Organisations are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) faster than governance frameworks can keep up, and if left unchecked, this opens the door to increased risks. That’s according to Pheello Motolo, senior manager for IT infrastructure and operations, cyber security and GRC at Motus Car Rental.
Speaking ahead of the ITWeb Cloud Summit 2026, where Motolo will deliver the keynote address, he said organisations face growing pressure to balance AI deployment with risk management and governance requirements.
Getting the balance right is challenging, he said. “The instinct to simply restrict AI use is the wrong one, as it tends to drive adoption underground and create shadow IT. The better path is to provide approved AI platforms, clear acceptable-use policies, data classification requirements, appropriate access controls and monitoring.”
If left unaddressed, a major risk is that an organisation loses control of its technology environment without immediately realising it, Motolo added.
“When operational pressure outpaces official IT delivery, teams resort to workarounds, such as using unsanctioned SaaS tools.”
To counter this, he advised against viewing governance as a brake on innovation. “It is about providing the guardrails that let innovation happen safely and consistently at scale,” Motolo said.
“The objective is an environment where the safest, most compliant option is also the easiest and fastest one for the business to use.”
Ntando Sibanda, senior conference producer at ITWeb Events, said the summit comes at a time when organisations are under increasing pressure to balance the pace of AI and cloud transformation with security, governance and resilience.
“The summit gives delegates the opportunity to understand how to balance rapid innovation with security, governance, resilience and cost, while learning from the experiences of organisations navigating these challenges,” he said.
The ITWeb Cloud Summit will take place in Johannesburg on 29 September.
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