A company has determined that encryption has too much overhead to work with their system...

In a standard tokenization workflow, once the tokenization server generates the token, the next immediate step is for the tokenization server to return the token to the requesting application. Managing Cloud principles describe tokenization as a process where sensitive data is replaced with a non-sensitive token that has no exploitable meaning outside the tokenization system.

After the sensitive data is securely transmitted to the tokenization server and the token is generated, the application must receive that token so it can continue normal processing without handling the original sensitive value. The return of the token enables the application to complete transactions, store references, or perform business operations without exposing sensitive data.

The other options represent steps that occur either before token generation or later in the workflow. Data must be sent to the tokenization server and sensitive data must be generated before a token can be created. Storing the token occurs after the application receives it. Therefore, returning the token to the application is the correct immediate next step.