Voltage SecureData vs Ubiq

Executive Summary

OpenText Voltage SecureData, now part of OpenText’s Data Privacy and Protection portfolio, provides enterprise data protection capabilities for sensitive data across hybrid environments. Its capabilities include format-preserving encryption, tokenization, masking, hashing, centralized policy and key management, and broad platform support.

These capabilities are valuable and have been used by large enterprises to protect sensitive data in regulated environments.

Ubiq addresses a similar high-level problem, but with a different architecture and operating model: protecting sensitive values directly and governing whether users, applications, service accounts, APIs, pipelines, BI tools, AI workflows, and downstream systems can access those values in cleartext at runtime.

The key distinction is not whether both platforms protect sensitive data. They do. The distinction is how each platform is deployed, integrated, governed, and extended across modern application, database, warehouse, API, BI, pipeline, and AI workflows.

The strongest comparison is architectural: Voltage SecureData is an established enterprise data protection platform with format-preserving encryption, tokenization, masking, and centralized control. Ubiq is designed as a modern runtime sensitive data protection layer with identity-aware field and record controls, developer-friendly integrations, and enforcement across applications, databases, warehouses, APIs, analytics tools, AI workflows, and downstream systems.

Key Takeaways

• OpenText Voltage SecureData and Ubiq both focus on protecting sensitive data, but they differ in architecture, implementation model, and runtime enforcement approach.
• Voltage SecureData is strong for format-preserving encryption, tokenization, masking, hashing, centralized control, key management, and established enterprise data protection use cases.
• Ubiq protects selected sensitive values directly and controls whether an identity or workflow can access those values in cleartext at runtime.
• Ubiq emphasizes identity-aware runtime authorization across users, applications, service accounts, pipelines, BI tools, AI workflows, and downstream systems.
• Ubiq is especially useful when organizations need modern implementation patterns across SDKs, APIs, databases, warehouses, BI tools, pipelines, and AI/RAG workflows without a heavy legacy operating model.

Control Boundary View

Where OpenText Voltage SecureData Helps

OpenText Voltage SecureData provides enterprise data protection capabilities for sensitive data across complex environments.

Its capabilities can help teams:

• Protect sensitive fields with format-preserving encryption
• Tokenize sensitive values
• Use high-performance tokenization patterns
• Apply masking or hashing where appropriate
• Preserve data formats for legacy applications and databases
• Centrally manage data protection policies
• Centrally manage cryptographic keys
• Protect regulated data such as payment, customer, healthcare, financial, and identity data
• Support compliance and privacy requirements
• Integrate data protection across hybrid IT environments
• Support environments where application changes may need to be minimized

These capabilities are valuable for enterprise data protection programs.

They help answer questions such as:

• Which sensitive fields require encryption, tokenization, masking, or hashing?
• Which values need format preservation?
• How can protected data remain usable in legacy systems?
• Which policies should apply to protected fields?
• How should keys be managed centrally?
• How can sensitive data be protected across regulated environments?

For organizations with established Voltage deployments, Voltage SecureData can provide proven data protection patterns for regulated enterprise workloads.

Where Ubiq Is Different

Ubiq is focused on runtime sensitive data protection.

That means Ubiq is designed to answer a specific operational question:

Should this user, application, service account, pipeline, BI tool, AI workflow, or downstream system receive this sensitive value in cleartext right now?

Ubiq protects selected sensitive fields and records, then enforces cleartext access through identity-aware policy at runtime.

This allows organizations to:

• Protect sensitive values directly
• Govern cleartext access by identity, role, application, dataset, and context
• Apply protection across applications, databases, warehouses, APIs, BI tools, pipelines, and AI workflows
• Restrict cleartext access for service accounts and automation
• Reduce exposure in BI and analytics workflows
• Support AI, RAG, notebook, MCP, and agent workflows without broadly exposing sensitive values
• Preserve protection when data is copied, exported, embedded, indexed, replicated, or consumed downstream
• Maintain separation between system access and sensitive value authorization

The difference is not that Voltage protects data and Ubiq does not, or vice versa.

