To protect digital assets and maintain brand reputation, companies require comprehensive tools and processes to manage their external attack surface. The ZeroFox platform provides threat intelligence and digital risk protection, so organizations can expand threat visibility, increase takedown efficiency, and improve their overall security posture.
ZeroFox is an external cybersecurity and digital risk protection platform that allows businesses to expand their threat visibility and intelligence in social, web, and dark web channels. By augmenting external attack surface management capabilities, ZeroFox helps companies improve takedown efficiency, protect digital assets, and prevent fraudulent online activity from harming corporate brands and customer perceptions.
ZeroFox commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying the ZeroFox platform.1 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of ZeroFox on their organizations.
287%
Return on investment (ROI)
$1.6M
Net present value (NPV)
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed four decision-makers with experience using ZeroFox. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the experiences of the interviewees and combined the results into a single composite organization, which is an enterprise organization based in the United States with $15 billion in annual revenue and 40,000 employees.
Interviewees said that prior to using ZeroFox, their organizations lacked visibility into their current threat landscape because there wasn’t a centralized information hub. Intelligence had to be pieced together through various sources and point solutions, which created process challenges. Evaluating and managing these security threats was often a time-consuming, manual exercise that involved numerous stakeholders across the organization.
After their investment in ZeroFox, the interviewees were able to more efficiently streamline their organizations’ threat intelligence and complete takedowns. By handling these impersonations and fraud incidents more quickly, interviewees were able to reduce the negative effects of these security issues and protect their brands, digital assets, and corporate reputation.
Key Findings
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
Improved takedown efficiency, saving 17 hours of time per takedown across three departments. With the help of the ZeroFox platform, the composite organization significantly decreases the amount of time its teams spend dismantling the work of cybercriminals. By improving takedown efficiency, the composite not only saves financially, but it also save valuable time across three unique departments within the company — information security, legal, and marketing. This benefit yields over $1.7 million during the three-year financial period.
Increased identification of false positives by 50%. The composite organization is able to save valuable time with ZeroFox, as the platform helps security teams to improve identification of false-positive threat alerts within its digital landscape. When a threat alert comes through, the composite organization is now able to more effectively sort through and categorize how realistic the cyberthreat is. By accurately improving its false-positive identification rate by 50%, the composite organization saves time that otherwise would have been wasted on an inconsequential security issue. This benefit saves the composite organization $78,000 over the three-year financial period.
Halved the time needed to prepare reports and audit materials. The composite organization consolidates its threat intelligence and external security activities within ZeroFox and can therefore decrease the amount of time that its legal and security analysts spend gathering information from various sources and analyzing threat alerts. Analysts at the composite organization are often tasked with producing reports to share with executives, auditors, and cyber insurance representatives, so having access to streamlined information within the ZeroFox platform reduces that preparation time by 50%.
Improved risk profile thanks to the reduced potential impact of security incidents. The composite organization quickly resolves external security issues and takes down phishing sites and fraudulent domains faster and more effectively with ZeroFox. This quicker issue resolution improves the composite organization’s overall security risk profile and proactively curbs future potential incidents of cybercriminal activity. This benefit helps the composite organization retain $362,000 over the three-year financial modeling period.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
Increased visibility of external threats and digital assets. The composite organization improves its overall visibility into the threat landscape with ZeroFox. Before having the ZeroFox platform in place, this higher-level visibility was not accessible or centralized within a single platform. With better threat categorization and accompanying security management protocols that align with these unique alerts, all of the relevant stakeholders at the composite organization are able to seamlessly access security intelligence through ZeroFox.
Better reputation and customer appreciation. With the improved approach to external attack surface security that ZeroFox provides, the composite organization is taking proactive steps to protect its brands and maintain its solid reputation in the marketplace. The composite organization reminds its customers about the investment the company has made in its security to protect customer data. It is able to quickly respond to any customer who encounters a fraudulent domain or impersonation online, which is reassuring and builds customer confidence and trust in the composite organization’s brand.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
ZeroFox platform costs totaling $194,000 annually. The composite organization leverages ZeroFox’s Premium platform bundle for its enterprise needs. This product selection includes ZeroFox’s Brand Protection, Domain Protection, and Executive Protection capabilities, and also incorporates services such as advance takedowns, On-Demand Investigations (ODIs), and OnWatch Alert.
