Gartner defines cloud web application and API protection (WAAP) as a category of security solutions designed to protect web applications and APIs from different types of attacks, irrespective of the hosting location. Typically delivered as a service, cloud WAAP is a consolidation of multiple capabilities offered as a series of security modules and designed to protect against a broad range of runtime attacks. Core capabilities are web application firewalls (WAFs), distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation, protection against advanced API attacks and automated (bot) traffic management. A cloud WAAP solution must incorporate all four core capabilities within the same offering.
The market for distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation includes vendors that detect and mitigate DDoS attacks and offer it as a dedicated offering. It includes specialty vendors, whose primary focus is DDoS mitigation, as well as providers that offer DDoS mitigation as a feature of other services. These include dedicated appliance-based vendors, communication service providers (CSPs), content delivery network (CDN) vendors, hosting providers and cloud infrastructure and platform services (CIPS) vendors.
Exposure assessment platforms (EAPs) continuously identify and prioritize exposures, such as vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, across a broad range of asset classes. They natively deliver or integrate with discovery capabilities, such as assessment tools, that enumerate exposures, like vulnerabilities and configuration issues, to increase visibility. EAPs use techniques like threat intelligence (TI) to analyze an organization’s attack surfaces and weaknesses, and prioritize treatment efforts for high-risk exposures by incorporating threat landscape, business and existing security control context. Through prioritized visualizations and treatment recommendations, EAPs help provide direction for mobilization, identifying the various teams involved in mitigation and remediation. EAPs are primarily delivered as self-hosted software or as a cloud service, and may use agents for exposure information collection.
IT Security refers to products and services that protect digital systems and data from cyber threats and unauthorized access. This category includes markets that focus on network security, identity management, data protection, and cloud security, enabling organizations to reduce risk, ensure compliance, and operate securely in a digital world.
The network intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS) appliance market is composed of stand-alone physical and virtual appliances that inspect defined network traffic either on-premises or in the cloud. They are often located in the network to inspect traffic that has passed through perimeter security devices, such as firewalls, secure Web gateways and secure email gateways. IDPS devices are deployed in-line and perform full-stream reassembly of network traffic. They provide detection via several methods — for example, signatures, protocol anomaly detection, behavioral monitoring or heuristics, advanced threat defense (ATD) integration, and threat intelligence (TI). When deployed in-line, IDPSs can also use various techniques to detect and block attacks that are identified with high confidence; this is one of the primary benefits of this technology. Next-generation IDPSs have evolved in response to advanced targeted threats that can evade first-generation IDPSs. (Retired as of Mar-12-2026).
Security information and event management (SIEM) is a configurable system of record that collects, aggregates and analyzes security event data from on-premises and cloud environments. SIEM processes security event data for the purposes of threat detection, investigation and response. It natively supports data normalization and offers user-configurable detection content and reporting to orchestrate threat mitigation and satisfy compliance requirements. These solutions are delivered via a SaaS platform or client-hosted on-premises or private cloud. The security information and event management (SIEM) system must assist with: 1. Aggregating and normalizing data from various IT and operational technology (OT) environments. 2. Designing and executing near real-time monitoring and alerting content. 3. Enriching and investigating security events of interest. 4. Supporting manual and automated response actions. 5. Maintaining and reporting on current and historical event data.
The security threat intelligence products and services market refers to the combination of products and services that deliver knowledge (context, mechanisms, indicators, implications and action-oriented advice), information and data about cybersecurity threats, threat actors and other cybersecurity-related issues. The output of these products and services aims to provide or assist in the curation of information about the identities, motivations, characteristics and methods of threats, commonly referred to as tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs). The intent is to enable better decision making and improve security technology capabilities to reduce the likelihood and impact of a potential compromise. Threat intelligence (TI) products and services support the different stages of a TI process life cycle. In particular, this involves defining the aims and objectives, collecting and processing intelligence originating from various sources, analyzing and disseminating it to different stakeholders within the organization, and regularly providing feedback on the entire process. These products and services support ongoing security investigations and assist in preventing future breaches by prioritizing infrastructure hardening. TI tools and services are most commonly cloud-based products and services, but can also be delivered “as a service.”