said Nick Kakolowski, senior director of CISO research at IANS. And as the role of CISO evolves, it also expands. Just shy of 80 percent of CISOs surveyed recently for Cisco’s Splunk division said their role has become “significantly more complex.” “They are now architects of trust and resilience for the entire organization, responsible for data privacy, regulatory compliance, third-party cyber risk and so much more,” argued the Splunk study. “The cybersecurity function continues to rise in prominence, expand in scope and gain visibility. Consequently, CISOs are increasingly expected to serve not just as technical leaders, but as enterprise-wide strategists,” concurred IANS researchers. As CISO responsibilities transform from hands-on technical experts into strategic leaders influencing business decision-making, it becomes incumbent on partners and providers of business technology to understand the growing influence of CISOs within the entire IT buying circle. Even when a seller may not be speaking directly to the CISO or specifically discussing cybersecurity, they often still must speak to a CISO’s concerns and objectives. “The CISO role is undergoing a seismic shift – they are no longer just security leaders but are increasingly pivotal business strategists,” noted Kakolowski. The IANS study categorized CISOs into three distinct segments based on their organizational influence and executive access. For this year, it found that 28 percent of CISOs were “strategic,” described as leaders who excel in both C-suite access and boardroom influence, frequently engaging with top executives to align cybersecurity with broader business goals. Half of CISOs were categorized as “functional,” meaning they have “significant influence” in either the C-suite or boardroom but lack consistent visibility in both areas. The smallest group, at 22 percent, was listed as “tactical.” These CISOs face limited access to senior leadership and infrequent engagement with the board. Not surprisingly, the senior executives that CISOs interact with most regularly are CIO and CTO types. According to the IANS survey, 91 percent of CISOs reported that they CISOs with at Least Monthly One-to-One Meetings, by Type Title Executive-level CISO Director-level CISO CIO/CTO 90% 90% Head of Legal/General Counsel 59% 43% CFO 40% 22% CEO/COO 45% 21% Business unit/P&L Leaders 39% 26% Head of Products 46% 30% Head of HR 39% 21% Head of Sales 28% 13% Head of Marketing 24% 11% Source: IANS State of CISO Report Frequency in Which CISOs Have Direct, One-on-one Meetings Title Weekly Monthly Quarterly Ad-hoc No need CIO/CTO 71% 20% 5% 4% 0% Head of Legal/General Counsel 23% 31% 19% 25% 2% CFO 9% 25% 29% 33% 5% CEO/COO 11% 21% 29% 34% 4% Business unit/P&L Leaders 11% 23% 23% 39% 4% Head of Products 16% 24% 16% 33% 12% Head of HR 9% 23% 21% 43% 4% Head of Sales 6% 15% 16% 45% 18% Head of Marketing 4% 15% 15% 47% 18% Source: IANS State of CISO Report 25 SPRING 2026 | CHANNELVISION
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTg4Njc=