From Costs to Profits: How Service Providers Can Monetize Application Security

Turning DDoS Protection Investment into Revenue Opportunities 

Service providers have long invested in DDoS protection to safeguard their infrastructure and networks. But what if that same security capability could transform from a cost center into a revenue-generating service? In the third installment of our webinar series, Corero’s Senior Solutions Architect Raj Vadi explored how service providers can monetize application security solutions while delivering critical protection to their tenants. 

The Shift to Application Layer Security 

The threat landscape has evolved dramatically. Attacks are increasingly targeting the application layer—within encrypted traffic streams—making traditional network-level defenses insufficient. These threats are not limited to enterprises; service providers’ own O&AM services, self-service portals, and customer-facing applications are under constant attack. 

Just as service providers initially invested in DDoS technology to protect their infrastructure and later monetized it as a service, application security presents a similar opportunity. The difference? The timing could not be better. 

Why Now? Three Compelling Reasons 

1. Service Providers Need Differentiation

Today’s connectivity market demands more than bandwidth. Service providers must offer value-added services that differentiate them from competitors. Application security represents a natural evolution—enhancing connectivity with tangible security benefits that enterprises actively seek. 

2. Enterprises Want Local Control

Recent high-profile outages—including the Cloudflare incident earlier this week—have exposed the risks of over-reliance on massive cloud security providers. Enterprises increasingly seek solutions closer to their infrastructure with greater control over their security posture. 

3. Direct Monetization Potential

Unlike reselling third-party cloud services with thin margins, application security solutions allow service providers to create tiered service offerings with strong revenue potential—from basic checkbox security to advanced, highly resilient protection. 

The Innovation: Hybrid Architecture 

What sets Corero’s approach apart is its truly hybrid model—something unprecedented in the application security market. Unlike solutions that are either purely on-premises or entirely cloud-based, this architecture offers: 

• Distributed Protection: Security distributed within and across provider POPs and geographies 

• Split Policy Management: High-level policies managed by the service provider, granular controls retained by tenants 

• Automatic Failover: Dynamic DNS that can redirect traffic to on-premises appliances during service disruptions 

• Multi-Homing Support: Protection across multiple service providers simultaneously 

Consider a tenant using multiple service providers for resilience. With the hybrid model, even if their secondary provider lacks application security, the on-premises instance still protects traffic arriving through that connection. 

Reducing Operational Complexity 

Traditional application security solutions carry heavy operational burdens: rule maintenance, false positive handling, and intrusive management requirements. This is precisely why many service providers—and even enterprises—hesitate to enable protection mode, opting instead for monitoring only. 

Corero’s solution addresses these pain points through: 

• Automated Provisioning: Terraform scripts and automated discovery reduce manual configuration 

• Low Operational Overhead: Designed specifically for lean service provider operations 

• Self-Tuning Capabilities: Innovative false positive detection and reduction (details coming soon) 

• Scalable Architecture: Automatically scales protection based on traffic patterns and threats 

• Integrated Intelligence: Malicious IPs identified at the application layer are pushed to edge protection 

Tiered Service Offerings 

Service providers can craft multiple service tiers to match different customer needs: 

• Basic Tier: Essential protection for customers requiring checkbox security compliance 

• Advanced Tier: Enhanced protection on shared infrastructure within the provider network 

• Premium Tier: Highly resilient architecture with on-premises components for ultimate control and zero-trust positioning 

This flexibility enables providers to grow revenue alongside their customer base rather than making massive upfront investments hoping for adoption. 

The Partnership Approach 

Corero does not just sell hardware and walk away. We partner with service providers through: 

• Marketing packages and go-to-market materials 

• Sales enablement and training 

• Architecture discussions tailored to specific infrastructure 

• Ongoing support for tenant engagement 

• Flexible deployment options matching current capabilities 

This is the same partnership model that has proven successful with DDoS Protection as a Service—growing provider revenue while maintaining lean operations. 

Getting Started: Questions to Consider 

If you are a service provider considering application security monetization, ask yourself: 

• Do you provide hosting services to customers who already use application security? 

• Are your tenants using cloud-based security services they might want to augment or replace? 

• Do you have customers in BFSI segment requiring hybrid architectures? 

• Are your customers multi-homed for resilience—and seeking matching security resilience? 

• What percentage of your tenant base would value local control over their security posture? 

Understanding your customer base and their security needs is the first step toward crafting a monetizable application security offering. 

The Bottom Line 

Recent events have proven that no single security provider—no matter how large—is immune to disruption. The hybrid model is not just technically superior; it is a compelling differentiator in sales conversations. When tenants ask, “How can we trust your service won’t go down?” the answer is not defensive—it is a value proposition: “We offer hybrid architecture with on-premises components you control, providing protection even during network disruptions.” 

Application security represents a significant opportunity for service providers to increase revenue, differentiate their offerings, and deliver genuine value to tenants. Technology has matured, the market demand is clear, and the business case is compelling.

Ready to explore application security monetization for your network? Connect with our team at Corero.com to discuss how we can tailor a solution to your infrastructure and customer base. Let us turn security investment into revenue opportunity—together. 

This blog post is based on Episode 3 of our Application Security series. For more insights on DDoS protection, multi-tenant solutions, and security monetization strategies, visit our resources page or contact our team directly.