Unlocking Comprehensive Security Outcomes with C1 Managed Services + Cisco Security Cloud

The challenge (you know it well)  

Work follows people. Apps follow clouds. Threats follow both. Your environment now stretches across data centers, SaaS, IaaS, home offices, and conference Wi-Fi. The old play—stack another point tool on top of the stack you already have—just adds tabs, alerts, and admin debt. What you don’t need is another shiny widget that needs babysitting. What you do need is security that travels with users and data, applies consistent policy everywhere, and is operated like a product, not a project.

A modern program has to balance four things simultaneously: 

• Protection: stop web, identity, and lateral-movement attacks before they become incidents.
• Experience: users get to what they need quickly; security can’t be the reason tickets spike.
• Operations: one policy model and clear runbooks; changes don’t require heroics.
• Evidence: logs, controls, and reports that make audits boring again.

Cisco Security Cloud provides the platform for that balance. C1 provides the people, process, and relentless tuning that turn it into outcomes.  

What you actually get with Cisco Security Cloud  

Think of Security Cloud as the security layer for a multicloud world—identity-aware, cloud-delivered, and designed for consistency. You’re pulling together controls that used to be scattered across appliances and vendors, and you’re centralizing policy and visibility. In practice, that looks like:

• One platform, many superpowers: Secure access service edge (SSE) with secure web gateway, ZTNA for per-app access, cloud firewall/IPS, DNS-layer security, sandboxing, and DLP—all under a unified experience and threat intel backbone (Talos). Translation: fewer tabs, more signal.
• Identity first: Every decision considers who the user is, what device they’re on, and where they’re coming from—no implicit trust. This is how you shrink the attack surface without shrinking productivity.
• Consistency across everywhere: A shared policy framework that covers campus, branch, multicloud, and SaaS. Users move; your policy doesn’t have to reinvent itself.
• Observability baked in: Telemetry across identity, web, and network flows lets you spot friction and risk early. Experience monitoring (DEM) shows you latency and breakpoints before your help desk does.
• Open and integrative: APIs and connectors to tie in your IdP, EDR/XDR, SIEM, ITSM, and data stores—because the platform has to play nicely with the stack you already run.

If you already have pieces in place (e.g., Duo for MFA, Secure Client/AnyConnect, or Secure Access), Security Cloud becomes the pane of glass and the policy brain, not “yet another console.”

How C1 turns platform into outcomes (no cape required)  

Tools don’t run themselves. Policies drift. Exceptions accumulate. The difference between “we bought it” and “it changed our risk posture” is how you operate it. That’s where C1 steps in.

1. Design & activate (weeks, not months)
   
   We map identities, networks, and applications; define a zero-trust policy model; and light up the right services in the right order. The first win is clarity: which controls matter most for your environment, and how they stack. Deliverables include a prioritized control map, integration plan, and clean runbooks. 
2. Operate 24×7 (eyes on signal, hands on keyboard)
   
   Our team watches authentication events, device posture, web/DNS indicators, and network telemetry. We triage, contain, and remediate—so “interesting” never becomes “incident.” We don’t just alert you; we fix with agreed runbooks.  
3. Tune policies like it’s a sport (because it is)
   
   Threats evolve, employees change laptops, apps move clouds. We make monthly improvements and quarterly reviews a ritual: reduce false positives, tighten exceptions, codify best practices, and retire legacy access. Everything’s versioned; nothing’s ad hoc.  
4. Mind the user experience (security ≠ slowdown)
   
   We watch digital experience metrics, maintain sensible change windows, and design split-tunnel/win-path rules that keep performance snappy. If latency creeps, we find it and fix it—with before/after measurements.  
5. Roadmap the next win (shrink blast radius, boost ROI)
   
   From day one, we plan “adopt-next” moves—like micro segmentation with Secure Workload—to reduce lateral movement, or data controls that close high-risk exfil paths. You’ll know what’s next, why it matters, and when to do it.

