[Note: this is one of a series of blog posts inspired by the findings contained in The Forrester Wave™: Endpoint Security Suites, Q4 2016. Forrester Wave reports are based on primary research, vendor surveys, product demos, and customer reference calls conducted by Forrester analysts. You can download the complete report here.]

Previous episodes of this mini-series (listed below) discussed the importance of endpoint security, the evolution of antivirus solutions, and the critical elements your endpoint protection efforts must address. This time, the focus is on why where endpoint security is concerned, you shouldn’t “go it alone,” and the characteristics Forrester Research believes you should look for in a solutions provider.

What makes a strong vendor partner?

The Forrester Wave report says that any endpoint security solution worth considering must address three critical user needs—prevention of malware execution, detection of threats and vulnerabilities, and remediation of those. Forrester also placed importance on additional features such as mobile security support, and on scalable, flexible underlying technology architectures.

However, Forrester looked beyond product features when evaluating endpoint solutions and their providers. To make Forrester’s cut, candidate vendors also had to have an “enterprise market presence” of 100 enterprise customer accounts or 1.5 million business user seats under management. Forrester also looked for a “high level of interest from enterprise buyers” among its clients.

Ivanti: defense in depth from a proven partner

Forrester selected “The 15 Providers That Matter Most,” and included LANDESK (before the creation of Ivanti) among the vendors Forrester considers “Strong Performers.” “Through both acquisition and in-house development, LANDESK now offers a number of strong security technologies that place it among the top endpoint security suites. These include full application control capabilities (through the acquisition of AppSense), best-of-breed patch management (through the Shavlik acquisition), solid mobile security capabilities (through the LetMobile acquisition), and endpoint detection capabilities developed in-house,” Forrester said.

Since the Forrester Wave report was published, LANDESK has been merged with HEAT Software to create Ivanti. That merger created a company with more than 1,600 employees in 23 countries, and more than 22,000 customers worldwide. That expanded enterprise market presence is bolstered by both current strengths and great potential, according to Duncan Brown, European security practice research director for IDC, another respected market research firm. “The merger of HEAT and LANDESK makes sense: both are leaders in IT Ops and both have integrated security functionality into their propositions. With minimal overlap in channel and geographic coverage, there are plenty of synergies to pursue,” Brown said.

Download The Forrester Wave™: Endpoint Security Suites, Q4 2016, and read more about what Forrester says you need from effective endpoint protection solutions and from the vendors that provide them. Then, visit Ivanti online or contact your Ivanti representative. See what our customers say about how our focus on “defense in depth” extends beyond our solutions, to include a commitment to every client’s success. Especially yours.

Layered security is the whole endpoint

Be sure to check out the other posts in this series: