Overview
Fortanix developed Key Insight to simplify the complex task of tracking encryption keys and assessing data security risks across hybrid multi-cloud environments.
The goal of this project was to automate encryption key discovery, map keys to cloud data services, and provide a centralized dashboard for security teams to identify and address critical security vulnerabilities efficiently. Key Insight streamlines compliance and risk management, reducing data exposure with minimal manual effort.
Background
Fortanix is a data-first security company and a pioneer in Confidential Computing. We help enterprises discover, assess, and remediate data exposure risks across hybrid multi-cloud environments to maintain the privacy and compliance of their most sensitive and regulated data, wherever it may be. Learn more about what Key Insight does.
I am one of the key “UX Designer” in the Key Insight Product Design team
I joined Fortanix as a product designer three years ago and have been working on the Key Insight product for the past 1 year. As one of 6 designers in a company with over 100 engineers and 8 product managers, I contribute to both UX and UI design across various aspects of the product. My role involves enhancing user experience, refining the interface, and ensuring seamless interaction within the platform
I've grown tremendously in the last 3 years, some key achievements of which I have listed below
Conducted UX Audit on Fortanix DSM: I have conducted a UX audit on the Fortanix DSM product, identifying several usability and accessibility issues. This helped our team establish a structured roadmap to address these challenges, improving the overall user experience and ensuring better accessibility for all users.
Contributed to the Design System: I have contributed to the design system by researching different SaaS products, defining the grid system, and establishing clear rules for its usage. This ensured consistency and scalability across all Fortanix products
The process
Our process at Fortanix is based on the Double Diamond Theory and Lean UX process. We aim to incorporate the key phases of Discovery, Definition, Ideation, and Implementation in all of our products
Overview
Fortanix developed Key Insight to simplify the complex task of tracking encryption keys and assessing data security risks across hybrid multi-cloud environments.
The goal of this project was to automate encryption key discovery, map keys to cloud data services, and provide a centralized dashboard for security teams to identify and address critical security vulnerabilities efficiently. Key Insight streamlines compliance and risk management, reducing data exposure with minimal manual effort.
Background
Fortanix is a data-first security company and a pioneer in Confidential Computing. We help enterprises discover, assess, and remediate data exposure risks across hybrid multi-cloud environments to maintain the privacy and compliance of their most sensitive and regulated data, wherever it may be. Learn more about what Key Insight does.
I am one of the key “UX Designer” in the Key Insight Product Design team
I joined Fortanix as a product designer three years ago and have been working on the Key Insight product for the past 1 year. As one of 6 designers in a company with over 100 engineers and 8 product managers, I contribute to both UX and UI design across various aspects of the product. My role involves enhancing user experience, refining the interface, and ensuring seamless interaction within the platform
I've grown tremendously in the last 3 years, some key achievements of which I have listed below
Conducted UX Audit on Fortanix DSM: I have conducted a UX audit on the Fortanix DSM product, identifying several usability and accessibility issues. This helped our team establish a structured roadmap to address these challenges, improving the overall user experience and ensuring better accessibility for all users.
Contributed to the Design System: I have contributed to the design system by researching different SaaS products, defining the grid system, and establishing clear rules for its usage. This ensured consistency and scalability across all Fortanix products
The process
Our process at Fortanix is based on the Double Diamond Theory and Lean UX process. We aim to incorporate the key phases of Discovery, Definition, Ideation, and Implementation in all of our products
Understanding the problem
Before Fortanix began designing the Key Insight experience, initial concepts were developed based on internal security insights and industry best practices. However, these early ideas lacked direct user validation, making it difficult to assess whether customers could effectively measure and improve their data security posture.
I have researched to understand the challenges security teams face in managing cryptographic keys and assessing their encryption effectiveness.
My research encompassed:
Understanding how security teams currently track encryption health
Identifying pain points in visibility, benchmarking, and risk assessment
Evaluating the effectiveness of existing security metrics and monitoring tools
Gathering insights
After gathering user feedback from interviews, I collaborated with my team to conduct affinity mapping, identifying key pain points in Key Insight. We categorized these issues into common themes, aligning them with platform features to better understand usability challenges and areas for improvement. This structured approach helped prioritize critical issues and inform our next steps in refining the user experience.
