Organisations are working with ever fewer security vendors. Matthew Ball, chief analyst at market research firm Canalys, recently highlighted that around three-quarters of organisations plan to reduce the number of standalone security solutions they use over the next 12 months. This confirms research from analysts such as Gartner: the cyber security market is consolidating.

Four to five

This trend for consolidation and simplification among customers creates opportunities for cybersecurity platforms. ‘Such platforms should eliminate redundancies and enable an integrated approach,’ argues Ball. ‘However, the market remains fragmented, with each platform presenting itself as the solution for consolidation,’ he suggests.

Canalys predicts that only four to five platforms will eventually dominate the market for large enterprises and governments. However, Matthew Ball also sees a role for specialist vendors. ‘Start-ups and niche vendors are not disappearing, but integrating within larger platform ecosystems. Broad technology alliances and co-creation are essential for success,’ says Ball.

Cyber follows cloud and AI

Customers should change along with them, the analyst says. ‘Companies are adapting their IT architecture for the cloud and, more recently, for AI. They also need to redesign their cybersecurity to increase resilience and counter ransomware attacks,’ says Ball. ‘Vendors are positioning their cybersecurity platforms to reduce complexity for customers by consolidating redundant and obsolete point solutions. There is a lot to be said for this,’ he believes.

‘Fewer vendors means simpler management and less training for staff. It also saves money: one contract instead of several reduces costs and simplifies budgeting. In addition, Ball says, security platforms can provide better security. Integrated tools work better together, speeding up automation and detection. Fewer tools also mean fewer updates, reducing patching and the risk of misconfiguration.

Vendor lock-in

Despite the benefits of integrating such security platforms, challenges remain. Aggregating tools from a single vendor can create risks such as vendor lock-in and a lack of diversity in security solutions. There may also be quality differences, as not every feature within such a platform is best-in-class.

Finally, Ball also warns of the risk of a single point of failure, pointing to the problems at CrowdStrike. ‘Consolidation can undermine the resilience of organisations as they become more dependent on fewer vendors.’