Cybersecurity professionals are facing challenges in managing multiple cybersecurity providers and solutions. The tools provided by these vendors often have overlapping functionalities, making it prone to misconfigurations and difficult to identify security loopholes. By consolidating cybersecurity tools, organizations can simplify their security operations and enhance the effectiveness of their security measures.
Organizations opt for consolidating security solutions for various reasons, including cost efficiency, integrated security coverage, and procurement convenience. They tend to merge solutions unless exceptional functionality can be maintained even after consolidation without compromising on efficacy.
Here are three strategies recommended by cybersecurity researchers to achieve consolidation of cybersecurity platforms.
1. Outlining Security Goals
Communicating the objectives is as significant as executing the consolidation process. Many leaders may associate consolidation with cost-cutting, but in reality, the budget for cybersecurity often increases. The emphasis should be on simplification, possibly through a secure access service edge or enhanced detection mechanisms.
2. Evaluate Providers and Tools
Assess cybersecurity tools based on their functionalities, contract terms, expenses, and maintenance efforts. Identify important aspects and capabilities for your organization. Explore alternative offerings for specific capabilities that may already exist within your current licensing framework.
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Collect feedback from different stakeholders. Evaluate products comprehensively as some crucial capabilities might not be immediately visible. Consider factors such as user management features and support services when assessing products.
Focus on the ease of product removal and integration. Products that are challenging to deploy may end up being discontinued due to limited usage. Successful trials of promising tools should be scalable to avoid such scenarios.
3. Review Results and Plan Projects
Analyze the outcomes of current and potential cybersecurity tools. Prioritize must-have products and identify redundant capabilities across multiple products. This identification will help in pinpointing feasible consolidation projects for execution.
Consolidation is more straightforward in advanced tech fields. The readiness for consolidation varies among organizations and typically occurs when there are standalone components to merge into a single platform rather than introducing entirely new functionalities.
While implementing a consolidation project, cybersecurity leaders should remember that it’s an ongoing process. Future projects and their compatibility should be considered. Ensure that the replacement components can interoperate with other products and vendors by providing APIs for future integrations.
Dionisio Zumerle, a VP Analyst at Gartner, specializes in application and mobile security, application security posture management, and cybersecurity platform consolidation.
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