I am excited to announce “The Forrester Wave™: Endpoint Security Software As A Service, Q2 2021.” Although Forrester has previously published other endpoint security Wave evaluations, this is the first Wave on endpoint security software that exclusively focuses on SaaS-delivered products and functions. As more security admin and employees shifted to work from home in 2020, organizations demanded SaaS-delivered endpoint security to limit on-premises requirements and expand security coverage over remote workers. In this report, we evaluated the 12 most significant vendors and scored them across 24 criteria. Some of the key insights that were identified during the Forrester Wave evaluation process include:

  • Buyers need endpoint security that aligns with current business and security demands. Providers must innovate and adapt to the demands placed on modern endpoints as new risks and business pressures emerge. When selecting a solution, buyers want to see strong evidence of corporate leadership, continuous development with new features relevant to current use cases, and a track record of innovation.
  • Endpoint security must be effective against modern attacks and balance prevention and detection. Endpoint security tools must balance effective threat prevention with automatic and precise threat detection, supported by continued participation in lab tests such as MITRE ATT&CK and the AV-Comparatives Endpoint Prevention and Response Test, both of which combine prevention and detection performance assessments. Buyers should also look for SaaS platforms that are mature, with global coverage and built-on agent architectures that enable fast and efficient network communications with limited impact to endpoint user experience during active protection measures.
  • Endpoint security integration with the wider security and management stack is essential. Endpoint security can’t operate in a vacuum, considering the multifaceted nature of most attacks. Modern endpoint security vendors recognize this and offer integrations with other security and nonsecurity layers beyond the endpoint (e.g., IT service management, cloud security, network security, and identify and access management). Buyers should look for endpoint security providers that support extended detection and response capabilities and integrations, along with Zero Trust-aligned policies and enforcement levels.

This Wave will help you understand how these 12 vendors stack up against 24 strategy, functional, and market presence criteria. To learn more about our Wave findings and general trends in endpoint security, please request an inquiry.