ALTR

The implementation process for ALTR software is designed to be straightforward and efficient, ensuring that organizations can quickly secure their data and implement access governance policies. ALTR’s cloud-native SaaS platform integrates seamlessly with modern data warehouses like Snowflake, making it easy for organizations to adopt without significant disruption to their existing workflows. Below is a detailed breakdown of the implementation process:

1. Initial Assessment and Planning

• Discovery Phase: ALTR begins by working with the client to understand their specific data security and governance needs. This includes identifying sensitive data, defining compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA), and mapping out existing data workflows.
• Use Case Definition: The organization identifies key use cases for ALTR, such as dynamic data masking, tokenization, or real-time monitoring.

• Integration Planning: ALTR’s team collaborates with the client to plan integrations with their existing infrastructure, such as Snowflake, Matillion, or other data platforms.

2. Integration with Data Platforms

• Connecting to Data Warehouses: ALTR integrates directly with cloud-based platforms like Snowflake via APIs or built-in connectors. This step typically involves:
  • Configuring database connections.
  • Setting up access policies for sensitive data.
  • Enabling features like dynamic masking or format-preserving encryption.

• Open Source Integration: For organizations using tools like Matillion or Alation, ALTR provides open-source integration options to extend its functionality across the modern data stack.

3. Data Classification and Policy Setup

• Automated Data Classification: ALTR’s machine learning tools scan the database to identify sensitive data such as personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI). This step helps organizations quickly locate high-risk values.
• Policy Configuration: Access control policies are created based on organizational roles and compliance requirements. For example:
  • Dynamic masking policies are applied to ensure that only authorized users can view sensitive data.

  • Tokenization is set up for specific columns in the database to replace sensitive values with tokens.

4. Testing and Validation

• Policy Testing: Before going live, organizations test access control policies in a sandbox environment to ensure proper functionality without disrupting operations.

• Real-Time Monitoring Setup: ALTR configures monitoring tools to provide alerts for unauthorized access attempts or anomalous activity.

5. Training and Enablement

• User Training: ALTR provides training sessions for IT, infosec, and compliance teams on how to use the platform effectively. This includes:
  • Managing access control policies.
  • Interpreting real-time monitoring alerts.

  • Using analytics dashboards for insights into data usage.

• Documentation and Support: Comprehensive documentation and ongoing support are provided to ensure teams can troubleshoot issues independently.

6. Go-Live and Continuous Optimization

• Deployment: Once all configurations are validated, the platform is deployed in the production environment.
• Continuous Monitoring: ALTR’s real-time monitoring tools provide ongoing visibility into how sensitive data is accessed and consumed.

• Policy Refinement: As organizational needs evolve, access policies can be adjusted dynamically without requiring a complete reconfiguration.

Implementation Timeline

The time required for implementation depends on factors such as the size of the organization’s data environment, the complexity of integrations, and the scope of access control policies. However:

• For smaller deployments (e.g., a single Snowflake database), implementation can take as little as a few days to one week.
• For larger enterprises with complex environments, implementation may take up to 2–4 weeks, including testing and training phases.

ALTR is highly customizable to meet specific business needs, particularly in the areas of data access governance, security policies, and integration with existing systems. The platform provides flexibility through its extensibility features, allowing organizations to tailor its behavior to align with their unique requirements. Below are the key ways ALTR can be customized:

1. Custom Data Masking and Extensibility:
   • ALTR allows customers to customize data masking policies through extensibility functions. These functions enable businesses to alter how sensitive data is masked based on specific criteria or user roles. For example:
     • Organizations can define how masking transforms data (e.g., replacing sensitive strings with custom values).
     • Integration with third-party decryption or detokenization systems can be implemented for advanced workflows.
   • Custom roles can also be created using Snowflake Context Functions, allowing businesses to determine which roles are evaluated during access control decisions.
2. User-Defined Functions (UDFs):
   • ALTR supports Snowflake UDFs that allow organizations to modify default masking behavior or invoke additional context-based logic. For example:
     • A UDF can be used to dynamically generate a list of roles or apply tag-based masking policies.
     • Businesses can customize role evaluation criteria for specific columns or tags in their database.
3. Policy Optimization Using AI:
   • ALTR’s AI-driven policy optimization analyzes access patterns and recommends changes to reduce risk. Organizations can configure these recommendations based on their risk tolerance and compliance requirements.
   • Policies can be dynamically adapted for overly permissive access, dormant users, or segregation of duties violations.
4. Integration with Existing Systems:
   • ALTR integrates natively with Snowflake but also supports other tools like Matillion and Alation through open-source connectors. This allows businesses to extend ALTR’s functionality across their modern data stack.
   • Passerelle engineers are developing dashboards that expand ALTR’s heatmap analytics into tools like Power BI and Tableau, enabling advanced visualization tailored to specific business needs.
5. Custom Role-Based Permissions:
   • ALTR enables organization-wide policy creation rather than relying solely on role-level conditions, simplifying access control at scale.
   • Column- and row-level authorization can be implemented based on business-specific requirements.
6. Tokenization Customization:
   • ALTR’s deterministic tokenization ensures sensitive data remains secure while being usable for analytics or operational tasks. Businesses can define how tokenized data is handled and reassembled with approval from authorized data owners.