Implementation and ongoing management costs total $90,000 over the three-year period. The composite organization undergoes a 12-week implementation of ZeroFox with a team of internal IT and security analysts helping to stand up the platform during the Initial period. Ongoing management requires a smaller team, with each team member spending 2 hours per week working within the platform.
The financial analysis that is based on the interviews found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $2.2 million over three years versus costs of $573,000, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $1.6 million and an ROI of 287%.
“The peace of mind ZeroFox brings is just great. It is like a blanket because it’s just covering so many things.”
Information security manager, business services
Key Statistics
287%
Return on investment (ROI)
$2.2M
Benefits PV
$1.6M
Net present value (NPV)
Benefits (Three-Year)
Improved takedown efficiency
Better identification of false positives
Increased reporting and compliance readiness
Strengthened security posture
[CHART DIV CONTAINER]
The ZeroFox Customer Journey
Drivers leading to the ZeroFox investment
Interviews
Role
Industry
Region
Annual Revenue
Information security manager
Business services
North America
$13 billion
Director, cybersecurity and compliance
Online marketplace
Global
$31 billion
VP, global information security
Hospitality
Global
$26 billion
Director, information security and cyber risk management
Financial services
North America
$18 billion
Key Challenges
Prior to their implementation of the ZeroFox platform, interviewees had difficulty getting a complete picture of their external attack surface. The organizations typically had disparate processes and often had to coordinate with different areas of their organization to gain a comprehensive understanding of what was going on and what issues needed to be prioritized and addressed.
Interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
Lack of centralized visibility into the threat landscape. Before ZeroFox, there was no systematic approach to securing and protecting their company’s digital assets. Without a comprehensive understanding of their digital threat landscape, organizations weren’t able to properly plan, hire adequate staff, or take decisive action against malicious actors in the social, dark web, and digital domains. Further, internal resources were unable to be leveraged as effectively since they lacked a holistic view.
Manual and time-consuming identification and incident resolution. The processes and technology solutions in place prior to ZeroFox were often slower and less comprehensive. Without a platform that could recognize and remediate security threats within the social, dark web, and digital channels, security analysts and other stakeholders often had to resort to ad hoc processes and point solutions to resolve issues and handle brand impersonations and phishing schemes. Instead of measuring resolution time in hours or days, team members at the interviewees’ organizations often were forced to grapple with the same security issue for weeks at a time.
“In [the external threat protection] space before ZeroFox, we were largely manual and reactive in how we handled security issues. We relied on a mix of ad hoc monitoring, investigating customer complaints, or someone internally may have just notified us.”
VP of global information security, hospitality
Composite Organization
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the interviewees’ organizations, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
Description of composite. The composite organization is a global enterprise headquartered in the US but operating in multiple regions across the globe. The organization has over 30 unique brands under its corporate umbrella, each with a large online presence and social media following. It has 40,000 employees, and its annual revenue totals $15 billion.
Deployment characteristics. The composite organization utilizes ZeroFox’s Premium platform bundle, which includes Brand, Domain, and Executive Protection. Additionally, the composite organization leverages ZeroFox’s advanced takedown services for complex issues, along with Intelligence Search and On-Demand Investigations credits, which are all included within the Premium package. The composite organization’s implementation of ZeroFox includes all geographies and channels.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
$15 billion annual revenue
40,000 employees
30 unique brands
Analysis Of Benefits
Quantified benefit data as applied to the composite
Total Benefits
Ref.
