One of the biggest changes I’ve seen during my career is that it doesn’t make much sense anymore to define customers as “consumer” vs. “business”, or companies as “SMB” vs. “large enterprise.” Large enterprises shop like consumers and expect technology services to be ready right out of the box. Small businesses might have fewer than 100—or even 10—employees but have significant revenue, a huge cloud spend, and technology expertise and demands that sometimes dwarf that of Fortune 50 giants.
Nowhere is this dynamic more obvious than when it comes to internet security. Every day I talk to a wide range of customers, from individual developers in one-man-shops to CISOs of ginormous retailers, and I can tell you that just because you have a small web presence doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot to lose. And having a big security team and budget doesn’t mean you want it tied up configuring and managing a complicated security solution.
That’s why I’m super excited about the launch of three new subscription levels of the StackPath web application firewall, SP//WAF. For more than a decade our WAF has protected some of the largest online web applications and APIs across a range of industries. This has given us a wealth of diverse feedback and led us to combine ease-of-use, advanced security technology and capabilities, and new and even more advanced features, into graduated tiers that let businesses choose and use the right level of security for their needs.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the packages.
First is “Essentials”, designed for the needs of businesses with smaller web presences and little to no security expertise and businesses in their early growth stages. With Essentials, you get protection against OWASP Top 10 threats, bot, and other automated traffic, and layer 7 DDoS attack protection, all powered by advanced technologies like device-level fingerprinting that reduces false positives and behavioral analytics, but no extensive setup or security expertise is required. You can deploy and start protecting your origin from cyber-attacks in minutes. Essentials is available with just a month-to-month commitment, with additional charges only for usage above what’s included in the package.
Next is “Professional”, ideal for businesses that have moderate web presences and, maybe even their own security expertise in-house, but little interest in spending time messing with security profiles and settings. Professional includes everything in Essentials but with higher monthly usage and access to additional features and resources, such as customized sanction screens and access to our WAF Professional Services team who can meet with you to understand your security needs and help you build a bespoke solution. An allotment of WAF Professional Services hours is included with the Professional package, and you can buy more if needed. Professional is available in month-to-month or 12-month terms.
Our top tier is “Enterprise”, made for businesses with extensive web operations and the need for the highest level of configuration and control. Enterprise includes all the features of the first two packages, with much larger monthly usage. Enterprise features our most advanced rule builder, enterprise-grade support, and white-glove onboarding. With Enterprise, our WAF Professional Services experts work directly with your team to ensure your configuration is exactly as needed and can replicate your existing security policies or start from nothing with a security analysis.
We know one size never fits all and that things change. Perhaps the best part about our new SP//WAF is the way we’ve structured these tiers – you can add more features, like custom sanction screens, advanced rules, and WAF Professional Service hours on any base subscription. Some WAFs have (and charge) more than you need. And with this framework, we can add more and more features and functionality and you will always reach your ideal ratio of price to performance.
This is shaping up to be a banner year at StackPath. We have received great reviews on our WAF already and have so much more in store for WAF, our whole Edge Security product line, and our Edge Compute and Edge Delivery product lines, too. Learn more about these new WAF packages on our website, or reach out to one of our security experts today to put together exactly what you need to start building, accelerating, and protecting your edge.
