As each day passes, new threats in the realm of cyber security continue to emerge, making it a crucial topic for any enterprise. Despite the existence of several cyber security technologies and the promise of new ones on the horizon, there is a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals in the world to effectively implement and utilize these solutions. Hence, the need for automation in cyber security is becoming increasingly important with each passing day. This trend is driven by the desire to streamline operational activities such as network security policy changes and achieve greater efficiency.
An enterprise customer has a valid expectation to leverage the benefits of automation for other security-related activities, rather than focusing solely on the upkeep of the automation solution itself. Therefore, it makes sense to opt for an automation solution that is both user-friendly and easy to maintain, allowing the gained effort to be directed towards the actual security topics that require attention.
This also holds true for network security policy management. If you were to utilize a solution for this purpose, what kind of effort gain would you anticipate? Here is an estimation for three scenarios:
Effort gain for each scenario based on the assumption that implementing a network security policy management system and automating firewall policy changes will result in a reduction of manual effort required for policy management tasks. However, the actual effort gain will depend on various factors such as the complexity of the environment, the current level of automation, and the specific tools and processes used.
Scenario 1: High number of policy change requests
If the customer has a high number of policy change requests, it is likely that they have a complex network environment with multiple applications and services. In this scenario, implementing a network security policy management system and automating firewall policy changes can result in a significant reduction in manual effort required to process these requests. Specifically, the effort gain can range from 50-70% depending on the level of automation and the effectiveness of the policy management system.
Scenario 2: Lower number of requests but high number of firewalls
If the customer has a lower number of policy change requests but a high number of firewalls, it is likely that they have a distributed network environment with multiple locations or data centers. In this scenario, implementing a network security policy management system and automating firewall policy changes can result in a significant reduction in manual effort required to manage these firewalls. Specifically, the effort gain can range from 40-60% depending on the level of automation and the effectiveness of the policy management system.
Scenario 3: Low number of firewalls and requests
If the customer has a low number of firewalls and requests, the potential for effort gain may be lower than in the previous scenarios. However, even in this case, implementing a network security policy management system and automating firewall policy changes can still result in a reduction in manual effort required for policy management tasks. The effort gain can range from 20-40% depending on the level of automation and the effectiveness of the policy management system.
No matter you need to use end-to-end automation or have a high amount of requests or not network security policy managment solutions will help you achieve an effort gain of at least 20 % to reaching 70 %. The gained effort then be used for other security topics that you may have interest if the used solution not need special management or maintenance.