Wiz 2026 Budget Survey Finds Security Spending Rising but Risk Concerns Persist
Original report publisher: not verified. Report discovered via Awesome Annual Security Reports.
Summary
Wiz’s survey of more than 300 cybersecurity leaders and practitioners finds 85% report rising security spending, yet 56% consider budgets insufficient. Cloud complexity, tool sprawl and demand for automation shape spending priorities.
Key points
- Wiz partnered with AimPoint Group to survey more than 300 cybersecurity leaders and practitioners across multiple industries and organization sizes.
- 85% of respondents reported increased cybersecurity spending, and 88% expected further increases next year; 56% considered overall spending insufficient to mitigate their risks.
- Cloud security spending increased at 85% of organizations, while 88% planned to increase their security teams’ cloud focus over the next two years.
- 58% of organizations operated more than 25 cybersecurity tools, and 49% of respondents identified cloud complexity as the biggest inhibitor to effective cloud security.
- Personnel accounted for an average 23% of cybersecurity budgets, compared with 21% for cloud security products.
- Cloud security improvement priorities included increasing automation for 62% of respondents, improving visibility for 48% and increasing training for 42%.
- 54% cited investment in AI-powered security solutions as a spending driver, while 47% cited countering AI-driven threats.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Wiz
- Scope
- Cybersecurity budgeting, cloud security resourcing, tool consolidation, and AI adoption across organizations in multiple industries.
- Sample Size
- More than 300 cybersecurity leaders and practitioners surveyed in partnership with AimPoint Group.
- Key Statistics
- 85% of respondents reported increased organizational cybersecurity spending since the previous year; 88% anticipated further increases the following year.
- 56% of respondents considered overall security spending insufficient to mitigate their organization's risks; 55% considered cloud security spending inadequate.
- 85% of organizations increased cloud security spending since the previous year, and 88% planned to increase their security team's cloud focus over the next two years.
- 58% of organizations operated more than 25 cybersecurity tools; 49% of respondents identified cloud complexity as the biggest inhibitor to their cloud security program's success.
- For improving cloud security in the coming year, 62% of respondents prioritized increasing automation and 48% prioritized improving visibility.
- Recommendations
- Adopt ROI frameworks that link security spending to risk reduction, using contextual risk analysis to prioritize threats and vulnerabilities with the greatest potential business impact.
- Select managed security providers that offer transparent findings, full-stack cloud visibility, appropriate managed or co-managed operating models, and alignment with engineering and DevOps workflows.
- Consolidate fragmented security solutions and automate cloud security processes to reduce operational burden and improve visibility.
- Clarify ownership and responsibility for cloud security and strengthen collaboration among security, business, and AI teams.
- Use AI to support risk prioritization, threat detection, and response while securing organizational AI implementations.
Vendors
Industries
E-commerceRetailers and e-commerce companies are also the most likely to be shrinking their budgets for next year (8% plan to do so).Financial Services- 54% of financial services firms are spending more than $5 millionHealthcareThere’s a bit more correlation with vertical. Organizations in technology and healthcare are the biggest spenders.ManufacturingAcross verticals, organizations in manufacturing are most likely to be increasing their budgets this year (96%), while retailers are least likely to be increasing their budgets (though 73% are still doing so).Professional ServicesThe professional services category is at the bottom of the heap, with only 50% of organizations increasing their spending in this area, and only 15% making significant increases.RetailAmong verticals, retail is far less likely than average to have more than half of the security team focused on the cloud.TechnologyThere’s a bit more correlation with vertical. Organizations in technology and healthcare are the biggest spenders.