As part of our efforts to effectively quantify and demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) for our customers, Egress has commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact of Egress Intelligent Email Security study.
As part of this study, Forrester interviewed and gathered data from four Egress customers. This data and the interviewees’ experiences were aggregated to create a composite customer organization – a financial services firm with 9,000 mailboxes. This composite organization was then used to calculate and determine the quantifiable and qualitative benefits Egress provides for our customers.
Based on the information gathered, it was determined that the composite organization saw a 359% ROI over three years after deploying Egress, amounting to $4.58m net present value (cost savings less cost to implement).
Not only did the composite organization realize significant monetary savings as a result of Egress inbound threat detection, outbound breach mitigation, and improved reporting, analysis, and auditing, they also saw an improvement in work-life balance, stress levels, and experienced higher work satisfaction.
The benefits don’t stop there, but rather than recount the entire study in this blog, we’d like to call out the five key things we love most about the results of this study. Or, if you’d rather, feel free to download the complete study.
Top five things we love about the Egress TEI study
359% ROI
Between the monetary savings, reduction in IT overhead, and overall improvement in workflow and efficiency, Forrester found that “the representative interviews and financial analysis found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $5.86m over three years versus costs of $1.27m, adding up to a NPV of $4.58m and an ROI of 359%”.
We recognize that the composite organization is on the larger side with 9,000 mailboxes, so their implementation costs are expectedly higher than those of a small or mid-size business. With that in mind, the lower cost to implement for smaller organizations could result in a higher ROI, but this is all dependent on the volume of malicious emails received, misdirected emails prevented, and time spent reporting, analyzing, and auditing.
To find out more about the projected ROI for your company in particular, reach out to our team of experts to schedule a demo and ask for an assessment.
Our real-time teachable moments improve security awareness – and customers love them
The representatives from the involved organizations found that their employees are “more security aware and understanding of the risks involved in email security thanks to the in-the-moment notifications and detailed explanations of the security risks involved.”
Heat-coded contextual banners educate users at the point of risk, while not adding friction to a high- use application. When messages show some signs of being a threat but not enough to warrant a malicious classification, an amber banner added to the email alerts the user that the message is suspicious. The unobtrusive but clear banner alerts the user to take notice that interacting with the email could potentially be dangerous. If the user clicks on the banner, they’ll be taken to a dashboard with more information on the email in question.
According to one of the participants (a Chief Digital Officer in the healthcare services field): “The user behavior is much more attuned to the banners. When you get the amber or red banner, people certainly start to pay attention.”
The banner approach that Defend uses has proven successful in the past because it meets users at their most vulnerable moment. Without adding friction, these banners act as a guide for inbound mail best practice and reduce the investigative burden placed on IT and security teams. They promote user vigilance without introducing alert fatigue and reinforce security awareness and training (SAT) programs.
<6-month payback period
After investing in and deploying Egress, the composite organization saw such significant cost savings within the first year that Egress essentially paid for itself in less than six months. Moreover, in a three-year period, the composite organization saved $2.9m on inbound threat mitigation, $2.7m on outbound breach prevention, and $300.1K on reporting, analysis, and auditing.
After accounting for the cost to purchase and implement Egress, this totals to $4.58m in value for the composite organization.
Reduced admin burden
This benefit was not specifically quantifiable into a numerical value, but the interviewed customers expressed an appreciation for reduced stress levels, higher work satisfaction, and better work-life balance as a result of fewer security incidents needing emergency response after hours; automated, intelligent intervention of malicious emails; and accelerated investigation into threats with our detailed forensic insights and reporting.
Additionally, our seamless integration into their existing Microsoft 365 environment provided an enhanced security experience with marginal friction and enabled faster deployments with minimal disruption, which was a large priority for them.
For the composite organization, it was calculated that they saw a 90% reduction in time spent generating security reports and presentations each month, alongside a 60% reduction in time spent developing human risk analysis reports.
Nearly every evening (in the past) I would get a phone call from our security team. Now my phone doesn’t ring very often. And when it does, it’s normally to advise me that something got in and they’ve caught it, rather than asking for help. For me there has been a dramatic improvement on my work life balance. ... It makes me sleep better.”
Chief Digital Officer, healthcare services
Objective data sourcing
While this study was commissioned by Egress for Forrester to conduct, Egress was not involved in determining the study methodology and had no influence on the outcome of the results. Egress reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains complete editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict their findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
Because of this strict objectivity, you can digest the results of the study without wondering about the validity of the findings and whether or not they were influenced by Egress’ go-to-market motives. The composite organization was comprised of results from real customer interviews and real cost savings realizations, and we take a huge amount of pride in the integrity and favorability of the outcome.
We commissioned The Total Economic Impact™ Of Egress Intelligent Email Security from Forrester because we wanted to show the sorts of returns and financial benefits that Egress offers. Forrester’s study illustrates that Egress offers a myriad of benefits to businesses looking to bolster their cybersecurity protocols.
The Egress team is constantly working to drive positive outcomes for our customers, helping them eliminate more threats to email security, realize high levels of ROI on spend, and reducing admin overheads. Read the full study to find out more or book a personalized demo with one of the team today.