Locking Down Your Data at the Source: How Everpure and Utimaco Deliver the Gold Standard in Storage Security

Data is your organization's most valuable asset. Yet too many enterprises still rely on a fragmented approach to protecting it — encryption here, key management there, siloed policies everywhere. That patchwork creates risk and operational inefficiency. 
Everpure and Utimaco have joined forces to deliver a tightly integrated solution that pairs Everpure's industry-leading FlashArray storage platform with Utimaco's Enterprise Secure Key Manager (ESKM). Together, they give enterprises a unified, enterprise-grade approach to data protection — one that closes the gap between where data lives and how the keys that protect it are managed.

The Problem with the Status Quo

Enterprise storage environments are sprawling. Data moves across flash arrays, databases, cloud tenants, and hybrid infrastructure at remarkable speed. That sprawl creates a fundamental security challenge: how do you maintain consistent, enforceable control over who accesses what, and when?

Most organizations encrypt their data at rest — and that's a necessary first step. But encryption alone isn't enough. If the encryption keys live on the same system as the data they protect, you haven't actually created separation between your data and the ability to unlock it. A compromised storage array could mean compromised keys, and compromised keys mean your encrypted data is no longer secure.

At the same time, IT teams managing multiple storage platforms, databases, and cloud environments often end up juggling multiple key management tools — or worse, no formal key management at all. The result is administrative complexity, compliance gaps, and unnecessary risk.

The Solution: Centralized Key Management Meets World-Class Storage

The Everpure and Utimaco joint solution attacks this problem directly. Here's how it works.

Everpure FlashArray serves as the primary storage platform. It delivers the performance, scalability, and reliability that modern enterprise workloads demand — from AI and analytics to mission-critical databases. FlashArray encrypts data at rest natively, ensuring that data stored on the array is always protected.

Utimaco's ESKM steps in as the external key management authority. Rather than storing encryption keys on the FlashArray itself, ESKM holds them in a separate, hardened system — completely outside the storage infrastructure. When authorized users or applications need to access encrypted data, ESKM supplies the key through a secure, policy-enforced channel. When they don't have authorization, the key stays locked away and the data remains inaccessible.

How the Integration Works

The two systems communicate using KMIP — the Key Management Interoperability Protocol. KMIP is an OASIS open standard designed specifically for this purpose: enabling secure, standardized communication between encryption clients (like FlashArray) and external key managers (like ESKM). Because KMIP is a recognized industry standard, the integration is clean, reliable, and doesn't require custom development or proprietary connectors.

The workflow is straightforward. FlashArray generates a request for encryption key services. ESKM receives that request over a KMIP-secured connection, validates the request against its access control policies, and delivers the appropriate key to the authorized requester. The entire exchange is logged, auditable, and governed by the centralized policies you define in ESKM. Users interact with their data normally — the encryption and key management operations happen transparently in the background, with zero impact on operational performance.

Critically, ESKM's role doesn't stop at FlashArray. Because ESKM uses the KMIP standard, it can serve as the central key management layer for your entire encryption ecosystem — including databases, cloud key management tenants, and other enterprise data protection tools. One platform, one set of policies, one pane of glass for managing every encryption key across your environment.

Why This Matters: Six Benefits That Move the Business

Enhanced data protection. Separating key ownership from data storage eliminates the single point of failure that plagues many encryption deployments. Even if someone gains access to the storage array, they can't access the data without the keys — and the keys live somewhere else entirely.

Higher data security standards. ESKM enforces strict access controls at the key level. That means tighter security across your entire digital environment, whether your infrastructure is physical, virtual, or cloud-based.

Strong compliance posture. Regulatory frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and emerging AI data governance mandates all require demonstrable control over sensitive data. Keeping keys separate from encrypted data and maintaining centralized, auditable key management is exactly what auditors want to see.

Centralized key management. Administrators manage every key in the environment through a single interface, governed by consistent policies. That dramatically reduces manual effort, eliminates shadow key management practices, and gives security teams full visibility.

Increased operational efficiency. Encryption and decryption happen transparently. Applications and users experience no disruption — and IT teams stop spending hours tracking down which key lives where.

Flexibility and interoperability. KMIP support means ESKM works across your broader security ecosystem, not just with FlashArray. That's a significant advantage as your infrastructure evolves.

The Bottom Line

Data security isn't a checkbox; it's a discipline. The Everpure and Utimaco integration provides enterprises with an architecture for applying data security discipline at scale: world-class storage performance, true separation of data and keys, centralized policy enforcement, and flexibility to expand protection across every corner of their environment. That's not just a better security posture. That's a competitive advantage.

Gain full insight into ESKM's integration with Everpure FlashArray, Download our Joint Solution Brief here

Try It Before You Commit

Utimaco offers a fully functional 60-day trial of the virtual ESKM (vESKM). The virtual appliance comes pre-configured and security hardened, enabling both local and remote key access right out of the box. It integrates with Utimaco's certified General Purpose Hardware Security Module (HSM) for organizations that require the highest level of physical key protection. If you want to evaluate the joint solution in your environment before committing, the vESKM trial is an easy starting point.

About the Author

Head of Product Marketing, Utimaco