1Strained Relationships Between Security
And IT Ops Teams Leave Businesses At RiskSecurity And IT Ops Teams With Strained Relationships Struggle
To Maintain IT Hygiene And Resolve Critical IT IssuesGet started

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK

2Overview

A Lack Of Collaboration Plagues IT Teams

Current StateChallenges

IT leaders today face pressure from all sides. They must maintaincompliance with an evolving set of regulations, track and securedata across devices, and manage a dynamic inventory of physicaland virtual assets, all while fulfilling an executive mandate to maketechnology an enabler for growth. To cope with this pressure,many have invested in a number of point solutions. However, thesesolutions often operate in silos, straining organizational alignment
and inhibiting the visibility and control needed to protect theenvironment.

Opportunity
Conclusion

As a result, IT leaders often settle for visibility and control that is“good enough,” leaving them vulnerable to attack. Many teams
base cybersecurity decisions on data that is largely incomplete,indicative of a false confidence in tools and processes. Using aunified endpoint management and security solution that centralizes
device data enables companies to accelerate operations, enhance
security, and drive collaboration between security and IT ops
teams.1

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

Key Findings
Two in three enterprises (67%) say driving
collaboration/alignment between security andIT ops teams is a major challenge. The strain
put on this relationship widens visibility gaps
and impedes issue resolution.
Only 51% of enterprises are confident of theirvisibility into risks, yet 89% have confidence inreporting that is based on this data.

Decision makers believe a unified endpoint
management and security solution will
increase security and IT ops alignment(48%), create faster response times to issues(53%), and improve data integration (49%).

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK

3Overview

Have IT Investments Actually Paid Off?

Current State
ChallengesOpportunity

It comes as no surprise that 81% of enterprises are very confident
their senior leadership/board has more focus on security, IT ops,and compliance than they did two years ago. This has resulted inincreased budgets and resources for remediating and identifying
vulnerabilities. Enterprises that reported a budget increase saw
a slightly larger increase in their security budget (18.3%) thantheir operations budget (10.9%). Teams that purchased additional
security and operations products procured an average of five
new tools (security: 5.0; operations: 5.1). Many have invested
in numerous point solutions to drive continuous compliance,increased security, and advanced digital transformation. But thequestion remains — do these investments solve critical IT issues,or do they further widen the gaps between teams? Are theseinvestments providing services to the entire organization, or only toa select few teams? And most importantly, are these tools fosteringor inhibiting collaboration?

Conclusion
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

Top changes IT teams have made to adapt toincreased enterprise data and cyberattacks,
in the past two years

1

Increased IT security budget2

Increased resources and effort
around remediating vulnerabilities
and risk in our environment

3

Increased resources and effort
around identifying vulnerabilities andrisk in our environment

3

Invested in solutions andprocesses to further enrich theendpoint data we maintain

TIE

Base: 412 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK4Overview

False Confidence: Visibility Gaps Persist
Despite Increased Investments

Current StateChallenges
Opportunity

Most teams are confident in their ability to run critical IT processes.
However, further investigation shows teams are admittedly sufferingfrom visibility gaps, which undermine these efforts. Despite 80% of
IT decision makers being confident they can instantly take action
on the results of their vulnerability scans, with even more (89%)
stating they can report a breach within 72 hours, only half believe
they have full visibility into the vulnerabilities and risks (51%) andhardware and software assets (49%) in their environment. How
effective can a process be if the underlying data on which theprocess runs is incomplete? There is misplaced confidence inprocesses and operations. With only 51% confidence in asset andvulnerability visibility, organizations are essentially leaving theirsecurity to a coin flip!

Conclusion
FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

“Rate your level of confidence regarding ITenvironment and IT/operations staff.”(Fully/mostly confident options shown)

HIGH CONFIDENCE IN PROCESSES

89%“Ourorganization
can report abreach within
72 hours.”

80%“We can instantly
take action
based on the
results of ourvulnerabilityscans.”

76%“The results ofour vulnerabilityscans are being
seen by theappropriate
team and quicklyacted upon.”

LOW CONFIDENCE IN VISIBILITY

61%“The data
we collectfrom ourvulnerabilityscans is upto date.”

51%“We have fullvisibility into thevulnerabilities
and risks in ourenvironment.”49%“We have fullvisibility into all
the hardware andsoftware assets
connected to ourIT environment.”

Base: 415 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK

Overview
Current State
Challenges

Strained
Relationships
Between
Security And
IT Ops Have
Material
Impact On IT
HygieneOpportunity

Average businessdays in IT vulnerability
patching lifecycle

5Visibility gaps and tool variety make driving alignment between teams difficult. Two-thirds of enterprises(67%) say driving collaboration and alignment between security and IT ops teams is highly challenging.
This lack of collaboration between teams has a material impact. Four in 10 (42%) businesses withstrained relationships consider maintaining basic IT hygiene more of a challenge than those with goodpartnerships (32%). Security and IT ops teams with strained relationships take 37 business days to patch
IT vulnerabilities. That’s 33%, nearly two weeks, longer than it takes teams with healthy relationships (27.8business days) — a tangible consequence of these strained relationships. With this much at stake, why areorganizations failing to address the rift between security and IT ops?

Conclusion

SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS WITHHEALTHY RELATIONSHIPSSECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS WITH
STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS

27.8 average business days

37.0 average business days

(Includes patchingvulnerabilities, scanningand rescanningenvironment, andreporting on patches)

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019Base: 415 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK

Overview
Current State

Misplaced
Confidence
Leads To
Debilitating
Consequences

6Misplaced confidence, strained relationships, and complex IT environments have a material impact
on a business’s cybersecurity posture. Four of the top five challenges that IT leaders face relate tovisibility and data quality. Businesses must have good visibility to act on threats, but 71% reportchallenges in gaining complete end-to-end visibility of endpoints and their health. Poor visibility canhave business-level consequences relating to IT hygiene (74%), agility to secure the business (68%),
vulnerability to cyberthreats (67%), and collaboration between teams (65%). Given the effect thesevisibility gaps and strained relationships have on a business’s security posture, it is time businesses
seek a new approach to endpoint management and security.

