How many point products does it take to build a secure environment?

The cost for IT-Security is a common topic when I discuss security with business managers. The general feeling seems to be that every year they spend more and more on security without seeing any real improvements. The threat level never seems to change. The obvious positives such as remote access and mobility are often forgotten.
I claim that new functionality does not always have to lead to increased costs. We just need to get out of the habit of using “point-products” for everything we do. My definition of such a products is a solution that solves one particular issue but does not cooperate with any other parts of the environment. A typical example is push emails to mobile phones. As I said many time, buy a VPN product that handles all types of access including mobility. It is then possible to treat all access equal. This saves money and increases security.
Point-products is also very hard to get rid off (they have always worked….you know… and we need to think about the guy in Farawayland that uses it on Thursday’s every second week).
The cost for running disparate products with little integration is often higher then expected. There is a need for more personal, upgrades takes longer time; training and support costs are higher etc etc.
The industry is starting to pick up on this, they supply more products and talk about one-stop-shop….and we customers end up with one supplier…and still have products that cannot be integrated.
Save some money and increase the security, get rid of point products.