The ROI of continuous threat exposure management (CTEM) is becoming clearer in 2025 as security teams shift from reactive defenses to proactive, risk-based prioritization.
Forrester Consulting’s just-released Total Economic Impact™ study cites a 321% return on investment (ROI) using Threat Exposure Management — a cybersecurity vertical that’s becoming hard to ignore in a market obsessed with both protection and performance.
For those of us tracking where enterprise budgets are moving, this is a concrete validation that cyber intelligence is delivering measurable, strategic returns.
More importantly, it signals an inflection point for a corner of cybersecurity that is increasingly valued by public markets.
The global exposure management market is projected to grow from roughly $2.2 billion in 2024 to reach $7.6 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 28.3 %.
Why This Category Is Starting to Roar
When people talk about cybersecurity investments, they typically default to endpoint protection or firewall names like CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, or Zscaler. However, external threat intelligence has been operating in a lower-profile, higher-impact lane.
Detecting data exposure risks on the clear and dark web translates into earlier threat detection, faster response times, and fewer breaches. In other words, it addresses the “unknown unknowns” that most enterprise security stacks are still missing.
Forrester’s report brings that impact into hard numbers:
- 25% reduction in data breach risk, resulting in $590,000 in avoided breach costs
- 25% gain in threat intel efficiency, worth $167,000 in labor savings
- 31% drop in licensing fees compared to legacy solutions
These results are based on interviews with current customers of Flare, a Montreal-based Threat Exposure Management platform, representing a payback period of under six months.
What This Means for Startup Investors
External threat intelligence is becoming a board-level priority, and the vendors leading in this space are positioned for aggressive growth.
IBM identifies that cyber-attacks are advancing industry-wide and globally, with manufacturing the number one target for a fourth year, and exposure rising most in the Asia-Pacific region. All top 10 vulnerabilities had publicly available exploit code. In 60% of the cases, hackers were already using them, or the exploit instructions were posted online within two weeks of the flaw being revealed.
Yet, most of the major public players are still optimized for internal detection and response.
That gap is an opportunity. Names like SentinelOne (S) and Elastic (ESTC) are starting to make moves into external visibility, and platforms like Recorded Future (still private, for now) are rumored IPO candidates.
This is the early innings of a trend that could reshape how enterprises allocate their security budgets, shifting from reactive to proactive defense.
A Founder’s Mindset Meets Market Momentum
Norman Menz, Flare’s CEO, summed it up bluntly: “Deploying threat intelligence not only gives organizations the ability to detect and mitigate high-risk data exposure, but it also allows them to do so knowing that they will see a significant positive economic impact.”
That kind of positioning — “security with ROI” — is where the market is heading. CISOs are under pressure to justify spend. Boards want numbers. And Forrester just gave them some.
Cyber intelligence is maturing into a full-fledged investment thesis, and the winners will be platforms that offer visibility. In a sector dominated by noise and speculation, Forrester’s TEI report offers proven risk reduction and ROI. For investors looking to get ahead of the next wave in cybersecurity, it’s time to look beyond firewalls and endpoints and start watching the companies that are watching everything else. Continuous threat exposure management companies are ripe with potential.
Article co-authored by Emily Singleton
