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2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SIEM: A Visionary Feast

August 11, 2016  |  Javvad Malik

We are extremely happy and proud that AlienVault has remained the only visionary in Gartner’s 2016 magic quadrant for security information and event management (SIEM).

AlienVault customers consistently reinforced the key value proposition of Unified Security Management (USM) of being a more comprehensive and affordable option; as highlighted in the report:

“Customers report the security monitoring technologies included with USM offer a lower cost for more capabilities compared with products from most competitors in the SIEM space.”

What’s a meal?

A question that often crops up is what the various categories in the magic quadrant mean, and how can a customer use the magic quadrant to make effective purchasing decisions.

To help answer this, I often like to use the analogy of a meal.

A Michelin star restaurant will prepare and serve a meal in a very specific manner that will be different from a local family-run diner. Both of these will be different from a fast-food chain offering a meal-deal. Some supermarkets also sell a sandwich, potato chips, and a drink, as a ‘combo-meal’.

While all of these are classed as meals, and will satisfy hunger, the cost, taste, and overall experience will vary greatly.

Which is where the magic quadrant is useful in its attempt to distinguish technology vendors. Some are the equivalent of Michelin star restaurants, while others resemble a fast-food meal deal.

Dietary requirements

However, it’s important to bear in mind, the technology is only one half of the story. The other half is down to the user requirements and needs.

Extending our meal analogy, the choice of venue will be determined by a number of factors other than budget such as the number of people attending, whether it’s a celebration, or whether it’s for personal or business needs.

The other main consideration to take into account is whether there are any dietary requirements. There’s no point in booking a table at the best steakhouse in town if some of the guests are vegetarians. Or not taking into account a guest who may be diabetic, lactose intolerant, or suffer a nut allergy.

The point being, that the best restaurant in the world, that serves the best food may still be woefully inadequate to meet your particular needs.

A Technology Buffet

So whilst the magic quadrant is a useful benchmark to showcase some comparable features – the question remains as to what your individual requirements are.

It is why we approach the market with a broad, comprehensive, and affordable offering that extends beyond SIEM. Therefore, if you have needs for a SIEM, want to conduct vulnerability scans, behavioural monitoring, discover assets, detect intrusions on both host or network, need access to threat intelligence, all whilst maintaining flexibility to deploy on premise or in the cloud – then we want to be able to provide that to you in a simple-to-understand offering.

There may be some brilliant steak houses in town, but we don’t want to offer a restricted menu. Rather offer a technology buffet that offers something to everyone. We believe that customers should not have to change their business operation in order to effectively use a security product – rather have a security product that adapts to the business operations, no matter how it is structured. That is our vision, and why we believe Gartner continues to showcase us as the only visionary in the SIEM space.

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Tags: siem, usm, gartner mq

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