GuideSecurity · 6 min
We have too many security tools. How do we cut down to fewer vendors?
Map what each tool covers and find the overlaps. Then choose: one platform from one vendor, or one provider who runs the tools you keep, and set the order.
The Clectiv team ·
Cutting vendors starts with a map, not a purchase. The overlaps and the gaps sit in the same pile of tools. Sort the pile first, then decide who runs what's left.
One platform or the best tool for each job: what's the trade?#
A platform trades depth for fewer moving parts. One vendor sells several pieces of your security under one console and one contract. The other way, each tool does one job and you connect them yourself.
| Way | What you gain | What you give up |
|---|---|---|
| One platform | One contract, one console, tools that share what they see | One vendor's roadmap, and some parts may be less deep than a specialist's |
| Separate tools | Depth at each job | More vendors, more contracts, and finger-pointing when something slips between them |
Neither way is free. More vendors means more places for a gap to hide. One vendor makes leaving harder later.
A platform only counts for the parts you'd use. A vendor can list a dozen products, and you may run three of them. Check which pieces would replace a tool you pay for today.
Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Zscaler, Cato Networks and Cloudflare all sell platforms, from different starting points. Fortinet starts with the firewall, and Palo Alto Networks adds secure access and detection to its firewalls.
Zscaler and Cloudflare sell secure access from the cloud, which checks every person and device connecting to your systems, wherever they are. Cato Networks sells the network and its security together. Each is one of our security providers, and Clectiv AI runs the process for you from start to finish: start a project.
Before you call anyone#
Hand Clectiv AI your tool list before any security vendor sees it. Then Clectiv AI runs the process: it bids the work out to the providers that fit, they compete, and you choose. Ask a platform vendor first and the plan you get is more of its platform.
What do we keep, and what goes?#
Keeping a tool is a fine answer. A tool that works, and that someone watches, stays. The map shows which ones don't earn their place.
List every tool with Clectiv AI, and write down four things for each:
- What it covers: devices, email, identity, cloud, network.
- What it costs, and when its contract ends.
- Who reads its alerts.
- What breaks if it's switched off.
Physical security belongs on the list too. Video surveillance, access control and alarm panels can run on the same network, under contracts of their own.
Overlaps go first. Two tools covering the same ground are a bill you pay twice. Next come tools that cover something real but that nobody watches.
Last come the gaps, where nothing covers at all. Check what your insurer or auditor names before you retire anything, because a quiet tool can be the one they ask about.
One hint: line up the contract end dates before you pick a platform. The tools that end soonest are the easiest to move.
Move the coverage before you switch the old tool off. A gap between the two is the one an attacker finds.
Can one provider run all of it?#
Yes, and it can run the tools you already own. A managed security service provider (MSSP) runs your security day to day: the tools, the monitoring and the response. You get one team to call, and one name on the hook when something slips.
LevelBlue, BlueVoyant and Thrive all sell managed security. LevelBlue sells MDR, XDR and incident response from one provider, and BlueVoyant's MDR is built around Microsoft's security tools, so if you already run them, they can stay. We work with all of them in security, and Clectiv AI runs the process for you: start a project.
Use what others already learned. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for customers like you, so you start where they finished. These providers see the plan directly, which is how you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can get.
A provider can run a platform, a mix of tools from several makers, or both. The plan sets which with you.
Ask what "run it all" includes. Some providers cover detection and response only. Others run the firewalls and the network too.
Every proposal should answer:
- Which tools it runs, and which it replaces.
- Whether it acts on an attack or only forwards the alert.
- Who answers when two tools disagree.
- What leaving costs you, and what you keep.
The plan asks the rest, from the hours covered to how your data's kept.
Common questions#
Is one security platform better than separate tools?#
What does consolidating security vendors save?#
What is an MSSP?#
How do we drop a security vendor without leaving a hole?#
Do we have to buy everything from one vendor?#
How does Clectiv AI get this done?#
Bring it to Clectiv AI. Tell it what tools you run and who watches them today. It scopes your stack with you and writes your plan: every tool, what it overlaps, and when each contract ends.
Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the platform and managed-security providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. Those providers bid and compete, the team pushes on terms before anything gets signed, and you choose.
Other buyers already wore this path in. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run before, so you start where other buyers ended up. Then the providers that fit see the plan directly, for the best pricing, terms and contract we can get on each.
It's free to you, and the bids come back in days, not months. For all of security, see the security page.
Want one provider to run the SOC and the NOC too? Read your SOC and NOC options.
Sources and method. No prices appear in this guide. How the platform and managed-security options work describes how they're commonly sold, not any one provider's terms. Provider names are examples of who sells security platforms and managed security, from Clectiv's provider directory, not a ranking.