Advanced endpoint protection (AEP) products are not owned exclusively by vendors incorporated in the last 3 years—the endpoint protection (EPP) market has been around for more than 35 years, and NSS’ first AEP Group Test included products from companies founded as far back as 1982.

This wide range of available products only makes security product selection more challenging; this process is a formidable endeavor across all technologies and industry verticals. Many factors come into play: price, security effectiveness, performance, management, workflow, deployment architecture, interoperability, and more. Gathering information on all these factors can easily take months, with the implementation of a proof of concept (POC) taking even longer. Most security veterans understand that there isn’t one product that’s “best” for everyone, and there are always trade-offs to be made.

AEP products are especially challenging to explore because they’ve evolved from a well-established product class. Marketing campaigns from newer AEP vendors often highlight the challenges, both real and perceived, of traditional endpoint products. Enterprises looking to replace traditional endpoint products must first understand exactly what AEP products can do, as well as the terms used to describe their functionality (see Part 1 and Part 2 of NSS’ AEP Product Selection Guide). Even before reaching out to vendors for a demo, a considerable amount of work is often required.

To assist enterprises in further narrowing down the number of products for their POC, NSS has released Part 3 of the AEP Product Selection Series, which provides analysis of current EPP products’ capabilities.