5 Reasons Efficiency Is the Quiet Power Behind Effective DSPM

When people evaluate Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) solutions, the conversation usually starts with the big three obvious questions:

“Can it scan across cloud, SaaS, and AI workloads?”

“Can it detect my sensitive data and prioritize risk accurately?”

“Can it adapt to a changing environment and regulatory landscape?”

All of that matters. But here’s the one question that typically gets overlooked:

“Can it actually run continuously without draining my budget, bandwidth, or team?”

Efficiency might not make for flashy headlines, but it’s the difference between a platform that scales with your business and one that stalls it. In fact, it’s so critical that it forms one of the four pillars of the S.A.F.E. framework for DSPM:

• Scalable: Able to handle massive, dynamic environments across cloud and SaaS.

• Accurate: Smart enough to classify sensitive data correctly and prioritize real risks.

• Flexible: Adaptable to different policies, roles, architectures, and evolving regulations.

• Efficient: Lightweight and affordable enough to run continuously without operational drag.

In this blog, we will discuss the five reasons why efficiency deserves just as much attention as accuracy and coverage, and why skipping it can put your entire data security posture at risk.

1. Continuous Protection Requires Continuous Operation

The entire premise of DSPM is based on continuous visibility into where your sensitive data resides, how it is accessed, and how it is used. However, if your platform is too heavy, too slow, or too expensive to run daily or even weekly, it becomes a snapshot tool, rather than a comprehensive security platform.

An efficient DSPM solution should be:

• Lightweight enough to run constantly without crushing performance or budget

• Serverless or near-serverless in architecture

• Able to intelligently sample data, instead of performing random sampling or full brute-force scans, to minimize expensive data movement and storage

Bottom line: An efficient DSPM runs frequently
When scanning is cheap and fast, you run it often. When it’s expensive and slow, you wait. That difference is where dwell time begins and attackers thrive.

2. Inefficient DSPM = Operational Debt

Some DSPM platforms rely on traditional, heavyweight architectures that require ongoing tuning, infrastructure management, and performance scaling. The result?

• Your cloud compute costs creep up

• Your teams waste time chasing down configuration bottlenecks

• You need more staff to maintain the platform than to act on its findings

The Bedrock DSPM Testing Guide states plainly: if a DSPM solution requires constant overhead to operate, it cannot be trusted to deliver continuous risk reduction.

Bottom line: An efficient DSPM is about reducing friction
It’s about reducing operational friction so your team can focus on fixing issues, not babysitting the tool.

3. Cost Drives Coverage (and Gaps)

One of the biggest efficiency pitfalls is selective coverage caused by cost. When DSPM scanning is expensive or disruptive, organizations often start scoping out exceptions:

“Let’s exclude dev/test environments.”

“Let’s only scan the critical S3 buckets.”

“Let’s run it once a quarter instead of weekly.”

That’s how gaps form. And those gaps are exactly where shadow data, forgotten PII, and risky LLM inputs tend to live.

Bottom line: An efficient DSPM encourages broader scanning
It’s cost-effective enough to include everything when scanning, from cloud storage to collaboration platforms, AI pipelines to unmanaged SaaS.

4. Efficiency Feeds Faster Response

Speed matters in DSPM, not just in scanning, but in response. DSPs must:

• Prioritize findings with real-time context

• Deliver lightweight, low-latency remediation triggers

• Feed alerts directly into ticketing, SOAR, and data team workflows

The Bedrock DSPM Testing Guide emphasizes that when DSPM tools are hindered by complex architecture or delayed scans, remediation becomes reactive rather than proactive.

Bottom line: An efficient DSPM removes lag-time
Efficiency removes the lag between detection and action, closing the window attackers count on.

5. Sustainability Is the Hidden Win

A DSPM solution that only works under controlled, limited conditions isn't a solution. It’s a proof-of-concept on life support. With an efficient DSPM:

• Scan frequency stays consistent, even across new regions, SaaS apps, or data lakes

• Teams can build repeatable, automated workflows without relying on manual workarounds

The Bedrock DSPM Testing Guide encourages organizations to assess efficiency not only on a feature checklist, but also in terms of how easily, affordably, and sustainably the platform operates in production.

Bottom line: Efficient DSPM platforms are sustainable
If your DSPM isn’t something you can run every day, in every environment, without compromise, it’s not built to last.

Final Thought:Efficiency Is What Makes Everything Else Possible

Security vendors often sell simplicity. But when it comes to protecting enterprise data, oversimplification is a trap.

You can’t scale what you can’t afford.
You can’t respond quickly if your scans are delayed.
You can’t protect what you don’t continuously see.

Efficiency isn’t the loudest selling point for DSPM, but it might be the most important one.

The most effective DSPM platforms are built with efficiency in their DNA:

• Serverless architectures

• Metadata-driven scanning

• Low operational lift and predictable cost

• Speed that matches your business, not your budget constraints

When you’re securing petabytes of critical data across global cloud estates, the question isn’t just what your DSPM finds. It’s how often, how fast, and how easily it finds it.

Download the Bedrock Security Testing Guide DSPM testing guide and start evaluating your next DSPM solution today.