The Cape Town leg of the ITWeb Security Summit 2026, taking place on 26 May, will see Solid8 Technologies partner with AlgoSec – which positions itself as a global leader in securing application connectivity, anywhere.
The Johannesburg leg of the summit will take place on 2 and 3 June.
Solid8 is a trusted South African cyber security distributor, bringing world-class, innovative security solutions to the southern African market. Over 1 800 of the world’s leading organisations trust AlgoSec to help secure their most critical workloads across public cloud, private cloud, containers and on-premises networks, while taking advantage of almost two decades of leadership in network security policy management.
Ahead of the summit event, Managing Director of Solid8, Simone Santana, reveals an overview of the State of Network Security 2026, a report compiled annually by AlgoSec.
“The report reveals that after years of expansion and tool proliferation, 2026 will mark the beginning of a consolidation period defined by unification, automation and control. As hybrid architectures, AI-driven workloads and shared operational responsibilities continue to blur the boundaries between security, cloud and network teams, the focus has shifted from adding tools to simplifying them,” says Santana.
She explains security management solutions are now being evaluated through a much more strategic lens. “In the compilation of this latest research, AlgoSec asked respondents to identify the primary driver behind their selection; the dominant theme was control: the ability to unify policies, streamline operations and reduce the overhead that comes from managing multiple, disconnected systems.
Santana confirms that since last year’s report, interest in consolidation and simplification has only intensified. “Multicloud remains the dominant operating model, but instead of seeking scale and breadth, businesses are prioritising visibility and control. Fifty-five percent of companies now select cloud platforms primarily based on security, a trend reinforced by Deloitte’s 2024 findings that security plays a ‘major role’ in cloud investment decisions. Increasingly, every cloud decision is a security decision.”
ITWeb Security Summit 2026
Now in its 21st year, ITWeb Security Summit is Africa’s premier cyber security event.
Under the theme: “Redefining security in the face of AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and a global skills gap”, the 2026 summit will take place in Cape Town (25-26 May) and in Johannesburg (2-4 June).
For more information or to register, visit www.itweb.co.za/securitysummit.
Not surprisingly, AI is reshaping this environment even further. “The priority has shifted from pilot to practice, with teams applying AI to practical, low-risk functions such as hybrid network visibility, compliance enforcement and rule optimisation.
“Across all trends uncovered in this research paper, the unifying thread is consolidation. This reflects an industry moving from fragmentation to cohesion, simplifying technology stacks, standardising workflows and building shared accountability across disciplines that once operated separately.
Based on insights from 504 security, network and cloud professionals across 28 countries, this year’s report offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of this transformation. As the network security landscape enters this new period of consolidation and clarity, one message stands out: resilience now depends less on how many tools an organisation deploys, and more on how effectively those tools connect technically, operationally and organisationally.
“In the scope of this press release, it is not possible to give the in-depth analysis of the trends identified in the research, but the link to the full report is included. The following is a very brief summary of the key takeaways.”
- Trend 1: The great firewall rebalance – rather than treating firewalls as isolated perimeter controls, organisations are increasingly viewing them as part of a distributed, policy-driven security environment that must operate consistently across data centres, public clouds and emerging application environments.
- Trend 2: Cloud firewall strategies prioritise consolidation – the firewall market is consolidating around fewer, more integrated vendors. The dominant priority for 2026 is control: simplifying management, tightening policy enforcement and building the unified visibility layer that modern hybrid enterprises depend on for resilience.
- Trend 3: Security becomes the deciding factor in cloud platform selection – it would be reasonable to say that cloud strategy and security strategy are now one and the same. With more than half of organisations ranking security as the defining factor in provider selection, this year has cemented the cloud’s role as the enterprise security backbone. The future of multicloud will not be decided by speed or scale alone, but by how effectively each platform can deliver integrated protection, data intelligence and operational clarity across the entire digital estate.
- Trend 4: SD-WAN further cements its role – SD-WAN has transitioned from optional to essential. Adoption is near-universal, and leadership now depends on the depth of integration with security and orchestration platforms. As enterprises strive to unify their networking and security stacks, SD-WAN’s role as the foundation of hybrid connectivity has never been clearer.