Benefit
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Total
Present Value
Atr
Improved takedown efficiency
$684,450
$702,702
$720,954
$2,108,106
$1,744,636
Btr
Better identification of false positives
$31,388
$31,388
$31,388
$94,163
$78,056
Ctr
Increased reporting and compliance readiness
$13,392
$13,392
$13,392
$40,176
$33,304
Dtr
Strengthened security posture
$145,714
$145,714
$145,714
$437,141
$362,368
Total benefits (risk-adjusted)
$874,943
$893,195
$911,447
$2,679,585
$2,218,364
Improved Takedown Efficiency
Evidence and data. ZeroFox helps organizations to quickly execute takedowns, which saves time for various stakeholders involved in digital security within the company.
Interviewees cited different examples of how various departments save valuable time by leveraging the ZeroFox platform to facilitate takedowns. The director of information security and cyber risk management for the financial services company explained how ZeroFox’s benefited their business: “The before time was very slow, very manual. You’d have to engage somebody to do something, and then you’d have to get ahold of legal. … Now, we’re able to just fix things — it’s now days and hours, whereas before, it took weeks and months.”
The VP of global information security for the hospitality organization echoed this experience: “Each incident really required some sort of manual validation along with outreach from an associate to other registrars or platforms and engaging with legal. All of this took days, sometimes even weeks, to respond, and ZeroFox was able to decrease all of that significantly.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization experiences 7,500 threats per year, with 10% requiring takedown action or remediation activities.
The number of threats requiring takedown increases by more than 2% year over year.
Risks. The following risks could impact the improvement of takedown efficiency:
The fully burdened salaries reflected in this benefit could vary based on the level of education and experience of the individuals filling those job roles.
Takedown efficiency benefits can partially be attributed to improved processes and employee creativity and ingenuity for improving and speeding up the remediation process.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.7 million.
17
Hours saved per takedown with the help of ZeroFox
“Pre-ZeroFox, our mean time to detect for impersonations was typically measured in weeks. Now, depending on the type of use case, we typically can see that happen in days, and sometimes even hours.”
VP of global information security, hospitality
Improved Takedown Efficiency
Ref.
Metric
Source
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
A1
Annual alerts that require verification and takedown
Composite
750
770
790
A2
Average time a legal analyst saves per takedown with ZeroFox (hours)
Interviews
8
8
8
A3
Fully burdened hourly rate for a legal analyst
Composite
$62
$62
$62
A4
Average time a security analyst saves per takedown with ZeroFox (hours)
Interviews
5
5
5
A5
Fully burdened hourly rate for a security analyst
Composite
$62
$62
$62
A6
Average time a marketing and corporate communications representative saves per takedown with ZeroFox (hours)
Interviews
4
4
4
A7
Fully burdened hourly rate for a marketing or a corporate communications representative
Composite
$52
$52
$52
A8
Average cost savings per takedown due to ZeroFox
(A2*A3)+(A4*A5)+(A6*A7)
$1,014
$1,014
$1,014
At
Improved takedown efficiency
A1*A8
$760,500
$780,780
$801,060
Risk adjustment
↓10%
Atr
Improved takedown efficiency (risk-adjusted)
$684,450
$702,702
$720,954
Three-year total: $2,108,106
Three-year present value: $1,744,636
Better Identification Of False Positives
Evidence and data. With ZeroFox, interviewees were able to gain visibility into their digital landscape and improve threat categorization overall. Most notably, interviewees significantly improved their identification of false positives due to the intelligence within the ZeroFox platform.
ZeroFox enabled interviewees to filter security threats into specific categories. Their security teams no longer needed to spend time remediating alerts that turned out not to be significant threats to the organization — saving time for the organization at large and allowing analysts to dedicate time to other security pursuits.
The director of cybersecurity and compliance for the online marketplace described how ZeroFox helped them improve false-positive identification: “Our false-positive detection has increased significantly, and we are now more accurate in detecting dark web threats just because we started using [ZeroFox]. That is a very big statement, by the way, because the dark web is dynamic, and it changes on a daily, real-time basis.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The number of false-positive alerts is considered separate and additive to the improved takedown efficiency reflected in the previous benefit.
False positives represent 30% of the total number of alerts the composite organization receives.
Risks. The following risks can impact the false positives identification benefit:
Similar to the previous benefit, the fully burdened salaries reflected in this false positive identification benefit could differ based on the level of education and experience of the individuals filling those job roles.
