Last updated at Tue, 09 Apr 2024 17:15:12 GMT
From one person to the next, the word “impact” may have wildly different connotations. Is the word being used in a positive or negative sense? For an understaffed security organization attempting to fend off attacks and plug vulnerabilities, the impact of all of that work is most likely negative: more work, less success to show for it, and more stress to take home.
That's why Rapid7 commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a June 2022 Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study to learn how our real MDR customers are seeing tangible impacts to their bottom line by partnering with Rapid7.
The study found that Rapid7's SOC expertise – with XDR technology that generated improved visibility – enabled a composite organization using Rapid7 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to:
- Quickly extend its coverage with skilled headcount
- Put formal processes in place for cyberattack detection and response
The analysis was conducted using a hypothetical composite organization created for the purposes of the study, with insights gleaned from four real-life MDR customers. This composite reflects a profile we see often: a small team of two security analysts tasked with protecting 1,800 employees and 2,100 assets.
The study concluded that partnering with Rapid7 MDR services experts enabled the composite organization to achieve end-to-end coverage and cut down on detection and response times. Impact like that can open the door to true progress.
Any MDR financial justification like this will come down to four main factors: return on investment (ROI), savings from building out your SOC team, the reduction in risk to your organization, and the time to see value/impact. Let’s break down these four key statistics from the study in more detail.
1. ROI
In the Forrester study, the composite organization – once partnered with Rapid7 – saw productivity gains accelerate efficiencies across alert investigation, response actions, and report creation. They were also protected with 24/7 eyes-on-glass and expert security support. Savings from security-team productivity gains totaled over $930,000 and Rapid7 MDR services in total delivered an ROI of 549% for the composite organization over the course of the three-year analysis. That kind of money can be reinvested to strengthen other parts of a security program and act as a profit driver for the business.
This greater overall visibility is powered by XDR capabilities that can customize protection to assess and block specific threats. Continuously analyzing activity in this way enables more targeted and prioritized containment actions that lead to better curation.
2. Hiring savings
In any sort of managerial capacity, the word “headcount” can have an exhausting connotation. Having to hire a skilled professional, onboard that person to the point they’re contributing in a meaningful way, and then do it all again to fill out perhaps multiple vacancies in pursuit of a productive SOC team – it’s a lot. And it sucks up time and valuable resources, which is perhaps the biggest advantage attackers have over a security organization in need.
Partnering with Rapid7 MDR afforded the composite organization:
- Time savings for existing security team members
- Avoided headcount and onboarding for potential new team members
- Security-breach cost avoidance by extending the team with a dedicated MDR services provider
This led to total quantified benefits with a present value of $4.03 million over three years.
3. Potential benefit
The above stat is great, but you may be asking what sort of start-up costs did the composite organization incur? According to the Forrester study, for the composite organization, partnering with Rapid7 MDR meant spending around $620,000 over the course of three years. Digging into that number a bit more, the organization spread the investment into smaller yearly increments.
Compared to the costs of hiring multiple full-time employees (FTEs) who can do exactly what one needs them to do (and hopefully more), $620,000 quickly begins to look more attractive than what one might pay those FTEs over, say, five years. For a deeper dive into the actual purchasing process of MDR services, check out this handy MDR buyer’s guide.
4. Payback period
For the total three-year investment of just over $620,000, the composite organization experienced payback in less than three months! At the time of the investment in Rapid7 MDR, the composite organization had key objectives like improved visibility across the entire security environment, a complete security solution backed by the right expertise, and 24/7/365 coverage.
The chief information security officer at a healthcare firm said it took two members of their security team, each working four hours a day over the course of two weeks, to complete implementation. In some instances, Rapid7 MDR was able to detect and respond to incidents the first day the service was live.
A complete economic picture
When it comes to under-resourced teams, the economics boil down to a simple comparison: The costs for an MDR provider like Rapid7 versus a potential multiyear attempt to stretch an already-overloaded staff to investigate every alert and mitigate every threat.
Impact aside, a year of MDR service can often equate to the cost of one or two open headcounts. At that point, the economic benefits are the cherry on top. After all, it’s always easier (and more impactful) to instantly extend your team with expert headcount, saving time and resources in onboarding and bringing in experts ready to make an impact from day one. Bundle it all together and you’re building a business case for the potential to bring your organization greater expertise, significant cost avoidance, and positive ROI.
At the end of the day, Rapid7 MDR can give existing security specialists some much-needed breathing room while helping the business into a better overall competitive position. Put another way: More coverage. More money. More time. Less stress.
You can read the entire Forrester Consulting TEI study to get the deep-dive from interviewed customers – along with the numbers and stories they shared – on Rapid7 MDR.
