Choosing a CNAPP is a critical security decision with board-level consequences. Most vendors claim unified visibility and AI-driven automation, but architectural weaknesses can leave you with siloed data, mounting alerts and a higher total cost of ownership.

This guide provides the critical questions and frameworks to evaluate CNAPP vendors across five key domains: Platform Architecture, Application Security, Cloud Posture, Runtime Protection and SOC Integration.

Use this framework to:

• Assess the foundation: Ask the right questions about data architecture to ensure you get unified context across code, cloud and SOC — not just a shared interface.
• Measure prevention depth: Compare policy-as-code controls, identity-driven safeguards and real-time enforcement to find a platform that stops threats, not just detects them.
• Validate signal quality: Learn how to demand proof of performance with metrics that matter, like a 96% reduction in MTTR and a 75% decrease in incident volume.
• Defend your decision: Build a business case based on verifiable outcomes and operational efficiency that you can confidently present to leadership.

Don't leave your most critical security decision to chance. Get the expert framework to choose a platform that delivers on its promises.