Welcome
How Far Along Is Your Organization’s XDR Strategy?
Are you still in the discovery phase of extended detection and response (XDR)? Do you need to learn more? And are you curious of where you sit amongst your peers in how they’re focusing their XDR efforts? Take our short self-assessment to find out what steps can be taken to enhance your capabilities and move towards a more mature XDR strategy.
The assessment will yield customized results and recommendations based on your responses and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.
Questions
What is your organization’s adoption status for extended detection and response (XDR)? Select one.
Questions
Which of the following security operations tools or services do you feel should be included as part of a comprehensive XDR program? Select one per row.
Questions
Which of the following security operations tools or services does your organization include specifically as part of your extended detection and response (XDR) program? Select one per row.
Questions
How long has your organization had XDR? Select one.
To understand the XDR adoption phase that organizations are in, our assessment evaluated participants across three key areas:
XDR Adoption Level
Is your organization just considering adoption, or is it in the planning stages? Have you adopted, and are you expanding your adoption?
Components Of XDR
Does your organization include critical security operations tools and services in your XDR strategy? If you haven’t adopted, which of those tools do you feel are critical for XDR?
Adoption Length
If you’ve adopted, how long has your organization had XDR?
Results Overview
Discovery
Early Adopter
Mature Adopter
Your maturity result: Mature Adopter Early Adopter Discovery
Recommendations
Mature Adopter
Your score means your organization is in the more advanced phase of XDR adoption. Good news, you are ahead of the curve! XDR is a relatively new space, with 74% of your peers still in the discovery phase. You are well on your way in the adoption process, but there is always room to continue maturing your strategy in this ever-evolving space.
You and your organization should now start focusing on rounding out your XDR strategy and remaining agile to adapt to the changing nature of the security landscape. Eighty-six percent of adopters (and even 73% on non-adopters) believe the XDR market will mature and be the way of the future. While this is a journey, there really is no end in sight. It’s more of being fully positioned to handle the evolving nature of security over time. Secure your place in that future by doing the following:
Ensure adoption includes all critical XDR components.
- Fully mature XDR offerings integrate endpoint detection and response (EDR), vulnerability management, security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, identity and access management (IAM), threat detection, and network analysis and visibility (NAV).
- Your organization likely includes most of these, but it is time to add in any remaining components to round out your strategy.
Reallocate employees to other, more strategic functions.
- Adopters also find that XDR reallocates staff from tedious tasks to those that are more targeted and advanced.
- Mature adopters of XDR cited increasing security automation across the board as a trop priority. Leverage this shift to focus on building a security automation strategy.
Include your entire organization in the process.
- Two in three respondents in our study cited the lack of security expertise across their organizations as the top obstacle for their IT and security teams. Consider reallocating some of these personnel to serve as security coaches in other departments to infuse security across the organization.
Ensure your benefits align to improvements in the market.
- XDR adopters indicate their top benefits include increased ROI (75%), flexibility, scalability, and opportunities for automation (69%), unified security-relevant endpoint detections from security and business tools (67%), optimization of threat detection in real time (64%), and stopping more breaches (61%).
- XDR users report a 13.9% increase in ROI as a result of adoption, with that number increasing as adoption matures over time. Early adopters saw an ROI increase of 13.0%, while more mature adopters saw 16.6%! This means that you are poised to continue capturing more benefits and higher returns as you continue to mature.
Early Adopters
Your score means your organization is still in the early adoption phase of XDR. Good news, you aren’t alone! XDR is a relatively new space, with 74% of your peers still in the discovery phase. You have started your adoption process, but there is room for growth.
What comes next? Focus on maturing your XDR strategy. Eighty-six percent of adopters (and even 73% on non-adopters) believe the XDR market will continue to mature. While this is a journey, it is time to move past the beginning stages:
Plan for adoption of all the critical XDR components.
Fully mature XDR offerings integrate endpoint detection response (EDR), vulnerability management, security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, identity and access management (IAM), threat detection, and network analysis and visibility (NAV).
- Your organization likely only includes a handful of these in its current XDR strategy. Plan for expansion. Adopters most often begin by incorporating EDR, managed detection and response (MDR), and vulnerability management, so consider these as your starting points if they’re not included in your strategy yet.
Reallocate employees to other, more strategic functions.
- Adopters find that XDR reallocates staff from tedious tasks to those that are more targeted and advanced.