By offering these customization capabilities, ALTR ensures that its platform aligns closely with an organization’s operational workflows, compliance mandates, and security goals.

ALTR’s pricing model is designed to be flexible and scalable based on an organization’s needs. While the base subscription is free through Snowflake Partner Connect, there may be additional costs depending on the features and services required by the customer. Below are potential cost considerations:

1. Base Subscription:
   • The base subscription is free for Snowflake users through Snowflake Partner Connect, which includes:
     • Data discovery and classification.
     • Dynamic data masking.
     • Row-level security.

     • Basic analytics capabilities.

2. Paid Plans:
   • Paid plans start at $15 per month per database and include advanced features such as:
     • Unlimited connected databases.
     • Integration with ETL tools like Matillion.

     • Advanced Snowflake-native features like object tagging and SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management).

3. Setup Fees:

   • There are no explicit setup fees mentioned for standard deployments via Snowflake Partner Connect. However, custom implementations involving extensive integrations (e.g., with external systems like Power BI or Tableau) may incur additional costs for engineering services.

4. Maintenance Costs:

   • Maintenance costs are typically included in the subscription fee, covering updates, bug fixes, and access to new features as they are rolled out.

5. Support Charges:
   • Standard customer support is included in all plans at no extra cost.

   • For enterprise clients requiring premium support or consulting services (e.g., custom policy creation or advanced integration assistance), additional charges may apply.

6. Third-Party Integration Costs:

   • While ALTR integrates seamlessly with Snowflake and other tools, businesses may incur costs related to third-party platforms (e.g., licensing fees for Power BI or Tableau).

7. Custom Development Services:

   • For organizations requiring extensive customization (e.g., creating dashboards tailored to specific KPIs), professional services from partners like Passerelle may involve additional fees.

8. Key Management Services:

   • If customers choose to integrate external key management systems for encryption keys rather than using ALTR’s built-in capabilities, there may be separate costs associated with those third-party services.

In summary, while ALTR offers a free base plan for Snowflake users, additional costs may arise from premium features, custom integrations, or professional services required for advanced use cases. Organizations should work closely with ALTR’s sales team to understand the total cost of ownership based on their specific needs.

ALTR provides a comprehensive suite of training and support options to ensure that new users can effectively implement and utilize its data security and governance platform. The company focuses on simplifying the adoption process and empowering both technical and non-technical users to manage data access and protection seamlessly. Below are the key training and support offerings:

1. Onboarding Assistance:
   • ALTR offers guided onboarding to help organizations integrate the platform with their existing data infrastructure, such as Snowflake or Matillion. This includes setting up data classification, policy enforcement, and access controls.

   • The onboarding process ensures that users can quickly deploy ALTR’s automated governance tools with minimal disruption to their workflows.

2. Custom Training Programs:
   • ALTR provides tailored training sessions based on the specific needs of an organization. These sessions cover topics such as dynamic data masking, tokenization, role-based access control (RBAC), and real-time monitoring.

   • Training can be customized for different user groups, including IT administrators, compliance teams, and business users.

3. Web-Based Training:

   • To accommodate remote teams, ALTR offers live web-based training sessions with direct interaction between instructors and participants. This allows users to ask questions in real time and receive hands-on guidance.

4. Documentation and Tutorials:

   • ALTR provides extensive documentation, including user guides, best practices, and FAQs, to support self-paced learning. These resources are designed to help users troubleshoot common issues and maximize the platform’s capabilities.

