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Solutions Hub: discovery and classification for data and AI agents

Discovery and classification for your data, and for the AI agents reaching it

Find, classify, and categorize sensitive data with hundreds of connectors across the data center, cloud, SaaS, and code, agentless from day one, with scan depth you set per source. Two kinds of asset get found here: the data, read and classified into 2,000+ categories, and the models and agents reaching it, sanctioned or not, inventoried as assets in their own right. Every control downstream, and every tool you feed, runs on what this finds.

Forrester Wave, Q2 2026
A Leader
Highest possible score in 11 criteria for sensitive data discovery and classification
Intuit classification challenge
Ranked #1
96.5% weighted precision and recall on a 40,000 record dataset, against 19 other vendors
What gets discovered
Data and AI agents
Sensitive data across hundreds of sources, and the models and agents reaching it, in one inventory
The foundation for data and AI security

Know where your sensitive data lives, how sensitive it is, and which AI can reach it

Data security, privacy, governance, and AI security all start from the same inventory: what data you have, where it lives, and how sensitive it is. BigID discovers sensitive data across cloud and on-premises sources, classifies it with a blend of techniques and enrichment, and keeps that inventory accurate and current at petabyte scale, so access decisions, DLP policies, retention rules, privacy programs, and AI guardrails are built on findings you can trust.

Depth you choose

Metadata, sample, or full scan, set per source and per policy, so scan cost stops deciding how often the estate gets looked at.

Accuracy you can audit

Findings reviewed, refined, and attested inside the product, by the data owners who can tell a false positive from a real one.

The data, and the AI reaching it

Two kinds of asset, one inventory. An agent is discovered as an asset, with the identity it runs under and the data in its reach; the data itself is read and classified.

See what BigID can do

Watch it work

BigID platform overview

Connecting a source, seeing what the classification found in it, and acting on that finding in the same place it was produced.

Overview
In this hub

Prefer to click through it yourself?

See a metadata scan, a smart sample, and classifier-level findings come together in the platform.

Take a tour

Map the whole estate first, then spend full scans where they pay off

BigID separates depth from coverage, so the estate can be mapped continuously and the expensive detail goes where the sampling says it belongs.

Metadata, sampling, and full scans are set per source, so the estate is looked at continuously and every finding reflects this week.

Cloud optimization works around platform throttling, so a job scoped in hours finishes in hours.

Findings go to the data owners who can tell a false positive from a real one, so results get acted on.

What gets connected Cloud and SaaS M365, Workspace, S3 Data center files, databases, shares Pipelines and apps streams, code, SDK AI models and agents sanctioned and shadow 100% agentless, one click provisioning One platform, one scan model Discovery in depth Metadata only pre-scan map the estate with no content read Smart sampling a fast read on what a source holds Customizable sampling detail set per source, per policy Full scan structured and unstructured, no caps assessment ready here What comes out Classified inventory data and AI assets, one place Verified findings reviewed, refined, attested Reports and controls dashboards, ETL, BI, API, MCP telemetry on every scan, start to finish
Two kinds of asset go in, and coverage and depth are separate settings for both. BigID connects to hundreds of data sources with no agents to deploy, and finds the models and agents reaching them, then decides per source how far to look: metadata alone to map the estate, sampling for a fast read on what a source holds, configurable sampling where more detail is worth the time, and uncapped full scans on structured and unstructured data where it matters. A usable assessment lands after sampling and before the full scan, which keeps the inventory current instead of rebuilt once a quarter.
Start here

Where teams start when they evaluate discovery and classification

Capabilities

Discover and classify sensitive data across every source, at the depth and scale you choose

In the order the work runs: decide how deep to look, identify what is there, reach every source it lives in, hold that up at petabyte scale, run it without a project team, and report on it where the rest of the business already works.

Discovery in depth

Map everything you own from metadata alone, get a fast read on what each source holds, then run full scans where the findings justify them.

  • Metadata only pre-scanning, so the estate can be mapped before any content is read
  • Smart sampling for a fast assessment of what a source actually holds
  • Customizable sampling, so scan detail is configured per source and per policy
  • High speed full scans across structured and unstructured data, with no volume or frequency caps

AI-powered classification

Accurate classification is what every downstream control depends on. 2,000+ pretrained categories, LLM and prompt based classification, and custom models identify the data, accuracy is proven in independent testing, and the people who own the data review and correct what it finds.

