In total, cyberattacks cost the United Kingdom an estimated £87 billion each year per a report conducted by Microsoft in collaboration with the University of London. As these attacks are becoming increasingly complex and more sophisticated, cybersecurity across all digital networks could potentially save the British economy £52 billion a year.
The government has recognised the important role digital technology plays in our everyday lives, helping to leverage new economic opportunities and provide more innovative solutions for antiquated problems.
Yet, to overcome challenges and the threats posed by cybercriminals, organisational development, along with the support of public investment can help enterprises win the fight against cybercriminal activities and overcome the barriers that are currently restricting organisational growth potential.
What is a cloud access security broker?
Cloud Access Security Brokers, often abbreviated as CASB, acts as an enforcement point positioned between cloud application users and cloud-based services. CASB ensures the provision of data protection, helping to promote better threat detection and protection capabilities.
By using CASB solutions, organisations can improve their cloud-based security touchpoints, helping to mitigate potential threats, and safeguarding sensitive data, providing them with better control over access, and ensuring compliance with industry regulators for cloud services.
The growing importance of cybersecurity solutions, along with equipping users with the necessary education and resources has meant that the government is now seeking support from highly skilled enterprises to assist in the progression of cloud access security broker solutions tenders.
Preventing continuous threats and potential data leaks are among the government’s top priorities to help safeguard the digital infrastructure of the country and help rectify the UK’s digital integrity.
Understanding CASB Tenders
CASB integration with cloud platforms can assist with user and threat activity monitoring in the cloud, allowing for scalable and user-friendly CASB solutions within an integrated, yet multifaceted network.
Cloud Security Best Practices
Threat Detection and Prevention
One of the most important benefits of CASB is to detect unusual behaviour across various cloud applications. These include identifying ransomware, compromised systems, and rogue applications. CASB solutions promotes secure access service edge, data security, and threat protection for cloud computing, cloud usage and cloud apps.
Identify High-Risk Applications
Deployment of CASB solutions can assist in analysing high-risk applications, detecting any interferences and automatically providing remediation threats related to cloud data and cloud services. These actions help to limit organisational risks and data exposure.
Cloud Management Assessment
Having better visibility in cloud applications, both sanctioned and unsanctioned, could ensure that all users within a specific cloud application have a more comprehensive and detailed understanding of enacted security measures.
Data Loss Prevention
DLP or data loss prevention helps organisational teams better protect sensitive information. With CASB solutions companies, including government agencies, can enact more comprehensive security policies, and prevent unauthorised user access.
Evaluation Criteria for CASB Tenders
Every CASB supplier and service provider will be subjected to specific evaluation criteria for CASB tenders. These efforts enable government entities and buyers of CASB service solutions to vet service providers and offer a democratised tendering process for all providers.
Compliance Certificates
New regulations enable service buyers to compare service providers’ compliance certificates against industry regulations. As a service provider looking for winning bids for CASB tenders, you and your team must undergo the necessary training and hold valid compliance certificates.
Ease Of Integration
Digital networks can change depending on the receiver, and some service providers may only offer a selected handful of integration solutions. As part of the process, you may be vetted on the ability to provide ease of integration with existing cloud platforms.
Activity Monitoring
Cloud network activity monitoring requires around-the-clock protection. As a service provider, you will need to have sufficient experience in user and threat activity monitoring in the cloud and provide widespread protection and reaction to potential issues.
Resource Availability
Having the right resources and people on your team can play in your favour as well when applying for cloud access security broker (CASB) solution tenders. Highlight your team’s experience, including any potential certification, and the available resources you have to provide.
Ease of Deployment
Something service providers may consider alongside the evaluation process is the ease of deployment for CASB functionalities for access control and data encryption. Having scalable and user-friendly CASB solutions will give your team a more competitive edge, and further promote the ease of integration, deployment and continuous support.
Preparing a Winning Bid
Crafting a compelling CASB tender response requires in-depth knowledge of the procurement process, including the tender requirements and long-term solutions that will need to be offered by the successful service provider.
Deep Understanding of Security Requirements
As part of preparing a winning bid, ensure that you highlight your teams’ experience, skills and expertise in understanding security requirements that have been outlined in the tender. You may be required to provide examples of previous work or completed projects as part of the process.
Emphasise Guidance on CASB Solutions
Make an effort to emphasise how your company’s CASB solutions will address the requirements of the tender more effectively. This might be through a specific application or network solution that your team is well experienced in. Highlight these actions throughout the bid writing process.
Showcase Expertise in CASB Implementation
Wherever required, outline your expertise in CASB implementation, configuration and ongoing management. Depending on the project length and requirements, you will need to outline how your team will efficiently provide ongoing support, configuration and management of systems, both during ‘normal’ and risk-intensive periods.
Craft a Competitive Pricing Strategy
Tenders are awarded to service providers that can provide the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). This may include things such as delivering a service or product at a more competitive price, offering service below or within budget requirements, and having the ability to provide value for money.
Finishing Off
Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions tenders and cloud security best practices can assist organisations, including government agencies to detect and identify potential threats and ensure cloud compliance with CASB solutions.
As a service provider, you have the responsibility to ensure that your CASB implementation and management expertise are shared among the necessary stakeholders, allowing for more accurate threat detection, providing more full-rounded cloud security solutions and aiding in the process towards digital transformation.
For more assistance in compiling a winning bid for CASB solutions, contact Defence Contracts International (DCI) for more information about tendering for cybersecurity contracts.
