GigaOm Radar for Cloud Workload Security (CWS)v1.0

1. Executive Summary

Cloud workload security (CWS) has emerged as a pivotal component in the current cloud infrastructure landscape, helping organizations shield their varied cloud workloads from potential threats, breaches, and vulnerabilities. These solutions encompass a range of tools designed to set security policies, oversee activities, and swiftly detect and respond to threats, covering major cloud service providers as well as on-premises setups like Kubernetes.

The dynamic nature of shared cloud environments brings about its own set of challenges, and CWS directly tackles these by ensuring a robust security stance. It identifies best practices, spots vulnerabilities, rectifies misconfigurations, and prevents sensitive data leaks. It streamlines the management of compliance needs and offers immediate monitoring, leading to quicker reaction times. Such features are especially valuable to organizations using cloud services, IT security teams, cloud architects, and businesses shifting their operations to the cloud. CWS offers tangible benefits by enhancing the security of cloud workloads and decreasing the likelihood of breaches and compliance issues. And importantly, CWS fills gaps in expertise and observability that no other solution can.

Organizations are investing in CWS solutions for several reasons, including:

• CWS solutions help organizations safeguard cloud workloads, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance. Cloud providers offer basic controls, but CWS solutions identify vulnerabilities, respond swiftly to threats, and maintain compliance. The cost of a data breach or non-compliance can be devastating, and a CWS solution is a proactive measure that protects an organization’s assets, reputation, and financial well-being.
• The cloud workload landscape is evolving rapidly, and organizations must stay ahead of emerging threats and embrace innovative technologies to maintain a robust security posture. CWS solutions have seen rapid maturation, with advanced features like AI-guided remediation, real-time workload security insights, and automated vulnerability assessments becoming standard.

This is our first year evaluating the CWS space in the context of our Key Criteria and Radar reports. This GigaOm Radar report examines 14 of the top CWS solutions in the market, and compares offerings against the capabilities (table stakes, key features, and emerging features) and non-functional requirements (business criteria) outlined in the companion Key Criteria report. Together these reports provide an overview of the category and its underlying technology, identify leading CWS offerings, and help decision-makers evaluate these solutions so they can make a more informed investment decision.