- Trend 5: SASE moves from exploration to standardisation – SASE has crossed the threshold from early adoption to normalisation. Zscaler and Prisma Access continue to lead, but Netskope’s rapid rise shows that innovation still drives competition. The decline in non-adoption rates confirms that SASE is now the de-facto model for secure, distributed access, valued for its operational simplicity and the consistency it delivers across the modern enterprise network.
- Trend 6: True zero trust remains elusive – zero trust remains the strategic north star for enterprise security, but the journey towards full implementation has stalled. Awareness is at an all-time high, yet maturity has barely shifted. This year’s findings highlight an execution gap driven by complexity, fragmented infrastructure and limited practical guidance. Organisations that focus on education, cross-team alignment and measurable governance will be best positioned to move zero trust from aspiration to operational reality
- Trend 7: AI-powered threats and defences go mainstream – AI has become a defining force in network security, driving both threat evolution and defensive transformation. Two-thirds of organisations have already adjusted their strategies, but maturity levels remain uneven. The focus has shifted decisively from detection to visibility, and from experimentation to control. As enterprises refine their governance frameworks and strengthen human oversight, AI will transition from a reactive tool to an operational cornerstone, turning awareness into measurable resilience.
- Trend 8: Automation maturity continues – automation has evolved from a strategic ambition into an operational benchmark. Nearly half of all organisations now operate with moderate to high levels of automation, validating its role as a core pillar of network security. Yet maturity remains uneven, with cultural inertia and fragmented governance slowing progress. The next leap will come from convergence and uniting automated workflows, AI-assisted orchestration and unified policy management to deliver the end-to-end agility and assurance enterprises have long aimed for.
- Trend 9: Consolidation – teams and platforms move towards unified control – consolidation is redefining how enterprises operate, both structurally and technologically. Teams are aligning around shared tools, shared responsibilities and, increasingly, shared governance models. At the same time, platforms are consolidating to provide unified visibility and consistent policy enforcement across hybrid environments.
Santana says the report confirms the state of network security this year is defined by clarity emerging from complexity. “After several years of rapid expansion across multicloud environments, AI-powered operations and hybrid architectures, organisations are entering a new phase of consolidation and control. The survey findings reveal a collective recalibration, with organisations moving away from tool proliferation towards unified management, shared visibility and measurable automation. Firewalls, SD-WAN and SASE have all evolved into foundational pillars of a more cohesive network security stack, while zero trust and AI continue to mature, bridging the gap between strategy and execution.”
The report also reveals that compared to last year, a transition from experimentation to optimisation has become apparent. “Where last year’s findings reflected a market still expanding in every direction, this year captures a shift toward simplification. The drive for flexibility has given way to the pursuit of consistency, where performance metrics are being replaced by governance and assurance benchmarks. Consolidation of vendors, tools and even teams now defines the path forward. Adding layers of protection is not enough – those layers need to operate cohesively.
“Looking ahead, the next generation of network security will hinge on visibility, automation and collaboration, not as separate initiatives, but as integrated capabilities that span every layer of the digital ecosystem. For an industry that has long been dominated by complexity and a 'more is better' approach, the next year might be quite surprising. As organisations continue to align their cloud, network and security teams, the most resilient will be those that embrace simplicity rather than complexity, transforming control into confidence,” concludes Santana.
Click here to download the full report.
About Solid8 Technologies
Solid8 Technologies positions itself as a trusted South African cyber security distributor, bringing world-class, innovative security solutions to the southern African market. Through strong partnerships with global vendors, it delivers value-added solutions that empower its partner community. The company helps organisations solve complex security challenges and strengthen cyber resilience across key domains including threat intelligence, data security, identity, network and hybrid security, and OT security.
Global solutions. Local touch. Solid8 Technologies is #cyberfuturefit.
Contact: Solid8 Technologies
E-mail: info@solid8.co.za
About ITWeb Security Summit 2026
ITWeb Security Summit 2026 will be held at Century City Conference Centre, Cape Town on 26 May 2026 and at Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg from 2-4 June 2026.
Themed: ‘Redefining security in the face of AI-driven attacks, fragile supply chains and a global skills gap’, the 21st annual edition of Security Summit will continue in its tradition of bringing leading international and local industry experts, analysts and end-users together to delve into the specific threats and opportunities facing African CISOs, security specialists, GRC professionals and anyone else who is responsible for securing their organisation from cyber attacks.
Register today. Visit here for Cape Town or here for Johannesburg.
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