Watch: Palo Alto Networks SVP Of Strategic Pursuits Prem Iyer Shares Why Cybersecurity And AI Are The Most Important Markets In Tech Right Now

As the world becomes more interconnected, the demand for advanced cybersecurity continues to rise, driven by increasing threats and rapid technological change.

At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Prem Iyer, SVP of strategic pursuits at Palo Alto Networks, shared insights on the direction of venture capital, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trends in the cybersecurity space. From the stage, he offered valuable perspectives for professionals at all levels, from interns and investors to executives and chief information security officers (CISOs).

Attendees were provided with a breakdown of key attack vectors driving CISO focus and how vendor consolidation can improve security while cutting costs, as Iyer emphasized the two most critical markets in technology today: cybersecurity and AI.

Iyer described cybersecurity as a powerful umbrella touching individuals and organizations in nearly every capacity, highlighting three major trends that “really, really” impact the industry today.

First, cloud migration continues at an unprecedented pace. By the end of this year, $500 billion will be spent on cloud services, a figure projected to grow to $600 billion next year. With more data in the cloud, cyber incidents have surged nearly 200%, as attackers naturally follow where the data lives.

Second, new security challenges presented themselves as the COVID-19 pandemic, starting in 2020, triggered a fundamental shift in how companies operate. Changes in the workplace saw normalization of fully remote collaboration and later prompted many employees to choose hybrid work and flexibility over long commutes and spending eight hours in an office each day.

Third, the threat landscape is escalating rapidly, with both attackers and defenders using AI. Breaches are no longer a question of if, but when — and the average cost of a breach is $2.4 million, Iyer said.

He emphasized that organizations can’t afford to sit still. As the volume of vulnerabilities and attacks grows yearly — particularly with bad actors using AI to write malware faster than ever before — investing in cybersecurity is critical.

However, Iyer pointed out a significant challenge: Cybersecurity remains the most fragmented space in enterprise tech, referencing the latest marketscape that breaks the industry into key segments: network security, cloud security, security operations centers (SOCs), data loss prevention (DLP), intrusion detection and prevention, and the emerging category of non-human identities.

As the world’s largest cybersecurity company, Palo Alto Networks has a unique window into the realities inside the SOC — where practitioners are increasingly overwhelmed by unmanageable workloads and alert fatigue.

“You have to leverage AI. You have to leverage automation, and you have to do it in a way that is truly in one platform that makes it easier for the practitioner to do their job, which is [to] make the organization more secure,” Iyer said.

If that approach isn’t feasible, he added, consolidation is the answer, whether organically or through M&A — and if organizations don’t drive that change themselves, the market will do it for them.

Entering the cybersecurity field, which is expanding by the day, offers opportunities across every touchpoint to become part of the broader ecosystem. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, an estimated 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs will go unfilled globally by 2025, including nearly 500,000 in the U.S. alone.

“The opportunity is tremendous,” Iyer said at AFROTECH™ 2024. “And what I wanted to do is just put some seeds inside this group to think about that opportunity. No matter what part you play, cybersecurity is here and the opportunity is only getting larger.”