Finance

CIOs from a range of industries discuss how AI’s emergence as a transformative force is leading them to adapt and reimagine how IT operates to better harness the technology’s potential to revolutionize their business. As far as Jason Johnson is concerned, AI is as transformative as the invention of the tractor. “Just as farmers expanded their operations from two acres to 200 acres upon the tractor’s introduction, our role is to equip our staff to explore their ‘200 acres,’” says Johnson, senior vice president and CIO of Sweetwater, a $1.5 billion online retailer of musical instruments and audio equipment. This involves restructuring IT through training, demonstrations, and advocacy, Johnson says. It is “reminiscent of the period when computers first started gaining traction in enterprises during the 1960s and 1970s.” Just as IT found itself having to pivot through other significant changes, including cloud migration, SaaS adoption, DevOps, and digital transformation, organizations are scrambling to adjust to a world increasingly moving toward automation. AI has blown in like a freight train — barreling into organizations at a frenetic pace, adding more stress and urgency as they consider what applications to deploy. This requires IT leaders to rethink how IT is staffed and organized, and how IT works with the business to capture the value and promise of AI in its many flavors — generative AI, agentic AI, and machine learning. “Despite how fast any of those other shifts have been … the pace with AI is something we simply have not seen before,” notes Mike DiBenedetto, CIO of Northland Investment, a multi-family investor, owner, and manager. More than two-thirds (68%) of this year’s State of the CIO IT leader respondents say that AI has already — or is starting to — reshape operations, and 80% say they are researching and evaluating adding AI to the tech stack. As a result, there is little doubt IT leaders have to realign their departments for the AI era. To harken back to the tractor analogy, many are plowing through with a clear sense of purpose. Enhancing efficiencies It has long been a mandate that IT develop new services and evolve teams and processes to meet the need for transformation. But like DiBenedetto, Johnson says that “with the introduction of AI, this pace of change has increased significantly. AI provides tools and assistance that help IT teams keep up with changes, even when facing constraints and pressures to achieve more with fewer resources.” To meet these changes head on, Johnson has created cross-functional teams to enable and empower both IT employees and customers through AI. “We collaborate closely with our legal and compliance teams to ensure that we use our data, as well as the data we manage on behalf of our customers, in safe and compliant manners,” he notes. “Internally, we have established working groups focused on enhancing efficiencies within IT, such as improving software development processes and reducing service desk resolution times.” Sweetwater also has established an AI center of excellence and has embedded data science professionals into the group. They are helping to design the experiments and pilots to ensure the results are statistically significant and then applying AI in areas that can accelerate the business. Similarly, John Kreul, senior vice president and chief information and digital officer of Jewelers Mutual, is forming dedicated cross-disciplinary teams “focused on our customers to create seamless and personalized journeys.” Those teams are concentrating on microservices, data, and AI platforms that will be leveraged across the organization, Kreul says. Shifting IT to more meaningful work  AI has significantly boosted self-service capabilities and case deflection within Workday’s IT team, “so much so that it’s allowed us to reallocate our talented case managers to more impactful, meaningful work,” says CIO Rani Johnson. The team is now building more sophisticated AI chatbots that can resolve a broader spectrum of issues and provide proactive assistance to employees facing IT challenges, she says. “This shift ensures our IT professionals are engaged in higher-value activities that truly leverage their expertise.” A prime example is the AI Insights Widget, which was jointly developed by Workday’s IT and revenue operations teams. The custom generative AI tool tackles a significant pain point for the sales force, Johnson says. “Previously, gathering comprehensive account information was a manual, time-consuming process, often taking one to two hours per account due,” she says. “The AI Insights Widget automates this, freeing up valuable sales time and accelerating their efforts.” A focus on continual improvement, change, and collaboration Others says AI adoption hasn’t significantly changed IT’s focus. While Sweetwater’s Johnson refers to AI as “a pretty big revolution,” deployment of the technology is not really shifting IT’s roles and responsibilities, he says. But as IT builds tools embedded with AI to make the business faster and more efficient, “this is heavily impacting our own internal folks,” whether through automating code reviews, or accelerating software development or business analytics, he says. “It’s forcing us to work closer with the business,” Johnson says. “It’s changing the shape of work from one and done to one of continual improvement and continual change in a way that is … different than what we’ve seen before.” Similarly, DiBenedetto says the advent of AI hasn’t required major structural changes in his IT group, nor when it comes to hiring new staff. “We’re always looking for fit for culture [and] a willingness to learn,” he says. “The concept of being a lifelong learner is certainly a requirement, and we’re always trying to make sure that we can find somebody that fits; somebody who sits in the IT department that can understand, ‘How does my contribution contribute to the overall success of the organization?’” If IT implements an AI engine into an employee work process, the team members need to familiarize themselves with the workflow to ensure it is effective for that employee and has a downstream effect, DiBenedetto says. “We expect that people working on our technology team understand what occurs in a department, whether that’s day

