Editors note: This is the second in a series of blogs summarizing why customers choose PowerBroker to solve their privileged account management challenges, stemming from the study of our customer base that BeyondTrust commissioned in early 2015. The previous blog focused on flexible deployment options. This week, we focus on total cost of ownership. Watch for more in this series in the coming weeks.
Someone much wiser than me once said that all problems we as human beings suffer from can be traced back to our inability to manage our time, our fear, or our money (or resources). Time (or complexity), risk and cost – the bane of every IT and security administrator’s daily life. And nowhere is this so relevant today than in the area of privileged account management (PAM). We can’t seem to throw enough money at the problem, reduce enough risk to be acceptable, or simplify ever-complex environments to fend off attackers, malicious insiders or just sloppy practices. Now, let’s tackle cost.
In this blog, we will discuss several factors that should be considered when determining a total cost of ownership calculation for your privileged account management solution deployment. The cost side of the equation should include variables such as license costs, deployment services, ongoing support costs and overhead. The benefit side of the equation should include savings gained from redeploying existing assets or reducing overhead. Following is a list of questions that IT and security professionals should ask their PAM solution providers so they have a clear picture – up front – of costs:
1) Are we being charged separately for capabilities that should be included together at no additional cost? For example, are password management and session management different products that require some custom integration, different licenses or management interfaces?
2) Are additional third-party tools, for example for session management or privilege analytics, required to aid in this project? Do we have to purchase additional licenses or can we use native tools?
3) Are professional services required for installation, custom connectors and upgrades?
Differentiator #2: Low Total Cost of Ownership
In a survey of more than 100 customers, those customers indicated that BeyondTrust’s low total cost of ownership was a competitive differentiator versus other options in the privileged account management market. In particular, answers to the questions above are significant differentiators for us in the privileged password and session management market where many customers who have switched to BeyondTrust grew tired of the “gotchas” from their former password management provider.
This differentiator was important to the US Department of Energy who was looking to remove local admin rights from users, elevate privileges only when needed, and audit and alert to changes in Active Directory. They turned to BeyondTrust. In the words of a server administrator, "PowerBroker allowed our organization to comply with DOE security requirements which are within our statement of work. We could not function in our environment without PowerBroker. Removing admin rights is a requirement that we could not accomplish without PowerBroker. It also provides a cost savings in workstation management because of its ease of use."
What differentiates BeyondTrust from other vendors in this space is that we offer an end-to-end privileged account management solution in a single, integrated reporting and management platform. This comprehensive model delivers maximum insights, simplifies management, and lowers total cost of ownership. Of particular benefit is that administrators have fewer solutions to learn and manage, the organization has fewer reporting interfaces, and licensing is flexible.
There is significant cost savings to be had in utilizing an end-to-end privileged account management solution provider, like BeyondTrust. Interested in learning more about how PowerBroker can meet the requirements of your privileged account management project? Contact us today. If you are interested in learning more about all of the PowerBroker differences, check out the free white paper.
