Almost three years have passed since the last one, and with new analyst Martin Whitworth at the helm along with Christopher McClean, Claire O’Malley and Peggy Dotsie, Forrester Research released “The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting, Q1 2016.” They recognized IBM Security in the Leader category.

On the heels of our recent achievement being named Leader in the “2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services,” we are excited about what we feel is the continued market validation from the security analyst community.

The Forrester Wave reports are data-driven evaluations of software, hardware and services markets. They assess providers in categories such as Current Offering, Strategy and Market Presence, which includes customer input, to determine scoring for the report.

Read ‘The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services’

Where IBM Security Excels

IBM Security Consulting Services has grown significantly since the last Forrester Wave and has helped fuel the growth of IBM Security. Clients seek consulting services that provide key capabilities, deep solution experience and knowledge and advanced technologies to address the threat environment. Clients are also seeking a trusted partner they can confide in and who will bring forth solutions to address often complicated and complex security issues that leave enterprises exposed to significant risk.

The report highlighted the importance of “capable and trusted partners to help them [CISOs] with a new class of activities:

• Senior executives and board members need education.
• The security strategy needs business alignment.
• The security teams need benchmarks.
• Supply chain partners and other third parties need oversight.
• The security program needs measurement.
• The business needs new technologies.
• The human factor needs to be involved.”

Forrester evaluated 13 vendors and weighted them across 31 criteria. The following vendor profile for IBM Security appears verbatim in “The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services, Q1 2016”:

“IBM Security Services brings an integrated approach to transforming clients’ security programs. Recent reorganization at IBM reflects a clear focus on security with a business unit dedicated to it. Aiming to help customers undertake complex business transformations securely, IBM Security brings together the company’s consulting, managed service and cloud service offerings. Current clients see IBM’s global coverage, breadth of services, business acumen and flexibility as key strengths — while identifying cost of services and continued attempts to upsell as areas to improve upon. Companies looking for a consulting partner that can do it all and possibly manage it afterwards should consider IBM Security Services.”

This year, IBM Security earned its highest scores in the following areas:

IBM Consulting Differentiated

Among vendors evaluated, IBM Security is the only company that is ranked as a Leader in both “The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services, Q1 2016” and “2015 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services.” We are unique in that regard; it’s a key differentiator and it exemplifies IBM Security as a leading end-to-end security vendor in the marketplace.

IBM Security Consulting Services & Systems Integration provides global services, from security intelligence to operations capabilities, and delivers industry-leading assessments, strategies and solutions to many of the world’s largest enterprises. As the demand to safeguard an enterprise’s crown jewels and protect personal privacy continues to intensify, chief security officers, corporate executives and board members need a trusted ally in cybersecurity.

IBM Security continues to build the most comprehensive set of security consulting capabilities in the industry to serve our clients’ most challenging needs. Our experts are deployed around the world and are ready to serve our clients in a variety of needs. Whether it’s conducting an assessment, defining a strategy, building a security road map, setting up a security operations center (SOC), integrating complex security products, transitioning to the cloud or managing through the skills shortage, IBM Security has the expertise to deliver client success.

Download ‘The Forrester Wave: Information Security Consulting Services, Q1 2016’

DISCLAIMER: The Forrester Wave™ is copyrighted by Forrester Research, Inc. Forrester and Forrester Wave™ are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. The Forrester Wave™ is a graphical representation of Forrester’s call on a market and is plotted using a detailed spreadsheet with exposed scores, weightings, and comments. Forrester does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in the Forrester Wave. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change.