NextLabs Provides Attribute Based Access Control for SAP PLM

New Release Provides Advanced Data Security for Collaboration Across Global Supply Chain.

NextLabs®, Inc., a provider of policy-driven Information Risk Management software, today announced the release of Entitlement Manager for SAP with support for PLM. This latest version extends Access Control Contexts (ACCs), introduced in SAP PLM 7.0, to provide advanced data security through attribute based access control. As a result, customers can collaborate externally, while enforcing intellectual property rights and complying with data protection regulatory requirements.

Entitlement Manager for SAP with support for PLM is built on NextLabs Control Center, a policy management platform based on XACML, an industry authorization standard. When managed by Control Center policies, critical SAP PLM data can be protected consistently across SAP applications, including SAP Portal, SAP GUI, and other popular collaboration applications, such as SharePoint, file share, email, and instant messaging.

With this release, NextLabs empowers global organizations to unify business processes and consolidate SAP instances worldwide, while providing data level access control to meet regulatory and industry requirements. As a result of regulatory requirements and lack of data level intellectual property controls, companies have traditionally maintained SAP data within local jurisdictions or made significant customizations to a global SAP instance. Maintaining SAP data in each jurisdiction fails to realize the benefits of a global shared services operating model, whereas a customization-oriented approach increases the cost of deployment, maintenance, and upgrade, leading to broken business processes.

NextLabs is the only certified “Powered by SAP NetWeaver®” solution that enables customers to unify business processes by consolidating SAP instances, while providing safe collaboration and proper data protection, so organizations can reap the benefits of global shared services. “By using a standards based authorization platform, our customers are able to significantly drive down the total cost of ownership of implementing SAP PLM and ERP globally. They can improve product innovation and improve response to customer demand by tapping into the global manufacturing and supplier network, while effectively addressing cross-border regulations and protecting intellectual property” said Keng Lim, Founder and CEO of NextLabs.

NextLabs’ Entitlement Manager for SAP with support for PLM offers the following benefits:

Global Business Process Unification

Reduce the cost of managing disparate, locally managed business processes and SAP instances. Instead, manage a global, consolidated SAP instance that provides dynamic attribute based access control, enabling compliance with regulatory and industry requirements.

Extend Access Control Contexts Using Attribute Based Access Control

Enable safe access to core PLM business objects by external users, including Materials, Documents, BOMs, and Change Numbers. Use attributes, such as project-level Access Control Contexts, to limit external access to specific PLM business objects.

Consistent Access Control Across SAP Portal and SAP GUI

Enforce access consistently across SAP’s PLM and ERP environment, over SAP Portal and SAP GUI, using a common policy set that is centrally managed in Control Center.

Integrated Rights Management

Protect data leaving SAP by automatically and transparently applying digital rights protection to downloaded documents. Integrate with NextLabs Enterprise Data Protection to prevent improper duplication and use of SAP data on endpoint devices.

Leverage ERP as the Centralized Source of Classification

Make the most of existing SAP master data (e.g., Materials or Parts), to eliminate the need to classify data elsewhere. Secure data objects and documents dynamically across key business applications, using existing SAP classification, while preserving existing business processes.

Availability

NextLabs Entitlement Management for SAP with support for PLM, the only product that provides advanced security for PLM objects through both SAP Portal and SAP GUI, is available immediately.