Last year for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, I wrote a four-part series. It outlined how most companies fail to drive meaningful change during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Of course, I proposed a few solutions that I have successfully used in the past so that leaders can leverage those same tactics to drive strong engagement and organizational change.
This year, we want organizations to focus on the future in their security strategizing. They can start by understanding our cyber word of the year for 2024: CONSOLIDATE
What is Security consolidation?
Consolidation is building a security program that aligns with a select few service providers that can operate a meaningful tech stack. Security has long been plagued by disparate security tools that don’t work together in unison. Consolidating into one stable ecosystem builds simpler, more predictable services with a more resilient tech stack.
Why consolidate?
Part of the beauty of AVANT’s business model is that we get to work with leaders in all industries, at all levels, and on both sides of supply and demand. That wonderful access gives us a unique perspective on what leaders are driving towards, as it pertains to their organization’s security strategy. Having surveyed leaders ranging from unregulated SMB markets to highly regulated Fortune 500 companies, consolidate is one word that has consistently bubbled to the surface.
The common through line that leaders in SMB, midmarket, and enterprise companies are facing is a legacy of cobbled-together point solutions. A series of quick band-aid fixes has led to a security defense that is neither cohesive nor communicative with itself. It has also driven them to rethink their vendor strategy across both products and services. Years of incremental change painted organizations into a corner. Now, they discover that the sole way out is often only meaningfully solved through a full redesign of their process and technology partners, with a focus on consolidation. A simpler approach with less moving parts and elements that can speak to each other is the clear winner. We see this demand on nearly every client call we join.
This demand is what has led to the 2024 cyber word of the year: consolidate.
Is consolidation possible?
If you had asked me five years ago if the concept of security consolidation was possible commercially, my answer would be “No.” Five years ago, the talent needed to build meaningful programs was locked away in companies that consume cybersecurity services. Over the last few years, enough of those individuals moved to vendors that produce cybersecurity services. This allowed us to reach a critical mass of valuable and robust service offerings. The experts took the lessons learned as customers and designed services and technologies they wanted five years ago. I personally applaud those leaders that had the foresight to switch to the supply side in the hopes that the rest of their peers would see the light.
Now, the market is primed. Companies demand consolidation, and the vendors are indeed ready to supply. Now, if you ask me whether consolidation is possible for commercial organizations, my answer is unequivocally “Yes.”
The beauty of this industry is not when supply meets demand. It is when customers finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing they have strong and meaningful options. The demand, coupled with the strong growth and evolution of the security market, has made consolidation not only possible, but the best strategy for companies heading into 2024 and beyond.