Google Cloud Platform customers who want additional guarantees about the security and integrity of their critical business data can now get the software giant SAP to act as a custodian for them.
Google and SAP announced a partnership earlier this year to ensure that SAP's broad portfolio of enterprise software technologies run optimally on the latter's cloud platforms.
As part of the effort, the two companies are working to have the SAP HANA memory database technology certified on the Google Cloud Platform. SAP and Google are also working to more closely integrate G Suite productivity applications and machine-learning technologies with SAP products.
The announcement of this week's data custody is another result of that partnership between the two companies.
How the model works
The custodian model is designed to ensure that companies with specific requirements for managing sensitive data in the cloud now have a way to verify compliance with those requirements, said David Cross's director of cloud security engineering.
The model will give businesses a way to define the set of security controls they want for data running on services in the Google cloud. They can then use SAP to keep an eye on the data and ensure that Google is managing it in the specified way.
The immediate focus of the custodian model is to ensure that SAP has greater visibility into data access for Google's cloud services. Over the next few months, Google and SAP will work together to develop and enable similar transparency on managing customer data on the Google Cloud Platform.
Having SAP as custodian of data eliminates the need for an organization to develop internal capabilities to monitor the way in which Google stores and processes its data, Cross said. SAP already has deep experience and knowledge of Google's security capabilities, workflows and control, he said.
"With SAP as a custodian of data, customers have additional confidence that their data is accessible and stored in line with their defined sovereignty, privacy and data protection policies," Cross wrote on the blog.
Some storage requirements already established by the government, industries
Many companies that currently store and process sensitive business data in Google's cloud services are covered by government and industry regulations that require adherence to a strict set of security and privacy controls. The requirements are typically part of a broader set of government controls, risk and compliance that companies have to meet, he said.
Google's cloud services already offer multiple enterprise-grade mechanisms to protect sensitive data in a way that meets regulatory requirements, Cross said.
Measures include server and software stack security, controls for data access and data erasure, multiple authentication and intrusion prevention controls, data encryption tools, and penetration testing services.
All Google data centers also offer multiple layers of physical security controls, from electronic access and alarm cards to biometric authentication and laser-based intrusion detection systems. In addition, Google's team to monitor cloud security currently has more than 750 security experts in a wide range of areas.
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