IT & Security Keeps Best Leadership Stable While Setup Answers Move
Eight IT & Security Best leaders hold, but seven setup leaders change and only three categories preserve a complete four-way intent split.
IT & Security covers ten categories in this week's edition. IT & Security produces some forceful Best results, but operational fit still changes the answer. A security leader is not automatically the cheapest, quickest to deploy, or most interesting newer option.
Across the hub, 172 products rank in Best, while the ten category mastheads total 1,244 Sources and 4,294 Mentions. 2 Best leaders change week over week, and 3 categories return four distinct leaders across the direct questions.
How to Read This Report
Each table shows the current Best Top 3. The analysis keeps Most Affordable, Easiest to Set Up, and Rising separate. AIQ is category-relative, so compare products inside the same category and question. Sources count distinct cited pages; Mentions count verified product-page mentions.
In Password Managers, 1Password leads at Best AIQ 98. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. It records 37 Sources and 54 Mentions in the current category evidence. Bitwarden is second at Best AIQ 44. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #6, Claude #2, and Perplexity #1. It records 35 Sources and 52 Mentions in the current category evidence. NordPass is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #5, Gemini #2, Claude #5, and Perplexity #3. It records 28 Sources and 34 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The category contains 13 Best-ranked products, 98 Sources and 416 Mentions across all four direct questions. 1Password holds #1. A 70-point lead over third makes the top of the table unusually decisive, but the 4-assistant footprint matters as much as the headline score. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Bitwarden at Most Affordable AIQ 98. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. Its current category evidence records 35 Sources and 52 Mentions. Bitwarden holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by 1Password at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 76. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #5, Claude #1, and Perplexity #4. Its current category evidence records 37 Sources and 54 Mentions. 1Password holds #1. Rising is led by Proton Pass at Rising AIQ 97. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #3. Its current category evidence records 22 Sources and 27 Mentions. Proton Pass holds #1. Price points to Bitwarden, implementation to 1Password, and the emerging-product question to Proton Pass. None should be folded into 1Password's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Identity & Access (SSO/IAM), Microsoft Entra ID leads at Best AIQ 75. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, and Claude #2. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 21 Sources and 28 Mentions in the current category evidence. Okta is second at Best AIQ 45. Its assistant positions are Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from ChatGPT in this ranking. It records 3 Sources and 5 Mentions in the current category evidence. Okta Workforce Identity is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #2. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 13 Sources and 15 Mentions in the current category evidence.
Microsoft Entra ID holds #1, and the top-to-third spread is 47 points. The more revealing figure is breadth: the leader appears in 3 of 4 assistant lists. Across the category, Cooper records 17 Best-ranked products, 126 Sources and 426 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Amazon Cognito at Most Affordable AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 12 Mentions. Amazon Cognito is new to the ranking at #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Auth0 at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 66. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #5, Claude #3, and Perplexity #6. Its current category evidence records 21 Sources and 35 Mentions. Auth0 moves up 1 place to #1. Rising is led by WorkOS at Rising AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 8 Mentions. WorkOS moves up 4 places to #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. Amazon Cognito owns the budget answer, Auth0 the setup answer, and WorkOS the Rising answer, while Microsoft Entra ID remains the Best leader. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Endpoint Management (MDM), Microsoft Intune leads at Best AIQ 88. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It records 33 Sources and 40 Mentions in the current category evidence. Jamf Pro is second at Best AIQ 53. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #2. It records 21 Sources and 24 Mentions in the current category evidence. Omnissa Workspace ONE UEM is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #2. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 2 Sources and 2 Mentions in the current category evidence.
This is a concentrated Best result. Microsoft Intune leads third by 60 points and holds #1, with 33 Sources and 40 Mentions attached to its current category evidence. The full market records 18 Best-ranked products, 122 Sources and 489 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus at Most Affordable AIQ 64. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #4. It has no category rank from Gemini in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 13 Sources and 19 Mentions. ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Apple Business at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 30 Sources and 39 Mentions. Apple Business is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Addigy MDM at Rising AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 1 Source and 2 Mentions. Addigy MDM is new to the ranking at #1. Microsoft Intune is the broad Best reference point, not a universal winner. For affordability the assistants select ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager Plus; for setup they select Apple Business; for newer options they select Addigy MDM. All four questions produce different leaders.
