What Auvik’s leaders expect next for AI, security, and network operations
As IT environments become more distributed, automated, and AI-driven, 2026 will represent a major inflection point for how organizations manage networks, security, and operational resilience. From shadow AI and governance to AI-driven automation and economic uncertainty, Auvik’s executive leadership team shares their predictions on what’s coming, and what IT leaders and MSPs should be preparing for now.
Doug Murray, CEO: AI Will Redefine the Security Threat Landscape
Murray predicts that AI will follow a familiar—and risky—path when it comes to security.
“The assumption that traditional perimeters and signature-based controls are adequate will continue to break down. AI-related attacks and misuse are the next forefront of IT challenges and security breaches. In 2026, organizations will need to shift from static defenses to posture-aware, behavior-based detection and continuous validation of AI-enabled services.”
SecureWorld, December 10, 2025
One of the most dangerous assumptions organizations continue to make, Murray says, is believing AI is inherently safe.
“One of the biggest misconceptions regarding AI is that, similar to cloud, people erroneously think it is secure by design. IT leaders should scrutinize risk associated with AI posture.”
TechInformed, Jan 7, 2026
Mark Ralls, President: MSPs Must Build for Adaptability and Resilience
Ralls believes economic uncertainty will define the MSP landscape in 2026, and operational maturity will be a differentiator. According to Ralls, MSPs will be key to creating long-term stability, regardless of economic conditions, and MSPs will play a crucial role in helping customers navigate change.
“In 2026, the most successful MSPs will be those that build the adaptability and strategic depth required to withstand an uncertain macroeconomic climate. Well-operated, mature MSPs that are focused on driving customer outcomes will be ready for what the economy sends their way. There is always an opportunity for a strategic partner that can help achieve business outcomes by helping customers adopt modern technologies, including but not exclusively AI, to strengthen the client’s own operational resilience.”
TechNews Hub, January 9, 2026.
John Astorino, COO: The Network Is Now the Entire Digital Ecosystem
Astorino sees shadow AI becoming a far more complex challenge in 2026.
“Shadow AI is shifting from rogue notebooks to autonomous processes acting across systems. Governance must focus on provenance, explainability, continuous monitoring, anomaly detection and policy enforcement built into workflows.”
TechInformed, January 5, 2026.
According to Astorino, the biggest shift facing IT leaders in 2026 is a fundamental redefinition of what “the network” actually includes.
“Heading into 2026, IT leaders who succeed will be those who recognize that the modern network extends far beyond what we typically define as the network, to include every endpoint, cloud service, and SaaS application that end users rely on every day. Start transforming now toward full-stack observability solutions that provide visibility and insight across your entire digital ecosystem. And double down on security strategies that align with this new reality, embracing identity-first models, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and Secure Service Edge (SSE) architectures to protect a boundaryless network.”
Dan Zaniewski, Chief Technology Officer: AI Must Deliver Results
Zaniewski predicts a shift away from AI experimentation toward measurable outcomes. To succeed, organizations must balance innovation with control.
“The next phase of AI won’t be about replacing humans, but providing continuous, trustworthy assistance.”
TechInformed, December 26, 2025
According to Zaniewski 2026 will be the year AI moves from experimentation to a core operational layer for MSPs—reshaping how teams run, scale, and govern their environments.
“AI becomes an operational foundation for MSPs. AI will shift from isolated experiments to an embedded operational layer that continuously assists NOC and service desk teams. To benefit, IT teams should be thinking about instrumenting telemetry, establishing fast feedback loops, and embedding AI-aware observability so AI becomes an operational advantage rather than an experiment.
The autonomy gap grows unless MSPs strengthen data discipline. Despite the hype around self-driving networks, most MSPs won’t achieve meaningful autonomy without standardized data, consistent telemetry, and human-guided automation. Closing the gap will require better data hygiene, human-in-the-loop workflows that keep operators in control, and staged automation that accelerates decisions without removing humans from critical paths.”
SecureWorld, December, 2025
Steve Petryschuk, VP of Product & Market Strategy: AI Automation Will Become Essential for Network Operations
Petryschuk believes network operations teams are approaching a breaking point, and what was once optional will soon be mandatory.
“As networks grow more complex and distributed across cloud, edge, and on-prem environments, our manual configuration and troubleshooting workflows simply won’t scale. AI-driven network automation has been emerging as a ‘nice to have’ and will shift to become critical for network operations teams. Enabling admins to scale their networking knowledge and superpower using AI-driven network automation will drive more reliable, efficient, and resilient networks.”
Solutions Review, January, 2026.
What This Means for 2026
Across all these predictions, one theme stands out: visibility comes before control. Whether managing shadow AI, securing SaaS environments, or supporting AI-driven infrastructure, organizations that invest in automated discovery and accurate, real-time network data will be best positioned to succeed.
At Auvik, we believe 2026 will be the year proactive, visibility-driven IT management becomes essential – not optional.