- Early adopters cited security requirement compliance, placed upon them by business partners, as a top priority. Map how XDR enables compliance with third-party security requirements and use that mapping to identify gaps. Leverage employees that have been reallocated due to the XDR deployment to strategize on how to fill remaining gaps.
Include your entire organization in the process.
- Two in three respondents in our study cited the lack of security expertise across their organizations as the top obstacle for their IT and security teams. Consider reallocating personnel to serve as security coaches in other departments to infuse security across the organization.
Prepare for benefits that more mature adopters have experienced.
- XDR adopters indicate their top benefits include increased ROI (75%), flexibility, scalability, and opportunities for automation (69%), unified security-relevant endpoint detections from security and business tools (67%), optimization of threat detection in real time (64%), and stopping more breaches (61%). XDR adoption improves the detection and containment of threats, and it provides extended visibility.
- XDR users report a 13.9% increase in ROI as a result of adoption, with that number increasing as adoption matures over time. Early adopters saw an ROI increase of 13.0%, while more mature adopters saw 16.6%!
Discovery Phase
Your score means your organization is still in the discovery phase of XDR. Maybe you are wanting to learn more? Maybe your organization has adoption plans for the next year? Good news, you aren’t alone! XDR is a relatively new space, with 74% of your peers still in the discovery phase. So, what comes next? You need to transition your security operations strategy to include XDR. Seventy-three percent of non-adopters (and 86% of adopters) believe the XDR market will continue to mature. While this is a journey, the time to take your first steps is now as some of your peers are already well on their way:
Know who to trust when researching.
- The top-three XDR learning resources that your peers in the discovery phase include are: industry research, information from independent software vendors, and information from technology vendors. Look for information from thought leaders in this space to help you through these uncharted waters.
Determine which XDR approach will work best for your organization.
- There is a native and hybrid approach to XDR. The native approach is referred to as “closed,” and it first integrates with tools in your vendor portfolio. The hybrid approach is referred to as “open,” and it leverages integrations with third parties and allows for use of best-of-breed technology. XDR adopters are split fairly evenly across native (48%) and hybrid (52%) approaches, so it is important to research the strategies to determine which would work best for your organization.
- Native users cite the top-native benefits as a single vendor buying process and better customer experience across product lines.
- Hybrid users cite the top-hybrid benefits as the ability to mix and match the best controls from leading vendors, no vendor lock-in, and better value (no rip and replace).
Plan for adoption of all the critical XDR components.
- Fully mature XDR offerings integrate endpoint detection and response (EDR), vulnerability management, security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, identity and access management (IAM), threat detection, and network analysis and visibility (NAV).
- Most adopters first begin by incorporating EDR, a managed service, and vulnerability management.
Define and surpass early adoption hurdles.
- Security leaders cited the following barriers that they needed to overcome prior to XDR adoption: a risk assessment to understand the adoption risks; an education program to bridge the skills gap; and a proof of concept. Consider whether these hurdles could be holding your XDR journey back and address them prior to adoption.
Include your entire organization in the process.
- Two in three respondents in our study cited the lack of security expertise across their organizations as the top obstacle for their IT and security teams. Adopters find that XDR reallocates staff from tedious tasks to focus on more targeted and advanced tasks. Consider reallocating some of these personnel to serve as security coaches in other departments to infuse security across the organization.
Make the business case.
- XDR adopters indicate their top benefits include increased ROI (75%), flexibility, scalability, and opportunities for automation (69%), unified security-relevant endpoint detections from security and business tools (67%), optimization of threat detection in real time (64%), and stopping more breaches (61%).
- XDR users report a 13.9% increase in ROI as a result of adoption, with that number increasing as adoption matures over time.
Next Steps
Ready to get started?
What is XDR? To learn more, click here.
Learn more about our XDR Security Solution.
How does your company compare to your peers? What can you do to mature your XDR strategy in the future? Register to see your personal results and recommendations.
Methodology And Disclaimer
Methodology And Disclaimers
Methodology
Methodology
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 1,291 IT, networking, and security managers and above (including CIOs and CISOs) with responsibility for security and network strategy and decision-making at organizations in North America, EMEA, and Asia Pacific to evaluate their XDR strategies. Questions provided to the participants asked about their organizations’ security tools, operations, and plans. The study was completed in July 2022.
Disclaimers
Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this assessment, VMware and Forrester are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein.