Qualys announced Asset Inventory (AI), a new Cloud App with capabilities that provide customers a single source of truth for IT assets spread across hybrid environments including on-premises, endpoints, clouds and mobile, with synchronization capabilities to Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) to keep asset data up-to-date.
Qualys, a provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions, announced Asset Inventory (AI), a new Cloud App with capabilities that provide customers a single source of truth for IT assets spread across hybrid environments including on-premises, endpoints, clouds and mobile, with synchronization capabilities to Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs) to keep asset data up-to-date.
Qualys’ AI Cloud App leverages Qualys sensors including network scanners and Cloud Agents to discover all assets across global hybrid infrastructure, then normalizes and categorizes the information gathered for each hardware and software asset. By indexing and enriching asset inventory with metadata, the AI Cloud App delivers customers accurate CMDB data and out-of-the-box analytic capabilities. This single, standardized source of truth allows teams to see assets from different perspectives, and leverage standard data for specific tasks, giving them unprecedented understanding of their asset landscape and ability to better manage them.
“Digital business is driving rapid changes in the way technology assets are deployed, used and managed, and also in the very definition of ‘technology asset,’ according to Gartner. “Sourcing and vendor management leaders must rapidly mature their IT Asset Management discipline in order to deliver on the promise of digital business.”
The digital transformation and the ever-evolving cybersecurity threat landscape introduce new technology at increasing variety, scale and speed. Simultaneously, teams are trying to manage resources and budget constraints as well as siloed security solutions. Qualys is helping customers tackle these challenges by delivering a unified solution and a single source of truth that allows better interchange between the CIO and CISO to improve IT, and enables better collaboration and strategic planning across IT and Infosec.
“Security starts with visibility, as you can’t secure what you don’t know,” said Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO, Qualys. “Powered by the Qualys Cloud Platform and its sensors that collect data from hybrid IT environments, this new Asset Inventory App gives our customers a single source of truth for information about their IT assets whether in the cloud, on-premises, in containers or the Internet of Things. This gives them the visibility needed to secure their networks and enables them to secure their digital transformation from DevOps to production.”
Qualys AI extends asset management capabilities with:
- Continuous discovery of assets across global, hybrid infrastructure: AI enables reduced administrative costs by bringing the entire asset estate under central control with comprehensive visibility of all assets in use across InfoSec and IT teams. Qualys network scanners and Cloud Agents together can collect comprehensive data from across on-premises or cloud infrastructure as well remote endpoints.
- Out-of-the-box normalization and classification: Customers can use AI to standardize and structure data including manufacturer and product names, models, and software versions. AI also automatically accounts for acquisitions and product lineage by classifying every asset, device and software in meaningful functional categories. A multi-level taxonomy, based on industry standards like the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC), is also continuously analyzed and curated.
- Actionable insights with asset metadata: AI automatically extends inventory with non-discoverable asset metadata, such as hardware and software product release dates, end-of life-dates, license category and more. These attributes provide IT organizations with multiple lenses that redefine asset visibility in new, meaningful ways. Teams can detect a variety of issues, such as unauthorized software, outdated hardware or end-of-life software, which can prevent the inability to properly support and secure critical assets.
- CMDB synchronization: A certified application that synchronizes Qualys AI data via APIs with the ServiceNow Configuration Management system and other CMDBs. It complements CMDBs with detailed data on new and changed IT assets.
“With this new addition to our Cloud Platform, customers can now identify and categorize their global IT assets, synchronize them with their CMDBs, continuously assess their security and compliance posture and identify in seconds any assets that are compromised or vulnerable to zero-day attacks,” Courtot added. “This is all accomplished via a single platform where everything is centrally managed and self-updating, thus drastically reducing the cost associated with deploying and maintaining traditional security and compliance point solutions.”
AI is the latest expansion of Qualys’ Asset Management capabilities, which also include AssetView, an elasticsearch-powered backend that collects asset inventory by leveraging Qualys network scanners and Cloud Agents, then indexes them for instant visibility and fast search across millions of assets.
Planned Asset Management capabilities include connectors for external data-sources, such as user information and procurement data, to augment asset inventory with additional business context. This extends visibility with full asset lifecycle management and ownership.