In IT Service Management, Jira Service Management leads at Best AIQ 85. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #1, and Perplexity #2. It records 41 Sources and 51 Mentions in the current category evidence. Freshservice is second at Best AIQ 41. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #3, Claude #4, and Perplexity #3. It records 44 Sources and 60 Mentions in the current category evidence. TeamDynamix ITSM is third at Best AIQ 36. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #5 and Gemini #1. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 2 Sources and 4 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The ranking is easier to read as a market shape than as a single score. Jira Service Management holds #1; 4 of 4 assistants place it somewhere in their category lists, and the podium spans 49 points. The category-wide evidence totals 135 Sources and 429 Mentions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Jira Service Management at Most Affordable AIQ 65. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #4, Claude #9, and Perplexity #3. Its current category evidence records 41 Sources and 51 Mentions. Jira Service Management holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Freshservice at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 69. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #3. Its current category evidence records 44 Sources and 60 Mentions. Freshservice holds #1. Rising is led by Atomicwork at Rising AIQ 61. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #4. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 5 Mentions. Atomicwork holds #1. A buyer optimizing for price would start with Jira Service Management. A buyer prioritizing implementation would begin with Freshservice. Rising turns to Atomicwork. That is a materially different map from Best, led by Jira Service Management. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Remote Support, TeamViewer Remote leads at Best AIQ 58. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #2. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. It records 4 Sources and 10 Mentions in the current category evidence. TeamViewer is second at Best AIQ 40. Its assistant positions are Gemini #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from ChatGPT and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 37 Sources and 51 Mentions in the current category evidence. BeyondTrust Remote Support is third at Best AIQ 35. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #6, and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 6 Sources and 6 Mentions in the current category evidence.
16 Best-ranked products, 115 Sources and 397 Mentions across all four direct questions make this a substantial evidence set. At the top, TeamViewer Remote moves up 2 places to #1 and leads third by 23 points. Only 2 of 4 assistants include the leader, which qualifies how confidently the #1 should be generalized. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by HelpWire at Most Affordable AIQ 80. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #1. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. HelpWire holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Zoho Assist at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 66. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #8, Claude #3, and Perplexity #2. Its current category evidence records 22 Sources and 29 Mentions. Zoho Assist holds #1. Rising is led by HelpWire at Rising AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #7, and Perplexity #3. It has no category rank from Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions. HelpWire moves up 3 places to #1. Price points to HelpWire, implementation to Zoho Assist, and the emerging-product question to HelpWire. None should be folded into TeamViewer Remote's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Backup & Recovery, Veeam Data Platform leads at Best AIQ 95. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 11 Sources and 17 Mentions in the current category evidence. Commvault Cloud Backup and Recovery is second at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #2. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 2 Sources and 4 Mentions in the current category evidence. Cohesity DataProtect is third at Best AIQ 25. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3 and Gemini #4. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 5 Sources and 8 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The category contains 24 Best-ranked products, 168 Sources and 586 Mentions across all four direct questions. Veeam Data Platform holds #1. A 70-point lead over third makes the top of the table unusually decisive, but the 3-assistant footprint matters as much as the headline score. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Duplicati at Most Affordable AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #3. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 7 Mentions. Duplicati is new to the ranking at #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Backblaze Business Backup at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions. Backblaze Business Backup holds #1. Rising is led by Clumio at Rising AIQ 59. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 19 Sources and 30 Mentions. Clumio moves up 1 place to #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. Duplicati owns the budget answer, Backblaze Business Backup the setup answer, and Clumio the Rising answer, while Veeam Data Platform remains the Best leader. All four questions produce different leaders.
In Business VPN, NordLayer leads at Best AIQ 88. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #5, and Perplexity #1. It records 28 Sources and 32 Mentions in the current category evidence. Twingate is second at Best AIQ 34. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #2, Claude #6, and Perplexity #6. It records 16 Sources and 20 Mentions in the current category evidence. CloudConnexa is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #2. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 7 Sources and 9 Mentions in the current category evidence.
NordLayer holds #1, and the top-to-third spread is 60 points. The more revealing figure is breadth: the leader appears in 4 of 4 assistant lists. Across the category, Cooper records 22 Best-ranked products, 117 Sources and 348 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Cloudflare Zero Trust at Most Affordable AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 8 Mentions. Cloudflare Zero Trust is new to the ranking at #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by NordLayer at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 80. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #2, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 28 Sources and 32 Mentions. NordLayer moves up 1 place to #1. Rising is led by Twingate at Rising AIQ 65. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, Claude #2, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 16 Sources and 20 Mentions. Twingate holds #1. NordLayer is the broad Best reference point, not a universal winner. For affordability the assistants select Cloudflare Zero Trust; for setup they select NordLayer; for newer options they select Twingate. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Endpoint Security (EDR), CrowdStrike Falcon leads at Best AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It records 30 Sources and 39 Mentions in the current category evidence. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is second at Best AIQ 50. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #2, Claude #2, and Perplexity #2. It records 30 Sources and 43 Mentions in the current category evidence. SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint is third at Best AIQ 27. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3 and Gemini #3. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 9 Sources and 19 Mentions in the current category evidence.