A day in the life: before vs. after  

Before:

An employee clicks a phishing link, signs in from a lightly managed home PC, and lands in a broad VPN. The SOC sees a trickle of weird DNS queries hours later. Someone eventually notices unusual traffic east-west inside the VPC. By then, you’re scheduling an after-hours change, combing logs across five systems, and explaining “blast radius” to leadership.

After (Security Cloud + C1):  

The same click hits DNS-layer defenses and is blocked. If a user tries a risky domain again, web policy intercepts. If authentication happens from an unknown device, Duo posture stops access outright. Even if a foothold appears, per-app ZTNA and micro segmentation mean there’s nowhere useful to pivot. You get a concise event trail and a containment action—already taken.

Common pitfalls we help you avoid

• Lifting VPN logic into ZTNA: “Everyone gets full tunnels” becomes “everyone gets every app.” We constrain access by applications and groups, not subnets.
• Policy duplication across clouds: Three clouds, three policy dialects. We centralize policy so enforcement is consistent and audit-friendly.
• Ignoring device health: Users are verified; devices aren’t. We enforce device posture and block or step-up authentication when posture drifts.
• Alert fatigue: Turning on everything everywhere creates noise. We start with high-value controls and build signal quality before expanding scope.
• Skipping change management: Security that surprises users breeds workarounds. We build rollout plans with pilots, champions, and clear comms.

Architecture patterns that just work

• Secure the front door (identity + ZTNA): IdP + Duo for MFA/device trust; ZTNA for per-app access; clientless for contractors; clean break from full-tunnel VPN.
• Filter the highway (web/DNS + SSE): DNS and web gateway block the obvious and the sneaky; cloud firewall/IPS adds depth for sanctioned paths.
• Segment the inside (micro segmentation): Map flows, define application rings, and restrict east-west traffic. Focus on crown-jewel services first.
• Observe and iterate (DEM + telemetry): If experience degrades, adoption lags. DEM plus centralized logging makes performance and policy visible.

What changes when you do this

• Risk actually drops: Fewer phishing-to-access paths; DNS and web threats blocked early; lateral movement constrained by policy, not promises.
• Ops get lighter: One policy framework beats five one-offs. Exceptions become rare, documented, and temporary. The team gets its evenings back.
• Audits simplify: Centralized logging and clear policy evidence. You can answer “who had access to what and when?” without spelunking.
• Users complain less: Access works, latency falls, and tickets trend down. Security becomes a background service—not the main character.

Metrics that matter (and what “good” looks like)

1. Time to detect/contain: Minutes, not hours. You’ll see MTTR down and “contained before lateral movement” as a real result.
2. Blocked events by control: DNS, web, ZTNA denials with context. The goal: more bad blocked upstream, less noise downstream.
3. Policy coverage: % of critical apps behind ZTNA; % of traffic covered by DNS/web controls; % of crown-jewel workloads segmented.
4. Exception half-life: How fast temporary exceptions get closed. A healthy program measures and trims.
5. User experience: Latency to top apps, successful session rates, and sentiment. Security that feels fast gets adopted.
6. Tool rationalization: How many redundant tools you retire as platform coverage expands. Fewer invoices, fewer consoles.

Objections you might be thinking (and solid answers)  

“We already own some of this.”  

Perfect. We start where you are. Security Cloud unifies what you have and fills gaps. We keep what’s working, integrate what’s needed, and simplify everything else.  

“We can operate it ourselves.”  

You absolutely can. The question is opportunity cost. Running a platform 24×7, tuning policies monthly, and chasing drift is a job. If your team needs to focus on projects only they can do—mergers, data initiatives, app modernization—let us handle the care and feeding.

“Our apps are… quirky.”  

Legacy protocols, odd ports, partner access—we’ve seen the movie. We design policy by application behavior, not wishful thinking, and we pilot with real users to avoid surprises.

“We tried ZTNA/SSE before; users revolted.”  

Then we start with an experience baseline, pilot thoughtfully, and use DEM to fix bottlenecks quickly. Good ZTNA feels faster than full-tunnel VPN for most users.

“Budget season is brutal.”  

