AlgoSec has unveiled its latest State of Network Security Report, providing a thorough examination of the current network security environment from a vendor-neutral perspective. The report highlights a significant trend towards consolidation within organisations in response to developments in network evolution and hybrid architecture expansion.
Business efforts are increasingly concentrated on merging, automating, and controlling systems to enhance risk visibility and bolster resilience. Drawing from over 500 responses from security, network, and cloud experts across 28 nations, the study evaluates industry leaders like AWS, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, GCP, Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet.
Key findings and AI trends
For the first time, AlgoSec's research explores how organisations are adapting to AI-driven attack
The report identifies several pivotal findings, starting with the mainstreaming of AI-powered threats and defences.
For the first time, AlgoSec's research explores how organisations are adapting to AI-driven attacks, revealing that 65% have modified their strategies. Significant structural changes were made by 23.6% of respondents, while 40.9% adopted moderate adjustments to combat AI threats.
Cloud strategies and security importance
Another major trend is the ongoing shift towards cloud-based firewalls, with a quarter of those surveyed planning to primarily adopt cloud firewalls within the next two years.
This reflects a broader acceptance where cloud-native controls are now a baseline requirement. As AI workloads and compliance demands rise, security capabilities have become a critical factor in selecting a cloud platform, as noted by 54.7% of organisations.
SD-WAN and SASE adoption
This reflects a broader acceptance where cloud-native controls are now a baseline requirement
The role of SD-WAN continues to grow as organisations demand secure, high-performance connectivity in expanding hybrid environments.
Fortinet leads with 31% usage, closely followed by Cisco at 30.7%. Additionally, there has been a noticeable shift towards SASE solutions, with the percentage of organisations lacking such systems dropping to 27.5% from 40% in the previous year, indicating that SASE adoption is increasingly standard rather than exploratory.
Consolidation and unified management
"Compared to last year, we are now seeing a transition from experimentation to optimisation," said Eran Shiff, Chief Product Officer at AlgoSec.
"After several years of rapid expansion across multi-cloud environments, AI-powered operations and hybrid architectures, organisations are entering a new phase of consolidation and control. Our survey reveals a collective recalibration, with organisations moving away from tool proliferation toward unified management, shared visibility and measurable automation."
Global cybersecurity pioneer AlgoSec has released its annual State of Network Security Report, providing a comprehensive vendor-agnostic analysis of today’s network security landscape.
The report identifies a decisive shift in how organisations are responding to network evolution and hybrid architecture sprawl, with the focus shifting back towards consolidation; defined by unification, automation and control as businesses look to manage visibility of risk and resilience posture. Based on comparative year-on-year findings, AlgoSec’s research includes over 500 responses from security, network and cloud professionals across 28 countries and evaluates market pioneer including AWS, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, GCP, Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and more.
Major structural changes
Key findings from the report include:
- AI-powered threats and defences go mainstream – Artificial intelligence has become both the newest threat vector and the next frontier of defence. For the first time, AlgoSec’s research asked how organisations are adjusting to the rise of AI-powered attacks. The majority (65%) have already adapted their strategies, with 23.6% making major structural changes and 40.9% implementing moderate adjustments.
- Cloud firewall strategies prioritise consolidation - The move toward cloud-based firewalls continues, but with a change in tone. Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents plan to move primarily to cloud firewalls over the next two years, confirming that cloud-native controls are no longer a consideration, but a baseline expectation.
- Security becomes the deciding factor in cloud platform selection – The rise of AI-driven workloads, compliance requirements and cross-platform orchestration has made security the critical benchmark for platform selection, with 54.7% of organisations stating that security capabilities carry the most weight when selecting a cloud platform.
- SD-WAN further cements its role – As organisations expand their hybrid environments and distributed workforces, the demand for secure, high-performance connectivity has solidified SD-WAN’s role. Fortinet (31%) has become the most widely used SD-WAN solution while Cisco (30.7%) remains a close second.
- SASE moves from exploration to standardisation – For the third-year running, the share of organisations without a SASE solution has declined, down to 27.5% from 40% in 2024. This consistent decrease signals that SASE adoption is no longer exploratory, but a planned progression for most enterprises.
Multi-cloud environments
“Compared to last year, we are now seeing a transition from experimentation to optimisation,” said Eran Shiff, Chief Product Officer at AlgoSec.
“After several years of rapid expansion across multi-cloud environments, AI-powered operations and hybrid architectures, organisations are entering a new phase of consolidation and control. Our survey reveals a collective recalibration, with organisations moving away from tool proliferation toward unified management, shared visibility and measurable automation.”