  • 2,000+ pretrained and tuned categories of sensitive data
  • LLM based categorization and taxonomy detection
  • Prompt based LLM classification: define what you are looking for in natural language
  • Logic for finding combinations of data attributes across structured and unstructured data
  • Category first review and refine, natively in product, for the people who own the taxonomy
  • Custom model training inside the product
  • Bring your own AI, so classification runs on a model you have already approved
  • Agentic supervision, so classification checks its own work
  • Ranked #1 for accuracy in Intuit's 20 vendor classification challenge, at 96.5% weighted precision and recall
  • Delegated workflow for attestation and validation of findings

Coverage across data and AI

Hundreds of connectors, none of it agent based. Two kinds of asset get found here: the data stores, and the models and agents reaching them. Forrester scored BigID 5 out of 5 on both cloud and on-premises data source coverage, and Gartner’s 2026 Magic Quadrant for Data and Analytics Governance Platforms credited the breadth of out-of-the-box connectors, especially for semistructured and unstructured sources.

  • Hundreds of connectors spanning the data center, cloud, SaaS, and code
  • 100% agentless from day one, with nothing to deploy or maintain on the sources themselves
  • One click automatic data source provisioning
  • One platform for structured, semistructured, and unstructured data
  • Data at rest and data in motion, under the same classification
  • No pre knowledge of schema required
  • Hundreds of file formats, including the specialized CAD formats industries like semiconductor run on
  • Discover the models and agents themselves, sanctioned and unsanctioned, and keep monitoring them as they change
  • See what data each model or agent can reach, through the identity it runs under
  • Classify the data inside the AI plumbing too: RAG pipelines, vector stores, and prompts, against the same categories
  • Simple setup for cloud and hybrid cloud, so a POC converts into production in days

Scan scale and speed

Scale out, snapshots, and just in time rescans keep petabyte workloads and throttled SaaS platforms inside the scan window.

  • Petabyte scale, with category first lateral scale out of scanners for the largest workloads
  • Full speed and performance telemetry while a scan runs, not after it fails
  • Intelligent cloud and SaaS optimization that works around platform throttling, including M365
  • Advanced snapshot support for secure offline scanning
  • Ephemeral cloud scanners that spin up and spin down with the workload
  • Just in time scanning of new and modified data, so one change does not trigger a full rescan
  • Deployable as an ultra fast embeddable SDK inside custom applications and data pipelines

Scan operationalization

Discovery becomes an operating process once scans run on a schedule. Frequency, depth, blackout windows, and triggers are all configuration, and all of it is reachable by API, by MCP, and from the assistants your teams already work in.

  • Configure frequency, detail depth, blackout windows, exclusions, change based scans, and event triggers
  • Full agentic supervision and reporting across the scan estate itself
  • 100% API and MCP coverage for advanced control
  • Native scan control and reporting from inside Claude, Copilot, Gemini, and GPT

Reporting and audit

Reporting reaches the places decisions get made: the warehouse, the BI tool, and the assistant, all on the same data the scan produced.

  • Customizable in-product dashboards
  • Bespoke AskBigID reports from inside Claude, Copilot, and GPT
  • ETL into S3, BigQuery, Snowflake, and Databricks
  • Customer reporting through Power BI, Looker, and Tableau
Where it runs

Hundreds of connectors, hundreds of file formats, and the AI reaching all of it

The same classification runs against every type of source below, so a finding in a warehouse table and a finding in a file share describe sensitivity the same way. AI models and agents are different in kind: they are found and inventoried as assets alongside the data they reach. Nothing is installed on the sources themselves.

Cloud and SaaS

Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Box, and Dropbox, with cloud optimization built for platforms that throttle.

Object storage and lakes

Amazon S3, Azure Blob, and Google Cloud Storage, down to the bucket and prefix.

Warehouses and databases

Snowflake, Databricks, and BigQuery, plus relational and NoSQL on prem and managed, with no pre knowledge of schema required.

File shares and data center

SMB, NFS, CIFS, and NetApp, including mainframe environments and the legacy shares nobody owns.

AI models and agents

Sanctioned and shadow alike, discovered as assets with the data in their reach, plus the RAG pipelines, vector stores, and prompts behind them.

