Ten reasons companies are ditching legacy online security solutions

Ten reasons companies are ditching legacy online security solutions

John Agger, Principal Industry Marketing Manager, Fastly, says that by embracing next-generation security solutions, organisations can gain a new level of confidence and control.

The world of IT security has undergone a revolution with security tools becoming much more user-friendly, effective and efficient and offering features far beyond what legacy systems were able to. Yet, many companies remain unaware of these advancements. They cling to outdated solutions plagued by false positives, cumbersome maintenance and slow response times.

By embracing modern tools, organisations can achieve a higher level of security than ever before. These benefits contribute to a stronger and more responsive security stance, ensuring that companies can stay ahead of evolving threats. Modern security solutions not only improve the ability to swiftly detect and respond to incidents, but also streamline operations through automation and improved user interfaces. Furthermore, the integration of advanced analytics and proactive threat hunting capabilities enables businesses to anticipate and mitigate risks before they affect operations, ultimately safeguarding their assets and reputation in an increasingly digital landscape.

These are ten benefits that can easily be integrated by migrating to next-generation security solutions:

  1. Complexity reduction: The new paradigm prioritises ease of use without compromising security effectiveness. Gone are the days of wrestling with complex configurations and endless false positives. Today’s tools are designed to be intuitive, allowing teams to implement powerful security measures while maintaining optimal performance.

    This translates into rapid response times with new threats addressed as they occur rather than hours, days or weeks. Additionally, readily available data provides valuable insight into traffic spikes and legitimacy, fostering a clear understanding of the security posture.

  2. Empowering teams: Next-generation security solutions place control firmly in the hands of internal teams. User-friendly interfaces enable confident configuration changes, rule adjustments, and impact assessments in live testing environments, all before immediate implementation.

    This eliminates dependence on expensive and time-consuming professional services, a major bottleneck impacting legacy systems. Faster time-to-protection becomes a reality, as organisations can adapt to new threats without external delays.

  3. Faster deployment: Modern security solutions ditch the sluggish deployment cycles of the past. With deployment times measured in minutes rather than weeks or months, organisations gain immediate protection. This swiftness foreshadows long-term agility, allowing for seamless adaptation as security needs evolve.

  4. Environment-agnostic deployment:
    True ease of use extends to deployment across diverse environments. Imagine a unified security experience that transcends cloud, container, on-premise, hybrid and edge environments. This flexibility empowers organisations to make architectural decisions without encountering security roadblocks.

  5. Accuracy without false positives:
    False positives become a relic of the past. Modern solutions utilise advanced technologies to accurately block threats, eliminating the frustration of legacy WAFs prone to triggering unnecessary alerts. Threshold-based attack filtering allows for immediate mitigation while minimising false positives. Furthermore, WAFs with superior visibility enable fine-tuning thresholds over time, further refining threat detection accuracy.

  6. Rule building made simple:
    Gone are the days of complex rule creation and the constant fear of new rules generating false positives. Today, tools prioritise simplicity and transparency in rule building. Effective rules can be confidently deployed within minutes, addressing new threats with ease. While regular expressions remain valuable tools, innovative solutions offer simpler methods for swift threat mitigation.

  7. Proactive defence:
    Advanced threat intelligence capabilities elevate security beyond mere reaction. By anticipating threats before they even reach the WAF, organisations gain a significant advantage. This proactive approach allows for blocking malicious traffic that traditional methods might miss, leading to a measurable reduction in illegitimate traffic reaching origin servers.

  8. Integrated bot management:
    The ever-growing impact of bots in the security landscape necessitates a robust bot management solution. Ideally, this solution should mirror the user-friendly deployment, control, accuracy and threat intelligence features of the WAF. Integration under a single pane of glass, alongside deployment across the entire environment, provides a holistic defence. By consolidating vendors for WAF and bot management, organisations can streamline their security posture and eliminate unnecessary complexity.

  9. Real-time observability:
    Imagine real-time data dashboards that empower immediate understanding of threats. This is precisely what modern security solutions offer, providing clear insights into “what,” “why,” and “how” scenarios, allowing for quick resolution. This level of transparency, a stark contrast to the opaque reports and limited access of legacy systems, fosters informed decision-making and a sense of control over one’s security posture.

  10. Exceptional support:
    Customer satisfaction is paramount when it comes to vendor support. Security issues demand immediate resolution with solutions that prioritise customer security. Legacy support models often act as bottlenecks, leaving organisations vulnerable for extended periods while waiting for resolutions.

    Modern vendors prioritise exceptional customer support, ensuring rapid response times and effective mitigation strategies. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of trust and partnership, empowering organisations to focus on their core business while remaining confident in their security posture.

The great security migration

The landscape of online security has undergone significant changes, freeing businesses from the constraints of legacy systems. Modern security solutions provide user-friendly interfaces, unparalleled accuracy, and real-time insights, empowering teams to proactively implement robust and agile security measures.

Further, platform-based security solutions offer a unified and integrated approach to protecting digital environments. By centralising security management, these solutions enable organisations to simplify their security operations, reduce complexity, and improve response times. This comprehensive approach not only enhances visibility across the entire network but also allows for more effective threat detection and mitigation, ensuring that businesses are ahead of emerging cyber threats.

The time to transition is now. By embracing next-generation security solutions, organisations can gain a new level of confidence and control, safeguarding their digital assets and shifting focus to achieving strategic objectives.

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