By leading with trust and experimentation, the aerospace and defense manufacturer launched a gen AI initiative that’s transforming frontline operations and redefining enterprise innovation. On his second day as Textron’s global CIO, Todd Kackley found himself in the spotlight. During his first executive staff meeting, CEO Scott Donnelly turned to him and asked, “What are we going to do about generative AI?” There was no room for hesitation. Kackley, a longtime Textron executive who had most recently served as divisional CIO, leaned into the question in a way that would shape the company’s next major technology breakthrough: “Let me demonstrate the value,” he said. Three months later, he returned to the same room with results that would convince even the most skeptical of leaders. But the story of how Textron, a $13.7 billion industrial conglomerate known for brands like Cessna, Beechcraft, and Bell, accelerated its use of gen AI goes far deeper, and reveals critical lessons for technology leaders everywhere. A leap, not a request Kackley didn’t begin with a resource ask. “I had no budget, no tech, and no team for this,” he recalls. “But I had trust. I had a team that had learned how to innovate quickly and take risks.” That trust was hard-earned. Just a few years earlier, he led through personal adversity, including a cancer diagnosis, and discovered the power of vulnerability and transparency. It was a leadership approach that unlocked new levels of trust and creativity within his teams. His first step as global CIO wasn’t to spin up committees or request compute capacity, but find a meaningful problem and solve it. Partnering with Textron Aviation’s aircraft business unit, his team set out to answer a single question: Can gen AI help junior aircraft mechanics bridge the knowledge gap with veteran technicians? Given the impending retirements of senior aircraft mechanics with years of specialized knowledge, and the high cost of aircraft downtime, the answer had implications far beyond experimentation. The team focused on developing a proprietary gen AI solution to augment the work of mechanics. The Textron Aviation Maintenance Intelligence, or TAMI, aggregated decades of maintenance data, repair logs, service manuals, and even Textron’s public YouTube tutorials, to enable the AI-powered assistant. By using a RAG model, mechanics could query the system in natural language and receive precise, contextual answers, often with direct links to the exact frame in a how-to video. The results were immediate. Senior mechanics were asked to throw their toughest questions at the system, which answered 19 out of 20 accurately, and came impressively close on the remaining one. “That was our moment,” says Kackley. By the time of a follow-up executive staff meeting, Ron Draper, the president and CEO of Textron Aviation had already become an internal champion. As Kackley began his presentation, Draper chimed in and said, “This is a game changer. We need to scale it globally.” The power of pay-as-you-go Textron didn’t commit upfront to a massive investment. “I didn’t build an ROI model,” says Kackley. “We just ran a consumption-based, pay-as-you-go proof of concept.” That approach gave the company visibility into what worked before locking in compute or long-term licensing costs. Free from the need to evaluate an ambiguous funding request, senior leaders including Donnelly, a licensed private pilot, personally tested early versions of TAMI. His involvement shaped its evolution and created a united front of support for the technology, sparking excitement and driving adoption across the organization. By year-end, the solution was being rolled out to over 1,500 mechanics across global service centers, and early indicators suggest dramatic reductions in time spent searching for information and improvements in first-time fix rates. Mechanics also spend less time interpreting manuals and more time turning wrenches. As a result, aircraft return to the sky faster. Scaling reusability and leading with intent For Kackley, the project was never just about one use case. He quickly stood up a cross-functional council of high-potential business and IT leaders to ensure use cases could be replicated, not reinvented. A solution built for aircraft repair could easily be retooled for Textron’s industrial or defense businesses. Within weeks, a gen AI solution that was successful in one defense business was cloned for another. “CIOs often get stuck trying to explain ROI or navigate policy hang-ups,” says Kackley. “We didn’t let policy stall innovation. We treated gen AI like any other tool, with appropriate use and evolving guardrails.” That same ethos guides his leadership style: act quickly, fail fast, reuse where possible, and empower teams. “Sometimes you get a window of opportunity to show the art of the possible,” he says. “You have to take it, even if you don’t have the resources yet.” For him, that window opened on day two. And thanks to thoughtful experimentation and relentless execution across the Textron digital ecosystem, the results are now flying worldwide. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Read More

