Picking a Winner

By Deborah Radcliff

August 12, 2002 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - The managed security services market is a volatile one. Choosing the wrong vendor could partner your company with an ineffective provider -- or worse, a vendor that may not be around next year. The following is some advice on how to identify the winners and losers. Check with peers in your industry to see how they're deploying managed service providers and ask for recommendations.

Know your network, your risk and your security monitoring requirements.

Compare providers' service offerings to your particular requirements: Do they monitor only one brand of intrusion-detection system, one that's not the type you have? Do you need other device coverage, like Windows NT system logs or even Digital Equipment Corp. audit data?

Weigh the trade-offs: Could you afford to switch to another intrusion-detection brand if it means deploying a market leader that's more likely to survive the market turbulence?

Ask how the vendor tracks, correlates and evaluates event data. If possible, ask to see the code. Vendors are making lofty claims of what their correlation engines can do, while claiming their competitors' engines are nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Scrutinize vendor claims. Insist on talking with customers who have had the same or similar coverage requirements to learn firsthand if vendors live up to their promises.

Ask for background checks on employees. Also ask how they're trained to keep abreast of new and evolving threats and viruses.

Visit the provider's secure operations centers to view its building security. If you're a global company, find out how many secure operations centers the provider has and where they're located.

Have a backup plan, like Pamela O'Leary did. O'Leary, senior vice president of information services at Rockland Trust Co. in Rockland, Mass., says she's ready to "flip a switch" and take back control of Rockland's security management should her vendor, Atlanta-based Riptech Inc., drop out of the market.

Radcliff is a freelance writer in Northern California. Contact her at drad@aol.com.

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