We're evaluating security stacks for a 50-user professional services firm. The usual suspects (firewall, endpoint AV) are in place, but we're seeing an increase in phishing and web-based threats. Cisco Umbrella is on the shortlist for its DNS-layer protection.
I need to cut through the feature list and get to hard ROI for a shop our size. The per-user pricing adds up quickly, and I'm skeptical about the tangible return for a smaller, non-technical team.
* What are the actual, measurable reductions you've seen in incidents (malware, phishing, data exfiltration attempts) after deployment?
* For teams without a dedicated SOC, how much does it reduce admin overhead versus adding complexity?
* Is the value primarily in the blocking, or in the investigative logs and reporting? We need both, but one usually drives the cost justification.
Please share real metrics: percentage decrease in help desk tickets for malware, estimated time saved per week on threat hunting, or any hard numbers on preventing a potential breach. Vendor case studies use big, round numbers. I want the community's actual experience.