CISO Playbook: Streamline Tools, Fix Data, Fill Gaps

Security teams are no longer just defenders; they're expected to prove business value. For CIOs, CISOs, and technology executives, the demand to deliver measurable ROI on security investments collides with rapidly expanding infrastructure and tools scattered across the stack.

Meanwhile, talent scarcity adds pressure: There aren’t enough skilled cybersecurity professionals to meet the scale of modern risk. That’s why CISOs are reevaluating their strategy, focusing on tool rationalization, data integrity, and AI/automation that supports security professionals rather than replacing them.

This balancing act is delicate. Automation and AI promise scale and speed, but only if grounded on a stable data foundation. Without accurate, current asset, identity, and exposure data, models misfire, gaps expand, and trust erodes. Below is a key excerpt that highlights how CISOs are navigating these pressures.

As reported by Samantha Schober in “CISOs Under Pressure: Balancing Automation, AI and Talent Shortages” on SecurityInfoWatch:

“CISOs today are under a perfect storm of pressures: rapidly expanding digital environments, demands to demonstrate ROI on past security investments and an ongoing shortage of skilled talent. At the same time, organizations are turning to automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to close gaps and improve efficiency. But these technologies can only succeed if built on a reliable foundation of accurate data.

In this conversation, Ryan Knisley, Chief Product Strategist at Axonius, shares insights from his daily discussions with CISOs on how security leaders are balancing these pressures while working to strengthen resilience and reduce risk. 

Leaving aside the CISA cuts for a moment, what are the greatest pressures currently facing CISOs?

In my new role at Axonius, I am talking with CISOs every day. What I hear is that CISOs are currently facing three significant pressures:

First, the scale and complexity of the digital environment. Almost every company today isn't just adopting digital—they are inherently digital businesses with rapidly expanding digital landscapes. Cloud infrastructure, applications, connected devices, and data footprints are growing exponentially, outpacing the ability of cybersecurity programs to keep up. 

In parallel, budgets for cybersecurity saw significant increases in 2020, 2021, and even into 2022. A few years on from those investments, CFOs and other business leaders are looking for evidence that those dollars have translated into real maturity gains. This dynamic has created rising expectations to demonstrate ROI, yet CISOs often find program maturity struggling to keep pace. 

That mismatch can create friction at the leadership level and lead to increased scrutiny, frustration, and ongoing pressure to show tangible cybersecurity advancements in a digital environment that keeps growing more complex. 

This challenge is reflected in recent research showing that while 81% of organizations feel prepared to manage critical vulnerabilities, it still takes them more than 24 hours to remediate them, leaving wide-open windows of risk. Nearly a third say they struggle with prioritization and risk assessment, and 27% cite a lack of integration between tools as a core blocker to timely response.

Next, CISOs face significant pressure around tool and platform consolidation. Many organizations historically have adopted a ‘shiny object’ approach to cybersecurity, acquiring numerous best-of-breed tools that each address a specific threat or function.  

Over time, this approach has created sprawling and overly complex cybersecurity environments. Rather than reducing risk, these fragmented toolsets expand the attack surface of their asset architecture without the proper security controls, making the tech stack more vulnerable. 

CISOs today are under pressure to simplify and rationalize their cybersecurity stack to reduce complexity, improve efficiency, and, ultimately, decrease risk. This involves standardizing on fewer, more comprehensive platforms and maximizing their capabilities rather than maintaining numerous overlapping tools at partial utilization.

Last, but certainly not least, talent remains one of the most difficult challenges CISOs face. Traditionally, cybersecurity teams have tried to address the growing demands by simply adding more human resources. However, the cybersecurity talent market is highly competitive, and there are simply not enough skilled professionals to meet the growing demand. 

Budget constraints have also limited headcount growth for most cybersecurity teams. CISOs must therefore shift strategies, leveraging automation, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies to alleviate the burden on their teams.”

Continue reading “CISOs Under Pressure: Balancing Automation, AI and Talent Shortages” by Samantha Schober on SecurityInfoWatch.

Why It Matters to You

For TechEDGE readers in leadership roles, this article surfaces a universal tension: tech scale versus human scale. The tools such as AI and automation that promise relief must stand on trustworthy data and agile architecture. A misstep, such as adopting automation over flawed inventory or identity views, can amplify vulnerabilities rather than reduce them.

In organizations balancing growth, digital transformation, and risk, CISOs must reassert their role as integrators by consolidating security tools, cleaning data pipelines, and orchestrating human + machine workflows. That shift turns security from a cost center into a strategic enabler.

Next Steps

• CISO/Security Lead: Launch a tool audit and consolidation plan by identifying overlapping or underused platforms and decommissioning wisely. 
• IT/Security Operations: Prioritize a master inventory initiative to ensure assets, identities, and exposures are current and authoritative. 
• AI/Automation Teams: Start with low-risk tasks (e.g., patch triage, alert enrichment) and validate AI models against clean data before scaling. 
• Human Resources/Talent Strategy: Redirect skilled analysts to high-value tasks; let automation take on repetitive workloads. 
• Strategy/Finance: Create a dashboard that ties security investments and maturity gains to business KPIs—show ROI, not just spend.