Asked one major industry analyst: ‘Who is going to be motivated to adopt if they know the intent is to replace them?’ Nearly one in three (31%) company employees say they are “sabotaging their company’s generative AI strategy,” according to a survey from AI vendor Writer — a number that jumps to 41% for millennial and Gen Z employees.  The survey also found that “one out of ten workers say they’re tampering with performance metrics to make it appear AI is underperforming, intentionally generating low-quality outputs, refusing to use generative AI tools or outputs, or refusing to take generative AI training.” Other activities lumped in as sabotage include entering company information into non-approved gen AI tools (27%), using non-approved gen AI tools (20%), and knowing of an AI security leak without reporting it (16%). These are the kinds of things industry analysts and observers pushed back against as being “sabotage,” given that in many cases such breaches of conduct involve attempts to improve productivity or make it easier to get work done. Undermining the overall AI strategy might be a more precise description, for some. “If they are intentionally misleading their employer about the results of using generative AI for a particular process, or dumping their company’s sensitive data into a third-party consumer tool, that’s definitely sabotage,” says Brian Jackson, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group. But “if they are not using generative AI outputs because of legitimate quality concerns, that may well be part of doing their job. Or if they are using third-party tools but not sharing confidential company details, then it’s also not malicious.” Still Jackson agrees that actual sabotage is going on, much of it for the obvious reason: boards and senior exes publicly touting AI as a way to reduce the workforce. “Who is going to be motivated to adopt if they know the intent is to replace them?” Jackson asks. Because “AI can automate new aspects of knowledge work that have required human creativity and intelligence, there might be resistance if people feel like AI is being used to replace people in areas where we enjoy working and where we value a human touch.” Jackson advises listening to employee feedback on where AI adds value rather than taking a “top-down approach that would risk alienating workers who feel they are training technology that will put them out of a job.” Jackson also believes that some CEOs aren’t helping to relieve the overall tension around AI and job losses by touting workforce reductions due to AI in situations where it was not true. “Executives sometimes look to spin layoffs — it’s a rationalization — as, ‘We are not doing this because the company is in trouble. No, we are doing [the layoffs] because AI is making us so efficient that we don’t need as many people anymore.’ Instead of admitting that they over-hired, they prefer to say, ‘We are using AI as mature and tech-savvy leaders,’” he says. A data analyst overseeing AI integration at an $80 billion retail chain — who asked that his name and employer not be stated — said he has directly seen acts of AI pushback. Although “outright sabotage is rare, I’ve observed more subtle forms of pushback, such as teams underutilizing AI features, reverting to manual processes, or selectively ignoring AI-generated recommendations without clear justification. In some cases, it’s rooted in fear: Employees worry that increased automation will reduce their role or make their expertise less valued,” the data analyst says. But “what appears to be resistance is actually a cry for inclusion in the change process. People want to understand how AI supports their work, not just that it’s being imposed on them.” One HR specialist said she also sees a lot of AI sabotage happening, but believes the motivation for it is not unreasonable. “Employees are resisting, delaying, and, in some cases, actively undermining gen AI rollouts. But labeling this as sabotage oversimplifies what’s often happening,” says Patrice Williams Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad. “It’s not always malicious. It’s often protective. When employees believe gen AI adoption threatens their jobs, especially in environments with frequent layoffs or weak psychological safety, pushback becomes a survival tactic.” “Sabotage can become real if fears are ignored,” Lindo adds. “If leadership dismisses employee concerns, doesn’t connect AI to clear upskilling pathways, and enforces top-down rollouts, employees may deliberately slow adoption or feed poor-quality inputs to protect themselves.” Combatting sabotage is tricky Countering AI resistance requires better training and communication. But training and communication alone won’t eliminate it entirely, especially if executives are candid about plans for layoffs if AI strategies succeed.  And with AI sabotage likely impossible to fully eradicate, companies can be exposed to significant risks — and liabilities. Cameron Powell, a technology attorney with the law firm Gregor Wynne Arney, says companies might be exposed to legal penalties if their employees engage in deliberate sabotage. Those companies should remind employees that if they engage in sabotage they too can face personal legal peril. “If the company is found to have negligently supervised or enabled the employee’s sabotage and that sabotage violates other laws, such as violations of data privacy or HIPAA or confidentiality or consent to one’s data being used in training sets, and so on,” it can be liable for those violations, Powell said. “Employees might also generate information that binds the company to contracts that it does not really want, or that constitutes defamation of a third-party. Or an employee might infringe third parties’ copyrights or trademarks, or disclose trade secrets of the company or one of its partners, any of which could expose the company to liability.” Powell also points out the risk to employees themselves: “The potential for liability is also a key part of the education companies should be giving their employees, letting them know that sabotage isn’t just hurting the company, but could expose the employee to civil and criminal penalties, as well as jail time.” Regardless of the fallout, fractional

