WatchDox: Document Control as a Service

WatchDox, a software-as-a-service document security platform from Confidela, launches its partner program for resellers today. Here’s the lowdown.

Rather than use DRM (data rights management) or encryption to protect sensitive materials from prying eyes, WatchDox has users upload a document through their web portal and set rights and permissions (anything from letting the reader print to copy and paste privileges) on the way to its final destination. The document is then viewable online or within any Office program — if you’ve ever shared a Google Doc, you know what to expect. An Outlook plug-in automates the process so you don’t have to open your browser every time you need to send something securely.

If you become a WatchDox Partner, you’ll get access to not for resale (NFR) accounts, training, marketing collateral, dedicated support, and access to the WatchDox APIs, so you can integrate document security and tracking into your customer’s applications, according to the company.

Confidela demonstrated WatchDox for me, and the solution seemed comprehensive. From the control panel, you can see who opened what document when, and even get a rough fix on their geographic location through their IP address. It even blurs the screen when you first open a document through their website to make it harder to just grab the screen.

WatchDox is available in different “flavors”: WatchDox Business, the standard; WatchDox Publisher for mass distribution of secure documents; and WatchDox Virtual Data Room to, in Confidela’s words, “manage important documents in mergers and acquisition and due diligence scenarios.”

“We’ve made controlling and tracking docs really, really simple,” asserts Adi Ruppin, VP of Marketing for Confidela.

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