Enterprises do not have a clear and comparable choice of endpoint protection solutions that completely meet today’s mobile working security requirements, according to analyst firm Ovum.
The proliferation of devices, the rise of bring-your-own-device (BYOD), and the targeted and persistent nature of malware threats are not being addressed by the majority of vendor solutions available today, the Ovum said in its report.
Ovum said that endpoint protection has evolved far beyond the signature-based protection afforded by early-generation antivirus solutions.
“Today, businesses need vendors that can align services with the needs of each user and their devices, proportionate to the exposure to risk and role within the enterprise. But for many organisations the first stumbling block will be trying to make direct comparisons between anti-malware vendors and their products,” said Ovum’s Andrew Kellett.
Ovum said that while all vendors claim to provide the best available protection when attacks take place, unfortunately, the laboratory reports do not provide consistent or relevant answers. This, according to Ovum, is due to differing test environments, composition of test data sets, different risk-profile requirements, and ever-changing operational environments.
“Today’s endpoint security solutions must combine core on-device malware protection with intelligence-based support services that detect new threats before a traditional signature is available,” advised Kellett in the report.
“These support services are now more likely to be cloud-based so the speed of service delivery and security updates can be maintained at a high level,” he said.
Ovum said it has addressed this issue with its latest Decision Matrix (ODM), which provides direct assessments of the eight top players in the endpoint security market and categorises them into leaders, challengers and followers. The ODM focuses on each vendor’s functionality for detecting malware, taking feedback from organisations that have used or continue to use each solution, and reporting on their stated levels of satisfaction.
Ovum named McAfee, Sophos and Symantec as leaders in endpoint security provision.