I used a data-driven severity framework to prioritize usability issues in Key Insight, ensuring a structured approach to problem-solving. This framework helped assess the severity of each issue based on three key factors, allowing us to address the most critical pain points first.
Gathering insights
I went a step further by categorizing these issues into broader Epics, giving Product Managers and Engineers clear visibility into the key areas of Key Insight that required usability improvements. This approach not only helped prioritize issues based on urgency but also played a crucial role in shaping the product roadmap for the quarter.
Wireframing the solution
Based on the above problems identified, I worked towards addressing these pains by coming up with potential solutions:
Enhancing Information & Reporting
Strengthening Key Lifecycle Management & Compliance
Improving Navigation & Usability
Streamlining Workflow & Monitoring
I quickly mocked up some basic wireframes to gather feedback from Product, Engineering, and the users on the overall layout and structure of the key Insght. This involved establishing a standardized visual hierarchy and layout for the future component.
Validating the designs
To ensure that the redesigned Key Insight platform effectively addressed customer concerns, I conducted usability testing sessions with key stakeholders from organizations like Morgan Stanley, Blackbaud, SCB, SEB, ANZ, and Fiserv. The testing scenarios were crafted around real-world use cases, such as identifying at-risk encryption keys, assessing compliance status, and integrating remediation workflows into existing security operations.
During these sessions, I observed how users navigated the platform and interacted with the new features.
Developing the designs
I created my high-fidelity mockups in Figma to allow the engineers to inspect the file and export the HTML and CSS code.
I worked very closely with the Front End team to spec out any missing interactions that were not covered in the high-fidelity mockups. I conducted a UX review of each front-end ticket that was implemented to ensure it was aligned with the designs before it went live.
Key insight demo
Results and Takeaways from Key Insight
Since the early access release of Key Insight, customer feedback has been instrumental in shaping the platform. Organizations such as Morgan Stanley, Blackbaud, SCB, SEB, ANZ, and Fiserv have reported improved visibility into key usage, compliance risks, and security gaps. Notably, the number of support requests related to key management and compliance confusion has decreased, indicating that the redesigned UI and workflow integrations have streamlined the user experience.
Users have highlighted that the new filtering, tagging, and API integrations have made remediation faster and more actionable, allowing security teams to respond proactively to key rotation issues and policy violations.
Key Takeaways
Launch an MVP with a clear strategic plan – Prioritizing high-impact features and avoiding scope creep helped ensure a timely and effective release, addressing core security concerns first.
User testing is an ongoing process – Continuous feedback loops post-launch revealed new usability enhancements, reinforcing the need for iterative design improvements.
Early engineering involvement is crucial – Bringing engineers in early reduced rework and technical blockers, ensuring that design decisions are aligned with platform capabilities from the start.
This project reinforced the value of data-driven design decisions, cross-team collaboration, and continuous user feedback, ensuring that Key Insight evolves to meet enterprise security needs effectively.
Results and Takeaways from Key Insight
Since the early access release of Key Insight, customer feedback has been instrumental in shaping the platform. Organizations such as Morgan Stanley, Blackbaud, SCB, SEB, ANZ, and Fiserv have reported improved visibility into key usage, compliance risks, and security gaps. Notably, the number of support requests related to key management and compliance confusion has decreased, indicating that the redesigned UI and workflow integrations have streamlined the user experience.
Users have highlighted that the new filtering, tagging, and API integrations have made remediation faster and more actionable, allowing security teams to respond proactively to key rotation issues and policy violations.
Key Takeaways
Launch an MVP with a clear strategic plan – Prioritizing high-impact features and avoiding scope creep helped ensure a timely and effective release, addressing core security concerns first.
User testing is an ongoing process – Continuous feedback loops post-launch revealed new usability enhancements, reinforcing the need for iterative design improvements.
Early engineering involvement is crucial – Bringing engineers in early reduced rework and technical blockers, ensuring that design decisions are aligned with platform capabilities from the start.
This project reinforced the value of data-driven design decisions, cross-team collaboration, and continuous user feedback, ensuring that Key Insight evolves to meet enterprise security needs effectively.
