Zscaler CEO talks secure digital transformation & AI with Evanta, a Gartner Company

Zscaler CEO Jay Chaudhry was recently joined by Aflac SVP, Global CISO Tim Callahan, and Kraft Heinz Global CIO Corrado Azzarita in keynotes at the Evanta Global CISO & CIO Executive Summits. 

The conversations centered around their respective digital transformation journeys within their organizations. 

The executives shared their experiences using digital tools and strategies to drive innovation, enhance customer experiences, optimize their operational processes, and challenges they hit along the way. Their candid insights serve as a testament to the transformative power of technology when properly integrated into an organization.

Below are excerpts from a conversation between Evanta and Zscaler's Chaudhry on the importance of these subjects for CXOs.

What are some greatest challenges CIOs and CISOs are facing today?
Globally, organizations invest $219 billion in cybersecurity programs annually. Yet breaches still make headlines daily. Today’s CISOs and CIOs are expected to enable productivity, reduce costs, and secure their organizations on increasingly limited budgets. Zero Trust network architecture and AI/ML capability enhancements represent opportunities to make IT and security budgets more reasonable and effective. But doing so requires understanding and commitment from senior leadership if lasting, transformational change is to happen.

Why is it critical for the Evanta CIO and CISO Community to have this conversation now?
Both Zero Trust and AI/ML can be dismissed as buzzwords, the hot topics of the day, but together, few topics are as timely as Zero Trust network architecture and the AI/ML functions that enhance it. Legacy technology like VPNs have, again and again, enabled breaches that threaten organizations’ financial livelihood and even our national security. As we saw with SolarWinds, as we saw with Colonial Pipeline, and most recently as we saw with Viasat in Ukraine, implicit trust and the ability to move laterally across networks undermine long-dominant, castle-and-moat security practices. 

Today, we also have the opportunity to capitalize on advances in artificial intelligence that can arm IT and security professionals with the insight they need to both establish and demonstrate the effectiveness, efficiency, and overall value of their departments. The Evanta community has much to gain by deploying each technology thoughtfully and responsibly.

What did you most enjoy about the sessions?
We always look forward to sharing the journeys of customers, in this case from Aflac and Kraft Heinz. It's all well and good for a company to talk about how their solutions can help protect against cyber threats and simplify networking, but until you hear specific case studies, it's all just marketing. We appreciate these customers sharing with their peers the profound impact Zero Trust network architecture has had on their business.

To learn more key takeaways from Evanta, a Gartner Company on the Global CISO & CIO Executive Summits, read here and consider joining us at an upcoming event.