“무엇이든 다 하려 하기보다는, 한 가지에 집중해 완성도를 높이는 것이 더 큰 강점이 될 수 있다고 생각한다” AI 번역 기술로 성장한 딥엘(DeepL)은 범용 AI와는 다른 길을 걷고 있다. 딥엘의 CTO 세바스찬 엔더라인은 21일 한국에서 열린 기자 간담회에서 자사의 차별화 전략과 음성 번역 솔루션 ‘딥엘 보이스(DeepL Voice)’를 중심으로 언어 AI 분야에서의 기술력과 시장 접근 방식을 공유했다. 딥엘은 일반 소비자를 위한 번역 서비스를 제공하는 동시에, 최근에는 기업 고객을 대상으로 AI 언어 솔루션에 집중하고 있다. 지난해에는 음성 번역 서비스 확장을 공식 발표하며 ‘딥엘 번역’, ‘딥엘 라이터(작문)’, ‘딥엘 보이스’를 아우르는 종합 언어 솔루션으로의 전환을 선언했다. 현재 전 세계 20만 개 이상의 기업 및 공공기관이 딥엘을 사용 중이며, 니케이, 히타치, 젠데스크 등이 대표 고객이다. 국내에서는 법무법인 세종이 고객사로 이름을 올렸다. 이번 간담회에서 특히 강조된 기술은 음성 번역 기능이다. 딥엘 보이스는 크게 두 가지로 나뉜다. 하나는 화상회의 중 자막을 제공하는 ‘딥엘 보이스 포 미팅(DeepL Voice for Meetings)’, 다른 하나는 일대일 대화를 실시간으로 번역해주는 ‘딥엘 보이스 포 컨버세이션(DeepL Voice for Conversations)’이다. 이번에 업그레이드된 딥엘 보이스는 35개 언어를 지원하며, 화상회의 플랫폼도 기존 마이크로소프트 팀즈에 이어 줌까지 확대되었다. 엔더라인 CTO는 딥엘의 기술력이 어떤 AI 기업과 비교해도 뒤처지지 않는다며, 그 근거로 고품질 음성 번역 기술을 제시했다. 그는 “음성 번역은 기존 텍스트 번역이나 작문보다 훨씬 복잡한 기술적 과제를 안고 있다”며 “특히 빠른 응답 속도와 번역 대상 언어의 문법 구조를 실시간으로 이해하는 능력이 동시에 요구된다”고 말했다. 문장이 도치되거나 끝나지 않은 상태에서도 의미를 파악해야 하기 때문에, 단어 하나하나가 실시간으로 맥락 속에 해석되어야 하며, 이는 단순한 문자 번역과는 전혀 다른 수준의 난이도라는 설명이다. 그는 특히 음성 번역 기술의 주요 과제로 ‘플리커링(flickering)’ 현상을 줄이는 것을 꼽았다. 이는 실시간 자막에서 번역 문장이 계속 수정되며 사용자 경험을 저해하는 현상으로, 딥엘은 이를 해결하기 위해 번역을 언제 보여줄지, 얼마나 기다려야 문맥이 명확해지는지를 판단하는 알고리즘을 따로 설계했다. 엔더라인은 “빠르게 보여줄지, 더 정확하게 보여줄지를 끊임없이 판단해야 하는 것이 가장 어렵다”며 “실시간 번역은 사실상 수정이 불가능하기 때문에 품질이 정말 중요한 영역”이라고 말했다. 최근 번역은 수많은 AI 기업들이 핵심 사용 사례로 강조하는 분야다. 이런 치열한 경쟁 속에서, 엔더라인은 딥엘이 오픈AI나 앤트로픽처럼 범용 AI를 지향하는 기업들과는 다른 방향을 추구하고 있다고 선을 그었다. 그는 “현재 나온 AI 기술들도 훌륭하지만, 딥엘은 오직 언어에 집중한다는 점에서 본질적으로 다른 전략을 취하고 있다”라며 “언어학자, 테스터, 연구개발 인력을 별도로 운영하며 언어 AI 고도화에 전념하고 있다”라고 차별점을 강조했다. 그는 딥엘의 또 하나의 차별점으로 ‘편의성’을 꼽았다. 대부분의 범용 AI가 프롬프트 기반으로 작동하고, 일정 수준의 기술 지식이 있어야 도입이 가능한 반면, 딥엘은 솔루션 형태로 바로 사용할 수 있어 실용성과 전문성을 동시에 갖췄다는 것이다. 엔더라인은 “기업과 개인 고객을 위한 맞춤화에도 많은 투자를 하고 있다”며 “사용자가 별다른 기술 지식 없이도 자신이 원하는 방향으로 결과물을 얻을 수 있도록 지원하고 있다”라고 말했다. 마지막으로 엔더라인은 “딥엘은 언어 전문가들이 이미 사용 중인 번역 관리 시스템이나 콘텐츠 제작 도구 등과 자연스럽게 통합될 수 있도록 설계됐다”라며 “프롬프트 기반보다는 백엔드, 즉 내부 시스템에 매끄럽게 녹아드는 방식으로 구현돼 있다”라고 설명했다.jihyun.lee@foundryco.com 뉴스레터 구독하기 글로벌 뉴스와 IT 트렌드 보고서를 무료로 받으세요! Read More

AI 에이전트의 속도는 기존 보안 체계가 따라가기에는 너무 빠르다. 아무런 대응 없이 방치하면, 공격이 시작되기도 전에 시스템이 완전히 무너질 수 있다. 사이버 보안 구역에 새로운 변수로 떠오른 존재가 있다. 바로 AI 에이전트로, 길가의 모든 ‘틈새’를 빠짐없이 찾아낸다. 인간의 개입 없이 스스로 작동하는 AI 에이전트의 잠재력에 대한 보도는 이미 쏟아지고 있지만, 핵심은 놓치고 있다. 포천의 보도에 따르면, AI 기반 코드 편집기 커서(Cursor)의 고객 지원 AI는 ‘독단적 행동’을 하며 사용자 해지를 유도했고, 에어캐나다의 AI 에이전트는 ‘존재하지 않는 환불 정책’을 안내했다. 가트너는 오는 2028년까지 전체 기업 보안 침해 사고 중 25%가 AI 에이전트 남용으로 발생할 것으로 내다봤다. 보안 업계의 선구자이자 투자자인 케빈 만디아는 최근 “AI 에이전트가 개입한 사이버 공격이 1년 내에 현실이 될 것”이라고 경고했다. AI와 AI 에이전트의 장점은 분명하다. 인간의 일을 보조하거나 대체하면서 업무 효율성을 극대화할 수 있다. 단점이라면 공격 표면이 상당히 증가한다는 것으로, 공격자에게 이런 저런 공격을 시도할 여지를 더 많이 제공한다. AI 에이전트가 기업 데이터를 바탕으로 의사결정을 내리는 구조인 만큼, 공격자는 이를 악용해 직원 계정을 탈취하거나 기업 정보를 유출하고, 시스템을 마비시키거나 장악할 수 있다. 실제로 지난 해 퍼미소 시큐리티(Permiso Security)의 조사에서는 사이버 범죄자가 탈취한 클라우드 계정으로 성인용 AI 챗봇 서비스를 운영하고 되팔았다는 정황이 드러나기도 했다. 보안 우려가 커지는 한편으로 기업 CEO는 AI를 도입해야 한다는 압박에 시달리고 있다. 맥킨지는 “뒤처지지 않으려면 지금 대담하게 투자하라”고 조언했고, 세일즈포스는 올해 신규 엔지니어 채용 없이 ‘디지털 노동 혁명’에 집중하겠다고 선언했다. 이처럼 AI에 대한 기대가 커지는 상황에서, 유일하게 경고등을 켜고 있는 이는 아마 보안 책임자일 가능성이 높다. “속수무책에 사면초가” AI 에이전트 보안 그렇다면, CEO와 CIO는 어떻게 대응해야 할까? 희소식이 있다면, 기업은 과거에도 클라우드 같은 신기술을 처음 도입할 때 마찬가지 우려가 있었지만, 기술 도입과 함께 적절하게 보안을 강화해 왔다. AI 에이전트 역시 마찬가지다. 단, 지금까지보다 훨씬 더 빠르게 대응해야 한다. AI는 다른 어떤 기술보다 빠르고 잔혹하게 보안의 허점을 드러낼 수 있기 때문이다. 나쁜 소식은 대부분 기업이 아직 어떤 종류의 사이버 공격에도 스스로 제대로 보호한 적이 없다는 것이다. 시스코가 8,000명 이상의 기업 임원을 대상으로 조사한 ‘2025 사이버보안 준비도’ 조사에 따르면, 사이버 공격에 대한 대비 수준이 ‘성숙 단계’에 도달한 글로벌 기업은 4%에 불과하다. 70%는 ‘초기 단계’나 ‘형성 단계’에 머물러 있다. 조사 대상 중 71%는 향후 12~24개월 내에 자사 비즈니스가 사이버 공격으로 큰 피해를 입을 것으로 예상했다. 보고서는 “대부분 기업이 여전히 이런 위협을 막거나 대응할 준비가 돼 있지 않다”고 분석했다. AI 에이전트로 인한 리스크가 빠르게 커질 수밖에 없는 이유는 AI 자체의 변화 속도 때문이다. 한 사람이 직원 계정을 훔치는 것이나 해커가 50대의 시스템을 조정하는 것과는 차원이 다르다. 곧 5만 대의 AI 에이전트가 동시에 작동하게 될 것이다. 이들은 인간보다 훨씬 빠르게 움직이고, 학습하며, 방향을 바꾼다. 인간이 데이터와 시스템을 통제하고 있다고 믿는 감각은 머지않아 허상으로 드러날 수 있다. 보안의 기본으로 돌아가야 할 때 기업 보안의 다음 과제는 인간에 의한 위협에 대응하는 것에 그치지 않는다. 기하급수적으로 늘어나는 자율 AI 에이전트의 세계까지 보호해야 한다. CEO와 CIO는 AI 에이전트를 배포하기 전에 보안의 기본을 다시 한 번 강화해야 한다. 현재 시점에서 점검해야 할 주요 위험 영역은 다음과 같다. 직원. 버라이즌의 조사에 따르면, 기업 소속 직원의 최소 15%가 회사 기기에서 생성형 AI 플랫폼을 ‘일상적으로’ 사용한다. 이로 인해 데이터 유출과 보안 취약점이 크게 증가할 수 있다. 회사 내에서 누가 어떤 플랫폼을 사용하는지, 어떤 통제가 필요한지 명확히 파악해야 한다. 에이전트의 허용 범위. 이미 AI 에이전트를 배포한 상태라면, 이들이 어떤 동작을 할 수 있고 어떤 데이터에 접근할 수 있는지 점검해야 한다. 많은 AI 에이전트가 초기 설정에서 운영 속도나 단순화를 이유로 과도하게 넓은 허용 범위를 갖는다. 시간이 지나면 이렇게 허용된 에이전트가 보안 리스크로 이어질 수 있다. 실제 업무 범위를 넘어 민감한 작업을 수행하거나 핵심 자원에 접근할 수 있기 때문이다. 데이터. 어떤 데이터가 어디로 업로드되고 있는가? 데이터 거버넌스는 얼마나 잘 정비되어 있는가? 즉, 데이터의 출처와 생성 시점, 변경 여부 및 주체를 명확하게 파악하고 있는가? AI의 압독적인 데이터 탐색 능력을 고려하면, 에이전틱 AI는 허술한 데이터 거버넌스를 바로 악용할 것이다. 솔루션 업체. 솔루션 업체는 AI 에이전트를 어떻게 사용하고 보호하는가? 솔루션 업체는 공급망 어디에 위치해 있는가? 예를 들어, 부품이 부족할 때 자동으로 주문하는 역할을 AI 에이전트가 맡는 경우가 있다. 이런 에이전트의 역할을 명확히 정의하고 이상 행동을 식별할 수 있도록 해야 한다. 예컨대, 부품 주문 에이전트가 공급업체 결제 정보를 요구한다면, 이는 의심 신호다. 솔루션 업체에 감사와 측정 지표를 요구해야 한다. 결국 AI 에이전트도 직원처럼 관리해야 한다. 인간과 비인간 ID 모두에 대한 완전한 가시성이 필요하며, AI 에이전트의 인터랙션을 원점까지 추적해 할 수 있어야 한다. 또한, 클라우드, SaaS, 하이브리드 인프라 전반에 걸쳐 에이전트에 의한 비정상적 행동이나 승인되지 않은 위험한 활동을 빠르게 식별할 수 있어야 한다. 에이전트의 허용 범위, 권한, 인터랙션을 지속적으로 감사하면, 위험 노출을 최소화하는 더 나은 정책을 시행할 수 있다. 보안에 기반한 자신감 있는 투자 보안 과제가 산적해 있지만, AI 에이전트는 분명히 미래의 핵심 기술이다. 여기서는 맥킨지가 강조한 것처럼 속도가 중요하다. 경쟁력을 확보하는 차원을 넘어, 보안 위협보다 한발 앞서기 위해서도 그렇다. 기업이 보안의 기본, 특히 ID 보안을 빠르게 갖출수록 AI 에이전트를 포함한 모든 사이버 공격에 대한 위험도 줄어든다. 기업은 에이전틱 AI를 안전하게 관리할 수 있을 때 신뢰와 자신감을 갖게 된다. 보안은 진전을 가로막는 문턱이 아니라, 기업이 더 빠르게 전진할 수 있도록 도와주는 가드레일이다.dl-ciokorea@foundryco.com 뉴스레터 구독하기 글로벌 뉴스와 IT 트렌드 보고서를 무료로 받으세요! Read More

