Web Application Firewall (WAF) is the first line of defense to protect web applications, websites, or web servers against application layer attacks. The rising number of malicious web activities and growing sophistication of new web application attacks have proved that the basic defense offered by a traditional WAF solution is no longer able to provide the required security protection. Traditional WAF solutions focused primarily on signature-based analytics to detect web application attacks are incapable of defending against unknown threats. Limitations within the rule-based traditional WAF solutions, including the high number of false positive detections and low performance, indicate a clear need to leverage new technologies for improved detection capabilities. Leading WAF players are responding to this demand by incorporating machine learning, artificial intelligence, behavioral analytics, and cloud-delivered threat intelligence alongside signature-based analytics engines to tackle both known and unknown threats. This has significantly improved attack detection accuracy and efficiency by reducing the large number of false positives, delivering greater customer value by ensuring business continuity. Widespread use and adoption of APIs in applications development are increasing their risks as cybercrime targets, potentially exposing enterprises’ applications and databases to various web application attacks. WAF solutions with features to address new web application attacks, including API security, bot mitigation, and application-layer distributed denial of service (DDoS) are poised for growth. While most companies today are embarking on the cloud migration journey, an increasing number have begun to embrace hybrid or multi-cloud strategies. Cloud-based WAF solutions able to support multiple web application hosting environments, be it on-premises, private or public cloud, hybrid or multi-cloud, will be key differentiators for WAF players moving forward. Frost & Sullivan evaluated more than 30 domestic and international WAF in the Greater China region in this Frost Radar™ analysis: Alibaba Cloud, DBAPPSecurity Co., Ltd., NSFOCUS Technologies Group Co., Ltd., Sangfor Technologies, Inc., Venustech Group, Inc., Akamai Technologies, Inc., Array Networks, Inc., Barracuda Networks, Inc., Citrix Systems, Inc., Cloudflare, Inc., F5 Networks, Inc., Fortinet, Inc., Imperva, Inc., Qualys, Inc., and Radware, Inc., that are truly innovating and best positioned to deliver high value to customers in the future. The Frost Radar™ reveals the market positioning of companies in an industry using their Growth and Innovation scores, as highlighted in the Frost Radar™ methodology. Frost & Sullivan analyzes hundreds of companies in the industry and benchmarks them across 10 criteria on the Frost Radar™, where the leading companies in the industry are then positioned.
Author: Vivien Pua

Strategic Imperative
Strategic Imperative (continued)
Growth Environment
Frost Radar™: Greater China WAF Solutions Market, 2020
Frost Radar™: Competitive Environment
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Alibaba Cloud
Array Networks, Inc.
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Cloudflare, Inc.
DBAPPSecurity Co., Ltd.
F5 Networks, Inc.
Fortinet, Inc.
Imperva, Inc.
NSFOCUS Technologies Group Co., Ltd.
Qualys, Inc.
Radware, Inc.
Sangfor Technologies, Inc.
Venustech Group, Inc.
Strategic Insights
Significance of Being on the Frost Radar™
Frost Radar™ Empowers the CEO’s Growth Team
Frost Radar™ Empowers Investors
Frost Radar™ Empowers Customers
Frost Radar™ Empowers the Board of Directors
Frost Radar™: Benchmarking Future Growth Potential
Frost Radar™: Benchmarking Future Growth Potential
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Frost Radar™: Benchmarking Future Growth Potential 2 Major Indices, 10 Analytical Ingredients, 1 Platform
Growth Index
Growth Index (GI) is a measure of a company’s growth performance and track record, along with its ability to develop and execute a fully aligned growth strategy and vision; a robust growth pipeline system; and effective market, competitor, and end-user focused sales and marketing strategies.
- Market Share (previous 3 years)
This is a comparison of a company’s market share relative to its competitors in a given market space for the previous 3 years. - Revenue Growth (previous 3 years)
This is a look at a company’s revenue growth rate for the previous 3 years in the market/industry/category that forms the context for the given Frost Radar™. - Growth Pipeline
This is an evaluation of the strength and leverage of a company’s growth pipeline system to continuously capture, analyze, and prioritize its universe of growth opportunities. - Vision and Strategy
This is an assessment of how well a company’s growth strategy is aligned with its vision. Are the investments that a company is making in new products and markets consistent with the stated vision? - Sales and Marketing
This is a measure of the effectiveness of a company’s sales and marketing efforts in helping it drive demand and achieve its growth objectives.
Innovation Index
Innovation Index (II) is a measure of a company’s ability to develop products/ services/ solutions (with a clear understanding of disruptive Mega Trends) that are globally applicable, are able to evolve and expand to serve multiple markets and are aligned to customers’ changing needs.
- INNOVATION SCALABILITY
This determines whether an organization’s innovations are globally scalable and applicable in both developing and mature markets, and also in adjacent and non-adjacent industry verticals. - RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
This is a measure of the efficacy of a company’s R&D strategy, as determined by the size of its R&D investment and how it feeds the innovation pipeline. - PRODUCT PORTFOLIO
This is a measure of a company’s product portfolio, focusing on the relative contribution of new products to its annual revenue. - MEGATRENDS LEVERAGE
This is an assessment of a company’s proactive leverage of evolving, long-term opportunities and new business models, as the foundation of its innovation pipeline. - CUSTOMER ALIGNMENT
This evaluates the applicability of a company’s products/services/solutions to current and potential customers, as well as how its innovation strategy is influenced by evolving customer needs.
Significance of Being on the Frost Radar™
Companies plotted on the Frost RadarTM are the leaders in the industry for growth, innovation, or both. They are instrumental in advancing the industry into the future.
- GROWTH POTENTIAL
Your organization has significant future growth potential, which makes it a Company to Action. - BEST PRACTICES
Your organization is well positioned to shape Growth Pipeline™ best practices in your industry. - COMPETITIVE INTENSITY
Your organization is one of the key drivers of competitive intensity in the growth environment. - CUSTOMER VALUE
Your organization has demonstrated the ability to significantly enhance its customer value proposition. - PARTNER POTENTIAL
Your organization is top of mind for customers, investors, value chain partners, and future talent as a significant value provider.
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Growth Dialog™
A tailored session with you where we identify the:- Strategic Imperatives
- Growth Opportunities
- Best Practices
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Impacting your company's future growth potential.
| Deliverable Type | Frost Radar |
|---|---|
| No Index | No |
| Podcast | No |
| Author | Vivien Pua |
| Industries | Information Technology |
| WIP Number | PB5B-01-00-00-00 |
| Is Prebook | No |
| GPS Codes | 9702-C1,9705-C1 |
Frost Radar™: Greater China Web Application Firewall Solutions Market, 2020
A Benchmarking System to Spark Companies to Action—Innovation that Fuels New Deal Flow and Growth Pipelines
18-Nov-2020
Asia Pacific
Frost Radar
