A Confidentiality Agreement is often referred to as a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), a Confidentiality Deed or a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
The term "NDA" is popular in the USA, while in Australia and the UK the document is more commonly called a Confidentiality Agreement.
Whatever you might call it, the document is essentially a promise to keep information secret. This can be used to ensure your information is used for your benefit only, and to stop other's using it the confidential information for their benefit.
If you disclose confidential information to another business, you should put a Confidentiality Contract in black & white. It will help you protect your information so it is only used for a specific purpose and only shared on a need-to-know basis.
You can use this Agreement to stop people stealing your business and protect your intellectual property.
Likewise, if you’re asking another party to give you their confidential information, you can offer to sign a Confidentiality Agreement so they feel more comfortable talking to you.