5. Support for Non-Technical Users:

   • ALTR’s intuitive interface minimizes the need for technical expertise, enabling non-technical users to execute effective data governance policies without relying on database administrators or engineers.

6. Ongoing Customer Support:
   • ALTR offers continuous customer support through email, chat, or phone to address any technical issues or questions that arise post-implementation.

   • For enterprise clients, dedicated account managers provide proactive assistance in optimizing the use of ALTR’s features.

7. Partner-Led Deployment Support:

   • ALTR collaborates with partners like Passerelle to deliver best practices for deployment at scale. Partners also assist in creating custom dashboards (e.g., in Power BI or Tableau) for advanced analytics.

8. Real-Time Monitoring Enablement:

   • Training includes setting up real-time alerts for anomalous behavior or unauthorized access attempts, ensuring users can respond quickly to potential threats.

By offering a mix of personalized training, self-service resources, and ongoing support, ALTR ensures that organizations can effectively adopt its platform while reducing the learning curve for new users.

ALTR implements robust security measures to protect sensitive data across cloud environments while ensuring compliance with industry standards like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2. Below are the key security features:

1. Dynamic Data Masking:

   • ALTR applies real-time masking to sensitive data based on user roles and access privileges. This ensures that unauthorized users cannot view sensitive information even if they gain access to the database.

2. Deterministic Tokenization:

   • Sensitive data is replaced with irreversible tokens that cannot be reassembled without explicit authorization from approved data owners. This protects data during storage and transit while maintaining usability for analytics.

3. Format-Preserving Encryption (FPE):

   • ALTR encrypts sensitive data while preserving its original format, enabling organizations to sort, filter, or join encrypted values without compromising security.

4. Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts:
   • The platform continuously monitors all user activity related to sensitive data access. It generates real-time alerts for anomalies such as:
     • Accessing sensitive data outside business hours.
     • Downloading large volumes of sensitive information.
     • Failed login attempts or suspicious admin activity.

   • Alerts can be integrated into enterprise SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) systems for centralized incident management.

5. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):

   • Access permissions are managed at an organizational level rather than individual roles, simplifying policy enforcement at scale while ensuring granular control over who can access specific datasets.

6. Encryption Key Management:
   • ALTR uses envelope encryption with keys stored separately from the data itself to prevent unauthorized decryption.

   • Encryption keys can be rotated regularly without disrupting operations, adding an extra layer of security.

7. Automated Data Classification:

   • Machine learning models automatically identify and classify sensitive data across databases based on predefined rules or custom configurations. This ensures that security policies are applied consistently across all datasets.

8. Compliance-Ready Environment:

   • ALTR operates in a PCI Level 1 Certified, SOC 2 Type 2 compliant environment. These certifications demonstrate adherence to rigorous security standards for protecting sensitive information.

9. Audit Trails for Compliance:

   • The platform maintains detailed logs of all data access activities, including who accessed what data, when they accessed it, and what actions they performed. These audit trails simplify compliance reporting for regulations like GDPR or CCPA.

10. Integration with Security Ecosystems:
    • Real-time alerts can be sent directly to Security Operations Centers (SOC) or Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) platforms for rapid incident response.

    • Open-source integrations with tools like Matillion enhance visibility into sensitive data usage across pipelines.

11. Reduced Human Error Risks:

    • By automating policy enforcement through its intuitive interface, ALTR minimizes risks associated with manual configuration errors or mismanagement of access controls.

12. Data Rate Limiting:

    • To prevent overconsumption of sensitive data by malicious actors or compromised accounts, ALTR enforces rate limits on queries accessing high-risk datasets.

By combining advanced encryption techniques with automated governance policies and real-time monitoring capabilities, ALTR provides a comprehensive solution for securing sensitive data at scale while ensuring compliance with industry regulations.

ALTR releases updates frequently to enhance its platform's capabilities, address customer feedback, and introduce new features. The company’s SaaS-based, cloud-native architecture enables it to deliver updates seamlessly without requiring downtime or manual intervention from users. Below are key data points about ALTR’s update frequency and management:

1. Continuous Deployment Model:

   • ALTR utilizes a serverless architecture on AWS, which supports rapid deployment of updates. This allows the company to push out new features, bug fixes, and enhancements on an ongoing basis without disrupting customer operations.

