Today’s enterprise security buyers evaluating a new endpoint security suite often begin with a security RFP layered thick with many existing endpoint security features and capabilities, including antimalware, host firewall, anti-exploit, and application control. However, as our evaluation in the “The Forrester Wave™: Endpoint Security Suites, Q3 2019” showed, the major differentiation between today’s endpoint security vendors revolves around behavioral protection and advanced analytics. At the same time, the major enterprise user operating systems (including Microsoft, Apple, and Google) have all significantly improved their built-in security capabilities to the point where 50% of organizations are planning to reduce their endpoint security spending by utilizing more native OS security features.

In our recent report “Improve Your Threat Protection Efficacy Using Built-In OS Security,” we analyzed the security features found in the mobile and traditional OSes offered by Apple, Google, and Microsoft to help understand the native OS security features and identify potential areas of overlap between paid and native OS security capabilities. Our goal wasn’t to determine which OSes provided the strongest overall security, but instead to outline where organizations can transition from third-party offerings to native offerings. By identifying where native security features can possibly replace third-party offerings, companies can simplify their overall endpoint security governance strategy, minimize licensing costs, and efficiently limit their attack surface.

This report outlines nine major areas where each of the OS platforms offers security capabilities: antimalware, exploit protection, app control, system security, hardware security, data security, authentication, web security, and security configuration. If you would like to learn more about this space, I recommend reading the following reports:

You can also schedule an inquiry with me to discuss this topic further.