About This ShortList

In today's cloud-first world, securing vast and dynamic cloud environments poses a significant challenge. Traditional security tools often struggle to keep pace with the ever-changing landscape, leaving gaps and blind spots vulnerable to attack. Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) are a new breed of solutions designed to address this challenge head-on.

Protecting containers, serverless functions, and other cloud-native workloads requires different approaches than traditional VMs. CNAPPs offer capabilities tailored to secure these modern workloads, including vulnerability scanning, container image analysis, and runtime threat detection. Misconfigurations in cloud infrastructure and services can create security vulnerabilities. CNAPPs continuously monitor cloud configurations for deviations from security best practices and compliance requirements, alerting you to potential risks. CNAPP also helps gain centralized visibility and control over your cloud security posture, eliminating siloed data and fragmented management. It leverages advanced analytics and automation to detect and respond to threats faster and more effectively, minimizing damage and downtime.

The CNAPP market is nascent but growing explosively; it is expected to reach $25 billion by 2030. This surge reflects the critical need for cloud-specific security solutions as organizations increasingly migrate workloads to the cloud. CNAPPs offer several key advantages over traditional tools.

Threshold Criteria

Constellation considers the following criteria for these solutions:

  • Multi-Cloud Visibility: Provides a unified view of security posture across different cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.), eliminating siloed data and blind spots.
  • Continuous Threat Detection: Utilizes AI and behavioral analytics to detect anomalies and suspicious activity across cloud workloads, applications, and configurations.
  • Automated Threat Response: Integrates with cloud security controls to automatically remediate threats and minimize damage, reducing manual intervention and response times.
  • Compliance Management: Streamlines compliance efforts by monitoring and enforcing cloud security posture against industry regulations and organizational policies.
  • User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA): Monitors user activity and entity behavior within the cloud environment to detect potential insider threats.
  • Cloud workload protection platform (CWPP) integration: Ensures comprehensive protection for containers, serverless functions, and other modern cloud workloads.
  • Open APIs: Enables integration with other security tools and platforms for a holistic security ecosystem.
  • Security Posture Management (CSPM): Continuously assesses and prioritizes security vulnerabilities across your cloud environment, enabling proactive risk mitigation.

The Constellation ShortList™

Constellation evaluates more than 25 solutions categorized in this market. This Constellation ShortList is determined by client inquiries, partner conversations, customer references, vendor selection projects market share and internal research.

  • Aqua
  • Check Point
  • CrowdStrike
  • Lacework
  • Lightspin
  • Microsoft
  • Orca Security
  • Palo Alto Networks
  • Qualys
  • Rapid7
  • Red Hat
  • Tenable
  • Wiz

Frequency of Evaluation

Each Constellation ShortList is updated at least once per year. Updates may occur after six months if deemed necessary.

Evaluation Services

Constellation clients can work with the analyst and research team to conduct a more thorough discussion of this Constellation ShortList. Constellation can also provide guidance in vendor selection and contract negotiation.

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