The number of false positives could differ depending on an organization’s industry, number of brands, the number of acronyms used within brand-naming conventions, and its inherent risk profile.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $78,000.
50%
False-positive identification rate improvement
“After deploying ZeroFox, our false positives dropped off by more than half.”
VP of global information security, hospitality
Better Identification Of False Positives
Ref.
Metric
Source
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
B1
Annual false-positive alerts requiring verification without ZeroFox
Composite
2,250
2,250
2,250
B2
Improvement in false-positive identification rate
Interviews
50%
50%
50%
B3
False-positive alerts that no longer need to be verified (rounded)
B1*B2
1,125
1,125
1,125
B4
Hours required to handle each false positive
Interviews
0.5
0.5
0.5
B5
Fully burdened hourly salary for a security analyst
Composite
$62
$62
$62
Bt
Better identification of false positives
B3*B4*B5
$34,875
$34,875
$34,875
Risk adjustment
↓10%
Btr
Better identification of false positives (risk-adjusted)
$31,388
$31,388
$31,388
Three-year total: $94,163
Three-year present value: $78,056
Increased Reporting And Compliance Readiness
Evidence and data. Before ZeroFox, simply aggregating information about risk and security threats was a challenge for the interviewees and their organizations. ZeroFox helped these teams save time by streamlining their reporting functionality and audit preparation work.
Analysts from both the security and legal sides were involved in preparing interviewees’ organizations for audits and report submissions. With the ability to easily categorize threats within ZeroFox, the interviewees and their teams were able to map threat categories to specific playbooks, which not only saved time but also allowed these teams to demonstrate risk reduction to relevant parties.
The director of cybersecurity and compliance for the online marketplace discussed how ZeroFox helped their organization with compliance readiness: “[ZeroFox] helps us with our audits and compliance. Auditors need to look closely into these incidents as to what alert was sent, what action was taken, and how it was mitigated. I’d estimate the platform reduces over half of that manual labor because now things are automated and AI based.”
The VP of global information security for the hospitality organization referenced how the centralized dashboard within ZeroFox helps provide information to other third-party stakeholders: “We have a relationship with a cyber insurance provider. Through [ZeroFox], we’re able to demonstrate visibility, oversight, and governance for our attack surface. We can share collateral artifacts with our insurance underwriters very quickly and efficiently.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The teams at the composite organization are tasked with reporting, audit preparation, and compliance-related activities three times each year.
Teams of four analysts — both on the legal and security teams — previously spent half of their time over a two-week period working on various compliance readiness and reporting activities.
Risks. The following risks can impact the reporting and compliance readiness benefit:
The fully burdened salary inputs in this benefit could vary based on the education, geographic location, and experience level of the individuals filling those job roles.
Security and legal analysts are modeled with the same salary in this benefit, but those salaries could be different, depending on the organization’s staffing approach.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $33,000.
“Before ZeroFox, our teams were gathering all the intelligence themselves to then take the actions needed. Now all of that information is being brought to them. So while the size of our organization may be the same, our teams have become more effective as a unit.”
Director of information security and cyber risk management, financial services
Increased Reporting And Compliance Readiness
Ref.
Metric
Source
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
C1
Fully burdened hourly rate for analysts from the security and legal teams
Composite
$62
$62
$62
C2
Annual time dedicated to audit readiness and reporting work before ZeroFox (hours)
Composite
480
480
480
C3
Reduction in manual audit preparation and reporting work with ZeroFox
Interviews
50%
50%
50%
Ct
Increased reporting and compliance readiness
C1*C2*C3
$14,880
$14,880
$14,880
Risk adjustment
↓10%
Ctr
Increased reporting and compliance readiness (risk-adjusted)
$13,392
$13,392
$13,392
Three-year total: $40,176
Three-year present value: $33,304
Strengthened Security Posture
Evidence and data. ZeroFox helps organizations to quickly remediate security incidents and therefore improve their overall security posture. ZeroFox customers demonstrably reduce their risk of experiencing adverse security incidents and costly breaches.
