What’s driving the need for in-cloud managed security services?
Below are a few of the factors that are influencing the need for in-cloud security services:
Threats Continue to Grow: There is much evidence confirming that Internet-based threats are continuing to grow in size, frequency and complexity. For example, Arbor’s fourth annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report indicates a 67 percent increase in attack scale over the last year, which is a 100-fold increase over 2001. As a result, enterprises are recognising that it is best technically and economically to detect and stop DDoS attacks in their service provider’s cloud, rather than on their premises. This approach to security also conforms to the industry best practice of layered defense.
Economic Factors: Current worldwide economic conditions are causing many organisations to reduce costs and maximise existing investments. For example, IT security budgets are being highly scrutinized as enterprises struggle with the complexity of infrastructure security. Recent trends are showing that enterprises are starting to see the advantages of outsourcing portions of their network security to Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs).
Public Exposure and Cost of Security Breaches: When there is a breach in security, the resulting cost and negative exposure can be enormous. Consider the case of a major U.S. retail company. In 2007, a security breach at the company exposed credit card information for 50-90 million of its customers. The company spent an estimated $100+ million to rectify the breach, which resulted in massive media attention and a tarnished reputation. Enterprises are looking for ways to avoid such situations
Regulatory Pressures: Regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II, PCI DSS and HIPAA are forcing enterprises to implement security measures in their business. The cost and complexity of such mandates are causing enterprises to consider managed security services.
ISP Differentiation: As competition increases and revenue associated with pure bandwidth and data services continues to decline, ISPs are challenged with finding ways to leverage their existing network infrastructure to deliver new services to their customers. In-cloud managed security services are one example of how ISPs can utilise their network infrastructure to offer high-valued services that increase revenue and differentiate themselves from competitors such as pure-play MSSPs, who can only offer security solutions based on customer premises equipment (CPE).
