In its many briefings with cybersecurity vendors, one of the most consistent themes Omdia hears is why enterprises need cybersecurity platforms.
Instead, vendors claim, enterprises could get better outcomes if they give up their multitude of standalone products and instead purchase a cybersecurity platform solution, which rolls up the capabilities of many discreet products into an all-in-one offering from a single vendor.
CrowdStrike, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro, and many others have positioned themselves as cybersecurity platform vendors, employing go-to-market messaging that emphasizes the integration, single user interface, improved security efficacy, and better return on investment that their respective cybersecurity platforms provide.
Omdia asserts enterprises need their cybersecurity products to work together, specifically by exchanging data and performing orchestrated functions, but building and running an integrated ecosystem of best-of-breed security solutions provided by many vendors is a never-ending challenge, one that keeps security architects awake at night.
A Growing Number of Deployed Products Plus, today's enterprises really do have a lot of security products.
Omdia research shows that a majority of enterprises have 21 or more standalone security products, and a third of organizations have 31 or more.
It's not hard to buy into the sales pitch from platform vendors that the fastest way for enterprises to improve their security is by buying fewer point products and shifting spending to cybersecurity platforms.
According to data from the 2023 Omdia Cybersecurity Decision Maker survey, organizations indicated an increased in number of standalone security products, not a decrease.
Omdia research shows that from June 2022 to May 2023, more than 80% of survey respondents saw an increase in the number of standalone security products in their organizations.
The numbers highlight a stark contrast between the perception that is being advanced by cybersecurity platform vendors, and the reality being observed in enterprises.
Despite the vendor-touted benefits of the platform approach, data indicates enterprises still live in a best-of-breed approach.
Messaging: Platform vendors simply aren't effectively communicating the benefits of a platform-based approach.
In many cases, the vision of a migration to a platform approach requires a commitment to a broad, expansive, and potentially disruptive change.
Implementing a platform approach means making a long-term commitment to one vendor and forgoing choices down the line.
Efficacy: Enterprises simply don't see cybersecurity platforms delivering the desired outcomes.
Omdia has observed that many if not most cybersecurity platforms are created through a series of point product acquisitions, each of which is then re-engineered to be a component of a platform offering.
Accept Enterprise Reality For vendors, fostering a cybersecurity platform may be a sensible business strategy, but it is equally important to accept the reality few enterprises are buying into single-vendor platforms.
For enterprises, the best-of-breed approach may be familiar, but platform vendors are working hard to address many of the shortcomings that have hindered all-in-one cybersecurity platforms to date.
For service providers and channel partners, platform vendors' struggles are your opportunities.
On the other hand, cybersecurity platforms make for a compelling service offering, while evangelizing the benefits of these platforms is an area where vendors reliance on the channel is only growing.
This Cyber News was published on www.darkreading.com. Publication date: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:00:48 +0000