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. Running a business today means juggling countless different roles, and none of them take time off. Whether you’re a solopreneur, startup founder, or the marketing director at a small company, 1min.AI is about to make your day significantly easier. For a one-time fee of just $79.97 (normally $540), you’ll get lifetime access to 1min.AI’s Advanced Business Plan. This is a powerhouse platform that gives you pro-level tools across every part of your workflow, including text, chats, images, and more. Need to write a blog post? Done. Generate product images? Easy. Summarize a PDF contract, subtitle a video, translate audio, or come up with a brand voice for your new side hustle? All in here. Unlike those “one-feature-wonder” tools, 1min.AI combines all your favorite AI models into one hub—GPT-4o, Claude 3, Gemini, LLaMA, and more—and gives you a unified workspace to chat, create, rewrite, summarize, design, and edit across text, audio, image, video, and even PDFs. And here’s the biggest feature of all: you pay once, and never again. No recurring charges. No tiered subscriptions. Just the freedom to scale your business or side hustle without scaling your software budget. If you’ve been duct-taping your workflow with half a dozen tools and browser tabs, it’s time to simplify and save. This deal disappears after August 3, so if you’re the type who likes getting lifetime value for less than the cost of a single freelance project, you know what to do. Grab lifetime access to the 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan while it’s just $79.97 (normally $540) through August 3 at 11:59 p.m. PT. 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan Lifetime Subscription See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read More

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. If you’re trying to move forward in your IT career, it helps to have training that fits your schedule and actually prepares you for the work. Instead of juggling individual courses or paying for each certification separately, try the Vision Training System 365 Training Pass to get one full year of unlimited access to a massive catalog of on-demand IT training. It’s only $49.99 (reg. $299) right now. One year of intense tech training The platform includes more than 3,000 hours of lessons, covering certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+, plus Cisco CCNA, Microsoft Azure, AWS, and more. Everything is taught by experienced instructors and designed to prepare you for real exams and real-world challenges. Whether you’re focused on cybersecurity, cloud systems, or project management, the content is already organized into learning paths to help you work through it efficiently. Because it’s all online, you can study whenever and wherever you want. The courses work on phones, laptops, and tablets, so you can make progress in short windows between other responsibilities. You also get access to practice tests, so you’re not walking into an exam blind. For current professionals, this can be a way to stay current or expand into new areas without leaving your job. For beginners, it’s an affordable way to get up to speed on the skills hiring managers are looking for. And for business owners, it’s a resource that could be shared with team members who need to grow into IT roles. The value is in the flexibility. You pay one price, and for 12 months, you’ve got a full IT training library at your fingertips. If you’ve been putting off certification or trying to find a structured way to learn more, this is a practical solution that’s easy to start and stick with. Unlock a full year of IT training. Get the Vision Training Systems 365 Training Pass while it’s still on sale for $49.99. Vision Training Systems 365 Training Pass: 1-Year Subscription See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change If you’re trying to move forward in your IT career, it helps to have training that fits your schedule and actually prepares you for the work. Instead of juggling individual courses or paying for each certification separately, try the Vision Training System 365 Training Pass to get one full year of unlimited access to a massive catalog of on-demand IT training. It’s only $49.99 (reg. $299) right now. One year of intense tech training The platform includes more than 3,000 hours of lessons, covering certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+, plus Cisco CCNA, Microsoft Azure, AWS, and more. Everything is taught by experienced instructors and designed to prepare you for real exams and real-world challenges. Whether you’re focused on cybersecurity, cloud systems, or project management, the content is already organized into learning paths to help you work through it efficiently. The rest of this article is locked. Join Entrepreneur+ today for access. Read More

