A majority of businesses are struggling with the growing complexity and costs of managing cybersecurity through multiple vendors, according to a global study by Kaspersky.
The research, Improving Resilience: Cybersecurity Through System Immunity, assessed security practices across regions including the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Europe, Russia, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. It found that 72% of companies use multi-vendor security setups, a choice that often increases inefficiencies and risks.
Nearly half of the surveyed professionals said their security stacks are too complicated, slowing their response to threats. More than four in ten organisations reported budget overruns due to overlapping tools, while compatibility issues hinder automation in 41% of cases. This forces teams to rely on manual work, raising the likelihood of errors.
Visibility into threats is also affected — 39% said fragmented systems left blind spots in their defences.
Despite these drawbacks, most firms remain tied to multi-vendor approaches, often by default rather than strategy. However, 48% believe a single provider could meet all their needs, and a strong consolidation trend is emerging. According to the report, 86% of organisations are moving toward integrated platforms, with a third already in the process and more than half planning to follow within two years.
Kaspersky’s Head of Unified Platform product line, Ilya Markelov, noted that while diversification offers certain advantages, unchecked complexity drains resources and can undermine security. The firm advises adopting centralised, automated solutions such as its Next XDR Expert platform to improve detection, speed up response and reduce operational strain.