Report:
The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q1 2026
How does Forrester define the Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms market in 2026?
Cybersecurity skills and training (CS&T) platforms enable measurable performance, team-based coordination under pressure, and adaptive learning tied to business-critical cyber-resilience objectives. Security and risk practitioners now operate in an environment where threats evolve quickly and AI-augmented systems reshape how work gets done. The era of certification-based hiring and training is over. To stay effective, organizations must invest in continuous individual, team, and cross-functional upskilling, reinforced by hands-on, realistic simulations that validate real-world readiness. The evaluation highlights Leaders (Immersive, Hack The Box, SimSpace), Strong Performers (Cyberbit), and Contenders (TryHackMe, Infosec, Cloud Range).
Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q1 2026 in 2026
- Publication Date: 20-Mar-2026
- Document ID: 001a000001AFHhhAAH | 4bb48ccc
- Summary: In our evaluation of cybersecurity skills and training platform vendors, we identified the most significant ones and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each vendor measures up and helps you select the right one for your needs.
- Authors: Jess Burn, three contributors
How did the Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms market evolve in 2026?
- The era of certification-based hiring and training is over
- Organizations must invest in continuous individual, team, and cross-functional upskilling
- Hands-on, realistic simulations validate real-world readiness
- CS&T platforms enable measurable performance and team-based coordination under pressure
- AI-augmented systems are reshaping cybersecurity work
- Threats evolve quickly requiring adaptive learning tied to cyber-resilience objectives
- Seven vendors evaluated: Immersive, Hack The Box, SimSpace, Cyberbit, TryHackMe, Infosec, and Cloud Range
- Evaluation includes Leaders, Strong Performers, and Contenders
- Customers, cyber insurance carriers, and regulators require evidence of incident readiness
- Training must keep pace with AI-driven attack patterns and emerging threats
What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?
- Broad, enterprise-level support. The vendor natively provides all core functions for this space and has a demonstrated track record for supporting large enterprises. The vendor and its offering support the development, assessment, and/or verification of individual and team skills with recent and ongoing adoption among enterprise customers.
- A solution available for purchase as a standalone product. The vendor has a focused cybersecurity skills and training product with its own SKU and pricing. It is not solely available as a free feature within a larger portfolio.
- Substantial revenue in the market. The vendor has at least $10 million in annual revenue from the cybersecurity skills and training product in the last four quarters.
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients. Forrester clients mention the product as one they are considering prior to a purchase. We have heard about the product from our clients in the form of inquiries, advisories, consulting engagements, and other interactions over the past year. Other vendors mention this vendor as a competitor.
What are the common features of top products in the Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms space?
No common features specified.
Scope Exclusions
- Vendors without broad enterprise-level support and demonstrated track record with large enterprises
- Solutions not available as standalone products with their own SKU and pricing
- Vendors with less than $10 million in annual revenue from cybersecurity skills and training products
- Vendors without significant mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients
- Free features within larger portfolios that are not focused standalone products
- Vendors that declined to participate or contributed only partially to the evaluation
Inclusion Criteria
Vendors must, among other requirements:
- Broad, enterprise-level support with demonstrated track record for supporting large enterprises
- Solution available for purchase as a standalone product with its own SKU and pricing
- At least $10 million in annual revenue from the cybersecurity skills and training product in the last four quarters
- Mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients with mentions in inquiries, advisories, and consulting engagements
Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting
- Breadth and timeliness of content — 7%
- Cyber ranges and team exercises — 9%
- Breach and crisis simulation — 8%
- Skills assessment and verification — 6%
- Agentic AI readiness — 8%
- Learner experience and adoption — 6%
- Gamification, competition, and recognition — 6%
- Training content and curriculum management — 6%
- Security framework mapping and alignment — 6%
- Reporting and dashboards — 8%
- Talent ecosystem integration — 6%
- Security and risk ecosystem integration — 6%
- Accessibility — 6%
- Product security — 6%
- Language and geography support — 6%
Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting
- Vision — 15%
- Innovation — 20%
- Roadmap — 20%
- Partner ecosystem — 15%
- Pricing flexibility and transparency — 15%
- Community — 15%
FAQs
Q: What does this research cover?
