Intel Corp.-backed multicloud security firm Fortanix Inc. today announced a new partnership with Snowflake Inc. to bring external tokenization-as-a-service capabilities to Snowflake customers.

Under the partnership, Fortanix’s Data Security Manager SaaS will be available to Snowflake customers to give them the ability to tokenize data inside and outside Snowflake.

Tokenization is the process of substituting a sensitive data element with a nonsensitive equivalent — in this case, a token that has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. The token is a reference that maps back to the sensitive data through the tokenization system, protecting the data across multiple environments.

Through Snowflake, Fortanix is pitching its service as an easy-to-implement and low-cost tokenization service that requires no hardware installation or perpetual license and can be up and running in minutes.

Fortanix DSM SaaS provides joint customers the ability to tokenize their most private data elements, such as Social Security numbers, securing that data before Snowflake processes it. Snowflake customers can purchase tokenization as a service operated by Fortanix, eliminating the overhead of deploying and managing a separate security solution.

The Fortanix service also provides multisite and hybrid cloud support, built-in encryption, key management and support for various interfaces. The architecture is said to eliminate the risk of key compromise in shared infrastructures.

“As more and more apps and services migrate to the cloud, it only makes sense that data security should as well,” Ambuj Kumar, co-founder and chief executive officer of Fortanix, said in a statement. “Tokenization has traditionally been a solution only larger enterprises could afford due to high implementation costs and ongoing licensing. Offering the capability as a service with Fortanix DSM SaaS helps customers manage costs, get faster value and expand their cloud capabilities.”

Tarik Dwiek, head of technology alliances at Snowflake, noted that the partnership will deliver users flexible and easy-to-use tokenization options that are ultrafast to deploy.

Since it was in the news for raising money from Intel and others in a $23 million round in 2019, Fortanix has since raised $14.3 million in debt financing in August, according to Crunchbase.

Image: Fortanix