If you have some time and care to share your opinions I would appreciate it. I am writing an article and looking for some input regarding IDS/IPS. Do you think that IDS is a necessity for companies or is it just marketing hype that is driving it? If you agree that companies should implement IDs or IPS on their networks what sort of justifications would you provide to get approval for the purchase?

What do you feel are key issues for companies to consider when choosing an IDS/IPS solution and things they need to keep in mind in setting it up?

Many devices seem to be Swiss-army knife solutions these days which incorporate firewalls, IDS, content filtering, IDS and more. Do all-in-one solutions make sense for companies with little to no budget? What sort of pitfalls or caveats do you think exist when looking at these solutions?

Lastly- what about outsourcing it? Do you feel that outsourcing IDS is a viable option for small to medium companies rather than investing the resources to deploy and manage their own solution?