The term “next-gen” is commonly cited by technology vendors to position a product as being innovative based on new and differentiated capabilities. Notable next-gen cybersecurity products include next-gen firewalls, the state of the art of which now represents the standard, current-generation firewall technology.

ESG conducted market research to explore how organizations employ advanced endpoint security controls. This research revealed that a continuum is at play, with most organizations that ESG interviewed starting with advanced preventative controls to augment their antivirus technology and a smaller number of companies, typically those that are well resourced, employing advanced detection and response capabilities. 

While the use of advanced preventative controls and advanced detection and response controls are not mutually exclusive over time, the weighting toward the former was due in large part to the need to balance the efficacy of better protecting endpoints from compromise with the operational cost of doing so.