CTERA introduces secure AI data intelligence service

CTERA has announced its expansion into the artificial intelligence (AI) sector with the launch of a new Data Intelligence offering aimed at enabling secure enterprise AI grounded in knowledge generated from distributed, unstructured data sources.

The company's new service allows organisations to connect their file storage to their chosen AI systems. This connection provides real-time private context while enforcing file permissions and preventing data leakage, thus ensuring complete data privacy.

As many enterprises move towards broad AI adoption, significant challenges exist in ensuring these systems are both business-relevant and security-compliant. Existing AI services often lack the capability to handle live enterprise file storage without inflicting network overheads and risking data leakage to unauthorised users.

CTERA's solution extends its hybrid cloud data platform to process, scan, and ingest unstructured data. This data is then transformed into semantically indexed knowledge, which can be used with any AI service and deployed in a range of infrastructures, from public and hybrid to private clouds.

Among the features of CTERA Data Intelligence is a semantic Retrieval-Augmented Generation engine that uses the CTERA Notification API for continuous updates from live data sources. The offering also includes identity-based enforcement that restricts AI data visibility based on file-level access permissions.

The platform introduces customisable virtual assistants with predefined characters and domain-specific knowledge scopes. Meanwhile, for organisations wanting total privacy, an on-premises option ensures both data and LLM remain 100% private.

CTERA Data Intelligence also offers distributed ingestion through the CTERA Direct protocol, a feature designed to eliminate costly egress fees and reduce latency impacts. The product includes agency extensions for popular AI services, such as OpenAI and Microsoft Copilot, with SSO authentication.

Oded Nagel, CEO of CTERA, commented on the product, stating, "With CTERA Data Intelligence, we combine our expertise in secure file services, connecting distributed object and file data sources with automated AI data processing. We're enabling AI that truly understands your data—delivering relevant, up-to-date insights grounded in the unique context of your enterprise, all while ensuring the highest levels of data privacy and security."

Camberley Bates, Chief Technology Advisor at The Futurum Group, also provided insights on the development, saying, "The success and progress of enterprise AI projects are very much linked to the data quality including classification, security, and data governance requirements. These issues are particularly challenging for large enterprises as they work to integrate solutions amidst a complex web of existing storage systems and access rights. By directly addressing these requirements, CTERA Data Intelligence has the potential to significantly accelerate AI adoption across the enterprise landscape."

Currently, CTERA Data Intelligence is available in early access. Organisations and partners interested in exploring the service's capabilities are encouraged to contact CTERA for further information.