An aggregated fuzzy model for the selection of a managed security service provider

In this study, by analyzing the related literature, the companies providing security services and, more importantly, the data provided by a group of experts, a novel set of 39 criteria is extracted which assists the Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) selection process. The set is further categorized into eight general classes. The validity and weights of these criteria are measured by a group of experts in Iran. Due to the large number and often conflicting criteria, and the qualitative nature of the evaluations of the service providers, fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods (FMCDM) are adopted. In order to demonstrate the application of the proposed model, a numerical example is included, in which eight service providers are evaluated by four decision makers applying fuzzy TOPSIS, fuzzy VIKOR, fuzzy Group ELECTRE, and fuzzy SAW methods. Owing to the variations of the outputs of the applied MCDM methods, they are further analyzed by an aggregation method to propose a unique service provider. A comparison between the output of the aggregation method and the four applied Fuzzy MCDM methods is also made with the help of Euclidean, Hamming, Manhattan and Chebyshev distances. The comparison shows the minimum diversion between the outputs of the Fuzzy TOPSIS and the aggregation method, which indicates the appropriateness of the fuzzy TOPSIS method in this particular problem.