{"id":21861,"date":"2025-06-17T20:14:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T00:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/?p=21861"},"modified":"2025-06-17T20:14:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T00:14:46","slug":"ntt-data-study-reveals-c-suite-misalignment-over-genai-adoption-and-risk-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/ai\/ntt-data-study-reveals-c-suite-misalignment-over-genai-adoption-and-risk-strategy.html","title":{"rendered":"NTT DATA Study Reveals C-Suite Misalignment Over GenAI Adoption and Risk Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Key Takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Nearly half of CISOs hold negative views on GenAI deployment, despite widespread CEO enthusiasm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of internal GenAI policy and legacy infrastructure are slowing secure adoption across global enterprises.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stronger governance, skills development, and cross-functional alignment are needed to unlock AI\u2019s full potential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>NTT DATA has released a global report titled \u201cThe AI Security Balancing Act: From Risk to Innovation,\u201d which reveals growing misalignment within C-Suite leadership over how generative AI (GenAI) is being deployed, governed, and secured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report is based on insights from more than 2,300 senior GenAI decision-makers across 34 countries, including 1,500 C-suite executives. It shows that while business leaders and CEOs are eager to increase investment in GenAI, many operational and security leaders remain cautious\u2014citing insufficient policy clarity, misaligned strategies, and underprepared infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nttdata.com\/global\/en\/-\/media\/nttdataglobal\/1_images\/insights\/focus\/strengthen-your-cyber-resilience-with-managed-xdr-from-ntt-data\/sheetal-mehta.jpg?rev=1a3b465b805d4c76a0452c372cc29801\" alt=\"Strengthen your cyber resilience with Managed XDR from NTT DATA | NTT DATA  Group\" style=\"width:294px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sheetal Mehta, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Cybersecurity at NTT DATA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs organizations accelerate GenAI adoption, cybersecurity must be embedded from the outset to reinforce resilience,\u201d said Sheetal Mehta, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Cybersecurity at NTT DATA. \u201cA secure and scalable approach to GenAI requires proactive alignment, modern infrastructure and trusted co-innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Findings: CEO Optimism vs. CISO Caution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>99% of C-suite leaders<\/strong> plan to increase GenAI investments over the next two years, and <strong>67% of CEOs<\/strong> report significant planned commitments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite this enthusiasm, <strong>45% of CISOs<\/strong> express negative sentiment toward GenAI rollouts, largely due to gaps in governance, risk posture, and infrastructure readiness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only <strong>20% of CEOs<\/strong> view GenAI governance as a concern, compared to <strong>54% of CISOs<\/strong> who report unclear policies or ownership over GenAI responsibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even security leaders who hold reservations about the technology\u2019s risks acknowledge its business value\u2014<strong>81% of those CISOs<\/strong> still agree GenAI will improve efficiency and impact bottom-line results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Skills and Infrastructure Lag Behind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>NTT DATA\u2019s report highlights operational challenges that are slowing enterprise readiness:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>69% of CISOs<\/strong> report their teams lack the skills needed to work with GenAI technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only <strong>38% of CISOs<\/strong> say their GenAI and cybersecurity strategies are currently aligned, compared to <strong>51% of CEOs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most organizations (<strong>72%<\/strong>) do not yet have formal policies for GenAI usage, and just <strong>24% of CISOs<\/strong> strongly agree their firm has a robust framework for balancing risk with innovation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The research also identifies aging infrastructure as a key barrier. <strong>88% of security leaders<\/strong> cited legacy technology as limiting business agility and GenAI readiness. Upgrading IoT, 5G, and edge computing is considered essential to enabling secure AI deployments at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Co-Innovation Over Standalone AI Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, <strong>64% of CISOs<\/strong> say they are prioritizing partnerships with strategic IT providers instead of relying on isolated AI solutions. The most important criteria when evaluating GenAI providers, according to these leaders, is the ability to deliver end-to-end services\u2014spanning deployment, governance, integration, and risk mitigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Craig Robinson, Research Vice President of Security Services at IDC, added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWhile the use of GenAI clearly provides benefits to the enterprise, CISOs and Global Risk and Compliance leaders struggle to communicate the need for proper governance and guardrails. Alignment with business leaders is essential for implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where This Leaves the Enterprise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>NTT DATA\u2019s findings show that enterprise success with GenAI depends not just on investment, but on coordinated leadership. To shift from experimentation to value creation, organizations must close the gap between innovation agendas and cybersecurity capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report recommends stronger internal collaboration, skill development, and investment in secure-by-design infrastructure to move forward confidently in the AI era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Le<em>arn how AI Agents can supercharge your company\u2019s profits and productivity at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmcnet.com\/\">TMC\u2019s&nbsp;<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiagentevent.com\/\">AI Agent Event&nbsp;<\/a>in Sept 29-30, 2025 in DC.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-agent-event-logo.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"630\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ai-agent-event-logo-1170x630.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20922\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rich Tehrani serves as CEO of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tmcnet.com\/\">TMC<\/a>&nbsp;and chairman of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.itexpo.com\/\">ITEXPO<\/a>&nbsp;#TECHSUPERSHOW Feb 10-12, 2026 and is CEO of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt-advisors.com\/\">RT Advisors<\/a>&nbsp;and is&nbsp;a Registered Representative (investment banker) with and offering securities through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.4pointscapital.com\/\">Four Points Capital Partners LLC&nbsp;<\/a>(Four Points) (Member FINRA\/SIPC). He handles capital\/debt raises as well as M&amp;A. RT Advisors is not owned by Four Points.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The above is not an endorsement or recommendation to buy\/sell any security or sector mentioned. No companies mentioned above are current or past clients of RT Advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The views and opinions expressed above are those of the participants. While believed to be reliable, the information has not been independently verified for accuracy. Any broad, general statements made herein are provided for context only and should not be construed as exhaustive or universally applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Portions of this article may have been developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence, which may have contributed to ideation, content generation, factual review, or editing<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways: NTT DATA has released a global report titled \u201cThe AI Security Balancing Act: From Risk to Innovation,\u201d which reveals growing misalignment within C-Suite leadership over how generative AI (GenAI) is being deployed, governed, and secured. The report is based on insights from more than 2,300 senior GenAI decision-makers across 34 countries, including 1,500<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":21862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21863,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21861\/revisions\/21863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tmcnet.com\/blog\/rich-tehrani\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}