Reducing their company’s risk exposure was a key goal for all interviewees. Investment in security platforms like ZeroFox plays a crucial role in decreasing overall risk, which has a significant financial upside when considering the consequences that a security incident or a tarnished corporate reputation can bring.
The information security manager for the business services company talked about the actions their organization took to curb future security issues and reduce risk, thanks to the intelligence collected through ZeroFox: “When we saw people were doing impersonations, then we put fraud messages on all of our main websites reminding customers that nobody will ever reach out to you asking you for money or offering you a job via text. If customers have any questions, we encourage them to contact the company or send a question to our customer service representatives.”
The VP of global information security at the hospitality organization emphasized the necessity of having a platform like ZeroFox in place in today’s modern environment: “Without leveraging a tool [like ZeroFox], it is almost impossible to ask. I certainly think that ZeroFox has become a more pertinent tool in the ecosystem of the security stack.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The risk exposure is based on Forrester survey data and uses the size and characteristics of the composite organization to calculate.2
According to Forrester’s Security Survey, 2025, 54% of security decision-makers at enterprise organizations estimated they experienced one or more security breaches in the last year originating from external attacks.3 The data represented in this benefit outlines the cost savings the composite organization experiences by having ZeroFox in place.
Risks. The following risks can impact the strengthened security posture benefit:
Every organization’s digital landscape has unique assets and domains. Additionally, these organizations can have varying levels of risk and existing security protocols. Cost savings can vary depending on the industry, number of brands under management, and level of data sensitivity.
In addition to the ZeroFox platform, organizations can also attribute cost savings due to other security measures, such as improved security training or enhanced employee skills and experience.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $362,000.
10%
Reduction in security risk due to the ZeroFox platform
“If it’s $1 million in damage and it costs $2 million to protect yourself, you may just say, why not take the $1 million loss? But reputation is everything, especially in our industry. You don’t want to be the next target because it takes a long time to build reputation back. And some companies that experience that reputation hit never recover.”
Director of information security and cyber risk management, financial services
Strengthened Security Posture
Ref.
Metric
Source
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
D1
Total annual risk exposure to security breaches for the composite organization
Forrester research
3,373,000
3,373,000
3,373,000
D2
Percentage of breaches originating from external attacks targeting organizations or remote environments
Forrester research
54%
54%
54%
D3
Annual risk exposure addressable with ZeroFox
D1*D2
$1,821,420
$1,821,420
$1,821,420
D4
Reduced risk of exposure to breach costs from addressable attacks with ZeroFox
Interviews
10%
10%
10%
Dt
Strengthened security posture
D3*D4
$182,142
$182,142
$182,142
Risk adjustment
↓20%
Dtr
Strengthened security posture (risk-adjusted)
$145,714
$145,714
$145,714
Three-year total: $437,141
Three-year present value: $362,368
Unquantified Benefits
Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:
Increased visibility of external threats and digital assets. While interviewees emphasized the money and time their organizations saved through improved visibility, there were also ways in which ZeroFox’s threat visibility improvements weren’t able to be fully quantified. Having continuous visibility into their digital landscape meant that interviewees’ organizations were no longer flying blind when it came to impersonations, takedowns, and fraudulent domains. With ZeroFox, their teams had complete confidence in their new, well-informed approach to external security. The information security manager for the business services company described how ZeroFox improved visibility at their organization and made information easily accessible to many different stakeholders, regardless of security training and experience. They shared, “The big ROI with ZeroFox is that you don’t have to send your teams to specific trainings or have them get specific certifications to be able to use the tool.” Visibility was synonymous with accessibility, and that helped engage different teams within each interviewees’ company.
Better customer reputation and satisfaction. No matter the industry, customers want to be reassured that the company they are purchasing from will keep their data secure and take their needs seriously. The director of information security and cyber risk management for the financial services company emphasized how their organization uses ZeroFox intelligence to showcase its trustworthiness to customers: “Our clients are putting a lot of money with us, and they want to know you’re protecting it. We actually give five to 10 tours weekly showing off our physical security operations center (SOC) that contains a 120-foot screen with our ZeroFox dashboard.” Organizations with ZeroFox can leverage the enhancements to their company’s security as a basis for a marketing campaign to build trust and confidence within their customer base.