The difference is how Ubiq delivers identity-aware runtime enforcement for sensitive values across modern data workflows with lightweight integration patterns.

Comparison Matrix

Key Architectural Differences

Established Data Protection Platform vs Runtime Sensitive Value Enforcement

Voltage SecureData is an established enterprise data protection platform.

It is well known for format-preserving encryption, tokenization, masking, hashing, centralized policy, and key management.

Ubiq is focused on runtime sensitive data protection.

Ubiq’s core question is:

Which identities and workflows should be able to access selected sensitive values in cleartext?

This distinction matters because many organizations already have encryption, tokenization, or key management tools. The missing control is often runtime authorization over sensitive values after access to a system has already been granted.

Format-Preserving Protection vs Identity-Governed Data Use

Voltage SecureData has deep roots in format-preserving encryption and tokenization. These capabilities are useful when protected values must retain their original structure for legacy systems, databases, payment workflows, or regulated applications.

Ubiq also supports data protection methods such as encryption, tokenization, and masking.

The architectural difference is the emphasis on identity-governed data use.

Ubiq is designed to control whether protected values should be revealed in cleartext based on the identity and context of the access request.

This helps support scenarios such as:

• Same table, different users
• Same dataset, different applications
• Same pipeline, different service accounts
• Same BI dashboard, different authorization levels
• Same AI workflow, different data exposure rules
• Same downstream data copy, protected values unless cleartext is explicitly authorized

Centralized Enterprise Platform vs Lightweight Runtime Integration

Voltage SecureData is commonly deployed as part of an enterprise data protection program with centralized policy, key management, and integration planning.

That approach can be appropriate for large, regulated environments, especially where there are existing Voltage deployments or legacy format-preserving requirements.

Ubiq is designed to integrate into modern application and data workflows through lightweight runtime enforcement patterns.

This makes Ubiq well suited for:

• Application-layer protection
• Database integrations
• Warehouse integrations
• API workflows
• BI access patterns
• Service accounts and automation
• AI, RAG, notebook, MCP, and agent workflows
• Downstream data protection

The distinction is not simply “which tool protects data.” The distinction is how quickly and cleanly the protection model can be embedded into modern workflows.

Key and Policy Management vs Runtime Cleartext Authorization

Voltage SecureData provides centralized key and policy management for data protection workflows.

Ubiq also provides policy-governed protection, but the emphasis is runtime cleartext authorization.

With Ubiq, the question is not only:

Which fields should be encrypted or tokenized?

The question becomes:

Is this user, application, service account, API, pipeline, BI tool, or AI workflow allowed to see this sensitive value in cleartext right now?

That distinction is especially important when many identities and workflows touch the same data but should not receive the same level of access.

Traditional Enterprise Workloads vs Modern AI and Analytics Workflows

Voltage SecureData has long been used in enterprise environments with structured data, legacy applications, and regulated workloads.

Ubiq is designed around the modern reality that sensitive data is accessed by more than traditional applications and databases.

Sensitive values may be used by:

• Warehouses
• BI tools
• Data pipelines
• Event streams
• APIs
• RAG systems
• AI agents
• MCP tools
• Notebooks
• Vector stores
• Downstream replicas
• Vendor feeds

Ubiq is built to enforce sensitive value access across these runtime paths, not only inside a traditional application or database control point.

When to Use Both

Voltage SecureData and Ubiq may both be relevant in large enterprise environments, depending on architecture, incumbent tooling, and desired operating model.