Pipelines, code, and custom apps

Data in motion, code repositories, and the embeddable SDK for classifying inside your own applications.

Third party validation

A Leader in The Forrester Wave for sensitive data discovery and classification

The Forrester Wave™, Q2 2026

“BigID is engineered for performance and petabyte scale.”
The Forrester Wave™: Sensitive Data Discovery And Classification Solutions, Q2 2026
  • Named a Leader, one of three among the ten vendors evaluated
  • Cited for strengths in discovery across cloud and on-premises sources, mainframe environments included, and for a blend of classification techniques, enrichment, and tuning that covers use cases from compliance and information governance through to AI security and governance
Highest possible score, current offering
  • 5/5Cloud data source coverage
  • 5/5On-premises data source coverage
  • 5/5Enrichment for classification
  • 5/5Language support
  • 5/5Tuning to improve accuracy
  • 5/5Integrations
  • 5/5Secure-by-design commitments
Highest possible score, strategy
  • 5/5Innovation
  • 5/5Roadmap
  • 5/5Partner ecosystem
  • 5/5Adoption
Read the Forrester Wave report →

The Intuit classification challenge

  • Intuit put 20 vendors from the US and Israel through a head to head classification challenge
  • The test set was a synthetic dataset of more than 40,000 records, half for training and half for evaluation
  • Scoring was precision and recall across data types, plus a global cross-label assessment, run by Intuit's own security team
  • BigID won it, at 96.5% weighted precision and recall
“BigID's technology demonstrated impressive capabilities in accurately classifying data at scale.”
Gleb Keselman, Director of Security Software Engineering, Intuit
Read how the challenge was run →
And in a customer's words
“BigID gives me better visibility into sensitive data, helps prioritize security protections, reduces attack surfaces, strengthens compliance, and increases operational efficiency overall, a strategic pillar of our AI-First Cybersecurity Transformation.”
CISO, global healthcare company
Read how Fiserv runs it as one control plane →
FAQ

Answers on data discovery and classification: depth, accuracy, compliance, and AI

Do we have to full scan a petabyte to get started?

No, and the deployment model assumes you will not. Metadata only pre-scanning maps the estate without reading content, smart sampling gives you a first assessment of what each source holds, and full scans get pointed at what the sampling flagged. Depth is set per source, so the inventory can stay current instead of being rebuilt once a quarter.

How do we know the classification is right?

Outside tests and an internal workflow both back it. Forrester scored BigID 5 out of 5 on tuning to improve accuracy and on enrichment for classification. Intuit ran 20 vendors against a 40,000 record challenge and BigID won it at 96.5% weighted precision and recall. Inside the product, agentic supervision has classification check its own work, and findings go to the data owners who can tell a false positive from a real one.

Does this find our AI agents, or only the data they touch?

Both, and they are two different jobs. The models and agents are discovered as assets, sanctioned and unsanctioned, with the identity each one runs under and the data in its reach, then monitored as they change. The data is read and classified, inside RAG pipelines, vector stores, and prompts as well as in the stores behind them. One inventory holds both, which is what lets an AI guardrail and a data policy describe the same object.

Does it find regulated data like PII, and support GDPR and other regulations?

Yes. The same data classification covers personal, financial, and health data. 2,000+ pretrained categories identify PII and other regulated data in structured and unstructured sources, in the languages your business runs on (Forrester scored BigID 5 out of 5 on language support). The classified inventory is what privacy and compliance programs work from, including GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, and it feeds privacy and compliance automation directly.

How does data discovery and classification relate to DSPM?

It is the foundation DSPM is built on. Data security posture management (DSPM) depends on knowing what data exists, where it lives, and how sensitive it is. Discovery and classification produces that inventory, and DSPM, access governance, data lifecycle management, and AI governance each work from the same findings.

Resources

Go deeper on discovery and classification

Analyst report / start here
The Forrester Wave™: Sensitive Data Discovery And Classification Solutions, Q2 2026

Ten vendors scored against 25 criteria, with BigID named a Leader and given the highest possible score in eleven of them. The evaluation criteria alone are a usable shortlist for your own.

Get the report →

Point us at the source you most want scanned.

A scoped assessment on your real data tells you more than a demo on sample data, across the formats, volumes, platforms, and AI agents you need covered.

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