Vendor and product catalog rules

The catalog is the shared list of vendors and products that every tool in Forest draws from. It exists so that the same product means the same thing across every organization and every assessment.

Consistent identity is what makes the rest of the Map trustworthy. When two organizations both run the same endpoint product, the catalog ensures it is recorded as one product, not two slightly different free-text entries. That consistency is what lets Forest pre-populate capability mappings and compare your stack against a peer cohort.

A few rules shape how the catalog behaves:

• Each product belongs to a vendor, and each product carries its own set of capability mappings.

• Products are recorded by their canonical name, not by internal nicknames or abbreviations your team uses.

• A renamed or rebranded product keeps a single identity so history stays intact.

When you cannot find a product, check for the vendor first. Many tools are listed under a parent vendor name that differs from the product brand you know.

If a product genuinely is not in the catalog, it can be added so your Map stays complete. New entries should use the official vendor and product names rather than a local label, because a clean entry feeds clean mappings.

The catalog is the foundation for Tool-to-capability mappings. Getting the identity right here keeps everything downstream accurate, including overlap detection.