The rapid advancement of the cybersecurity landscape presents organizations with the challenge of managing numerous security tools and vendors, but what they really need is a partner. To navigate this environment effectively, businesses must move beyond transactional vendor relationships and embrace true partnerships.
Today, I want to explore the benefits of a partnership approach in cybersecurity, highlighting how it can streamline operations, enhance security outcomes, and ultimately provide a more sustainable and efficient solution for enterprises.
A typical mid-sized cybersecurity shop uses dozens of distinct cybersecurity tools, each usually a point solution.
One 2024 estimate claims the average enterprise security solutions tool set comprises 60 to 80 different solutions, with some enterprises reaching as many as 140.
Each tool typically functions as a point solution, creating data silos in cybersecurity that complicate data consumption and waste time in piecing data together.
While these tools often claim to provide data accessible via a proprietary API, the reality is that users must figure out data transformations and integrations, which is a time-consuming process.
Adding another tool to this mix often exacerbates the problem, resulting in too much noise, data, and too few actionable results. This happens while hoping an adversary's presence doesn’t become apparent, signaling a potential loss.
Moreover, tool sets often come from different vendors and providers, each with an account team that, among other things, ensures you renew their contract and bug you incessantly, starting 90 days before renewal.
Intense attention from them while they need something, then radio silence for the next 270 days.
I call this sales motion the “vendor cycle.”
Overlapping vendor cycles will quickly overwhelm your team and quash your productivity. Many days, you will find yourself just managing vendors rather than fulfilling your role of securing the organization and closing security gaps.
However, there is a better approach. You can receive a tailored, elegant solution by partnering with a trusted provider that understands your objectives, challenges, and constraints.
This partner collaborates with other best-in-class providers to address your specific use cases, creating a what I call the “partner cycle.”
This cycle emphasizes constant collaboration, communication, and course correction, focusing on long-term solutions rather than renewals. To offer comprehensive, integrated solutions, a partner must have close relationships with other providers.
PacketWatch collaborates with partners like CrowdStrike, SOCRadar, and Drata to enhance its own Network Detection and Response (NDR) and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) offerings.
For example, a regulated organization using a SOC2 program requires continuous control validation to comply with cybersecurity frameworks like NIST CSF 2.0. PacketWatch’s managed solution integrates top-tier cybersecurity tools to automate compliance monitoring across endpoints, cloud assets, networks, vulnerabilities, and attack surfaces.
All of this is documented in the organization’s compliance reporting tool, making the process seamless and automated. Auditors and underwriters will appreciate the thoroughness, and the integration is handled by PacketWatch, eliminating the need for multiple vendor solutions that require user integration.
True partnership requires effort, trust, and a close working relationship. A partner listens, understands, and addresses your unique needs and challenges, often knowing more about certain aspects of your organization than parts of your own team. A partner collaborates with other providers to solve multiple objectives, focusing on long-term relationships rather than renewals. They are accountable for performance, not just marketing claims, and work to eliminate duplication, ensuring your investment is focused on achieving key objectives.
Break free from tool overload and transactional vendors. Partner with PacketWatch for customized, integrated cybersecurity and compliance focused solutions.
We streamline compliance, enhance efficiency, and focus on your unique needs to solve evolving, dynamic business challenges. Transform your security operations today—contact PacketWatch and experience the power of true partnership.
Chuck Matthews is the CEO of PacketWatch, a cybersecurity firm specializing in Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response, leveraging their proprietary network monitoring platform. With over 35 years of executive experience, Matthews excels in aligning technology with strategic business goals and is a recognized leader in cybersecurity. Chuck has contributed to numerous publications and media outlets, focusing on topics like cybersecurity legislation and best practices.