Multi-Tool Stack vs Platform – TCO

PoCLAB Cost Studio

Multi-Tool Stack vs Platform TCO

Inputs & Assumptions

Multi-tool security stack vs single-vendor platform

Compare a stack of separate tools (SWG, CASB, VPN/ZTNA, FWaaS, etc.) against a consolidated platform across your users, including licenses and operations.

Scenario A: Multi-tool stack

Scenario B: Single-vendor platform

Focused on hard TCO, not product gaps

Users e.g. 4,000 users

Time horizon (years) 3–7 typical

Multi-Tool Stack

SWG / user / month ($) secure web gateway

CASB / user / month ($) cloud access security

VPN/ZTNA / user / month ($) remote access client

FWaaS / user / month ($) cloud firewall if separate

Multi-tool ops FTE policy, integrations, vendor mgmt

Single-Vendor Platform

Platform / user / month ($) consolidated bundle

Platform ops FTE simpler policy + integrations

Ops Cost (Shared)

Ops cost / FTE / year ($) fully loaded engineer

5-Year TCO Comparison

Multi-tool stack SWG + CASB + VPN + FWaaS

$0 / user / month

Single-vendor platform Consolidated

$0 / user / month

Relative 5-Year TCO –

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Platform is neutral vs. multi-tool stack in this model.

Adjust license and FTE assumptions to explore upside.

This calculator focuses on hard TCO (licenses, ops). It does not model differences in feature depth. Use it to frame the cost case, then layer in functional and risk considerations.