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Delta Web: Established security firms war with disruptive AI rivals

Cyber-security is an evolving market, populated by industry veterans like Sophos and McAfee who have made a name for themselves in countering malware and ransomware, as well as disruptors specialising in new technology developments.

Like other areas of IT, the world of security is changing rapidly due to the growth of one of those new technologies: artificial intelligence.

Most cyberattacks fall at one end of a spectrum: widespread but easy to detect, or bespoke and targeted, with a low volume. However, an attacker using an AI-based framework can get collapse that spectrum, launching hard-to-detect, bespoke attacks on a massive scale. The need for AI on the defenders' part is clear.

Although high prices limit the appeal of AI today, new firms are already entering the security space to challenge established norms.

Normally this would be a cue for existing players to buy up their smaller competitors, triggering a period of M&A across the market. However, in this case those new players are either large firms themselves, or have significant financial backing: Microsoft, IBM and Darktrace are prime examples.

The latest Delta Web shows how IT leaders across the UK and Europe perceive both veteran firms and newcomers in the AI-enhanced security (AIS) space.

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Customer satisfaction in five areas IT leaders identified as important in choosing an AI-enhanced security tool

Established players like Sophos and Fortinet perform well in all areas, while McAfee and Check Point have a flatter shape, indicating weakness in a specific capability. The technology giants Microsoft and IBM take on more of an arrow formation, aligned with their strengths in technical support; and Darktrace - the youngest company we cover here - performs well in the metrics that do not relate to price. As the firm with perhaps the most advanced - and thus expensive - AI implementation in our analysis, this comes as no surprise.

Sophos, so good

In our full research, we asked respondents to rank vendors by awareness and perceived market leadership. As expected, veteran player Sophos was widely known, and Symantec (now owned by Broadcom) also placed highly; but newcomer Darktrace and (relative newcomer) Microsoft easily claimed the market-leading spots.

Click here to access the AI-enhanced security research

The phenomenon is easily explained. Long-time security vendors like Sophos are a household name among IT leaders, but their AIS tools are less well-known. Darktrace, on the other hand, concentrates purely on AIS, and leads the market in development and innovation.

For its part, Microsoft has massive resources, as well as the ability to collect data from across its ecosystem. One CIO said, "In a Microsoft-based world, they have all the [data] feeds."

Vendor comparisons

AIS is a niche area at present, and pointing to a conclusive leader is difficult as most customers are still in the trialling or very early proof-of-concept stages. However, Microsoft's Azure Sentinel is the most-trialled product of any that we reviewed - which is no surprise, as Microsoft has high market saturation in nearly every product category. Azure Sentinel's integration with existing enterprise tools like Office 365 and Azure Active Directory is a major strength, especially as it is free to store and analyse data from Office 365 (other data is charged at either a flat amount or pay-as-you-go).

Depending on the metric used, Sophos could be seen as the next challenger in the market. It has high awareness and its adoption figure was the same as Microsoft's overall, although fewer respondents had trialled its AIS tools, Intercept X and XG Firewall. Both use machine learning to block threats, with the former also responding to them. Sophos' biggest strength is pricing, winning customers with comparatively low initial costs and flexibility in negotiations.

Established security vendors McAfee and Symantec came next in adoption. Both companies are well-regarded in the wider security space, but respondents see them as too bloated to compete with more agile rivals in AIS. However, size and stability - imparting a measure of trust - are important considerations when it comes to choosing a security vendor, so these companies certainly can't be discounted.

The final company in the top five is Darktrace, with high awareness and popularity in trialling but fewer customers taking it to production. Although IT leaders see the Enterprise Immune System as a strong product, its price is a serious barrier to adoption: it is one of, if not the, most expensive solutions in our analysis, and respondents said the value gained doesn't match the price paid.

This is a sample of the information in Delta's AI-enhanced Security research, which contains all of the latest information on the market, vendors and tools - including pricing information and feedback from customers who have used the solutions in anger. Click here to ask about access.

What is the right approach to handle the increasing volume of cyber attacks? Which tools are the best fit? How can you make training relevant and memorable, and should you link it to KPIs? This year, Computing will run the Cyber Security Festival : a new event combining presentations, panel sessions, fireside chats, workshops and networking to answer all of these questions, and more. Click here to register now.