AI tools bolster integrated security against threats ISG says
Enterprises are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to secure complex, hybrid environments, according to new research from Information Services Group (ISG). The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Cybersecurity find that organizations require unified visibility and continuous monitoring to defend operations across distributed applications, autonomous agents, and remote devices.
Traditional security strategies that relied on building a defensive perimeter around on-premises systems are no longer sufficient. Modern enterprises need multiple integrated security systems covering hybrid and multicloud environments. Software providers are responding with AI-enabled enhancements that accelerate the discovery of vulnerabilities and identify root causes while reducing administrative tasks.
The research notes that security operations are evolving toward analytics-driven platforms that use automation to reduce alert fatigue and accelerate coordinated investigations. Behavioral analytics, real-time telemetry, and automated response systems identify and contain threats more quickly across these distributed environments.
Organizations are also adopting continuous data protection and immutable backups. This combination of automated recovery validation and backup verification helps reduce the impact of ransomware and operational disruptions. While vendors market these features as essential, the practical effect for IT teams is a significant reduction in the time spent on routine verification steps.
Identity is becoming the primary control point for enterprise access. Organizations are moving toward zero trust principles and implementing AI-assisted risk analysis alongside adaptive authentication. This shift addresses the growing complexity of securing applications, APIs, and AI agents at scale.
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ISG’s research highlights the challenge of non-human identities. As organizations automate more processes, the number of service accounts and machine identities expands rapidly. This proliferation creates access-related challenges that require automated discovery, lifecycle management, and policy-based controls.
“Enterprises increasingly evaluate cybersecurity platforms on their ability to operate across multiple domains,” said Jeff Orr, director of Software Research, IT and Technologies, ISG. “Providers that combine identity, policy enforcement, runtime control and response and remediation to establish and maintain trust are best positioned to meet emerging enterprise security needs.”
The ISG Buyers Guide research provides rankings and ratings of 99 software providers and their products for protecting enterprise identities, endpoints, data, and security operations. The series includes specific guides focused on endpoint detection and response, identity and access management, non-human identities, security information and event management, and data recovery platforms.
Companies must also consider the user experience when designing security systems. A poor interface can confuse employees, leading to errors that undermine technical safeguards. Shoppers Rethink Buys on Poor Websites, illustrating how interface design directly influences purchasing decisions and trust. [1]