A: This research evaluates seven cybersecurity skills and training platform vendors across current offering capabilities, strategy, and customer feedback. It assesses vendors' abilities to deliver hands-on training, realistic simulations, team-based exercises, skills measurement, and readiness for AI-augmented cybersecurity environments. The evaluation focuses on platforms that support continuous upskilling, performance measurement, and team coordination under pressure.
Q: Who should use this research?
A: Security and risk practitioners, CISOs, and organizations looking to select a cybersecurity skills and training platform should use this research. It helps buyers evaluate vendors based on their need for team-based readiness training, measurable skill development, realistic enterprise environment simulations, and training that keeps pace with emerging threats and AI-driven attack patterns. Organizations can use the interactive vendor comparison to adapt findings based on their specific priorities.
Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?
A: Vendors must provide broad enterprise-level support with all core functions natively available and a demonstrated track record supporting large enterprises for individual and team skills development, assessment, and verification. The solution must be available as a standalone product with its own SKU and pricing (not just a free feature in a larger portfolio). Vendors must have at least $10 million in annual revenue from the cybersecurity skills and training product in the last four quarters. Finally, vendors must have significant mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients, being mentioned in inquiries, advisories, consulting engagements, and recognized as competitors by other vendors.
Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?
A:
- Lack of broad enterprise-level support or demonstrated track record with large enterprises
- No standalone product offering - only available as a free feature within a larger portfolio
- Annual revenue below $10 million from cybersecurity skills and training products
- Insufficient mindshare among Forrester's enterprise clients
- Vendor declined to participate in the evaluation
- Vendor contributed only partially to the evaluation process
- Solution does not natively provide all core functions for the cybersecurity skills and training space
Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?
A:
- Enabling team-based readiness: Prioritize platforms that include environments that simulate complex, noisy enterprise environments and test communication, escalation, and decision-making under pressure across analysts, incident commanders, and executives
- Measuring skill development and resilience: Look for CS&T platforms with role-based dashboards and readiness insights to demonstrate measurable progress and deliver actionable metrics for customers, cyber insurance carriers, and regulators
- Keeping pace with emerging threats and AI-driven attack patterns: Invest in platforms that understand changing cybersecurity workforce needs and are developing training content that anticipates emerging roles and skills, prepares practitioners to work alongside AI, and updates rapidly to reflect real-world attacker tactics
Q: How has the Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms market evolved in 2026?
A:
- Shift from certification-based training to continuous upskilling with hands-on, realistic simulations
- Increasing importance of team-based readiness and coordinated response across analysts, incident commanders, and executives
- Need for measurable skill development and resilience to satisfy customers, cyber insurance carriers, and regulators
- AI-augmented environments requiring training that updates rapidly and reflects real-world attacker tactics
- Preparation for agentic AI future with hybrid human-AI readiness and capability measurement
- Growing demand for evidence-based incident readiness and mature security practices
- Emphasis on workflow-aligned exercises and realistic enterprise environment simulations
Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?
A: Strength of Offering evaluates the current capabilities of the vendor's platform, including content breadth, cyber ranges, simulation exercises, skills assessment, AI readiness, learner experience, reporting, and integrations with talent and security ecosystems. It focuses on what the platform can do today (current offering = 100% total weighting). Strength of Strategy evaluates the vendor's future direction and market positioning, including vision for the market, innovation investment, product roadmap, partner ecosystem, pricing models, and community engagement. It focuses on where the vendor is headed and how they plan to compete (strategy = 100% total weighting).
Reference
- Forrester, The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q1 2026, 20-Mar-2026, ID 001a000001AFHhhAAH | 4bb48ccc
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