2. Customer Feedback Integration:

   • ALTR adopts a product-led growth (PLG) approach, which means updates are heavily influenced by customer feedback. The company gathers real-time insights from users and incorporates them into its development roadmap to improve the platform continuously.

3. Focus on Innovation:
   • ALTR frequently introduces cutting-edge features like dynamic data masking, tokenization, and real-time monitoring. For example:
     • Recent innovations include the ability to enforce rate limits on sensitive data queries and enhanced integrations with Snowflake for better governance.

   • Updates are designed to address evolving regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) and emerging security threats.

4. Automated Update Delivery:

   • Because ALTR is a SaaS platform, updates are delivered automatically to all customers without the need for manual installation or configuration. This ensures that users always have access to the latest features and security enhancements.

5. Documentation and Communication:
   • Each update is accompanied by detailed release notes, which outline new features, improvements, and any changes to existing functionality.

   • Customers are notified of major updates through email alerts, in-app notifications, or dedicated training sessions for significant feature rollouts.

6. Scalability with Minimal Cost Impact:

   • Thanks to its serverless infrastructure on AWS, ALTR can scale its services globally while keeping costs low. For example, despite doubling its business size in one year, ALTR’s production expenses increased by only 2.4%, enabling efficient delivery of updates.

By leveraging its cloud-native architecture and customer-driven development approach, ALTR ensures that updates are frequent, seamless, and aligned with user needs.

ALTR has a clear policy that prioritizes customer ownership of data and supports data portability, ensuring organizations maintain full control over their sensitive information while using the platform. Below are the key aspects of ALTR’s policy:

1. Customer Ownership of Data:
   • ALTR ensures that customers retain full ownership of their data at all times. The platform acts as a secure intermediary for managing access to sensitive information but does not claim ownership over the data itself.

   • This approach aligns with global regulations like GDPR and CCPA, which emphasize data sovereignty and user rights over personal information.

2. Data Portability Features:
   • ALTR supports data portability by allowing customers to export their access policies, audit logs, and sensitive data classifications as needed.
   • For example:
     • Organizations can export immutable blockchain-based logs generated by ALTR Monitor for compliance reporting or forensic analysis.

     • Data classification results can be exported to integrate with external governance tools or analytics platforms.

3. Integration with Existing Ecosystems:
   • ALTR integrates seamlessly with cloud-based platforms like Snowflake, AWS Lambda, and Matillion, enabling organizations to manage their data within their existing ecosystems.

   • This interoperability ensures that businesses can migrate their data or policies between systems without vendor lock-in.

4. Tokenization for Data Portability:

   • Tokenization replaces sensitive values with non-sensitive tokens that can be stored securely within or outside the ALTR platform. This ensures that even tokenized data remains portable across different environments.

5. Compliance with Regulatory Standards:
   • ALTR’s policies align with GDPR’s right to data portability requirements, ensuring that customers can retrieve their data in a structured, machine-readable format upon request.

   • The company also complies with other regulations like HIPAA and PCI-DSS to provide secure access controls for healthcare and financial data.

6. No Vendor Lock-In:
   • By focusing on open integrations and providing export capabilities for policies and logs, ALTR minimizes vendor lock-in risks for its customers.

   • Organizations can transition away from the platform if needed without losing access to critical governance artifacts or sensitive information.

7. Data Retention Policies:
   • While specific retention timelines depend on customer agreements, ALTR retains audit logs and metadata only as long as necessary for operational or compliance purposes.

   • Customers have full control over how long their sensitive data is stored within the platform.

In summary, ALTR’s policies ensure that customers maintain complete ownership of their data while offering robust portability options through export capabilities and integration-friendly architecture. These measures provide flexibility for organizations managing complex regulatory requirements or planning future migrations.

ALTR provides flexible terms for scaling its platform to accommodate changing organizational needs. The software is designed to grow with businesses, offering scalability in terms of features, user access, and data governance capabilities. Below are the key points regarding ALTR's scalability:

1. User-Based Subscription Model:
   • ALTR operates on a user-based subscription model that scales with business needs. Organizations can add or reduce the number of connected databases or users as their requirements evolve.

   • This flexibility allows businesses to pay only for what they use, making it cost-effective for both small teams and large enterprises.