Organizations may continue using Voltage where they need:

• Existing Voltage SecureData deployments
• Format-preserving encryption for legacy systems
• Established tokenization or FPE workflows
• Centralized enterprise data protection infrastructure
• Existing Voltage key and policy management
• Compatibility with applications or databases already integrated with Voltage
• Enterprise data protection programs built around OpenText/Voltage tooling

Ubiq should be considered when organizations also need:

• Runtime sensitive value protection across modern workflows
• Identity-aware cleartext authorization by user, role, application, dataset, and context
• Lightweight integration into applications, APIs, databases, warehouses, BI tools, pipelines, and AI workflows
• Protection for service accounts and automation
• Cleartext control for AI, RAG, notebook, MCP, and agent workflows
• Protection that persists when data is copied, exported, embedded, indexed, replicated, or consumed downstream
• A modern developer experience for implementing sensitive data protection without unnecessary infrastructure complexity

The layered model is simple:

• Use existing Voltage deployments where they already provide effective FPE, tokenization, masking, key management, and enterprise data protection controls.
• Use Ubiq where runtime identity-aware sensitive value protection is needed across modern application, data, analytics, and AI workflows.

How Ubiq Differentiates from OpenText Voltage SecureData

Ubiq differentiates from Voltage SecureData through a focused runtime enforcement model for sensitive values.

With Ubiq, selected sensitive fields can remain encrypted, tokenized, masked, or otherwise protected by default. Cleartext access is granted only when the requesting identity or workflow is authorized by policy at runtime.

This allows organizations to:

• Protect sensitive values across applications, databases, warehouses, APIs, and analytics workflows
• Control cleartext access for users, applications, service accounts, pipelines, and AI systems
• Reduce exposure in BI and reporting workflows
• Protect sensitive data used by AI, RAG, notebook, model, and agent workflows
• Preserve protection when data is copied, exported, embedded, indexed, replicated, or consumed downstream
• Maintain separation between system access and sensitive value authorization
• Integrate sensitive data protection into modern software and data workflows

In this model:

• Voltage SecureData provides established enterprise FPE, tokenization, masking, hashing, key management, and centralized data protection controls.
• Ubiq provides runtime sensitive value protection focused on identity-aware cleartext enforcement.

The right choice depends on the customer’s architecture, incumbent systems, deployment preferences, legacy compatibility requirements, and the level of identity-aware runtime enforcement required.

Internal Evaluation Questions

When evaluating OpenText Voltage SecureData and Ubiq, teams should ask:

• Are we looking for an established enterprise data protection platform or a focused runtime sensitive data protection layer?
• Do we have existing Voltage SecureData deployments that should remain in place?
• Which sensitive fields require format-preserving encryption or tokenization?
• Which sensitive fields require identity-aware cleartext authorization at runtime?
• Which users, applications, service accounts, APIs, pipelines, BI tools, and AI workflows can access sensitive values today?
• Which workflows receive sensitive data in cleartext?
• How much infrastructure are we willing to deploy and operate?
• Do we need legacy FPE compatibility, or do we need lightweight integration into modern applications and data workflows?
• What happens when sensitive data is exported, copied, logged, joined, materialized, embedded, indexed, or replicated?
• Do BI tools, dashboards, extracts, and reports expose sensitive values?
• Do AI, RAG, notebook, MCP, vector store, model training, model inference, or agent workflows access sensitive values?
• Should service accounts, APIs, pipelines, or automation workflows receive cleartext, or only protected values?
• Which control determines whether a specific identity or workflow can see sensitive values in cleartext?
• Does the protection model need to work across platforms beyond a single application, database, or warehouse?

Summary

OpenText Voltage SecureData provides established enterprise data protection capabilities for format-preserving encryption, tokenization, masking, hashing, key management, and centralized control.

Ubiq addresses the same overall data protection problem with a focused runtime sensitive data protection model.

By protecting selected sensitive values directly and governing cleartext access through identity-aware policy, Ubiq helps organizations reduce exposure across users, applications, service accounts, APIs, pipelines, databases, warehouses, BI tools, AI workflows, exports, and downstream systems.

Voltage SecureData is an established enterprise data protection platform.

Ubiq is a modern runtime sensitive value protection layer.

The best fit depends on architecture, deployment model, workflow coverage, legacy compatibility needs, and the level of identity-aware runtime enforcement required.