The 4 kinds of cybersecurity customers
Depending upon whom you believe, there are roughly 800 to 1200 companies selling cybersecurity products and services to end customers. Yes, the cybersecurity market is forecast to be around $70 billion this year, but that’s still a lot of vendors.Now, there are point product specialists, managed services firms, and enterprise security vendors all competing for the same dollars. So how can any company stand out from the crowd? In my opinion, each security vendor must determine where its products and service fit among four distinct buyer types: Security-centric buyers. This traditional security buyer evaluates and purchases security products and services based upon discrete needs and budgets. As such, security-centric buyers tend to look for best-of-breed products from vendors with strong cybersecurity experience. Startups with strong cybersecurity chops are welcome to this club but purchasers also maintain a “rip-and-replace” mentality rather than any type of long-term allegiance. Vendors like Bit9 + Carbon Black, Cylance, Check Point, FireEye, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, and Trend Micro come to mind here. Note that security-centric buyers will have some role to play in EVERY cybersecurity product and services deal. IT infrastructure-centric buyer. In most cases, IT infrastructure vendors extend their reach into security Continue reading
Riverbed wants to replace traditional branch routers.
First step: a joint offering with Affirmed Networks.