Fortinet has released the key findings of anew commissioned research that reveals that organizations across the Asia-Pacific region are struggling to keep their pace amid cybersecurity complexity and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven threats, which in turn strain businesses’ ability to effectively respond.
In the media briefing during the ‘Fortinet Accelerate 26 APAC Philippine Edition‘ held on May 12 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in BGC, the global cybersecurity leader said the new study conducted by Forrester Consulting highlight a shift toward simplifying security architectures, improving operational efficiency, and embedding AI into unified platforms. Fortinet pointed out that the study underlined cybersecurity risks driven by more sophisticated attackers, more complex environments, and continuous investment in cybersecurity and AI.
Based on the study, cyber risk is increasingly driven by external threats and internal complexity. There were 57% of respondent-organizations that cited AI-driven threats as a top concern, and 54% that highlighted fragmented tools and architectures and overwhelming alert volumes.
Security operations are under heightened pressure as 50% of the organizations reporting that alert volume makes it hard to distinguish real threats. Meanwhile, about 48% of organizations that responded for the research said they still rely on manual workflows.
Cybersecurity maturity is still constrained with 68% of respondents at an intermediate stage and only 16% getting into advanced levels. Fortinet said these findings show a clear shift, as complexity moves beyond an operational challenge to become a core driver of cyber risk.
At the same time, the shift to platform-based security is gaining momentum. Based on the same study, just 20% of the organizations are operating a unified platform, though the number is projected to jump to 59% over the next 12 to 24 months.
The shift is being driven by the need to reduce tool sprawl (58%), improve integration (52%), and manage growing hybrid complexity (49%). • Despite these challenges, organizations continue to prioritize improving threat detection (40%) and incident response (39%), underscoring the growing gap between security expectations and operational reality.
However, the organizations are firm that challenges remain. About 51% of those cite migration costs and disruption as barriers, while 46% are still uncertain about platform capabilities across domains. Organizations are counting on consolidation to realize these benefits. Up to 90% of the respondents expect improvements in operational metrics with over 60% anticipating gains of at least 10% in areas like detection and response times, analyst productivity, and overall SOC efficiency.
In terms of AI investments, 91% of organizations plan to increase their respective AI budgets and over half expecting double-digit growth. Over 60% expect AI to improve detection accuracy, accelerate response, and strengthen overall security posture.
The organizations regard AI as key to lowering complexity, with 58% expecting consistent policy enforcement, 57% centralized control, and 56% reduced manual workflows.
“Organizations are placing significant expectations on AI to transform security operations, from improving detection to accelerating response,” said Rashish Pandey, VP of Marketing and Communications, APAC, Fortinet. “However, AI can only deliver meaningful outcomes when it is built on an integrated foundation. Without unified visibility and connected data across environments, AI risks amplifying complexity rather than reducing it. Integration is what enables AI to operate at scale and deliver real security impact.”
In conclusion, Fortinet said readiness gaps remain. Hindering effective AI adoption are fragmented environments, limited automation, and lack of unified data. Many organizations are still building the foundational capabilities required to operationalize AI at scale.
