EXPERT SPEAK
HOW CYBERSECURITY TOOL SPRAWL IS IMPACTING MSP OPERATIONS
The cybersecurity landscape has become complicated, and the traditional, bloated technology stack cannot keep up. MSPs must adopt a unified security posture, which simplifies cybersecurity while providing contextual awareness to their environment. This eliminates tool sprawl, reduces operational overhead, provides real-time threat detection, compliance monitoring, and automated security workflows, says Manoj Srivastava at Blackpoint Cyber.
If you run an MSP today, chances are your security stack contains an overwhelming number of best-of-breed tools designed to solve specific client requirements. The stack probably grew one tool at a time: EDR for ransomware, CASB for cloud, a second SIEM when the first one stalled, and so on. While each tool solved a problem, it also created new ones like an expanded attack surface, limited visibility, and weakened defences.
According to research from Microsoft, organisations that operate with a large, mixed technology stack suffer approximately 46 % more breaches than those who run on leaner stacks. This is due in part to a lack of security context. Disconnected tools do not correlate data correctly to deliver a single source of truth. This causes security teams to operate in reactive mode – addressing every alert without meaningful context to help them prioritise what truly matters.
Tool sprawl also impacts business operations. A recent ISSA study found that that 70 % of security professionals feel that cybersecurity has grown more complex and increased their workloads. Nearly half of respondents say that the cybersecurity skills gap has limited their ability to fully
Manoj Srivastava, Chief Technology and Product Officer, Blackpoint Cyber learn or utilise the security technologies to their full potential. In other words, buying yet another tool to fix your clients’ problems is not the answer.
Tool sprawl impacts your bottom line with wasted software spend. Flexera’ s 2024 State of ITAM Report shows that 33 – 38 % of licenses are unused across desktop, data centre, and SaaS estates.
Most organisations rely on collecting vast amounts of computer and network logs to detect and respond to cyber threats. However, siloed point solutions each produce their own critical alerts without identity context, who is behind an action, what privileges they hold, and how it maps to real business risk. Without that intelligence, MSPs chase false positives and miss lateral movement.
A unified platform consolidates tools for asset discovery, vulnerability management, and threat detection into a single integrated system. This provides security teams with actionable insights and allows them to respond strategically.
Unifying multiple security tools into one integrated system can also dramatically reduce operational complexity and cost. Analysts stop wasting hours reconciling data across consoles. And MSPs can eliminate investing in unused software licenses.
Consolidating your technology stack can also simplify reporting. Clients do not
Tool sprawl impacts your bottom line with wasted software spend.
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