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. When I was growing up, my parents were in the hotel business. In fact, at one point, they owned three hotels. My dad died when I was quite young, and my mother continued operating the hotels. She did well, but she soon realized that the three hotels were too much for her, so she sold two of them. She proceeded to invest heavily in the remaining hotel. She expanded the dining room and introduced “sizzling steaks,” which were a huge hit at the time. She completely renovated the “tap” room and introduced daily entertainment for the patrons. People were raving about what a great businesswoman my mother was! However, my mother never talked business with me. She kept everything close to the vest, and I never appreciated what she had done. But then again, I didn’t really care. I was too busy playing sports and chasing girls! Related: 7 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting a Business The second generation It didn’t really seem as if the second generation was going to play a role in this business. My sisters got married and moved away. My brother became a lawyer and moved to Boston, and I decided to become an electrical engineer because they were receiving the highest salary upon graduation (not a good reason to become an engineer, as you will see). Somewhere between my sophomore and junior years, I got the urge to be an entrepreneur. After some research, I contacted a tailor in Hong Kong and pursued importing some of their famous suits. I never implemented it because, in the final analysis, I couldn’t imagine myself measuring some guy’s inseam! By my senior year, I started thinking seriously about my mother’s hotel. One day, I returned from classes and learned that the hotel had burned down. So much for the hotel business! My uncle as my mentor My mother’s brother, Uncle Ken, had a very successful paper distribution business. In fact, my mother told me that in 1959, he was offered $14 million for his business. It was always a major event when Uncle Ken came to visit. He would pull up in his Cadillac, and I would carry his bags into the house. He would always give me $5, and that was a lot of money at the time. When I graduated college and moved to Boston, I decided that I needed a business mentor if I was ever going to pursue my own business. My dad died when I was young, and my mother never talked business with me — so Uncle Ken was the answer. I called him and we started having dinner meetings every other month or so, and I would pepper him with questions about business. One evening, I met him at his office and he asked me to wait while he finished a meeting. The office walls didn’t go all the way to the ceiling, and I could hear their conversation. They seemed to be talking about buying my uncle’s company. I heard one of the men say, “Your company is only worth your equipment, and we value that at $250,000.” I thought, “Wait a minute, it’s 1969, and 10 years ago, the company was worth $14 million — and now it’s worth only $250,000!” Related: What to Know About Selling Your Business The takeaway This is a true story. As they say, “I can’t make this stuff up!” My uncle fell in love with his company. It became his “baby,” and he couldn’t give his “baby” up — with disastrous results. That five-minute “snippet” had a major impact on my business philosophy. But most business founders treat their companies as their “babies” and hold them far too long. Businesses, like everything else, have a life cycle. The business lifecycle Let’s talk about the classic lifecycle of a business. The number of years is highly dependent on the particular industry. In a fast-changing industry like high technology, the time from start-up to decay could be a few years, while a slow-changing industry like insurance might take several years. Every company gets to a level (plateau) where, in order to get to the next level, they require a capital infusion. This usually happens between $5 and $10 million in revenue. The company may need new management as the business owner may not have the appropriate management expertise, and the company may require a CFO to strategically handle the financial requirements of growth. The company will need to increase marketing efforts and hire more competent salespeople. The company may need to open regional offices to tap new markets. The company will need more space to house the increased support and administrative staff. Just before the peak of the bell-shaped curve, where the business growth has slowed (but is still growing), a decision has to be made on how to implement a new growth surge to get to the next level. If the owner has the ability, the energy and the motivation, she/he can find the capital, either through debt or equity, to fund a new growth surge. If the owner does not have the ability, energy and motivation, hopefully they have put the company in a position to find the “right buyer.” Related: Study Shows Entrepreneurs Really Do Love Their Businesses Like Their Children If the owner waits until the company’s growth begins to decline, not only will it be more difficult to find the “right buyer,” but also more difficult to procure the funds for organic growth. I can only imagine what my Uncle Ken would have realized from the sale of his company if he had followed this strategy and not treated his company as his “baby.” Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success. Read More

