Organizations are increasing investments in cloud, AI, and emerging technologies, but their infrastructure and security strategies often lag behind. A recent Unisys survey of 1,000 senior executives shows that business and IT leaders are not always aligned on what needs to be in place before the next wave of technology arrives.
Proactive cybersecurity is growing in popularity (Source: Unisys)
From a security perspective, the findings raise concerns about how quickly organizations are moving ahead without addressing core risks. Eighty-five percent of respondents said their cybersecurity posture is reactive, meaning they focus more on responding to incidents than preventing them. This approach leaves organizations open to attacks that can cause serious downtime. Forty-one percent said an hour of unplanned downtime costs between $100,000 and $500,000.
Cloud complexity remains a major factor in this risk profile. Most organizations use a mix of seven different types of cloud platforms. While this can provide flexibility, it also adds management challenges and increases the attack surface. Business executives see reducing complexity as a way to free budget for new technology. IT executives tend to put less emphasis on this, which shows the gap in priorities.
Agentic AI is another area where urgency and readiness do not match. Nearly three-quarters of business executives believe failing to adopt agentic AI within the next year will harm competitiveness. However, 43 percent of IT executives say their infrastructure cannot support it. This mismatch could lead to rushed deployments that outpace security controls, increasing the risk of exposure.
Quantum readiness is a longer-term but growing concern. Seventy-one percent of organizations admit they are not ready to defend against quantum cryptography threats. Only 14 percent say their infrastructure is ready for post-quantum security. While many are starting to work toward solutions, the gap between awareness and capability remains large.
The report also shows that many executives view security as a barrier to innovation. Two in three business leaders said data and cloud security limits the ability to adopt new technologies. For CISOs, this is a signal that security teams need to show how protections can be built into innovation plans rather than seen as blockers.
Innovation Leaders, a small group of survey respondents with more advanced approaches, offer one possible path forward. They invest in industry-specific cloud platforms, improve data management, and take a more proactive approach to security, including planning for post-quantum threats. They also tend to align business and IT priorities more closely, which reduces the risk of moving ahead without the right safeguards.
For CISOs, the report highlights a few priorities worth focusing on. Security has to keep up with the pace of technology adoption, especially as organizations expand their use of cloud and AI. Cutting down on complexity, preparing infrastructure for AI-driven workloads, and moving from reactive to proactive cybersecurity are all practical steps. Taking action now on quantum risks can help avoid bigger problems later. And narrowing the gap between business and IT will make sure innovation is supported by the resilience needed to protect it.
“The next wave of technological disruption is already underway, yet many organizations are still operating on outdated foundations and processes,” said Manju Naglapur, SVP and GM of Cloud, Applications & Infrastructure solutions at Unisys. “To fully realize the potential of technologies like generative and agentic AI, organizations need to modernize their infrastructure, align IT and business priorities, and adopt a more proactive approach to cybersecurity.”
Source link
