Bringing Zero Trust to SAP Landscapes: A Policy-Driven Approach to Digital Transformation
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Key Takeaways
Zero Trust principles are essential for hybrid SAP environments, addressing the limitations of traditional role-based access models in today's compliance landscape.
Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) and Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC) are becoming the preferred frameworks for fine-grained data governance in SAP-integrated environments, enabling centralized policy enforcement.
Implementing least-privileged access through Zero Trust security can reduce risks and costs associated with SAP transformations while maintaining operational flexibility and compliance across diverse regulatory environments.
SAP systems are central to many vital business processes; however, increasing complexity in cloud environments means that legacy access models often lack the flexibility and granularity needed today. The shift toward Zero Trust and Data-Centric Security is leading organizations to reevaluate how access is defined, enforced, and managed. Zero Trust operates on the principle of no implicit access and only provides least privilege access based on necessity.
As SAP-focused enterprises accelerate their transition to hybrid and multi-cloud environments, NextLabs is becoming a vital enabler of secure, policy-driven access control and data protection. In a recent ERP transformation, global communications leader Viasat Inc. partnered with NextLabs to implement a Zero Trust Data-Centric Security model to safeguards sensitive data across both commercial and government operations.
Facing the challenge of unifying access controls and data protection across regions and regulatory regimes, Viasat utilized NextLabs’ dynamic policy enforcement to augment the security model of its ERP system on SAP S/4HANA without sacrificing user experience and business agility. The solution utilizes real-time authorization based on user attributes, data classification, and geographic context, allowing for zero trust based least privilege access across both SAP and non-SAP systems.
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With operations in commercial broadband, military communications, and in-flight connectivity, Viasat needed to keep sensitive customer and government data secure without sacrificing business agility. A key requirement was the ability to enforce need to know access, data security, and compliance procedure across it’s global user base to adhere to various regulations across North America, Europe, and Asia. To address this, Viasat implemented a Zero Trust Data-Centric Security approach powered by NextLabs.
Industry Context: CIEM and PBAM on the Rise
Viasat’s approach reflects the growing industry trend toward Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) and granular, context-aware authorization models. Recent analyses by KuppingerCole indicate that demand for dynamic, policy-driven security frameworks is increasing, particularly in highly regulated sectors such as defense, healthcare, and finance.
Another KuppingerCole report on PBAM (Policy-Based Access Management) highlights its growing adoption as a robust alternative to static role-based access control (RBAC), particularly in environments where factors such as user attributes or data sensitivity are crucial.
Globalization has reshaped the economic landscape of countries worldwide, significantly impacting industries. CIEM and PBAM solutions become essential in meeting stringent cybersecurity needs and data protection regulations. Regions such as North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific are seeing a rise in cross-border data governance requirements, prompting enterprises to adopt centralized, policy-based frameworks that ensure consistent enforcement across the extended enterprise.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
Zero Trust is becoming crucial for hybrid SAP environments. As enterprises migrate SAP workloads to the cloud, traditional role-based access models fall short of today’s compliance and business operation needs. Solutions like NextLabs’ policy-based access platform enable real-time, attribute-driven controls that scale across global operations. SAP professionals can now design multi-cloud ecosystems with built-in compliance, instead of adding it later.
CIEM and PBAC are poised to dominate access control strategies by 2026. Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) and Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC) set the standard for fine-grained governance in SAP-integrated environments. Viasat’s implementation demonstrates how centralized policies can effectively segregate data without requiring separate platforms. This simplifies operations for organizations serving both commercial and government clients with different data handling requirements.
Compliance automation reduces costs and minimizes risks associated with SAP-led transformations. By implementing least-privileged access at the data level, companies can mitigate risks associated with overprovisioning and unauthorized access. Zero Trust security enables secure collaboration across SAP S/4HANA, SAP Analytics Cloud, and custom applications. Viasat’s experience demonstrates that regulatory compliance can be achieved without sacrificing operational flexibility. SAPinsiders should focus on automation, data-centric design, and vendor ecosystems with native SAP integration.
