Eight questions worth asking any finalist.
Use the same questions for every vendor. Record the answer you hear and compare it with the weak and strong examples below.
01 / 08
Decision latency
- Ask
- Does it re-evaluate risk as new telemetry arrives mid-response, or only at trigger time?
- Weak
- "Our playbooks already cover that scenario."
- Strong
- Risk score updates continuously; execution path can change mid-incident.
Vendor answer / notes
02 / 08
Governance model
- Ask
- How does the system express confidence before acting autonomously? What's captured per decision, not just per action?
- Weak
- An action log with timestamps.
- Strong
- A reasoning trail: inputs, policy check, confidence threshold, outcome.
Vendor answer / notes
03 / 08
Integration cost curve
- Ask
- What does the 40th integration cost relative to the 4th?
- Weak
- Every integration is a new set of playbook branches to maintain.
- Strong
- Cost is bounded by the context model, not by branch count.
Vendor answer / notes
04 / 08
Learning loop
- Ask
- Does a closed incident change how the next similar alert is scored — automatically?
- Weak
- Someone has to manually edit a playbook or detection rule.
- Strong
- Outcome feeds back into the decision model without manual edits.
Vendor answer / notes
05 / 08
Data residency & deployment
- Ask
- Where does data actually live, and can that be constrained by region?
- Weak
- "We're compliant" with no region-level detail.
- Strong
- Named in-region deployment options, stated plainly.
Vendor answer / notes
06 / 08
Implementation ownership
- Ask
- Who does the integration work — the vendor or your team? What does week one look like?
- Weak
- A generic onboarding deck.
- Strong
- A named plan with owners and dates for week one.
Vendor answer / notes
07 / 08
Commercial model
- Ask
- Priced per seat, per asset, per integration, or per incident? What breaks the model as you scale?
- Weak
- "We'll figure out pricing once we know your environment."
- Strong
- A clear model with a stated scaling assumption.
Vendor answer / notes
08 / 08
References
- Ask
- Can I speak to a reference in a similar environment — industry, scale, region?
- Weak
- Any reference they have on hand.
- Strong
- A reference matched to your actual environment.
Vendor answer / notes