The Document Security Challenge Nobody's Talking About
The modern enterprise faces a critical vulnerability hiding in plain sight: document workflows. While organizations invest heavily in cybersecurity, firewalls, and access controls, they often overlook a fundamental weakness—how sensitive documents move through cloud services and reach their final destination.
Consider this all-too-familiar scenario: You need to send a confidential document to a business partner. Traditional registered mail works but feels archaic. Encrypted email sounds ideal, yet many organizations still haven't implemented it effectively. Secure file-sharing services require manual export and upload, offer no proof of receipt, and demand blind trust in the provider's operational security. Meanwhile, unencrypted email remains an alarmingly common—and risky—fallback.
The threats are real and growing: cyberattacks, invoice fraud, espionage, and government surveillance all pose serious risks that result in loss of reputation, competitive advantage, and money. With rising data protection and sovereignty requirements like DORA, NIS2, and GDPR, document workflows can no longer be an afterthought.
Output Management: The Missing Link
SEAL Systems specializes in closing the gap between applications and output channels—whether those channels are physical printers, email, portals, or mobile devices. As a middleware solution, SEAL Systems retrieves, renders, converts, publishes, and transfers data across multiple channels, reducing the complexity that comes from connecting N applications to M output devices (N x M) down to a simple N + M equation.
The SEAL Systems middleware architecture demonstrates how connecting N applications directly to M output devices creates N x M complexity, while routing through centralized output management reduces this to N + M—closing the gap between applications and output channels through retrieval, rendering, conversion, publishing, and data transfer.
But when output management moves to the cloud, it introduces a new challenge: how do you maintain security across distributed, remote sites accessing cloud services worldwide?
Real-World Impact: The Topdanmark Story
Topdanmark, a leading Danish insurance company, exemplifies the business value of secure, scalable infrastructure. In 2023, they made the strategic decision to "take home" their IBM mainframe, seeking faster innovation, more control, and better value for money through access to new commercial and technical possibilities.
As Head of Mainframe Elise Bundgaard explains, this move gave them responsibility for daily operations of their core systems, print pickup from every platform, and job scheduling. When it came to replacing their previous print solution, they chose SEAL Systems.
IBM and SEAL Systems partnered to provide secure, scalable infrastructure solutions for the PLOSSYS output management engine. The solution leverages IBM's Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) running on the z16 Mainframe, incorporating encryption, load balancing, scalability, virtualization, failover capabilities, stability, and resource optimization.
The Technical Foundation: Zero Trust Architecture
The partnership between SEAL Systems and IBM delivers a truly differentiated solution built on three pillars—enabled by SEAL Systems' unique capability to run in IBM's Hyper Protect environment:
- Availability and Resilience
Supporting business-critical operations requires infrastructure that never fails. The solution runs on IBM Z architecture with IBM Hyper Protect Confidential Containers, providing built-in redundancy and failover capabilities.
- End-to-End Encryption
Protection of sensitive data through hardware-based encryption that covers data at rest, in transit, and—critically—in flight (in memory and even inside the CPU).
- Reduced CO₂ Footprint and Total Cost of Ownership
Modern infrastructure that's both environmentally sustainable and economically efficient.
IBM Hyper Protect: The Game Changer
At the heart of this solution lies IBM Hyper Protect Confidential Containers, leveraging FIPS 140-2 Level 4 certified hardware security. SEAL Systems is the only output management solutions provider certified to run on IBM Hyper Protect, making this partnership truly unique in the industry.
This technology delivers unprecedented protection:
- Encrypted Virtual Machines: The entire runtime environment is protected
- Data encrypted in RAM: Even memory contents are secured
- Root access futile: Administrative privileges provide no access to protected data
- Hardware access futile: Physical access to servers cannot compromise data
The solution uses a sophisticated "sealed secrets" architecture where workload providers create encrypted contracts with embedded sealing keys. Data providers and environment owners each maintain separate encryption and signing keys, ensuring that secrets remain protected throughout their lifecycle. The contract specifies both the workload and environmental parameters, with all secrets encrypted and signed before deployment.
How It Works: The Docker-Based Architecture
The solution runs on Docker Compose-based architecture within IBM's Confidential Containers framework. Configuration data and container images are orchestrated through a contract that defines the secure virtual machine environment. Logs and configuration remain protected within the encrypted enclave.
Documents flow from desktop applications or data sources through the encrypted environment to the PLOSSYS Remote Output Agent, which manages secure delivery to physical devices or digital endpoints. The entire pipeline maintains end-to-end encryption using mutual TLS connections and sophisticated key management.
Three Unique Values of the Hyper Protect Platform
Turn-key and Intuitive Solution
A fully integrated stack with built-in AI and crypto accelerators, allowing confidential computing to participate seamlessly as part of the container experience. With SEAL UPS, this protection extends beyond the datacenter into the enterprise’s output infrastructure. Business-critical documents and print workflows are secured across SAP, Windows, and hybrid environments with zero-touch integration into enterprise identity and print management.
Enterprise-ready Technical Assurance
Hyper Protect offers a unique hardware-based root of trust and keep-your-own-key technologies that eliminate the risks and complexity of third-party dependencies. SEAL UPS complements this assurance by embedding secure output management into enterprise workflows: central printer management (via easyPRIMA), vendor-agnostic printing, and continuous auditability of print streams. Together, this ensures operational trust from the container all the way to the printed page.
Encryption and Zero-Trust
Infrastructure-enforced and policy-based isolation of roles and responsibilities protects sensitive data, AI models, and intellectual property. SEAL UPS builds on this foundation by delivering end-to-end encrypted document flows—from SAP spool output to final distribution—and by enabling zero-trust controls such as pull printing, follow-me print release, and secured audit trails. This combined IBM + SEAL approach guarantees that confidential documents remain protected at every step, whether digital or physical.
Join our session at TechXchange in Orlando October 7 at 12.30 PM
"Delivering End-to-End Security in a Zero Trust Environment for Document Workflow"
If you're attending TechXchange, we invite you to see firsthand how this technology is transforming secure document delivery. Experience live demonstrations of:
- Hardware-based confidential computing protecting document workflows
- The Topdanmark implementation on IBM Z
- Zero-trust architecture in action
- Integration across mainframe, SAP, and cloud environments
For those who cannot attend or would like additional information, please reach out to:
Jan Bjerre Aagesen
Email: jan.aagesen@sealsystems.com
Phone: +45 40 15 40 79
The Future of Secure Document Delivery
The partnership between IBM and SEAL Systems represents more than just another secure file transfer solution—it's a reimagining of how confidential documents should move through modern business ecosystems. By combining IBM's cutting-edge Hyper Protect Confidential Containers technology with SEAL Systems' deep expertise in enterprise output management, we've created a solution that doesn't force users to choose between security and convenience.
As the only output management solutions provider certified to run on IBM Hyper Protect, SEAL Systems brings a unique capability to the market—the ability to protect document workflows with the same level of hardware-based security typically reserved for financial transactions, blockchain operations, and cryptocurrency management.
In a world where cyberattacks, invoice fraud, and data breaches make headlines daily, document workflows deserve the same level of security as financial transactions and blockchain operations. With hardware-based confidential computing, that future is here.
Welcome to the new standard for secure document delivery.
IBM and SEAL Systems are committed to delivering enterprise-grade security solutions that meet the demands of modern business while maintaining the highest standards of data protection and sovereignty.
Learn more about SEAL Systems!