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Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) are a type of cybersecurity software that protects digital devices by centering workload security and management.
CWPP solutions specialize in protecting devices in enterprise environments and large networks.
See below to learn all about the current CWPP software market:
See more: Cloud Disaster Recovery Best Practices
Growth of the CWPP market
In 2020, the global CWPP market was estimated at $2.4 billion. With it anticipated to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.8% through this decade, it’s expected to reach $22.1 billion by 2030.
The global CWPP market is primarily led by North America, with Europe and Asia-Pacific trailing in second and third place.
Industry-wise, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), telecommunications, and health care make up more than half the demand in the global market. Other industries include retail, government, and education.
CWPP features
CWPP isn’t one software, it’s a term describing a myriad of cybersecurity solutions used to protect server workloads, primarily in cloud-based infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments.
CWPP solutions can be used to protect:
- Virtual machines
- Containerized apps
- Serverless apps
- Cloud-based storage
- API endpoints
CWPP software is able to automatically scan for vulnerabilities and set compliance violations. It’s designed to flag any signs or practices that put protected data at risk.
Generally, you can get around eight layers of security controls:
- Configuration
- Hardening
- Network vulnerability management
- Firewalling
- Visibility
- Integrity assurance
- App control and whitelisting
- Exploitation prevention
Benefits of CWPP
CWPP solutions operate as zero-trust security tools for cloud workloads, making them necessary in semi-public cloud environments.
Other CWPP benefits include:
- Highly scalable
- Supports both hybrid and multicloud environments
- Workload visibility and discoverability
- Ease of use and efficiency
CWPP use cases
As more companies started moving to the cloud to run their operations, the need for security solutions catered to the cloud and containerized workloads grew alongside it.
Here’s how a pair of organizations were able to transform how they work using CWPP solutions:
SNAPPER
SNAPPER is a technology company that develops public transport ticketing solutions based in New Zealand. Its services are available for customers in New Zealand, Ireland, and Latvia, where they process millions of payments and ticketing transactions every month.
Upscaling operations, SNAPPER needed to develop a solution to manage concessions for student travel. It needed a system able to process unique concessions attached to each student and secure the cloud-based transactions associated with every one.
Using Symantec Cloud Workload Protection allowed SNAPPER to maintain storage in Amazon S3. Symantec’s solution enabled it to automatically scan and discover bugs and malware, keeping the cloud storage clean and publicly accessible.
“When a file needs to be scanned, it’s placed in an encrypted S3 bucket, and a combination of simple notification service and simple queue service triggers the near real-time scan by the Symantec Cloud Workload Protection for storage engine,” says Paul Hortop, cybersecurity lead, DevSecOps at SNAPPER.
“We needed to be able to prove that we’d scanned files and that those files did not contain malware. This was a contractual obligation as well as a best practice requirement. … Less than a month later, Symantec delivered a fully functional tagging capability.”
World Wide Technology
World Wide Technology (WWT) is a major provider of technology services based in St. Louis Missouri. With more than 7,000 employees and annual revenue of $13.4 billion, it manages a heavy cloud workload on a daily basis.
By collaborating with Carbon Black, WWT was able to maintain, manage, and secure its cloud-based workload.
Using VMware Carbon Black Cloud Workload, WWT shifted to a cross-team model with Carbon Black that allowed for increased visibility and the ability to efficiently share data between the security and operations departments.
“The interface of [VMware Carbon Black Cloud Workload] allows security and operations teams to look at the same information without forcing them to use the same pane of glass and potentially lose functionality,” says Matt Berry, principal security advisor, global accounts at World Wide Technology.
“Now we have shared data that we can start working together as a team to resolve challenges.”
CWPP providers
Some of the top CWPP software vendors include:
- Carbon Black
- Cloud Raxak
- CloudAware
- CloudPassage
- Dome9 Security
- HyTrust
- Illumio
- McAfee
- Symantec
- Orca Security
See more: Top Cloud Security Tools & Software
