bring your own key (BYOK)

An enterprise security capability that allows customers to generate, manage, and retain control of their own encryption keys within a vendor’s cloud environment, rather than relying on the vendor's keys. In the Commercial Open Source (COSS) playbook, BYOK is a critical "monetization gate"—often reserved for the highest enterprise tier—that unlocks adoption in regulated industries (like finance and healthcare) by satisfying strict data sovereignty and compliance requirements.