jobs.

Be sure to select a platform that enables RBAC configurations for admins, so it’s easy to create roles that align with your employees’ positions. This approach drastically reduces the margin for error across the board, and ensures that the wrong information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

How the vendor is handling your sensitive data 
Perhaps the most important enterprise security concern is how the demo platform itself handles your data. Many enterprises seek out software companies that have undergone the rigorous System Organization Control (SOC) 2® Type 2 audit. SOC 2 Type 2 audits ensure that a vendor has the right people, processes, and technology in place to deliver the highest levels of security and compliance.

The audit examines the security, availability, and integrity of the systems used to process users’ data. It also reviews the confidentiality and privacy of the information processed by these systems. Ensuring that your demo creation platform is SOC 2 Type 2 certified demonstrates their commitment to a multi-layered, comprehensive information security program to keep your sensitive data secure.

Ensuring security and privacy in your demo environment
As we’ve shown, the right demo creation platform can drastically reduce security and privacy risks that come along with conducting enterprise demos. The key is giving your presales team the control they need to quickly anonymize and customize demos, while securing your team’s access to the system with RBAC. SOC 2 Type 2 compliance further demonstrates a platform’s security and data privacy commitment, so you can focus on what you do best — demonstrating product value.

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