This is a concentrated Best result. CrowdStrike Falcon leads third by 73 points and holds #1, with 30 Sources and 39 Mentions attached to its current category evidence. The full market records 13 Best-ranked products, 137 Sources and 494 Mentions across all four direct questions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Microsoft Defender for Business at Most Affordable AIQ 85. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, and Perplexity #1. It has no category rank from Claude in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 14 Sources and 16 Mentions. Microsoft Defender for Business holds #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Microsoft Defender for Business at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 14 Sources and 16 Mentions. Microsoft Defender for Business holds #1. Rising is led by Huntress Managed EDR at Rising AIQ 59. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #6. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 8 Sources and 14 Mentions. Huntress Managed EDR holds #1. A buyer optimizing for price would start with Microsoft Defender for Business. A buyer prioritizing implementation would begin with Microsoft Defender for Business. Rising turns to Huntress Managed EDR. That is a materially different map from Best, led by CrowdStrike Falcon. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In Security Awareness Training, KnowBe4 leads at Best AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. It records 28 Sources and 36 Mentions in the current category evidence. Hoxhunt is second at Best AIQ 33. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #3, Gemini #2, and Claude #7. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. It records 17 Sources and 22 Mentions in the current category evidence. Proofpoint ZenGuide is third at Best AIQ 28. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #2. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. It records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions in the current category evidence.
The ranking is easier to read as a market shape than as a single score. KnowBe4 holds #1; 4 of 4 assistants place it somewhere in their category lists, and the podium spans 72 points. The category-wide evidence totals 99 Sources and 315 Mentions. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by Wizer at Most Affordable AIQ 100. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #1, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 7 Mentions. Wizer moves up 4 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Wizer at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 70. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 6 Sources and 7 Mentions. Wizer is new to the ranking at #1. Rising is led by Hoxhunt at Rising AIQ 83. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #3, Claude #1, and Perplexity #1. Its current category evidence records 17 Sources and 22 Mentions. Hoxhunt moves up 2 places to #1. Price points to Wizer, implementation to Wizer, and the emerging-product question to Hoxhunt. None should be folded into KnowBe4's Best result; each answers a different buying constraint. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
In SaaS Management, Zylo leads at Best AIQ 73. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #2, Claude #4, and Perplexity #3. It records 1 Source and 4 Mentions in the current category evidence. BetterCloud is second at Best AIQ 42. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #5, Gemini #1, Claude #3, and Perplexity #5. It records 20 Sources and 32 Mentions in the current category evidence. Zluri is third at Best AIQ 38. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #4, Gemini #3, Claude #1, and Perplexity #4. It records 25 Sources and 37 Mentions in the current category evidence.
16 Best-ranked products, 127 Sources and 394 Mentions across all four direct questions make this a substantial evidence set. At the top, Zylo moves up 1 place to #1 and leads third by 35 points. All four assistants include the leader, which qualifies how confidently the #1 should be generalized. Sources and Mentions describe the evidence footprint; they do not explain rank.
Most Affordable is led by ManageEngine SaaS Manager Plus at Most Affordable AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 3 Sources and 4 Mentions. ManageEngine SaaS Manager Plus moves up 5 places to #1. Easiest to Set Up is led by Nudge Security at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 57. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #7. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 3 Sources and 13 Mentions. Nudge Security holds #1. Rising is led by Nudge Security at Rising AIQ 68. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #2, Gemini #1, and Claude #1. It has no category rank from Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 3 Sources and 13 Mentions. Nudge Security moves up 2 places to #1. The shortlist changes as soon as the question changes. ManageEngine SaaS Manager Plus owns the budget answer, Nudge Security the setup answer, and Nudge Security the Rising answer, while Zylo remains the Best leader. 3 distinct products lead the four questions.
What the Hub Says This Week
Security buyers can use consensus to narrow the field, then use the other rankings to pressure-test deployment and budget. Even the clearest agreement leaves product evaluation to the buyer. Read the Rising signals across all eight hubs.
Auth0 at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 66. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1, Gemini #5, Claude #3, and Perplexity #6. Its current category evidence records 21 Sources and 35 Mentions. 
Omnissa Workspace ONE UEM
Freshservice
TeamDynamix ITSM
Atomicwork at Rising AIQ 61. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Gemini #4. It has no category rank from Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 5 Mentions. 
Commvault Cloud Backup and Recovery
Cohesity DataProtect
Duplicati at Most Affordable AIQ 60. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #3. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 5 Sources and 7 Mentions. 
Backblaze Business Backup at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 55. Its assistant position is ChatGPT #1. It has no category rank from Gemini, Claude and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 4 Sources and 6 Mentions. 
Clumio at Rising AIQ 59. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #4. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 19 Sources and 30 Mentions. 
Twingate
KnowBe4
Hoxhunt
Zylo
BetterCloud
Zluri
Nudge Security at Easiest to Set Up AIQ 57. Its assistant positions are ChatGPT #1 and Claude #7. It has no category rank from Gemini and Perplexity in this ranking. Its current category evidence records 3 Sources and 13 Mentions. 
