GigaOm Key Criteria for Evaluating Cloud Workload Security (CWS) Solutionsv2.0

1. Executive Summary

Cloud workload security (CWS) is a critical component of modern cybersecurity strategies, focusing on protecting the dynamic and ever-expanding workloads in cloud environments. It’s essential because organizations across various industries rely on cloud services to store, process, and manage their data and applications. These cloud workloads often contain sensitive information, making them attractive targets for cyberthreats.

CWS matters to a broad audience. The C-suite recognizes the importance of CWS because it directly impacts the organization’s reputation, compliance, and financial stability. IT security teams rely on CWS to safeguard critical assets, detect threats, and ensure compliance. Cloud architects seek CWS to design secure cloud environments, while businesses understand that it’s a fundamental part of securing their digital transformation initiatives.

Business Imperative
CWS can benefit organizations in many ways. First, it’s essential for mitigating risks associated with cloud workloads. Cloud providers offer basic controls, but CWS enhances security by identifying vulnerabilities, ensuring compliance, and responding swiftly to threats. The cost of a data breach or noncompliance can be devastating, making CWS a proactive measure to protect the organization’s reputation and financial well-being.

Second, threats are continually emerging that can have disastrous effects on organizations. CWS is crucial because it provides the capabilities needed to maintain a robust security posture. The CWS landscape is evolving rapidly, and it has seen significant growth and maturation, with advanced features like LLM-guided remediation, real-time workload security insights, and automated vulnerability assessments becoming standard. Organizations must embrace these innovations to stay ahead of the varied threats that can impact their welfare.

Sector Adoption Score
To help executives and decision-makers assess the potential impact and value of deploying a cloud workload security solution, this GigaOm Key Criteria report provides a structured assessment of the sector across five factors: benefit, maturity, urgency, impact, and effort. By scoring each factor based on how strongly it compels or deters adoption of a cloud workload security solution, we provide an overall Sector Adoption Score (Figure 1) of 4.4 out of 5, with 5 indicating the strongest possible recommendation to adopt. This indicates that a cloud workload security solution is a strong candidate for deployment and worthy of consideration.

The factors contributing to the Sector Adoption Score for cloud workload security are explained in more detail in the Sector Brief section that follows.

Figure 1. Sector Adoption Score for Cloud Workload Security

This is the second year that GigaOm has reported on the cloud workload security space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This report builds on our previous analysis and considers how the market has evolved over the last year.

This GigaOm Key Criteria report highlights the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and nonfunctional requirements (business criteria) for selecting an effective cloud workload security solution. The companion GigaOm Radar report identifies vendors and products that excel in those decision criteria. Together, these reports provide an overview of the market, identify leading cloud workload security offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.