The idea of a security platform is not new. Neither are the issues related to security and vendor sprawl inside an organization. The original idea behind the Next-Gen Firewall was to blend several products into a single platform to reduce IT overhead and simplify wiring closets that had been overrun with security devices. And it worked. NGFW solutions quickly became the cornerstone for security implementations in virtually every organization in the world.
There were still challenges, however. Interoperability was one. For many of these solutions, the various technologies — usually some combination of a firewall, IPS, VPN, web filtering, AV, and sandbox solution —didn’t really work together as a single seamless solution. Many components used different operating systems and even had separate management consoles. Another issue was the quality of the solutions embedded in the platform. A security vendor that built an NGFW platform may have had a top-notch firewall to use as an anchor solution, but then filled in the security roster with a second-rate IPS or web filtering solution. Debates raged about the value of an NGFW platform and a best-of-breed security approach.
Today, digital innovation has forced a complete upheaval of the traditional network. Multi-cloud environments, data centers comprised of both physical and virtual infrastructures, distributed branch offices, mobile workers, and home offices have fragmented the traditional perimeter and broken the traditional security model of placing an NGFW solution at the network edge to watch traffic moving back and forth across the border. Each new network environment now comes with its unique requirements and challenges, and as a result, security solutions have begun to pop up like mushrooms across the network. This has created a level of complexity in terms of deployment, optimization, and management that has overwhelmed most IT teams. It’s a prob ..
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