Enterprises adopt interoperable software platforms for automation, continuous protection and unified visibility, new research says

STAMFORD, Conn.: $III #AI--Cybersecurity software is quickly evolving through the integration of AI to protect increasingly broad, complex operating environments against a rising tide of threats, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides™ for Cybersecurity find that enterprises need unified visibility, continuous monitoring and rapid threat analysis and response to defend expanding operations. Rather than building a perimeter around a set of on-premises systems and workloads, organizations now require multiple integrated security systems covering hybrid and multicloud environments, distributed applications, autonomous agents and remote devices. Software providers are responding with AI-enabled enhancements that accelerate discovery of vulnerabilities and identification of root causes while reducing administrative tasks. These advances allow IT technicians to reliably resolve a higher volume of incidents.

“All aspects of cybersecurity now require more intelligence, applied faster and more consistently, to keep up with the volume and sophistication of threats,” said Doug Saylors, partner at ISG. “With AI and machine learning, leading software platforms are increasing the efficiency and productivity of security teams that need to balance coverage with cost.”

The ISG Buyers Guide research provides the rankings and ratings of 99 software providers and their products for protecting enterprise identities, endpoints, data and security operations. The series includes Buyers Guides focused on endpoint detection and response, identity and access management, non-human identities, security information and event management and data recovery platforms.

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 distributed environments. Organizations are also adopting continuous data protection, immutable backups and automated recovery validation to reduce the impact of ransomware and operational disruptions.

Identity is becoming the locus of enterprise access control, with organizations adopting zero trust principles and implementing AI-assisted risk analysis and adaptive authentication. Identity and access management for employees is an increasingly important component of cybersecurity strategies, while many companies are also addressing the proliferation of non-human identities. Growing access-related challenges are expanding requirements for automated discovery, identity lifecycle management and policy-based controls to secure applications, APIs and AI agents at scale.

Together, these software categories reflect growing demand for closely linked capabilities that strengthen enterprise resilience through automation and coordination, ISG says. Interoperability, scalability and consistent policy enforcement are essential. Cybersecurity represents the leading edge of enterprise operations where AI is escalating the importance of governance, operational control and execution.

“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.”

For the 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Cybersecurity, ISG produced five Buyers Guides: Endpoint Detection and Response Platforms (EDR), Identity and Access Management Platforms (IAM), Non-Human Identities Platforms (NHI), Security Information and Event Management Platforms (SIEM) and Data Recovery Platforms. Each covers the essential platform categories and products in the given technology segment.

A total of 123 products from 99 software providers were assessed: Acronis, Aembit, Akeyless, Andromeda Security, Apono, Arcserve, Arctic Wolf, Asigra, Astrix Security, AvePoint, AWS, Bacula Systems, Beyond Identity, BeyondTrust, Bitdefender, Broadcom, Check Point Software, Cisco, Clutch Security, Cohesity, Commvault, Coralogix, CrowdStrike, CyberArk, Cybereason, Dell, Delinea, Devo Technology, DNIF, Druva, Elastic, Entro Security, Entrust, ESET, Eviden, Exabeam, Fortinet, Fortra, GitGuardian, Google Cloud, GuardSix, Gurucul, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei, HYCU, IBM, IDrive, JumpCloud, Kaspersky, Keeper Security, Keycard, Keycloak, Logz.io, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Myota, N-able, NAKIVO, Natoma Security, NetWitness, NinjaOne, Oasis Security, ObserveID, Okta, Omada Identity, One Identity, OpenAthens, OpenText, Oracle, OSSEC, P0 Security, Palo Alto Networks, Ping Identity, Qualys, Quest, Rapid7, RSA, Rubrik, SailPoint Technologies, SAP, Saviynt, SecureAuth, Securonix, SentinelOne, SEP, ServiceNow, Silverfort, SlashID, SolarWinds, Sophos, Splunk, Sumo Logic, Teleport, Thales, Trellix, Trend Micro, Twine Security, Veeam and WithSecure.

ISG rates software providers’ products in five evaluation categories: Overall, Product Experience, Capability, Platform and Customer Experience. Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those that meet the greatest proportion of our evaluation criteria are named as Overall Leaders.

Microsoft was the top Overall Leader in four of the five Buyers Guides. In the guide to EDR providers, Microsoft was followed by Sophos and Palo Alto Networks. In IAM, it was followed by AWS and Oracle. In NHI, it was followed by Saviynt and CyberArk. In Data Recovery Platforms, Microsoft was followed by Veeam and Rubrik.

In the Buyers Guide for SIEM, Splunk was the top Overall Leader, followed by Microsoft and Elastic.

In addition, the following providers were rated as Exemplary or Innovative in each of the Buyers Guides:

Endpoint Detection and Response Platforms (EDR): Acronis, Broadcom, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and Sophos were rated Exemplary. Cisco, Fortinet, Kaspersky, Qualys and SentinelOne were rated Innovative.

Identity and Access Management Platforms (IAM): AWS, CyberArk, Google Cloud, IBM, Keeper Security, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Okta, One Identity, Oracle, SailPoint, SAP and SecureAuth were rated Exemplary. BeyondTrust, Delinea and Ping Identity were rated Innovative.

Non-Human Identities Platforms (NIH): CyberArk, GitGuardian, Microsoft, Okta, Saviynt, ServiceNow, Teleport and Veeam were rated Exemplary. Akeyless and Astrix Security were rated Innovative.

Security Information and Event Management Platforms (SIEM): Elastic, Google Cloud, ManageEngine, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Securonix, Splunk and Sumo Logic were rated Exemplary. Coralogix, Fortinet, Huawei and SolarWinds were rated Innovative.

Data Recovery Platforms: Acronis, AWS, Cohesity, Commvault, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Myota, Quest, Rubrik and Veeam were rated Exemplary. Druva and N-able were rated Innovative.

The ISG Buyers Guides for Cybersecurity are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to read the executive summaries of each of the five reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

Fonte: Business Wire