IDC recently published the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Managed Security Services 2020 Vendor Assessment, in which primary author Martha Vazquez and team studied 17 organizations that offer MSS globally. The report provides a comprehensive look at MSSP vendors, including AT&T, and how managed security services are evolving to meet the needs of customers today. This is especially relevant as security teams are being challenged on many fronts – new risks in the wake of COVID, a quickly evolving technology and threat landscape, and lack of cybersecurity talent in the market. In addition, they are being asked to “do more with less", i.e. protect a more distributed network and remote workers, while facing stagnate security budgets heading into 2021.
For many organizations, it makes sense to seek the help of a third-party as they tackle these challenges. As such, the IDC MarketScape report provides timely research and guidance on what security professionals should be considering when thinking about an MSSP partner. Whether looking for additional support and monitoring to shore up threat detection and response (including help with incident response), desiring protection against potential DDoS attacks, or looking for guidance in developing a strategic road map on a journey to Zero Trust, MSSPs and their consulting/professional services partners can provide real value. However, not all MSSPs are created equal, nor are they all suitable for every organization.
In the words of Vazquez, “Choosing the right provider is critical, and buyers of MSS should consider their organization's IT requirements, geographies, verticals, and overall strategic business goals when choosing a provider.”
However, according to the report, the key considerations everyone should be thinking about include:
- Breadth of MSS portfolio across the security stack
- Digital consulting capabilities to provide you are developing a comprehensive, holistic security approach
- Ability to deliver managed detection and response across hybrid environment
- Threat intelligence, threat hunting and other advanced capabilities
- Visibility across endpoint, network, and cloud
- Integrations of orchestration and automation processes
- Global security operations center (SOC) presence
- Investment in R&D, especially in cloud security, IoT/OT infrastructures, IR playbooks, etc.
- Security expertise and support on the SOC MSSP teams
- Cloud security strategy, especially the ability to deliver across multi-cloud environments
- Portal reporting and capabilities
AT&T was named as a worldwide “leader” in this year’s report, with the IDC MarketScape highlighting our breadth of services, including Cyber Strategy and Risk, Identity and Fraud, Unified Endpoint, Network Security, and Threat Detection and Response. The IDC MarketScape also pointed out the ability of AT&T MSS to scale to the needs of large, global enterprises, integrated threat intelligence, global channel support, and ease of deployment.
As security leaders take stock of their current posture, and plan for the future AT&T offers resources on multiple fronts. Here are two you can start with:
·Benchmark your cybersecurity maturity. Use our free online assessment to measure your maturity as it relates to risk mitigation against survey results of 500 security professionals. Understand where gaps may exist (especially post-COVID) and where you have strengths.
Talk to AT&T Cybersecurity Consulting for a more comprehensive risk assessment and gap analysis or to support your digital transformation, including deploying Zero Trust.
Finally, get an excerpt of the IDC MarketScape report here.