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In a recent team meeting, something became undeniably clear to me: Although I’ve got a bold, clear vision for my PR firm, not everyone on my team felt confident about stepping into it, either when I first hired them or even later, once they were an established staffer. Some felt they lacked the education to connect their daily work to our broader purpose; others simply didn’t believe they were equipped to carry out that purpose. When they shared their thoughts with me, that’s when I realized where leadership meets reality. A vision without empowered people behind it is just a poster on a wall — it’s nothing but a framed motto in the office that no one pays attention to with their heads down at their desks. As leaders, therefore, it’s our job to go beyond just articulating a mission. We must create the systems, the culture and the psychological safety our teams require to own it. Execution doesn’t happen because the boss demands it; it happens because people believe they have the capacity and capabilities to execute. If you want your team to execute your vision, start by making sure they understand it, see themselves in it and feel supported enough to take resolute steps forward. Vision becomes reality through confident action, and confident action begins with intentional leadership. Here are the guidelines I relay to my team to enable that. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success. Step #1: Trust your judgment Remind every member on your team that they were hired for their strengths and instincts. If you didn’t see in them characteristics that would serve both your own company objectives and their professional growth, you wouldn’t have brought them on. So counsel them to trust their own judgment — built on their distinct proficiencies and experiences — when they’re making decisions on behalf of your organization. The more they see that you have trust in them, the more they’ll trust themselves. Related: 7 Ways to Build Consumer Trust Naturally Step #2: Self-assurance counts Even when your people feel a little trepidatious or unsure on the inside, you want your customers to feel assured in your company’s services or products. So I tell my staff to speak with confidence in their responses and communications, which sets our clients at ease and makes them feel well taken care of. It’s fine to still be learning (to always be learning, actually); it’s okay to not always have the answers. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t present yourself as knowledgeable and resourceful in the interests of the company’s overall goals. Saying, “You know, I’m not 100% sure of that, but I’ll ask our marketing director and get back to you with an answer by the end of the day” is just as reassuring to the client as having the answer readily available on the spot. Step #3: Mistakes are fixable Mistakes are going to happen. People are going to mess up. Details are going to slip through the cracks. It’s inevitable. But you can make your staff feel vitally supported even when missteps occur by explaining that there’s nothing someone can say or do that can’t be corrected. Maybe it can’t be erased or totally remedied, but I can’t think of any company faux pas we’ve experienced that hasn’t been made better by a concerted effort to improve the situation. We all grow by trying, not by being paralyzed by fear or giving in to anxiety. So make it part of your company ethos — make sure your people know that it’s okay to slip up and that you’ll be there for them to get them back on solid footing. By doing so, you’ll all continue to advance toward a vision that’s perfectly imperfect for your company profile. Step #4: Be forward-thinking A great way to effectively execute a company vision is to keep looking at it through your forward-facing windshield, not your rearview mirror. So I consistently encourage my team members to anticipate needs, plan next steps, devise solutions, sometimes even before there’s a need for them. Part of this mindset is prompting your people to lead from where they are, to not wait to be led. When you allow this kind of autonomy and self-determination at work, it boosts your team’s morale, it builds their cumulative strength, and it shepherds them toward enacting their own informed choices. All of this feeds into your company vision positively, proactively and powerfully. Step #5: Don’t wait for permission On a related but separate note, you can nurture your team by permitting them to not seek permission. True, you don’t want people going rogue and implementing plans that could negatively affect your client base or that involve pricing. But if something falls squarely within their role and it aligns with the spirit and intent of your company’s values, let your team members roam free. Just be sure they’re well-versed on those values first! Examples of this: I let my writers write the way they think is best for our clients. I let my publicists devise their own pitching hooks and press release themes. I let my operations manager manage operations without too much input from me, and I let my client representatives establish their own one-on-one personal relationships with their accounts. If things aren’t clear, they know they can ask questions. If they need authorization for something, they know who to go to. But mostly, I like to write out a lot of permission slips and see how far my staff can go on their own merits. Related: The Most Successful Founders Take Retreats — Here’s Why You Should, Too Step #6: Management has your back If you’re grooming a team that can help you progress toward your overarching vision for your company day by day, it’s imperative that they feel wholly supported in their

