The Advantages of Library-Based Architectures Over Proxies

Introduction

As organizations manage increasing volumes of sensitive data across applications, databases, and data warehouses, encryption, tokenization, and masking (which we’ll refer to as “methods” or “data security methods” throughout this document) is no longer optional. It’s a fundamental requirement for security, compliance, and risk management. However, how these methods are implemented can significantly impact performance, scalability, operational efficiency, and cost.

Many traditional solutions rely on a proxy/gateway architecture, where all encryption and decryption operations are handled by a central service before data is stored or transmitted. While this approach may seem straightforward, it introduces immense friction, particularly in database and data warehouse environments:

• Performance Bottlenecks – Every read and write operation must pass through the gateway, slowing down queries, ETL jobs, and analytics workloads.
• Scalability Issues – As data volumes grow, scaling a proxy/gateway requires additional compute, networking, and maintenance, increasing costs and management burdens.
• Security Risks – A gateway becomes a single point of compromise—if it fails or is breached, all protected data may be at risk.
• Operational Complexity – Databases and data warehouses require high availability and low latency, but a gateway adds failure points and infrastructure overhead.

In contrast, Ubiq’s library-based approach eliminates these challenges by embedding these methods directly within applications, databases, and data warehouses. This decentralized model ensures high performance, low overhead, and seamless scalability without disrupting critical operations.

This document explores the key differences between proxy/gateway encryption and Ubiq’s library-based approach, outlining why organizations seeking scalable and efficient data security methods should move away from centralized processing models.

Why Ubiq’s Library-Based Approach is Better Than a Proxy/Gateway Model

1. Eliminating Friction in Database and Data Warehouse Environments
   • Proxy/gateway models introduce significant latency and performance bottlenecks in database and data warehouse environments. Every query, transaction, or analytics operation must route through the encryption proxy, delaying time-sensitive processes.
   • Ubiq’s library-based approach ensures that encryption and decryption happen inline, directly within the database or data warehouse, eliminating these bottlenecks and preserving performance.
2. Performance & Latency: No Bottlenecks
   • Proxy/gateway encryption requires all data traffic to pass through a centralized processing point, adding latency and potential throughput constraints.
   • In high-performance data environments, where real-time analytics and rapid query execution are critical, this delay can drastically impact operations.
   • Ubiq’s libraries protect data at the source (within applications, databases, and data warehouses) ensuring encryption, tokenization, and masking happens instantly, with no added network overhead.
3. Scalability: No Single Point of Failure or Bottlenecks
   • Proxy/gateway architectures require dedicated scaling infrastructure as data volumes increase, introducing costly expansion requirements.
   • As more applications, databases, and data warehouses require encryption, the gateway must scale independently, requiring additional compute resources, network bandwidth, and maintenance overhead.
   • Ubiq’s library-based approach scales naturally alongside application and database workloads, eliminating the need for additional infrastructure.
4. Cost: Eliminating Infrastructure & Maintenance Overhead
   • Proxy/gateway solutions require:
     • Dedicated appliances (physical or virtual)
     • Load balancers for high availability
     • Additional network bandwidth
     • Regular security patching and maintenance
     • Increased compute costs for processing encryption at scale
   • These factors result in significant ongoing expenses, particularly in database and data warehouse environments, where queries and ETL jobs continuously process large data sets.
   • Ubiq integrates data security methods directly within the environment where data lives, eliminating the need for separate infrastructure and dramatically reducing operational costs.
5. Flexibility: Seamless Deployment Across Distributed Environments
   • Proxy/gateway encryption requires applications and databases to route traffic through an external service, making it challenging to support multi-cloud, hybrid, and containerized environments.
   • This rigid architecture creates deployment headaches, requires complex routing rules, and introduces dependency risks. If the gateway goes down, all data-dependent applications suffer.
   • Ubiq’s decentralized model works directly within applications, databases, and data warehouses, offering seamless data security methods in any environment without infrastructure dependencies.
6. Security: Eliminating a Centralized Attack Vector
   • A proxy/gateway is a single point of compromise. If it’s breached, attackers can potentially access all passing data.
   • Ubiq decentralizes data security methods, ensuring that encryption keys and sensitive data are never routed through a single, vulnerable system.
   • By protecting data at the source, inside applications, databases, and data warehouses, Ubiq eliminates the risks associated with a centralized encryption gateway.

Conclusion

Organizations looking to secure sensitive data must balance performance, cost, and security when choosing an encryption, tokenization, and masking solution. While proxy/gateway models may appear simple on the surface, they introduce latency, infrastructure costs, operational complexity, and security risks—particularly in database and data warehouse environments.

By embedding data security methods directly into applications, databases, and data warehouses, Ubiq’s library-based approach provides:

• Faster performance with no added latency
• Lower infrastructure and maintenance costs
• Seamless scalability across applications and data environments
• A more secure, decentralized data security model

For organizations handling large-scale sensitive data, moving away from proxy/gateway encryption isn’t just a technical decision, it’s a business imperative to ensure efficient, scalable, and cost-effective data security.