The 3-Step Path to Security Maturity

In 2025, establishing a mature security posture has become an urgent priority, but for most organizations, it’s not clear how to get there. Leadership teams know they need to protect their business, earn customer trust, and ensure compliance, but the “how” raises more questions than answers. Do we need to hire a dedicated security lead? Should we bring in outside consultants? Or can we build a program with the team we already have?

This tactical guide is designed for small and mid-sized organizations asking those exact questions. Its goal is to empower your existing team and make security maturity accessible with the resources you already have.

What’s missing isn’t awareness — it’s clarity. Organizations need a practical, step-by-step path that makes security maturity an attainable goal. That’s where Zip’s 3-step maturity model comes in: a simple framework that enhances your security posture over time, without overextending internal teams or requiring deep technical expertise.

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Step 1: Achieve positive control over your assets

What to do

• Centralize accounts through a single login system (like Google Workspace, Okta, or Microsoft Azure Active Directory)
• Manage endpoints remotely with a tool (like Intune or Jamf) so you can lock or wipe devices if they go missing

What to measure

• All applications that house sensitive data require login through the centralized login system
• >95% of devices enrolled in a mobile device management tool (MDM)

How to get there

• Identify the key systems to start with. Don’t boil the ocean or let perfect be the enemy of the good
• Roll out gradually to test policies before scaling across all teams
• Make management the default for new devices and accounts so you don’t need to rely on process during onboarding
• Verify monthly by running reports to catch unmanaged or orphaned devices/accounts

Case in point: Finfare
Finfare, a fast-growing fintech, used Zip to integrate account logins, device management, and endpoint protection into a single platform. This unified view allowed a two-person IT team to manage 150+ endpoints, scale coverage without adding headcount, and pass audits with confidence.

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Step 2: Deploy a robust security baseline

What to do

• Encrypt every laptop so data can’t be read if devices are lost
• Require multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all accounts
• Run up-to-date antivirus or endpoint protection software across all devices
• Apply patches and updates regularly

What to measure

• >95% of company devices are encrypted
• MFA enabled on >95% of accounts
• Antivirus or endpoint protection installed and reporting across in-scope devices

Hint! This gets easier after you follow step 1 because there are way fewer accounts to manage if you use a central system.

How to sustain

• Automate policy enforcement so encryption, MFA, and patching are enabled by default
• Standardize reporting so audit evidence can be pulled in minutes instead of weeks
• Conduct quarterly reviews of your baseline against compliance requirements

Case in point: Pull Systems
Pull Systems, a manufacturing AI startup, needed TISAX compliance on a tight timeline. With Zip, they deployed and configured device management and endpoint security tools in just two weeks, generating the audit-ready evidence needed to pass.

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Step 3: Enable active response and remediation

What to do

• Automate patching so vulnerabilities are closed as soon as updates are available
• Continuously monitor systems to flag unusual activity
• Detect, respond to, and remediate threats such as malware or credential theft

What to measure

• Patch compliance consistently above 95% across devices
• Real-time alerts triaged and remediated within a defined SLA (e.g., 1 hour)
• Regular security reviews confirm baseline policies are still enforced

How to sustain

• Set clear SLAs for patching, alert triage, and remediation so your team knows what “fast enough” looks like
• Automate notifications and workflows so incidents are never left unaddressed
• Run tabletop exercises or simulated attacks to test your ability to isolate, remediate, and recover from incidents
• Avoid pitfalls like treating audits as an ad hoc task, ignoring “low-priority” alerts, rolling out policies without verifying them, or waiting for a real incident to test response procedures

Case in point: Observa
Observa, a boutique consulting firm, had a client targeted by a sophisticated malvertising campaign. Malware was downloaded onto an employee’s device, but with Zip’s platform, CrowdStrike killed the process instantly, MDR isolated the device, and the incident was contained before any impact.

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Start your security maturity journey with Zip

Compliance and customer expectations are only getting stricter in 2025, and achieving security maturity means more than simply preparing for audits. A mature security posture keeps devices under control, maintains strong policy baselines, and makes remediation a scalable process.

Zip’s 3-step maturity model offers a way to build lasting resilience with automation, co-management, and audit-ready visibility baked in. By streamlining how lean teams manage devices, enforce baselines, and respond to threats, Zip helps organizations achieve and sustain security maturity without adding headcount or overburdening staff.

Get started with Zip today and make enterprise-grade security simple for your business.