“[By having ZeroFox], we are able to change the nature of how our teams react and work. Instead of supporting a bunch of different federated tools within each part of the company, we now can centralize it and just use one main tool to give us that visibility.”
Director of information security and cyber risk management, financial services
Flexibility
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement ZeroFox and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
Time savings allow security analysts to develop a strategic focus. While the composite organizationis able to save measurable time and money using a centralized platform like ZeroFox, their security teams will also be able to utilize their time savings to tackle higher-level projects in the future. Interviewees talked about improving their supply chain monitoring, focusing more on executive protection, and staying ahead of the ever-changing threat landscape by honing internal playbooks and procedures. The VP of global information security at the hospitality organization gave the following advice based on their organization’s experience: “If your company is using inefficient, ineffective processes, then you’re not going to see the benefits of this tool, no matter how great the data is. If that’s the case, ZeroFox is just another tool telling you something. I feel like it is just as important to continue to develop meaningful and thoughtful response processes as you move forward with the platform.”
Breadth of platform capabilities helps to facilitate future expansion. Interviewees discussed how they wanted to continue to expand their security approach and scale their external attack surface management capabilities as their organizations continue to grow. The VP of global information security at the hospitality organization noted the flexibility of ZeroFox and how the scalable nature of the platform itself will continue to help their company scale well into the future: “What we like about the platform is that it’s a very expansive set of capabilities with a really comprehensive approach to this space. As we grow and mature as an organization, we can simply add new features and enhancements to ZeroFox within the guise of a single platform, as opposed to purchasing other niche solutions and trying to fill in the gaps through separate technology purchases.”
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).
“I think of ZeroFox as a force multiplier. We don’t have to put all the pieces together ourselves internally. ZeroFox is prioritizing and risk-rating these threats for us, but we can still have our own opinion and can take action quickly. It’s like ZeroFox is doing it with you rather than for you.”
Director of information security and cyber risk management, financial services
Analysis Of Costs
Quantified cost data as applied to the composite
Total Costs
Ref.
Cost
Initial
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Total
Present Value
Etr
ZeroFox platform costs
$0
$194,250
$194,250
$194,250
$582,750
$483,071
Ftr
Implementation and ongoing management
$39,060
$20,311
$20,311
$20,311
$99,994
$89,571
Total costs (risk-adjusted)
$39,060
$214,561
$214,561
$214,561
$682,744
$572,642
ZeroFox Platform Costs
Evidence and data. This cost section details the annual licenses and contractual costs that enterprise organizations pay to utilize the ZeroFox platform. This includes all costs paid to ZeroFox for the platform itself, but does not include internal resources used for implementation and ongoing management resources.
Interviewees’ licensing costs for ZeroFox depended on the platform bundle selected and could include select services as needed.
The primary components of the ZeroFox platform include Threat Intelligence, Brand Protection, Domain Protection, Executive Protection, and takedown capabilities.
Pricing may vary. Contact ZeroFox for additional details.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization utilizes the Premium product bundle for its needs. It does not utilize any additional services from ZeroFox beyond what is included in the Premium bundle.
Some enterprise organizations may benefit from contracting with one of ZeroFox’s Technical account managers (TAMs) as an optional managed service. Technical account managers are dedicated technical specialists who provide continuous, proactive configuration management, platform monitoring and tuning, and technical/disruption escalations. The composite organization has its own technical staff dedicated to these monitoring activities and does not utilize a TAM.
Risks. The following risks could impact ZeroFox platform costs:
Licensing costs can vary based on an organization’s size, including the number of brands the organization would like to protect.
Platform discounts can also vary based on commitments made during the contracting process.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $483,000.
ZeroFox Platform Costs
Ref.
