Increasingly sophisticated cyber threats have led organizations to grab just about any security tool to protect their data and reputation. The resultant environment is a cacophony of cluttered security architectures that don’t work well together to maximize protection.
IT security leaders often express dismay with the multitude of appliances and point solutions to be managed. Alerts go off everywhere, onsite and across disparate locations, resulting in inadequate response with little time for analysis. Needless costs and challenges are created and too much time is consumed.
Achieving the goal of protecting sensitive data and business-critical operations is a big challenge, but IT and security teams need to move toward an integrated security platform to create more secure ecosystems in the technology space. The success of this effort can be achieved through the collaboration of vendors, partners, customers, and thought leaders.
The Cloud as a New Security Model
Security firm Zscaler commissioned Forrester in 2015 to do a study on the necessity of cloud-delivered integrated security platforms. Forrester conducted an online survey of 130 IT security executives from US companies with revenue of at least $250 million. The study yielded three significant findings:
- 98% of those surveyed acknowledged that integrated platforms can deliver better security than point solutions. Security decision makers need to rethink their security strategy in light of the new cloud model as a flexible infrastructure where they can integrate their tools in a single security platform.
- Survey participants recognized that cloud-delivered security platforms offer opportunities for companies to reduce costs and complexity while improving their security position.
- 82% of the participants expressed the urgent need for advanced security functionality such as strong encryption technologies, crowd-shared threat intelligence, machine learning, and integration of security products.
Building Ecosystems Within Ecosystems
It is important to note that most security providers deliver technology as point solutions. This results in the fragmentation of the security ecosystem with each point solution working on its own, a scenario that is at odds with security officers’ desire for integrated security platforms.
Many reputable companies can help build the foundation of ecosystems. For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has taken over the public cloud space and has helped launch a new generation of third-party services that even startups can join.
VMware specializes in virtualization and offers an operating system for IBM-compatible computers and servers that can host other operating systems, with each operating system behaving independently with its own set of programs and hardware resources.
This means that while companies have their own ecosystems, they can integrate these systems into the bigger ecosystems of their providers.
There are clear indications that IT security leaders are embracing integrated security platforms that harmonize multiple security functions into a unified framework. The cloud offers a new model that companies, big and small, can explore. If you’re looking to beef up your security strategy, contact us at Copper State Communications now.
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