<p>More than 600 cybersecurity vendors crowded the RSAC 2026 Conference expo floor at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, along with their sales reps, event MCs, branded swag and multimedia displays. It amounted to an astounding commercial spectacle — but also, somehow, a mere fraction of the current <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/Cybersecurity-market-researchers-forecast-significant-growth”>cybersecurity market</a>, which Forrester estimates comprises around 4,000 vendors.</p>
<p>Expect that number to grow, Forrester Analyst Jeff Pollard warned security leaders during a conference session down the street from the expo floor.</p>
<p>”We have a real problem with vendor and tech sprawl in our environments,” he said. “And this market is only going to get even bigger and more challenging for you to sort through on a day-in, day-out basis.”</p>
<p>Many security teams spend countless hours developing their own DIY point-tool integrations and contending with a plethora of logins, consoles, dashboards and <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/vendors-role-combating-alert-fatigue” rel=”noopener”>alerts</a>.</p>
<p>Enter the single pane of glass, or SPOG. For years, various cybersecurity vendors have claimed to unify <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-implement-security-control-rationalization”>multiple point tools</a> into a user-friendly SPOG that makes life easier for security teams. But what sounds too good to be true often is.</p>
<p>”You’ve all been burned before, right?” said Forrester Analyst Jess Burns, who presented with Pollard. “It’s relatively easy to market a platform with a SPOG, but it’s hard to build one.”</p>
<p>The good news is, she added, some vendors have, in fact, cracked the code and now offer cybersecurity platforms that approach the SPOG ideal. The challenge for CISOs is differentiating between cybersecurity product packages — groups of standalone tools cloaked in clever “platform” marketing — and true, integrated platforms that justify the commitment and investment. According to Burns and Pollard, CISOs who are vetting platform options should look for technology that can, at a minimum, do the following.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Combine multiple security controls from a single vendor”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Combine multiple security controls from a single vendor</h2>
<p>Some vendors sell packages of standalone products and services that they erroneously market as “platforms,” the Forrester analysts cautioned. But having fewer vendors doesn’t necessarily mean having fewer tools.</p>
<p>According to Pollard, if a provider talks about the need for “integration” during the implementation phase, that can be a red flag — pointing to a suite of separate products rather than a pre-integrated platform.</p>
<p>”Raise your eyebrows, because you might be getting sold a bill of goods,” he added.</p>
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<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Provide a single unified UI”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Provide a single unified UI</h2>
<p>A platform should offer a strong security analyst experience, Pollard said. With a good UI, “your analysts are alt-tabbing less, context-switching is reduced and the information that they need to effectively disposition issues is presented to them [in one place].”</p>
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<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Provide a single underlying data model for all relevant data from each controller”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Provide a single underlying data model for all relevant data from each controller</h2>
<p>In a single, extensible, cross-domain data model, data from diverse sources — e.g., network devices, endpoints and cloud services — is automatically available and useful across the platform. Customers should not need to manipulate the data or build out cross-domain functionality.</p>
<p>”At a minimum, it should save us from having to control-T in the different browser interfaces,” Pollard said, adding that while a single underlying data model is uncommon, it is an essential part of a true platform. “At a maximum, it should be integrated together such that the data understands the rest of the data.”</p>
<p>In the proof-of-concept phase, Burns added, make the vendor prove they have a single extensible data model, not just stitched-together schemas.</p>
<p>”Ask them to show you how they handle at least five different data types across the mo
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