Back 
Netskope was named a Leader in the recently released IDC MarketScape report for cloud security gateways (CSG). A cloud security gateway, also known as a cloud access security broker (CASB) was defined with the following requirements:
- The solution must offer an on-premises and/or cloud service focused on real-time management and monitoring of activity between end users and multiple public SaaS and/or IaaS environments intended to provide protection to the enterprise.
- The solution must have at least $10 million in worldwide organizational revenue in the previous 12 months, with at least $5 million in a CSG product/platform.
- The solution must have worldwide operations in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
- The solution must offer at least four of the following functions applied to enterprise users accessing multiple public SaaS/IaaS environments: identity insight, deep application insight, activity monitoring, content monitoring, policy enforcement, and encrypted communications.
The IDC MarketScape further drills down into the market definition of each of the functions:
- Identity insight: The user is a crucial endpoint in cloud-based architectures. CSGs do not typically store and manage users, but they must consume identity information to use for tracking and policy enforcement.
- Deep application insight: Following a trend started a few years ago, the CSG must understand multiple public cloud apps at a granular functional level, with or without published APIs.
- Activity monitoring: CSGs track the actions and transactions occurring between users and cloud applications to understand the typical and anomalous activities and provide an opportunity to take action for any activity deemed to be inappropriate.
- Content monitoring: In addition to tracking activity, CSGs track the life cycle of structured and unstructured content during its life cycle to identify sensitive locations and actions throughout the cloud environment.
- Policy enforcement: CSGs must be in a position to take action associated with activity and content monitoring. They must have an interface for developing policies about the resources in play and incorporate mechanisms for notifying, alerting, blocking, redirecting, and/or obfuscating (e.g., encrypting) based on results.
- Encrypted communications: CSGs must be able to provide basic communication encryption along the entire path between users and applications/services.
Netskope was one of twelve CSG/CASB vendors evaluated across criteria spanning functionality, delivery, and ability to meet customer needs, financial standing, and innovation. The IDC MarketScape model then places evaluated vendors across two axes – capabilities and strategies, with the Leaders Category being defined as those placed farthest to the right and top of the quadrant.
This report comes as organizations large and small accelerate their adoption of CSG/CASB vendors like Netskope. With the need to find and secure shadow IT as well as enforce additional security controls on top of sanctioned, IT-led cloud services like Microsoft Office 365, Google G Suite, Box, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and more, this IDC MarketScape will provide guidance for organizations as they choose cloud security platforms. More and more, organizations are moving to the cloud, storing sensitive data across myriad cloud services.
The IDC MarketScape report comments that “CSGs are likely to become the key security solution for any organization that is heavily dependent on cloud environments, in particular, public SaaS solutions. Given the mass movement toward solutions like Office 365, salesforce.com, Dropbox, Box.com, and Google Apps, this means almost everyone. The more robust and complex the cloud environment, the more likely a CSG will be required for efficient and effective security management.”
Netskope has innovated across capabilities like cloud DLP, cloud threat protection, and access and security policies from inception, building a cloud security platform architected for the enterprise. We’re proud to be in the Leaders Category of this report and invite you to take look.
For an excerpt of the IDC MarketScape report, read here.
Read the blog