Considering a cybersecurity vendor switch?
It’s easier than you think.
In today's rapidly evolving IT landscape, cybersecurity plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and integrity of digital assets.
Many organizations, however, face a common dilemma when it comes to switching IT vendors. Concerns about operational disruptions, integration challenges, and the fear of moving from a familiar, albeit “good-enough” solution to an unknown one often make the decision difficult. In this article, we’ll explore the dynamics of transitioning IT vendors, particularly in the context of cybersecurity, and why it’s more feasible and beneficial than ever before.
Best-of-Breed vs. Vendor Consolidation
For years, organizations have grappled with the choice between two fundamental approaches in IT strategy.
- The first, a best-of-breed strategy, involves selecting solutions from various vendors that best align with the organization's specific needs.
- The second approach, vendor consolidation, entails partnering with fewer vendors who provide a range of interoperable solutions.
Each approach has its merits and demerits, and the debate is far from over.
According to a 2022 Gartner survey, an interesting shift is occurring in this debate, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. While the majority of respondents still employ a best-of-breed approach, a substantial 75% are actively consolidating vendors in the cybersecurity domain, marking a considerable increase from 2020 when only 29% embraced this strategy.
The Driving Forces Behind Vendor Consolidation
The primary argument in favor of vendor consolidation is often cost reduction.
By sourcing multiple solutions from a single vendor, organizations can negotiate lower overall costs. Moreover, integrated solutions that work seamlessly out of the box can reduce long-term administrative and management overhead. Initial deployment and configuration also become more straightforward.
However, the key benefit driving the shift toward vendor consolidation, particularly in cybersecurity, is not primarily cost savings but rather an enhancement of the organization’s risk posture. According to the Gartner survey, 65% of respondents believe that a consolidated vendor approach will lead to improved security.
Ways vendor consolidation can enhance your security stance and reduce the risks posed by cyber threats:
Mitigating Alert Fatigue:
With fewer vendors generating alerts, IT teams are less likely to overlook critical incident notifications amidst a sea of redundant alerts.
Shared Threat Intelligence:
A consolidated approach facilitates the immediate sharing of threat signatures across different elements of your infrastructure, creating a more robust defense against complex, multi-vector attacks.
Streamlined Analysis and Reporting:
Centralized logs and reports simplify incident response, security audits, vulnerability identification, and ROI tracking.
Overcoming the Barriers to Vendor Transitions
Switching vendors can seem daunting, but several factors make the process less challenging than it used to be:
Growing Infrastructure:
If your organization is expanding, and your current provider cannot accommodate your evolving needs, transitioning to a vendor with a broader set of capabilities becomes essential.
Evolving Threat Landscape:
An uptick in targeted cyberattacks may indicate that your current vendor is not adapting to the evolving threat landscape.
Support Challenges:
Sluggish customer and technical support responses may signal a vendor’s need to cut costs or a shift in their focus away from customer needs.
Ownership Changes:
If your vendor undergoes a change in ownership or management, it may alter their focus and direction, affecting the security services you rely on.
The technology landscape is evolving to facilitate vendor transitions. Many of the frustrations caused by switching vendors no longer exist, giving you greater confidence to undertake a change sooner rather than later:
Cloud-Based Solutions:
The availability of Cloud-based platforms and solutions is ever increasing, simplifying logistical challenges in provisioning and deploying new products and services.
Zero-Touch Deployment:
On-premises appliances can be set up more efficiently, thanks to zero-touch deployment technology. If you choose to deploy new hardware devices on-site, you can likely do so with very little need for trained IT personnel on-site at every location.
Machine-Learning Automation:
Advanced security platforms employ machine learning to automate the process of ensuring the protection of your IT infrastructure.
Choosing the Right Vendor
When contemplating a vendor switch, selecting the right partner is paramount.
It’s crucial to choose a vendor that aligns with your needs for a consolidated security infrastructure. At Partek IT Solutions, we offer a platform-based approach that delivers integrated, full-stack solutions for email security, network security, application and API protection, and data protection. Our managed XDR solution provides SOC-as-a-service, enhancing your security posture and offering expert oversight, management, and incident response.
