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TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

The cybersecurity consolidation conundrum:

Why less is sometimes more

By Emilie Beneitez Checkpoint Security

hile employees and
organisations are busy
Wsettling into remote
or hybrid working, cybersecurity
professionals continue to grapple with
the challenges that come with a rapidly
expanding network perimeter. And with
every new ransomware attack that hits
the headlines, it would be fair to assume
that adding more security products or
vendors would make a company more
secure. But that’s not the case.
According to a recent survey,
conducted with Vanson Bourne,
one of the biggest challenges of security measures than ever before, budgets are tight and many feel pressured to only
securing a remote workforce is in fact focus on the specific problem they face today, instead of considering more long-term
managing multiple point-products or strategic approaches. This is particularly true of the healthcare sector.
vendors. This is due to poor visibility There are many reasons behind this tendency, not least the concept of vendor lock-
and gaps between the protections in, which is still highly prevalent in the industry. Ongoing subscriptions make it difficult
that each product delivers, not to for organisations to switch vendors. Likewise, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for
mention the complexity (and higher vendors to get customers to commit to a relationship spanning multiple years. Such
cost) of managing multiple vendor relationships take time to nurture and reach their full potential, so many organisations
relationships. Almost all respondents are using a smaller number of vendors rather than committing to a single one.
in the survey (87%) believe that This multi-vendor approach might offer a fix for short-term problems, but it puts a
consolidation is an important part of great deal of strain on security teams who might not have the resources to adequately
securing the remote workforce, yet vet every product or vendor. CISOs might have a good idea of what’s best for their
despite knowing this, over half (54%) own organisation, but it’s difficult to apply that knowledge to an ever-expanding list of
reported that their organisations use disparate vendors that are pulled together under one umbrella.
more than 10 point-products. The
healthcare sector is furthest behind Healthcare organisations have complex networks
the curve in this regard, with nearly 8 As healthcare is the least consolidated sector, it’s an ideal point of focus for a
in 10 organisations using more than 10 discussion on what might be holding consolidation back. It’s also a sector that’s ripe
separate point-products. for consolidation and arguably stands to benefit the most, with a network footprint
So, what’s holding organisations spanning everything from laptops to critical medical equipment like MRI scanners and
back? If the benefits of consolidation kidney dialysis machines.
are so clear, why aren’t more doing it? Because healthcare is a 24/7/365 industry, any downtime to change or introduce
new consolidated technologies is not an option that is often considered. In fact,
Saturated security market disruption to normal service is probably what’s holding most organisations back from
One of the key reasons organisations adopting a more consolidated cybersecurity infrastructure. However, there is no reason
are falling behind when it comes to why the introduction of a carefully planned consolidated platform implementation
consolidation is that decision-makers should cause any disruption to business or indeed patient care.
are, to all intents and purposes, To stay safe in today’s increasingly dangerous threat landscape, cybersecurity
spoiled for choice. The security market requires an integrated and consolidated approach that covers all the bases, from
is heavily saturated at the moment, endpoint to data centre to cloud. While this is technically achievable with a multi-
particularly in light of the move toward vendor approach, it’s simply not viable for organisations that want to take a long-
remote or hybrid working. Yet, despite term, streamlined and cost-effective approach to security. For those organisations,
organisations needing more robust consolidation is the answer.

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