How Wood Group gained data visibility and got its data ready for AI with Varonis

Wood Group’s Chief Information Security Officer, Jamie Alberts, has two priorities: reduce the company’s data exposure and prepare the business to put its data to work with AI. Both depend on knowing what data exists, where it lives, and who can reach it. Varonis showed value during the proof of concept and is now the foundation for how Wood secures its data and gets it ready for AI.

Challenge

You can’t secure or use data you can’t see

Wood needed clear answers to three basic questions: what its data was, where it resided, and who had access to it. Legacy approaches to data governance and management left sensitive areas undiscovered. At the same time, the business wanted to use its data assets in AI, which raised the stakes. Without visibility, the company couldn’t reduce exposure or deploy AI with confidence.

Solution

One window for data access and security

Wood chose Varonis because it was an all-encompassing platform that covered everything the team was looking for. Managing data access and security parameters from a single window was the deciding factor. During the proof of concept, the team searched petabytes of data and traced data lineage from creation to current use. Wood also uses Varonis’s AI capabilities to find sensitive data that older governance methods missed, and MDDR to change how the team responds to threats and alerts.

Results

Visibility today, a stronger foundation for AI tomorrow

The most significant outcome has been visibility into Wood’s data and who can access it. That visibility has prompted fast action on issues that likely would never have surfaced before. It has also sped up AI deployments, because the team can take action on its data. Alberts frames data readiness as the key to any successful AI project, since poor data in means poor results out, and Varonis has strengthened that foundation. With MDDR, the team has cut through alert noise and can focus on issues that need action.