Global Critical Infrastructure Cyber Security Market, 2021: Frost Radar Report

A Benchmarking System to Spark Companies to Action - Innovation That Fuels New Deal Flow and Growth Pipelines

During the last decade, critical infrastructure organizations (those whose operations are vital to sustaining citizens’ lives or national security) have undergone two major transformations: first, the introduction of digital technologies and systems to enable more efficient operations, and second, an exponential rise in their overall risk profile as an attack target for cyber criminals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a pivotal opportunity for critical infrastructure organizations to build out their cyber security operations due to the massive need to enable and safeguard remote access to their facilities and devices, especially during national lockdown or when operating with a reduced staff, and ensure no significant operational downtime occurs.

Moreover, the pandemic has proven challenging for cyber security vendors seeking to sell to critical infrastructure organizations as their sales processes typically rely on on-site demonstrations and because customers’ already tight budgets have become even tighter as government funding sources were either diverted to public health measures or halted until the pandemic has passed.

Nonetheless, to mitigate their elevated risk level and attack profile, many critical infrastructure organizations seek a more robust understanding of how their network architecture is constructed, where vulnerabilities exist, and how to best secure or respond to any incident in accordance with both compliance standards and organizational policy.

The best approach to meet the specific challenges of critical infrastructure organizations is through converged operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) cyber security solutions that enable asset and system security, maintain operational continuity, and adhere to specific industry compliance regulations while providing a better return on investment (ROI) to customers who are looking for a comprehensive security solution that can meet multiple demands.

The number of vendors serving the specific cyber security needs of critical infrastructure organizations is smaller than the total number of general IT cyber security vendors, so the publisher narrowed the field from 29 vendors down to the top 20 and independently plotted them on this analysis. These vendors have been scored largely, but not exclusively, by how many functions that are important to critical infrastructure cyber security operations (e.g., asset inventory and discovery, monitoring, vulnerability management) exist within their cyber security platforms.

The report reveals the market positioning of each company using its Growth and Innovation scores as highlighted in the Frost Radar™ methodology. The document presents competitive profiles on each of the companies based on their strengths, opportunities, and market positioning. We discuss strategic market imperatives and the competitive environment that vendors operate in as well as make recommendations for each provider to spur growth.