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Nothing tests a leader like turbulence. Just ask the thousands of executives watching AI disrupt their industries. ChatGPT was released just two years ago; OpenAI reports it now sees over 400 million weekly users, with more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies integrating its tools. By comparison, the internet didn’t reach this level of adoption until nearly a decade after its debut. That kind of acceleration isn’t just impressive — it’s disorienting. Nearly three-quarters of professionals globally say they feel overwhelmed by the current pace of change at work. So, how do leaders prepare for this level of disruption while managing the change required to unlock real value from new technologies? There’s a saying: You don’t lose your job or your business to AI (or any “new technology” for that matter); you lose it to the person or competitor who learns how to use it better than you do. As AI drives unprecedented speed and efficiency, the real competitive threat isn’t the technology itself, but the leaders who harness it first. One thing is clear: Companies that can’t adapt fast enough fall behind, no matter how brilliant their product or loyal their customer base. The key difference between the brands thriving through AI disruption and those scrambling to stay afloat? Leadership agility. Agile leaders don’t simply absorb change — they anticipate it, build for it and move through it with intentional speed. The good news? You don’t need a C-suite full of technologists to lead this way. Here are three ways you can foster business agility right now: Related: Here’s Why Business Leaders Today Need to Have An Agile Mindset 1. Anticipate what’s next, not just what’s now Reactive leaders chase problems. Proactive leaders predict them and pivot early enough to turn friction into advantage. This kind of leadership doesn’t just respond to change; it creates the conditions to meet it strategically, before urgency takes over — especially as new AI-driven tools, old competitors and new market entrants can change the market landscape in weeks, not years. One example: Zoom, once known mostly as a conferencing tool, anticipated that hybrid work wasn’t going away. Instead of coasting on its pandemic-fueled popularity, it expanded into virtual collaboration, AI note-taking and whiteboarding. That foresight helped the brand stay essential even as competitors caught up. Similarly, leaders who recognize that AI can offload repetitive tasks, such as scheduling, data entry or note-taking, free their people to operate at the top of their license. In other words, by pushing repetitive, more tactical work to machines, humans can spend more time on strategic, creative or relationship-driven activities. In executive coaching, for instance, senior coaches can now dedicate more time to meaningful conversations with clients because AI-powered summaries handle the note-taking. Or take nursing in hospitals and add in AI-video-based fall-risk detection. Now, nurses can spend less time watching patients and more time “top of their licenses” caring for them. These kinds of shifts allow teams to deliver more value, faster and at lower cost. And if your competitors embrace this before you do, they’ll pull ahead. The takeaway? Market signals rarely whisper for long. Pay attention closely, anticipate and move while you still have the advantage. Think about your industry, company and people. How might AI improve or replace some (or all) of what you do in the future? Then find ways to leverage new technology to level up what you do. Related: How to Spot Trends and Anticipate Market Shifts Before Your Competition 2. Strengthen your tech foundation before it’s tested Agility doesn’t come from reacting faster. It comes from building infrastructure that can flex under pressure, not crack. Too many businesses delay adopting new technologies until something breaks, opening themselves up to downtime, security threats and operational standstills. And in an AI-enabled environment where new platforms evolve rapidly, that lag can make the difference between staying relevant or falling behind. Technical debt — the accumulation of outdated systems and patchwork fixes — can quietly slow a company to a crawl. But it’s not just technology that creates drag. Procedural debt, or the tendency to keep doing things the “old” way simply because that’s how it’s always been done, can be just as dangerous. Legacy processes layered with workarounds become a hidden barrier to speed and innovation, trapping organizations in patterns that no longer serve their goals. By confronting both technical and procedural debt early, leaders clear the path for true agility. This proactive approach ensures their teams and systems are ready to pivot, scale and seize opportunities without being held back by outdated tools or entrenched habits. As Thomas Koll, CEO of Laplink Software, puts it: “Forward-thinking companies are moving away from reactive tech upgrades and instead building resilient, adaptable infrastructures that support continuous AI adoption — including AI PCs — as part of an ongoing evolution. This empowers professionals to experience fewer technical disruptions, be ready for new AI tools right on their desktops and focus on innovating and streamlining business workflows.” Building a resilient, AI-ready organization isn’t just a technical necessity. It’s a strategic move to empower your team to do higher-value work. When leaders implement systems that incorporate AI thoughtfully, they enable employees to focus on tasks that require human judgment, emotional intelligence and creative problem-solving. This sets a new standard for productivity and innovation that competitors will quickly match (or exceed) if you don’t move first. Strong tech foundations aren’t about shiny tools; they’re about keeping your people and systems ready for the next pivot, before it’s forced on you. 3. Build an agile organization that frees your team to innovate Agility isn’t just about having the right technology and processes. It’s about creating an organizational structure that keeps teams flexible, focused and forward-looking. Rigid hierarchies, overcomplicated approval chains and outdated workflows weigh down progress. Leaders who prioritize process agility create space for innovation by reducing daily friction. This might mean empowering teams to make faster decisions, rethinking how information