In the course of a small business’ growth, it will become necessary to implement a security platform that brings together all of the security tools and services in your IT environment. While it is important that businesses begin looking into cybersecurity platforms as early as possible, it may not always be clear what makes a good one. Here are three critical aspects of any cybersecurity platform that you should consider when shopping around vendors for the one that suits your company best.
Security Platform Connectivity
The most important factor for choosing a cybersecurity platform is whether or not it connects to the services and tools you already have in place. Your platform should easily connect to the endpoints, cloud, and existing security applications you already use. You should ask your vendor how it will connect with other tools not directly related to their companies because an infrastructure agnostic security platform will help you integrate the critical tools you already use and any future services that become necessary. Your new platform should bring all the security tools in your network together in one simple, easy to understand place.
Solving Specific Challenges
Just like any other tool your IT team implements, your security platform should directly address challenges immediately relevant to your company. If your IT team needs more time to respond to cybersecurity threats in your network, then the platform you choose should have resources to automate initial threat response and contextual information gathering on potential threats. A security platform’s goal is to improve security without sacrificing productivity or ease of use for your employees, so knowing how it will address the unique problems your business faces will determine if it is right for your business or not.
Measurable Cybersecurity Improvements
Another feature you should look for is the ability to easily see statistics and data that show how your network’s security posture is improving. You should expect a strong security platform to have a live view and easily accessible reports on the latest cybersecurity numbers related to your business. Whether it’s how many potential attacks have occurred recently or how many threats have been caught and remediated early, you should be able to see measurable outcomes that the platform provides for you. This information will help inform future IT decisions and identify areas that your security posture needs to grow, so you know which tools to implement later.
Summary
While this is not an exhaustive list of what you should look for in a security platform, these have been some of the most important considerations to keep in mind. Connectivity, problem solving, and measurable outcomes are a great place to start a conversation with your vendor, and if a platform can’t meet these basic needs, then it won’t be for you. If you need more information on what makes a good cybersecurity platform, then our team is always here to help. One of our security specialists can help you further narrow down which security platform will be best for your small business!
