# Cloud-native application protection for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "CNAPP" and as "cloud-native application protection platform", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/cloud/cloud-native-application-protection/2026-10/smb

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/cloud/cloud-native-application-protection/smb/index.md

**Standing:** Aikido Security leads with 29% of first choices; verdict contested. 58 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Aikido Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/aikido-security/index.md) | 29% | 0% | 34 |
| 2 | [Microsoft Defender for Cloud](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-defender-for-cloud/index.md) | 28% | 4% | 55 |
| 3 | [Orca Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/orca-security/index.md) | 16% | 25% | 55 |
| 4 | [Wiz](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/wiz/index.md) | 9% | 52% | 58 |
| 5 | [FortiCNAPP](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/forticnapp/index.md) | 7% | 30% | 33 |
| 6 | [Cloudanix](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cloudanix/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 11 |
| 8 | [Sweet Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sweet-security/index.md) | 2% | 9% | 11 |
| 9 | [AWS Security Hub](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/aws-security-hub/index.md) | 2% | 17% | 12 |
| 13 | [Prowler](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/prowler/index.md) | 0% | 7% | 15 |
| 14 | [Sysdig Secure](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sysdig-secure/index.md) | 0% | 25% | 20 |
| 45 | [CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/crowdstrike-falcon-cloud-security/index.md) | 0% | 43% | 21 |
| 59 | [Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/palo-alto-networks-cortex-cloud/index.md) | 0% | 60% | 10 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 60 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security; alternatives FortiCNAPP, Sweet Security
- GPT-5.4 mini: Microsoft Defender for Cloud; alternatives Aikido Security, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Aikido Security; alternatives AccuKnox, Orca Security
- Perplexity Sonar: Aikido Security; alternatives CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Grok 4.20: Orca Security; alternatives Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Wiz
- Mistral Small: FortiCNAPP; alternatives Orca Security, Sweet Security
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Microsoft Defender for Cloud; alternatives Cloudanix, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Sysdig Secure
- Llama 4 Maverick: FortiCNAPP; alternatives Defender, Orca Security, Prowler, Sweet Security
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Orca Security; alternatives Aikido Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Kimi K2: Microsoft Defender for Cloud; alternatives Aikido Security, Orca Security
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Wiz; alternatives AWS Security Hub, FortiCNAPP, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security
- MiniMax M2.5: FortiCNAPP, Orca Security; alternatives CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- GPT-6 Luna: Aikido Security; alternatives AWS Security Hub, Google Security Command Center, Microsoft Defender for Cloud
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Orca Security; alternatives Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Wiz

## Sources the answers cite

78 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- cyberpress.org: 50 answers, 62 citations
- g2.com: 45 answers, 63 citations
- aikido.dev: 37 answers, 54 citations
- wiz.io: 30 answers, 40 citations
- sourceforge.net: 29 answers, 30 citations
- gane.ai/index: 24 answers, 29 citations
- expertinsights.com: 23 answers, 25 citations
- softwaretestinghelp.com: 23 answers, 23 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://cyberpress.org/cnapp-platforms-by-business-size-2 (48 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/cloud-native-application-protection-platform-cnapp/small-business (38 answers)
- https://aikido.dev/blog/top-cloud-native-application-protection-platforms-cnapp (35 answers)
- https://sourceforge.net/software/cloud-native-application-protection-platforms-cnapp/for-small-business (25 answers)
- https://softwaretestinghelp.com/best-cnapp-vendors (23 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/application-security/the-top-cloud-native-application-protection-platforms-cnapps (22 answers)
- https://gane.ai/index/it/cloud/cloud-native-application-protection/smb (21 answers)
- https://us.fitgap.com/search/cloud-native-application-protection-platform-cnapp/small-business (21 answers)
- https://startupstash.com/top-cloud-native-application-protection-platforms (17 answers)
- https://slashdot.org/software/cloud-native-application-protection-platforms-cnapp/f-small-business (16 answers)

## Warned against

- Wiz: 30 of 58 labels negative. "Avoid Wiz/Orca/Prisma unless you have specific compliance or multi-cloud-at-scale requirements that justify the enterprise price." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- Prisma Cloud: 26 of 39 labels negative. "Prisma Cloud is incredibly powerful, but it was built by acquiring several different security startups... the platform's configuration and management remain highly complex." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt)
- Orca Security: 14 of 55 labels negative. "Like Wiz, minimum viable spend is too high; better as a 'graduate' option after free tools" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security: 9 of 21 labels negative. "For a small business not already invested in that vendor's broader stack, this is usually a trap." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Microsoft Defender for Cloud (46%) to Aikido Security (31%). Margin 4 points, within noise.

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: 46% to 27%, −19. Cleared the floor by 8 points · rank 1 → 2 of 57.
- Orca Security: 2% to 14%, +12. Cleared the floor by 1 point · rank 6 → 3 of 57.
- FortiCNAPP: 0% to 8%, +8. Inside the floor by 3 points · rank 52 → 4 of 57.
- Aikido Security: 25% to 31%, +6. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 2 → 1 of 57.
- Prowler: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 8 → 12 of 57.
- Falco: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 14 of 57.
- Wiz: 8% to 8%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 3 → 5 of 57.
- Sweet Security: 2% to 2%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 8 of 57.
- Sysdig Secure: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 17 → 13 of 57.
- CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 61 → 40 of 57.
- Prisma Cloud: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 63 → 57 of 57.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.