SELECTED PROJECT:

Japan to US Market Evaluation

@ Humming Heads | 2022-24

Evaluate a core product’s readiness for the US Market.

The Need

We engaged with Humming Heads, a Japanese Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software company, to help them assess the US's DLP product market to build confidence in a successful future US product release and determine actionable next steps for the company before pursuing a market entry.

Using our previous findings from technical and product discovery efforts with Humming Heads, we needed to evaluate the product across three primary axes:

  • Competitive landscape

  • Purchaser and User needs

  • Market forces

The Work.

Insights during this and a previous phase of Discovery were gathered through both primary and secondary research:

  • Primary research by interviewing DLP Admins, Experts, and Decision Makers plus in depth reviews of competitor products.

  • Secondary research through reviews of leading industry publications on the US DLP market.

Our primary research plan involved recruiting and screening for 8 interviews with potential US market customers, screened from more than 50 applicants. We also used primary feedback from more than 300+ user reviews across different DLP products as well as more than 15 industry publications for secondary market insights.

Methods & Activities

24 Total user interviews in total.

Five (5) product demos to potential customers for feedback

Six (6) potential customers identified and followed up with for trial use.

Four rounds of 1:1 Interviews across different business verticals

The Outcome.

A number of key findings came out of the discovery process. These can be summarized as follows:

  • Protecting files is vital - but it doesn't stop there.

  • Data security comes in layers… DLP is just one layer and should fit nicely with the rest.

  • Policy-less DLPs will require a mental shift with traditional DLP customers.

  • Complicated DLPs need improvement, but not at the expense of it working as desired.

  • Even with files locked down, data identification & categorization are needed.

  • Tools that don’t meet specific compliance needs are unlikely to be selected.

  • Tracking & interpreting user behavior is key - but it should not be done manually.

  • Lock it all down approach isn't right for everyone... but for some it might be perfect.

  • Users believe Evolution DLP may negatively impact business operations.

Based on these findings the following recommendations and next steps were proposed for Humming Heads DLP product. This set of changes was prioritized to be done before a US market release or launch should be considered.

  • Move to cloud management

  • General UI refresh

  • Revisit “release request” folder UX

  • Reposition marketing communication


The following changes were recommended, in prioritized order, after the above were accomplished and there was a successful launch for consumers in the US Market.

  • Add support for multi-OS

  • Introduce autoconfiguration templates

  • Expand coverage of possible Exfiltration Points

  • Expose APIs with key Evolution DLP data

  • Add advanced UEBA tooling

  • (Stretch) Data Classification?

Data Passport (Equifax UK)

Student Assessments (NWEA)