How to Evaluate Your Threat Intel Platform Vendor

Is your threat intelligence program guiding and empowering your security team, or unfortunately just giving them more work to do?

If your platform feels more like an outdated, manual or time consuming, fragmented, and slow, it’s time to rethink what “good” looks like in threat intelligence. Today’s threat landscape moves fast. Your intel platform should too.

If you're shopping for your first Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) or reassessing your current one, choosing the right vendor is an important decision. It can mean the difference between staying ahead of threats or always being on the back foot while burning down critical resources. 

Here’s a direct guide to evaluating TIP vendors, with critical questions you should be asking, and insights on where modern solutions like Cyware Threat Intelligence Platform deliver more than legacy or open-source alternatives.

1. Does it help you move from static data to real-time intelligence?

Many teams collect threat intel like stamps, nice to have, but not immediately useful. You need a platform that actively manages threat data: filtering, enriching, prioritizing, and helping you act on what matters.

 Ask your vendor:

• Does your platform enrich and prioritize intelligence in real time?
• Can it automatically score IOC confidence and correlate across historical data?
• How does it reduce analyst workload through automation, such as with normalization and de-duplication?

Cyware Intel Exchange uses automated rule engines, contextual enrichment, and dynamic IOC scoring to process threat data the moment it arrives. You get meaningful intelligence, andn significantly reduced noise.

2. Can it eliminate manual work through automation and orchestration?

Threat intel isn’t just about awareness, it’s about speed, too. If you’re manually parsing threat feeds, you’re already behind. A strong TIP should integrate with your existing tools and automate next steps.

Ask your vendor:

• What integrations are included out-of-the-box, and are they bi-directional?
• How are threat indicators actioned across SIEM, SOAR, EDR, and firewalls?
• How often do we have to manually intervene?

Cyware offers hundreds of bi-directional integrations, so your threat intel doesn’t just sit in a dashboard, it flows into your security stack and drives automated responses.

3. Is the platform scalable and enterprise-ready?

As your business grows, so do your risks. Can the platform scale with multiple SOCs, distributed teams, and increasing data volumes? Or will it collapse under complexity?

Ask your vendor:

• How does the platform support multi-SOC or MSSP use cases?
• What’s the maximum data ingestion or user capacity?
• How does it maintain performance under load?
• As your threat intelligence program matures can the solution support that evolution?

Designed for enterprise and government scale, Cyware Threat Intelligence Platform supports distributed security teams across global environments, without compromising speed or usability.

4. Does it support secure, structured collaboration?

Threat intelligence is a team sport. Your TIP should allow seamless collaboration internally and externally, whether with peer organizations, ISACs, or MSSPs.

Ask your vendor:

• Can we define granular access controls for shared intel?
• How do we collaborate across teams and with external partners?
• Is there a trust framework in place for automated sharing?

Cyware uses a Hub-and-Spoke sharing model with fine-grained controls, supporting real-time collaboration across teams, partners, and sectors, while maintaining compliance and confidentiality.

5. Is the platform future-ready, or stuck in legacy mode?

If your platform feels static, siloed, and manual, it’s slowing you down. Legacy systems and DIY platforms like MISP may have low up-front costs, but the hidden toll in manual work, maintenance, and missed threats adds up quickly.

Ask your vendor:

• How frequently is the platform updated or improved?
• What’s the time and cost to deploy and maintain it?
• Does it support STIX 2.x and emerging threat intel standards?

Cyware supports industry-standard STIX 2.x, offers low-lift deployment, and evolves continuously, so your team can stay ahead without constantly putting out fires. 

6. What’s the true total cost of ownership (TCO)?

A free platform isn’t really free if it requires developer time, custom integrations, and constant babysitting. Think beyond licensing: What’s the real cost of time, risk, and effort? In truth, when it comes to cybersecurity, you get what you pay for.

Ask your vendor:

• What’s included in the license, and what isn’t?
• How much customization or development is needed post-deployment?
• How will this platform save us time and reduce burnout?

Cyware delivers proven ROI through streamlined workflows, turnkey integrations, and world-class support, cutting not just cost, but friction across your SOC.

Don’t Bring a Flashlight to do a Searchlight’s Job

Trying to manage today’s threats with outdated tools is like using a flashlight in a stadium blackout; narrow, limited, and painfully slow.

Your threat intelligence platform should function like a high-powered searchlight: scanning the entire field, adapting instantly to new movements, and illuminating what matters most.

Instead of stumbling around in the dark, choose a TIP that gives you full visibility, context, and the power to act before threats catch you off guard.

By asking the right questions and choosing the right vendor, you can ensure your TIP becomes a true force multiplier instead of yet another silo in your stack.

If you’re ready to stop navigating in the dark, download Cyware’s 2025 Buyer's Guide to Threat Intelligence Platforms.  It’s time to upgrade to a platform that works with your team, not against it.