Navigating Waves of Transformation: A European Perspective on Innovation and Security

Technology evolves in powerful waves that redefine industries and challenge organizations to rethink how they operate, compete, and grow. Far from being incremental, these seismic shifts—like the rise of the internet, mobile devices, cloud computing, and now AI—demand adaptation and agility.

And yet, amid relentless change, some principles remain steadfast. On the recent European leg of Zenith Live ’25 in Prague, I reflected on the enduring values that Zscaler shares with Europe: innovation, trust, and partnership. These principles are the foundation upon which we have helped businesses embrace transformation securely.

Redefining Security with Zero Trust Architecture

The emergence of AI, cloud, and mobility has fundamentally changed how applications are delivered, forcing companies to reevaluate long-standing networking and security models. With users and applications dispersed around the globe, legacy firewalls and VPNs quickly became ineffective. That realization inspired our vision: to build a security platform akin to a digital switchboard that securely connects Entity A to Entity B, precisely and effortlessly.

The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange has redefined cybersecurity, enforcing identity and context-based access controls to reduce risk, simplify IT, and enable business agility. Cutting-edge AI protects connections from the latest threats in real time.

Progressive leaders and organizations worldwide realized that perimeter-based defenses couldn’t keep pace with today’s decentralized work and computing environments. By adopting Zero Trust Everywhere, our customers secure all connections—users, devices, workloads, branches, and factories—enabling fast, direct, and secure access to applications, no matter where they are.

Now, we stand on the brink of what I call a “gigawave.” Gigawaves represent profound, systemic changes akin to the Industrial Revolution, reshaping industries and accelerating innovation on an unprecedented scale.

Predictive, generative, and agentic AI will drive a profound transformation in automation, efficiency, and innovation, but they also introduce risks, from compromised models to malicious prompts. To address these challenges, Zscaler applies Zero Trust principles, securing AI interactions with guardrails and full visibility, enabling companies to embrace AI responsibly without compromising control or security.

Building on a Foundation of Trust

While waves of transformation ripple through industries, Europe has always compelled us to hold fast to principles of trust and privacy. From the start, these priorities have directed our architecture and operations globally.

Our European customers have always emphasized the importance of privacy, data sovereignty, and control. Guided by this feedback, Zscaler makes compliance with GDPR and DORA regulations straightforward, respects data locality, and enables customers to choose from any of our 25+ data centers in Europe or 160+ data centers around the world for log storage and access. Europe isn’t just a market; it’s at the heart of our identity.

A key part of building trust is the formation of long-term partnerships. These are not transactional vendor/supplier relationships, but rather shared commitments to each other that results in long-term mutual success with organizations across the region.

Zscaler’s Role in Securing Europe’s Critical Infrastructure

Sebastian Weber, CIO of E.ON, joined me onstage to share insights from how one of Europe’s largest energy companies is working with Zscaler. Responsible for more than 1.6 million kilometers of energy grid and 50 million customers, E.ON has reimagined its operations for an era of distributed energy.

E.ON transitioned from traditional data centers to a cloud-based infrastructure and secured both its employees and smart grid telemetry with Zero Trust. This transformation enhanced operational visibility, reduced downtime across its energy networks, and fortified resilience in delivering sustainable energy to millions. As Sebastian noted, in today’s geopolitical environment, ensuring the security of critical infrastructure is paramount—not just for business continuity, but also for global stability.

Natalia Oropeza, Chief Cybersecurity Officer of Siemens, highlighted a similar transformation for another pillar of Europe’s critical infrastructure. With Siemens’ deep involvement across sectors like energy and transportation, the organization recognized that a firewall-based castle-and-moat architecture was not the way to adequately safeguard it against modern threats.

With 312,000 users spanning critical sectors, Siemens leveraged Zero Trust to streamline operations, reduce cybersecurity risks, and achieve faster time-to-market for new innovations. Natalia likened the Zero Trust approach to knowing exactly who is at your door before granting them access—an essential mindset in today’s interconnected and risky world.

Zero Trust became foundational for both E.ON and Siemens, enabling these industry leaders to innovate while protecting critical operations. We are grateful for their continued partnerships.

Bridging Change and Continuity

Business and technological change are inevitable, and can cause discomfort among the leaders who have to respond—but change also drives progress, ushering in innovation and disruption. However, steadfast principles of innovation, trust, and partnership provide an anchor amid the turbulence.

As waves and gigawaves of transformation reshape industries, we remain your partners in redefining the future of IT and security. I remain personally committed to defining the future together. At Zscaler, we stand ready to help you advance business agility, unlock innovation, and safeguard what matters most in this transformative era.

Thank you for being on this journey with us.