What CISOs Want from Their Cybersecurity Vendors
CISOs are constantly under pressure to justify cybersecurity investments to the C-suite and the board. They’re not just defending against cyber threats. They’re defending their budgets, their strategies, and sometimes even their jobs. That’s why they don’t just need another tool. They need a partner that helps them make a strong business case for cybersecurity.
If you’re a vendor, your job isn’t just to sell a product. It’s to make your solution a no-brainer when the CISO is in the boardroom. The question is, how do you actually do that? Spoiler alert: It’s not by adding more features or sending another generic whitepaper.
CISOs want practical support that helps them build a compelling case for cybersecurity investments. The challenge for vendors is how to support CISOs in a way that’s actually useful?
Here’s a fresh take on what works and what doesn’t.
1. Deliver Data That Actually Matters
Your tool is spitting out data like a fire hose. But how much of it is actually useful to the CISO when they’re building a case for more budget? Spoiler: not much.
What They Need:
Metrics that directly link security performance to business outcomes.
Data that’s contextual, not just a bunch of numbers in a pretty graph.
How to Do It Right:
Provide Context: Instead of just saying, “We blocked 200 phishing attempts last month,” add context: “Blocking these attempts prevented potential credential theft that could have impacted customer accounts.”
Be Specific: Create reports that highlight what was prevented in terms of downtime, financial loss, or compliance risks.
Be Flexible: Let the CISO customize these reports to focus on what their execs actually care about.
Example:
Your threat detection tool doesn’t just report a spike in suspicious logins. It also translates that into potential business impact: “Unauthorized access to critical data could result in a compliance fine of up to $250,000.”
2. Make Reporting Executive-Ready
Here’s a reality check: CISOs don’t have time to massage your tool’s output into something the execs will actually read. Don’t make them the middleman between your data and their decision-makers.
What They Need:
Ready-to-use reporting templates that don’t require a degree in data science.
Reports that tell a story, not just dump raw data.
How to Do It Right:
Executive Summaries: Start with the “so what?” Highlight key takeaways and link them to business objectives.
Plug-and-Play Dashboards: Integrate with existing tools like Splunk, ServiceNow, or PowerBI. If your tool forces them to switch platforms, it’s a non-starter.
Visual Clarity: Use clear, simple visuals that make the data digestible at a glance.
Example:
Your incident response tool generates a “Boardroom-Ready Report” that breaks down:
Top Threats Blocked: The ones that posed the greatest risk.
Business Impact Avoided: Downtime, data loss, or financial penalties sidestepped.
Action Steps Taken: A summary of what was done to mitigate the risks.
3. Simplify the ROI Conversation
CISOs get hammered with the same question over and over: “How do we know this investment is worth it?” Vendors that make this easier are immediately more valuable.
What They Need:
Clear calculations that tie your tool’s impact to real-world savings.
Models that estimate risk reduction in dollars, not just percentages.
How to Do It Right:
ROI Calculators: Make an interactive tool that estimates cost savings from incident prevention or downtime reduction.
Scenario Modeling: Let the CISO plug in variables like company size or average revenue per hour to see how risk reduction scales.
Benchmarking: Show how similar companies benefit from your solution.
Example:
Your SaaS security tool includes a “Breach Cost Estimator” that shows how reducing phishing by 20% could save $500K annually in lost productivity and data recovery.
4. Be Useful, Not Overbearing
It’s tempting to add every bell and whistle your product team can dream up. Resist that urge. Cybersecurity teams already have dozens of tools to juggle. They don’t need more complexity.
What They Need:
Features that make their lives easier, not more cluttered.
Flexibility to turn off features they don’t use.
How to Do It Right:
Modular Design: Let users toggle off sections they don’t need.
Smart Defaults: Preconfigure the tool based on industry best practices, but allow customization.
Keep it Lightweight: Don’t force every update to be a major overhaul. Keep the core features stable and familiar.
Example:
Your risk assessment tool offers “Minimal Mode” showing only critical alerts and business impacts during high-pressure incidents, so the CISO doesn’t have to sift through less urgent data.
5. Be Available When It Counts
Your customer is having a bad day. They’re in the middle of an incident and need help fast. That’s when your support needs to be more than just a chatbot.
What They Need:
On-demand, real-person support when they’re in crisis mode.
A library of quick-hit guides and playbooks for common threats.
How to Do It Right:
Priority Support Lines: Give premium customers a direct line to your top-tier support team.
Incident Response Toolkits: Prepackaged response plans for common scenarios like ransomware or data breaches.
Crisis Mode Dashboards: Automatically switch to a simplified view that highlights containment steps and critical updates.
Example:
Your monitoring tool has a “Panic Button” feature that, when pressed, opens a direct chat with an incident response specialist. It also auto-generates a step-by-step response checklist based on the detected threat.
The Bottom Line
Be the vendor CISOs actually want to work with. CISOs are busy, skeptical, and tired of unnecessary complexity. Focus on making their job easier. Streamline their workflows, offer actionable insights, and always, always be available when things go sideways. That’s how you become a partner, not just another vendor.
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