2. Free Base Plan:

   • The base subscription to ALTR is free through Snowflake Partner Connect, which includes features like data discovery, classification, row-level security, and dynamic data masking. Organizations can scale up by transitioning to paid plans as their needs grow

3. Advanced Features in Paid Plans:

   • Paid plans allow organizations to unlock advanced features such as unlimited database connections, Snowflake-native classification, object tagging integration, and ETL tool integrations. These plans can be customized based on the specific requirements of the business

4. Seamless Scaling with Snowflake:

   • ALTR integrates natively with Snowflake’s Data Cloud, enabling effortless scaling within existing Snowflake environments. As organizations expand their Snowflake usage, ALTR can seamlessly adapt to manage larger datasets and more complex governance policies

5. Policy Adjustments:

   • ALTR’s AI-driven policy optimization automatically analyzes access patterns and recommends adjustments to align with evolving business needs. This ensures that security policies remain effective as organizations scale up or down

6. Role Mapping via API Integration:

   • For organizations requiring more granular control over scaling access permissions, ALTR supports role mapping through API integrations, which can be adjusted dynamically as team structures change

In summary, ALTR’s flexible subscription model and native integration with Snowflake make it easy for organizations to scale their data governance capabilities without incurring unnecessary costs or operational disruptions

ALTR’s contract renewal and cancellation policies are designed to provide transparency and flexibility for its customers. While specific terms may vary based on individual agreements, the following points outline general practices:

1. Automatic Renewal Terms:
   • Contracts often include automatic renewal clauses, ensuring uninterrupted access to ALTR’s services unless explicitly canceled by the customer before the renewal date.

   • Customers typically receive notifications about upcoming renewals within a specified timeframe (e.g., 30–60 days prior), allowing them to review or modify their subscriptions.

2. Cancellation Policy:
   • Customers must provide written notice within a defined cancellation window (e.g., 30 days before the renewal date) if they wish to terminate their subscription.

   • Early termination may incur penalties unless otherwise agreed upon in the service-level agreement (SLA).

3. Upgrade/Downgrade Flexibility:

   • Organizations can adjust their subscription tier (e.g., upgrading from free to paid plans) at any time during the contract period to access additional features or scale down if their needs decrease.

4. Data Portability Upon Cancellation:

   • If a contract is canceled, ALTR ensures that customers retain access to their data and audit logs for a limited period to facilitate smooth transitions or compliance reporting.

5. Partner-Managed Renewals:

   • For customers working with implementation partners like Passerelle, renewals may include additional managed services or customizations tailored to specific business needs

To ensure clarity on renewal and cancellation terms, organizations are advised to review their contracts carefully or consult directly with ALTR’s customer success team.

ALTR is designed to help organizations meet stringent data security and privacy regulations across various industries by providing robust governance tools and advanced encryption capabilities. Below are the compliance standards supported by ALTR:

1. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation):

   • ALTR helps organizations comply with GDPR by enforcing access controls, providing audit trails for sensitive data usage, and enabling data masking/tokenization to protect personal data during processing

2. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act):

   • For healthcare organizations, ALTR ensures compliance with HIPAA by encrypting patient health information (PHI) at rest and in transit while maintaining detailed logs of all access activities for auditing purposes

3. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard):

   • ALTR protects payment card information through tokenization and encryption while enabling real-time monitoring of sensitive data access to prevent fraud or unauthorized use

4. CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act):

   • The platform supports CCPA compliance by enabling organizations to classify sensitive consumer data, enforce role-based access controls, and generate detailed reports for consumer data requests

5. SOC 2 Compliance:

   • ALTR operates in a SOC 2-compliant environment, ensuring that its platform meets rigorous standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy

6. Data Sovereignty Support:

   • By allowing customers to manage encryption keys independently (e.g., through external key management systems), ALTR ensures compliance with data sovereignty laws that require sensitive information to remain within specific geographic regions.

7. Audit Trails for Regulatory Reporting:

   • The platform generates immutable audit trails of all sensitive data interactions, simplifying compliance reporting for regulations like GDPR or HIPAA while supporting forensic investigations in case of policy violations

8. Customizable Policies for Industry-Specific Needs:

   • Organizations can define granular access control policies tailored to specific regulatory requirements in industries such as finance, healthcare, retail, and education.

By aligning its features with global security frameworks and offering tools like tokenization, encryption key management, and real-time monitoring, ALTR provides a comprehensive solution for achieving regulatory compliance at scale while mitigating risks associated with sensitive data exposure.