News Feature | September 30, 2016

Forrester MSSP Report Finds Alert Logic, SecureWorks, And IBM Lead The Pack

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

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Security pros are looking to augment skills, reduce complexity, and improve quality of protection.

The managed security services market has grown and shifted rapidly, with new players and new approaches. The Forrester Wave: Managed Security Services Providers, North America, Q3 2016: evaluates the leading MSSPs, specifically, “the 11 providers that matter most.”

The report found Alert Logic, SecureWorks, and IBM lead the pack of MSSPs while CenturyLink, Symantec, NTT Security, Trustwave, and BAE Systems all offer competitive options. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Verizon, and AT&T lag behind, according to the report.

The study further found companies face a staff shortage and an expertise gap as security professionals look to augment skills, reduce complexity, and improve the quality of protection. MSSPs represent a mitigation mechanism for these challenges, offering superior talent and domain-specific skills that organizations can’t find or can’t justify retaining.

And the results demonstrated alignment, customization, and flexibility are key differentiators as legacy managed security services capabilities become outdated and less effective. The study also found MSSP engagement will continue to grow as a result of several trends:

  • The security vendor landscape has exploded, making it unwieldy.
  • MSSPs are entering the Cloud, allowing them to reap the benefits as organizations continue to expand their use of cloud services.
  • MSSPs offer solutions that transcend the limitations of customer products.

In the final analysis, the Forrester report found Alert Logic has a head start in the cloud, helping establish its lead. Meanwhile, SecureWorks continues to blend exceptional threat research and incidence response, though it is late to the cloud market. And IBM balances a deep product portfolio with technology-neutral services, with a strong presence as a strategic vendor across every vertical and region.

Among the contenders, the report found Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) specializes in ITO engagements with a willingness to offer flexible delivery models; AT&T has diversified its portfolio with services but remains network-centric; and Verizon has invested in new MSSP integrations and applications.

As the report suggests, “With deep benches of security expertise and the organizational scope to evaluate new technologies, MSSPs offer turnkey security solutions and expertise without requiring enterprises to take on additional headcount or invest in new, untested, or administratively intensive security technologies.”