Metric
Source
Initial
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
E1
ZeroFox Premium bundle fees
ZeroFox
$185,000
$185,000
$185,000
Et
ZeroFox platform costs
E1
$185,000
$185,000
$185,000
Risk adjustment
↑5%
Etr
ZeroFox platform costs (risk-adjusted)
$0
$194,250
$194,250
$194,250
Three-year total: $582,750
Three-year present value: $483,071
Implementation And Ongoing Management
Evidence and data. Interviewees discussed their implementation experiences, which typically lasted around three months, as well as internal resources needed for the solution’s ongoing management.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Five security analysts from the composite organization dedicate 12 weeks to platform implementation.
Ongoing management resources are based on three security analysts from the composite organization dedicating 5% of their time to managing the ZeroFox platform on an ongoing basis.
Risks. The following risks can impact the implementation and ongoing management costs:
The organization’s size and the complexity of its digital landscape can impact implementation costs.
The scope and scale of the organization’s integration needs also can impact implementation costs. ZeroFox provides options to integrate their data into multiple systems, which if utilized could increase both timing and costs.
The organization’s technology solutions prior to the ZeroFox implementation can potentially impact implementation and ongoing management costs.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $90,000.
Implementation And Ongoing Management
Ref.
Metric
Source
Initial
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
F1
Average fully burdened hourly rate for a security analyst
A5
$62
$62
$62
$62
F2
Time required for implementation per person per week (hours)
Composite
10
F3
Weeks for internal implementation efforts
Interviews
12
F4
Total security analysts required for implementation (FTEs)
Composite
5
F5
Subtotal: Total costs for internal implementation resources
F1*F2*F3*F4
$37,200
F6
Time required for ongoing management (hours per person per week)
Composite
2
2
2
F7
Security analysts involved with ongoing management
Composite
3
3
3
F8
Subtotal: Total costs for ongoing management
F1*F6*F7* 52 weeks
$19,344
$19,344
$19,344
Ft
Implementation and ongoing management
F5+F8
$37,200
$19,344
$19,344
$19,344
Risk adjustment
↑5%
Ftr
Implementation and ongoing management (risk-adjusted)
$39,060
$20,311
$20,311
$20,311
Three-year total: $99,994
Three-year present value: $89,571
Financial Summary
Consolidated Three-Year, Risk-Adjusted Metrics
Cash Flow Chart (Risk-Adjusted)
[CHART DIV CONTAINER]
Total costsTotal benefitsCumulative net benefitsInitialYear 1Year 2Year 3
Cash Flow Analysis (Risk-Adjusted)
Initial
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Total
Present Value
Total costs
($39,060)
($214,561)
($214,561)
($214,561)
($682,744)
($572,642)
Total benefits
$0
$874,943
$893,195
$911,447
$2,679,585
$2,218,364
Net benefits
($39,060)
$660,382
$678,634
$696,886
$1,996,842
$1,645,722
ROI
287%
Payback
<6 months
Please Note
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in ZeroFox.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that ZeroFox can have on an organization.
Due Diligence
Interviewed ZeroFox stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to the ZeroFox solution.
Interviews
Interviewed four decision-makers at organizations using ZeroFox to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Composite Organization
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Financial Model Framework
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Case Study
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Total Economic Impact Approach
Benefits
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
Financial Terminology
Present value (PV)
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PVs of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
Net present value (NPV)
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
Return on investment (ROI)
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
Discount rate
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
Payback
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Appendix A
Total Economic Impact
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Appendix B
Endnotes
1 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
This study is commissioned by ZeroFox and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in ZeroFox. For any interactive functionality, the intent is for the questions to solicit inputs specific to a prospect's business. Forrester believes that this analysis is representative of what companies may achieve with ZeroFox based on the inputs provided and any assumptions made. Forrester does not endorse ZeroFox or its offerings. Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this model, ZeroFox and Forrester Research are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein. The interactive tool is provided ‘AS IS,’ and Forrester and ZeroFox make no warranties of any kind.
ZeroFox reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
ZeroFox provided the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.
Consulting Team:
Leigh Greene
Published
February 2026
The Total Economic Impact™ Of ZeroFox
This study is commissioned by ZeroFox and delivered by Forrester Consulting.
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