Bracket Computing Inc. has unveiled new security capabilities for its namesake virtualization service aimed at enabling risk-averse organizations to take full advantage of what the public cloud has to offer. The release is the startup’s first major update since originally pulling the curtains back on the technology last October.

The Bracket Computing Cell encapsulates applications in a portable package that can distribute the workload across multiple clouds to take advantage of the strengths of each. That’s the same fundamental concept behind containers, but whereas the open-source delivery format emphasizes compactness, the startup’s software provides a complete environment for running virtualized services.

That includes built-in management functionality, automated provisioning and, of course, protection against hackers, which the new Bracket Security Fabric significantly enhances. The toolkit expands on the existing encryption capabilities in the technology with the addition of the ability to store the cryptographic keys guarding the applications and data running inside behind the corporate firewall.

That allows organizations to use their existing on-premise security appliances to regulate who can access Cells and enforce policies such as periodically changing keys to mitigate the risk of a disgruntled ex-employee using their old access privileges to compromise sensitive processes. All of that functionality is implemented between the application and the underlying cloud resources, which means that the provider is completely out of the loop.

Bracket’s decoupled approach also has the added advantage of allowing security policies to follow services across platforms without requiring any modification, which removes yet another risk factor for CIOs to worry about and frees up developers from migration drudgery with the same stroke. But most importantly, that interoperability allows organizations to run their applications on the cloud or clouds best suited for their requirements, which can otherwise be tremendously difficult to  implement on a large scale.

This combination of flexibility and security has made Bracket particularly popular among banks, with three of the world’s biggest financial institutions reportedly counting themselves  among its first few customers. The new security functionality, and particularly the ability to store cryptographic keys on-premise as mandated in the ultra-strict data regulations placed on the sector, could expand expand the appeal even further.