Guest Author: Sanjit Ganguli, VP and CTO-in-Residence, Zscaler

Few moments capture the spirit of progress like Zenith Live, where industry leaders, pioneers, and bold thinkers come together to shape the future. This year’s event in Las Vegas in early June was nothing short of extraordinary, highlighted by discussions about the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) as the defining force of our time.

We’re standing on the edge of what can only be described as a “gigawave” — a massive transformational moment that redefines the way industries operate. Just as the Industrial Revolution reshaped societies, the AI Revolution is poised to fundamentally alter how we live, work, and engage with technology. The scale is unprecedented, and the stakes are higher than ever.

The AI Revolution: A Time of Promise and Peril

Artificial intelligence isn’t new, but its recent breakthroughs, particularly with generative and agentic AI, have vaulted it into the mainstream. Generative AI opened the door for content creation at scale, and agentic AI has moved us into an era where intelligent systems can act autonomously to solve problems, achieve goals, and drive efficiencies across industries.

While this explosion of capability is enabling organizations to accomplish extraordinary things, it also creates new risks. Autonomous AI that makes incorrect decisions in finance, healthcare, manufacturing, or other industries can trigger a cascade of consequences, from unauthorized trades to dangerous surgical errors. And with AI models being trained on massive datasets, protecting sensitive information from potential misuse has never been more critical.

The opportunity is immense, but the risks are profound. The challenge for every organization, then, is how to embrace AI’s power while securing its implementation.

Redefining Security: Zero Trust Everywhere

AI demands a rethinking of security, and few frameworks are better suited to meet the challenge than zero trust architecture. Traditionally, zero trust has focused on securing users, applications, and workloads by verifying every connection without making assumptions about trustworthiness. But as AI intersects with our environments, that scope needs to expand.

The next frontier is zero trust everywhere. Enterprises need to extend the zero trust model not just to human users but to AI agents, IoT/OT systems, and even the large language models (LLMs) that underpin today’s AI applications. AI agents, much like humans, need secure access to specific systems, policies for appropriate use, and visibility around how data is accessed or altered. This isn’t just about securing a system—it’s about securing a dynamic ecosystem of human and autonomous actors.

Newly announced Zscaler innovations like LLM proxies, B2B exchanges, and AI-enabled workload protection are enabling this broader evolution of zero trust. The goal is simple: ensure clear, consistent, and secure communication between any entity, on any network, at any time.

Transformation in Action: Stories from the Frontlines

One of the most inspiring parts of Zenith Live is hearing from visionary customers who have embraced these ideas to transform their businesses. Two success stories that particularly stood out this year came from the healthcare and telecom industries—industries where scalability and security are mission-critical.

A very large healthcare provider joined us on the Zenith Live stage to discuss how they had fully embraced zero trust principles to transform their infrastructure. By leveraging modern zero trust models, their zero trust clinic initiative enables new clinics to be opened and securely operational in hours rather than months. This isn’t just about improving internal operations; it’s about delivering vital care more efficiently, securely, and at scale.

Similarly, a telecommunications leader took the stage to share how they took on a major transformation to simplify their sprawling network. By replacing legacy VPNs with Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and adopting modern zero trust principles, they went from an environment of disconnected systems to one where 200,000 employees could securely access applications without friction. They didn’t just mitigate phishing risks, they eliminated most of them entirely, all while unlocking significant cost savings.

What unites both stories is not just a willingness to adopt cutting-edge technology but a mindset of embracing transformation as a business imperative.

The Innovation Driving Change

As enterprises navigate this AI-driven era, technology must be smarter, faster, and more integrated than ever. With that, some key innovations debuted at Zenith Live were particularly exciting in addressing the challenges of scalability, security, and simplicity.

1. Agentic SecOps with Red Canary
   By integrating powerful data and automation from the announced Red Canary acquisition, steps that once required manual intervention in SecOps workflows can be faster and more efficient. This is SecOps reimagined for the AI era, where machine-driven workflows assist human analysts instead of replacing them.
2.  Holistic Data Protection for AI Workloads
   AI applications require a new approach to data visibility and control—one that spans SaaS, on-premise, and cloud environments. By unifying data loss prevention (DLP) and policy-based access controls across environments, organizations ensure their data remains secure, whether it powers public or private LLMs.
3.  LLM Proxies for AI Governance
   From public-facing chatbots to private AI models, secure deployments now require intelligent guardrails. Zscaler announced their LLM proxy provides that governance—protecting against malicious input (e.g., jailbreak prompts), securing confidential data, and ensuring that AI behavior aligns with organizational goals and values.

Mindset Matters: Leadership Through Change

Technology is only as transformative as the people behind it, and this is where leadership comes into play. Implementing AI solutions, evolving zero trust architectures, and securing an always-on enterprise aren’t just operational challenges, they’re culture challenges. Overcoming inertia, getting buy-in, and aligning teams around the possibilities of new technology is as important as the technology itself.

The most innovative leaders don’t just manage change; they drive it. They create a culture that views disruption as an opportunity to redefine what’s possible.

The Future is Unfolding: Will You Ride the Gigawave?

We’re living in an era of incomparable opportunity. AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a revolution, one that’s enabling previously unthinkable breakthroughs in every industry. But riding this gigawave means embracing change both strategically and securely. It takes bold action, clear vision, and a willingness to redefine old assumptions.

At Zscaler, we’re honored to stand beside thousands of IT and security leaders who aren’t just asking what’s possible—they’re making it happen. As you look forward, ask yourself: What transformations can we lead? How can we redefine security for the AI age? And how do we ensure the systems we build today are ready for the challenges of tomorrow?

Together, we can answer those questions and thrive in this era of boundless potential. For more information, please visit www.zscaler.com or contact your GuidePoint representative. Details about Zscaler AI can be found on our Zscaler AI page.