Challenges
OpportunityChallenging tasks for security and IT ops

Consequences of challenges(Very and extremely challenging results shown)(Extreme and significant negative impact results shown)

Stitching together data across IT systems to generate actionableinsights (76%)

IT hygiene (74%)

Conclusion

Identifying new/unmanaged assets that we were not aware of (74%)

Ability to operate with the speed and agility our business
requires (68%)

Getting real-time data on our environment (71%)

Vulnerability to attacks and cyberthreats (67%)

Extracting ROI from our existing tools and resources (71%)

Ability to scale to the level that our business requires (66%)

Gaining complete end-to-end visibility of endpoints on our network& their health (71%)

Alignment and collaboration among teams within ourorganization (65%)

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

Base: 415 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISKOverview
Current State

Endpoint
Visibility
Strengthened
By Unified
Endpoint
ManagementPlatforms

7Challenges

A unified endpoint management and security platform — a common tool set for both security and IT ops —helps alleviate the challenges introduced by tool sprawl and poor collaboration. A unified endpoint solution
allows enterprises to operate at scale (59%), decrease vulnerabilities (54%), and improve communication
between security and IT ops teams (52%). In fact, companies with weaker security and IT ops relationships
are nearly twice as likely to cite the reduction in number of point solutions as a benefit of a unified endpoint
solution, compared to those with healthier relationships (53% vs 29%). These benefits lead to faster
response times (53%) and more efficient security investigations (51%), while improving visibility throughimproved data integration (49%) and accurate real-time data (45%). These benefits improve collaboration toaddress critical issues and help solve for the lack of visibility across teams.

Benefits of a unified endpoint management and security solution

Opportunity
Conclusion

BUSINESS BENEFITSTECHNICAL BENEFITS

Ability to operate at scale (59%)

Faster response times to issues (53%)

Decreased vulnerability to attacks (54%)

Efficient IT security investigations (51%)

Improved IT hygiene (52%)

Improved data integration (49%)
Secure operations (49%)

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

Base: 415 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK

8Overview

Unified Endpoint Platforms Increase
Collaboration Between Security And IT Ops

Current StateIT decision makers agree with the benefits of a unified approach toendpoint management and security. They agree this approach could
relieve tensions between teams, helping them improve visibility, strengthen
workflows, and avoid having to “run around each other.” Ultimately, such an
approach would reduce risk and improve a firm’s security posture.

ChallengesOn having a common tool set for security and IT ops:

Opportunity
Conclusion“I think with thesecollaborative
capabilities, one
can defend against
security breaches
and proactively
identify and mitigate
security risks.”

Relationship benefits of a unified
endpoint solution
Improved communication between
security and IT ops teams (52%)
Increased alignment and collaboration
between security and IT ops teams (48%)“The relationship between security and operations
would change drastically. We will be able to secure
critical information without any double thoughts.”“It would help tremendously because
right now they’re having to basicallyrun around each other.”“This clearly is the best way toimprove communication between
both security and operations teams.”

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

“Easily detect,understand, and act
on endpoint threats.”

Base: 415 global IT decision makers responsible for or with insights into endpoint security
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tanium, September 2019

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK9OverviewConclusion

Current State
Challenges

Today, security and IT ops teams have a false confidence built
on an incomplete view of their environment. These visibility gaps
are further widened by teams’ strained relationships. A unified
endpoint platform will align teams and provide a complete viewof the environment, thus strengthening workflows and having asignificant impact on business outcomes. Our study revealed
that:

Opportunity
Conclusion•

Strained relationships between security and IT ops leavebusinesses at risk. A unified endpoint platform reduces riskby aligning teams and driving collaboration.

•Despite poor visibility into their environment, decision
makers are still confident in their ability to take action.
Unified endpoint platforms heighten visibility and increase
the impact of actions and key processes.

•A unified endpoint platform provides visibility into risks
and vulnerabilities so teams are able to act and react
appropriately to threats.

FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

Project Director:
Emily Drinkwater,
Market Impact Consultant
Contributing Research:
Forrester’s Security &Risk research group

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SECURITY AND IT OPS TEAMS LEAVE BUSINESSES AT RISK10Overview

Methodology

Current State

This Opportunity Snapshot was commissioned by Tanium. To create thisprofile Forrester Consulting supplemented this research with custom
survey questions asked of 415 global IT decision makers responsible for orwith insights into endpoint security. The custom survey was completed inSeptember 2019.

ENDNOTES

Challenges

Source: Our use of endpoint refers to physical and virtual network-connected devices such as laptops, servers,containers, virtual machines, and cloud instances.

DemographicsRESPONDENT LEVELGEOGRAPHY

C-level: 11%

US: 49%

VP: 18%

UK: 32%

Director: 59%

Australia: 19%

1

Manager: 12%

TOP FOUR INDUSTRIESOpportunity

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FORRESTER OPPORTUNITY SNAPSHOT: A CUSTOM STUDY COMMISSIONED BY TANIUM | NOVEMBER 2019

COMPANY SIZE(BY EMPLOYEES)

Retail: 9%5,000-14,999: 62%

Manufacturing: 9%15,000-24,999: 24%

Telecom: 8%

25,000-49,000: 10%

Technology: 8%50,000 or more: 4%

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