• Application control helps systems focus on what’s trusted, just like setting healthy limits at home.
• By saying “no” to unapproved software, organizations can reduce risk, downtime, and waste, without compromising workflows.
• Boundaries help build resilience; in the case of Carbon Black App Control they also helped drive a 207% ROI in under seven months for a composite organization.

We all tell our kids they can’t have every toy or download every app—not because we’re mean, but because limits save money, build good habits, and ultimately protect us. Turns out, the same applies to cybersecurity. 

With more ransomware gangs and bad actors strapped with AI, organizations can’t afford productivity loss from unscheduled downtime, or worse yet, the loss of customer trust that comes with a breach. In today’s turbulent cyber landscape, measured restraint and discipline are powerful forms of offense. 

Why saying “no” is sometimes the smartest “yes” for your security

Think about it this way: You wouldn’t let your eight-year-old kid install a random app you haven't screened yet, right? So, why let your end users? While full-grown adults usually (or at least hopefully) make more informed decisions, that doesn’t mean they can recognize sketchy apps without fail. Your systems and end users need to be kept safe. That’s where saying “no” with application control comes in. Under the principles of positive security, you decide what software is allowed to run while stopping everything else by default. This default-deny posture is all about efficiency, safety, and control—not restriction.  

When you say “no” with application control, your systems keep running smoothly and any unauthorized apps that may harm your day-to-day operations or end-users are blocked from running before damage is done. Following a key tenet of Zero Trust, application control uses different built-in approval mechanics to deny or grant access in real time. With that, keeping suspicious apps off your systems, becomes as simple and efficient as saying “no.”

Application control can benefit your operations and SOC teams with:  

• Fewer unknown programs strengthen protection against malware and advanced attacks.
• Early prevention saves time and resources, reducing the need for troubleshooting and cleanup.
• Granular controls secure critical systems, blocking unwanted changes and enforcing consistent policies at every level.
• Resilient environments protect budgets, cutting reimaging, recovery, and other costs over time.
• Continuous compliance takes the guesswork out of regulations, and keeps your systems in check without added effort. 

Where saying “no” really starts to pay off

According to Forrester Consulting's Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Carbon Black App Control, a study commissioned by Broadcom, Carbon Black App Control helped a composite organization achieve $1.6 million in savings over three years and a 207% return on investment (ROI). 

For this study, Forrester Consulting interviewed four organizations with real-world experience using Carbon Black App Control. They combined their feedback to be represented by a single composite organization—a mission-critical financial or government entity with 6,000 employees and a revenue of more than $500 million per year with high security risk. 

By setting clear boundaries—just as parents do—organizations gained greater control, visibility, and stability from implementing Carbon Black App Control. But don’t take our word for it. Here’s how the quantified benefits added up: 

• $1.3 million saved over three years by reducing time spent reimaging time, freeing roughly 1,500 hours annually for IT and support teams.
• $207,000 in savings from reduced malware investigation time, averaging at 2.25 hours saved per incident.
• $117K in additional, risk-adjusted productivity gains from minimizing deep-dive investigations. 

In total, that’s roughly $1.6 million in quantified benefits over three years, compared to $532,000 in costs, yielding a $1.1 NPV and payback period of under seven months.  

Beyond these measurable outcomes, interviewees also described additional benefits like:

• Reduced guesswork in risk management by about two-thirds.
• Easier compliance with security mandates.
• Ease of use and simplified day-to-day operations. 

In other words, every “no” to an untrusted app with Carbon Black App Control is actually a “yes” to uptime, savings, and the peace of mind your SOC dreams of. 

Teach your systems what we teach our kids: boundaries pay off

Carbon Black App Control builds on a foundation of trust, continuously protecting against cyberthreats that evade traditional security defenses through a resilient, positive security model and default-deny posture. By allowing only verified applications and processes to run, it eliminates unauthorized changes, strengthens Zero Trust initiatives, and ups resilience across your environments over time. 

Rather than relying on a library or files—which easily become outdated—it leverages different approval methods, including IT- and cloud-driven trust, trusted publishers, custom rules, and validated external sources to approve applications based on trust (not good faith). 

The cybersecurity equivalent of teaching good habits early on, Carbon Black App control helps organizations build long-term financial health. Every boundary strengthens your systems and protects your budget. With the right discipline and proactive defense, saying “no” to unapproved apps can turn into a million dollar “yes.”

Get your copy of Application Control for Dummies to learn more about how application control can streamline your organization’s security, pay for itself, and then some.