Consolidating controls, reducing incident cost, and trimming redundant tools funds the move. We help build the business case with risk reduction and OpEx savings that line up with your priorities.

Quick wins in the first 30 days  

• Block what’s obviously bad: DNS filtering and web security cut drive-by threats and typo-domains immediately.  
• Put three critical apps behind ZTNA: Finance, HR, and admin consoles get per-app access with MFA + device checks.  
• Turn posture into policy: If a device fails checks, it doesn’t get to sensitive apps. Simple, powerful.
• Kill two risky exceptions: Identify the worst “temporary” access grants and retire them with confidence.

The 90-day activation plan  

Days 0–15: Discover & design  

• Inventory identities, devices, top apps, and traffic paths.  
• Define your zero-trust policy model and risk priorities.  
• Confirm integrations: IdP, EDR/XDR, SIEM, ITSM, ticketing.  

Days 16–45: Pilot & prove  

• Roll out DNS/web controls to a pilot group; measure noise vs. block rate.  
• Put Tier-0/Tier-1 apps behind ZTNA for pilot users and contractors.  
• Establish change windows and communications. Capture experience metrics.  

Days 46–75: Expand & segment  

• Expand ZTNA to top-10 apps; enable device posture enforcement.  
• Begin microsegmentation for one crown-jewel service path.  
• Tune policies to cut false positives and shrink exceptions.  

Days 76–90: Operationalize  

• Hand off steady-state runbooks; set monthly tuning and quarterly reviews.  
• Stand up executive reporting: risk, experience, and ROI metrics.  
• Identify “adopt-next” moves (data controls, more segmentation, tool retirements).
• Result: A platform that protects, performs, and is actually operated.  

What leadership will see (and why they’ll care)  

• Clear visibility: One dashboard with risk and experience in business language.  
• Documented control: Policies that map to frameworks; evidence without yak-shaving.
• Predictable run costs: Managed operations with SLAs instead of bursty, after-hours fire drills.
• Momentum: A next-90-days plan—because security is a program, not a purchase.

FAQ (for the practical among us)  

How does this fit with our IdP and EDR/XDR?  

We integrate with your IdP for auth and group data, and we share telemetry with your EDR/XDR and SIEM for correlated detection and response. The goal is fewer swivel-chair moves, not more.

Do contractors and partners need the full client?  

Not necessarily. Clientless ZTNA for browser-based apps is perfect for partners. We keep access per-app and time-boxed.  

What if a SaaS app already has SSO and MFA?  

Great—ZSC becomes the enforcement and visibility layer around it: per-session checks, device posture, and web/DNS policy to catch risky behavior before it reaches the app.  

Will this break our network?

We plan for progressive rollout with change windows and easy rollbacks. We test with pilot groups and measure experience continuously. The vibe is “no surprises.”

How do we handle legacy protocols?  

We map flows, design ZTNA for what can be proxied, and use segmentation to protect what can’t. The perfect is not the enemy of the much safer.  

What’s the staffing ask on our side?  

We’ll need an owner for identity, a network/security SME, and someone for change management/comms. Expect a few hours a week during activation and less once we’re steady-state.

Real-world story  

A distributed services company came to us with full-tunnel VPN, inconsistent web filtering, and “temporary” firewall exceptions old enough to vote. We led with DNS/web controls and ZTNA for eight critical apps. In 60 days, they saw:  

• 30% fewer security-related tickets (most tied to web threats and broken access).  
• MFA + device posture blocking risky sessions before any app was touched.  
• Two legacy exceptions retired without user fireworks.  
• An audit that took days, not weeks—because policy and evidence were right there.

The kicker: they consolidated tools and funded further segmentation work with the savings.

Ready to move?  

Offer: Security Cloud Readiness Workshop (2 weeks).  

You’ll leave with a prioritized control map, an integration plan aligned to your stack, and a 90-day activation roadmap you can take straight to your steering committee. We’ll tailor it to your industry, your top apps, and your risk priorities—and, yes, we’ll make it fast and painless.  

If you’re done juggling dashboards and ready to run security like a product, let’s get started: onec1.com/security.