Netskope Research: AI has Increased Demands on Enterprise IT Infrastructure, with Legacy Technology Struggling with Resilience, Performance and Security

Rhea-AI Summary

Netskope (NASDAQ: NTSK) research published Jan 20, 2026 finds enterprises facing rising AI-driven demands that legacy IT struggles to meet. 80% of I&O leaders say IT is central to core business goals and have seen senior expectations rise; only 38% believe current systems can handle AI demands and just 18% are fully confident in team and budget to meet performance, resilience, and security needs. The report highlights gaps in C-suite alignment, visibility, and KPI priorities, and offers five recommendations to translate infrastructure decisions into business outcomes and position I&O to enable safe AI adoption.

Positive

• 80% of I&O leaders view IT as central to business goals
• 80% reported rising senior-leader expectations in past 12 months
• 65% say IT infrastructure is more important today than before
• Report provides five actionable recommendations for I&O-C-suite alignment

Negative

• Only 38% believe current systems can handle AI demands
• Only 18% are fully confident in team and budget for AI readiness
• 63% feel removed from strategic conversations shaping IT decisions
• 60% report a defensive 'if it ain’t broke' investment mindset

Key Figures

Rising leadership expectations: 80% AI-ready systems: 38% Team & budget confidence: 18% +5 more

8 metrics

Rising leadership expectations 80% IT leaders seeing higher senior leadership expectations over last 12 months

AI-ready systems 38% I&O leaders believing current infrastructure can handle new AI demands

Team & budget confidence 18% Leaders completely confident in team and budget for AI-era expectations

Strategic disconnect 63% I&O respondents feeling far removed from strategic IT decision conversations

Unrealistic performance expectations 55% Leaders viewing C-suite performance expectations as unrealistic with current systems

Unrealistic resilience expectations 58% Leaders viewing resilience expectations as unrealistic with current systems

Unrealistic security expectations 59% Leaders viewing security expectations as unrealistic with current systems

Defensive IT mindset 60% Organizations with an 'if it ain’t broke' approach to IT investments

Market Reality Check

Price: $14.99 Vol: Volume 2,132,733 is below...

normal vol

$14.99 Last Close

Volume Volume 2,132,733 is below the 20-day average of 2,592,417, suggesting no outsized trading interest ahead of this AI research release. normal

Technical Shares at $14.76 are trading below the $20.60 200-day MA and sit just above the 52-week low of $14.75, far from the $27.99 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

No peer stocks from the Services-prepackaged Software sector appeared in the mom...

No peer stocks from the Services-prepackaged Software sector appeared in the momentum scanner, and no same-day peer headlines are recorded, indicating today’s -4.16% move in NTSK appears company-specific rather than part of a sector-wide rotation.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Dec 11 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 11	Earnings results	Positive	+4.4%	Reported strong Q3 FY26 growth, improved margins, and positive cash generation.
Dec 01	AI product update	Positive	-3.4%	Announced new MCP security capabilities for AI agents across enterprise data.
Nov 24	Advisory board change	Positive	-2.3%	Added former U.S. government leaders to strengthen federal advisory board.
Nov 18	Partnership & AI	Positive	-2.9%	Expanded Microsoft integrations to secure modern AI and cloud environments.
Nov 06	Earnings date notice	Neutral	-4.2%	Announced timing and logistics for upcoming Q3 FY26 earnings release.

Pattern Detected

Recent news shows mostly positive or neutral catalysts, yet three of the last four non-scheduling releases saw negative next-day moves, suggesting a tendency for shares to sell off or fade after upbeat announcements.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Netskope reported strong Q3 FY26 results on Dec 11, 2025, with accelerating growth and positive cash generation, which was followed by a 4.44% gain. Subsequent AI platform enhancements and a Microsoft collaboration in November and December drew negative price reactions between -2.9% and -3.43%. Management and federal advisory board updates also coincided with modest declines. Today’s AI-focused research continues the theme of positioning Netskope as an AI-era security leader rather than announcing new products or financials.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights survey data showing that only 38% of I&O leaders view their infrastruct...

Analysis

This announcement highlights survey data showing that only 38% of I&O leaders view their infrastructure as ready for AI, with just 18% fully confident in team and budget. It reinforces Netskope’s AI-era positioning rather than introducing new products or financials. In context of prior AI-tagged launches and strong Q3 FY26 results, investors may watch how effectively the company turns this thought leadership into concrete platform adoption and revenue growth.

Key Terms

ai, ztna

2 terms

ai technical

"in the AI era, has today published new research"

Artificial intelligence (AI) is technology that enables machines to mimic human thinking and learning, allowing them to analyze information, recognize patterns, and make decisions. For investors, AI matters because it can improve how businesses operate, create new products, or identify opportunities faster and more accurately than humans alone, potentially impacting company success and market trends.

ztna technical

"not just technology terms like "ZTNA roll-out""

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is a security model that grants each user or device only the exact access needed to specific applications, instead of trusting them once they’re inside a network. Think of it as a smart bouncer who checks ID and a reservation for every room rather than letting someone roam freely; for investors, ZTNA matters because it reduces breach risk, lowers potential liability and compliance costs, and drives demand for security products and services.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

80% of IT leaders reported that expectations from senior leaders have grown in the past 12 months, and only 38% believe their current systems are fully equipped to handle the new demands

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Netskope (NASDAQ: NTSK), a leader in modern security and networking for the cloud and AI era, has today published new research revealing that only a minority (38%) of infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders interviewed believe their existing infrastructure can handle the new demands of AI, and even fewer (18%) are completely confident they have the team and budget to meet the performance, resilience, and security expectations of their organization in the AI era.

Researchers interviewed global I&O leaders, aiming to discover how well integrated IT activities were to broader business plans. They discovered that senior leadership and their technology teams need to align more effectively in order to overcome potentially significant operational hurdles when upgrading infrastructure for AI demands:

• Soaring expectations: Four in five I&O leaders (80%) believed their organization’s IT infrastructure to be central to delivering core business goals, and the same number (80%) have seen expectations from senior leaders rise in the last 12 months. 83% of I&O leaders feel that expectations on them have personally intensified.
• The alignment disconnect: Nearly two-thirds (63%) of I&O respondents felt far removed from the strategic conversations that shape IT decisions, and 20% admitted they lack a clear understanding of their CEO's or CIO's objectives. 37% describe their role and function as “reactive”.
• Mutual barriers: 61% reported their CEO’s feelings of frustration when IT infrastructure isn’t as transparent or easy to understand as he or she would like.
• Misaligned KPI prioritization and attainability: I&O leaders believe senior leadership to be most interested in security, visibility, and cost, and less inclined to discuss resilience or performance. Majorities believed C-suite expectations around performance (55%), resilience (58%), and security (59%) were unrealistic given their current systems, and they felt least able to affect control over security and performance.
• Reactive approaches: 60% of I&O leaders believe that their organization had a defensive ‘if it ain’t broke’ mindset when it comes to investing in IT infrastructure and operations.
  

While the promise of AI undoubtedly dominates C-suite conversations around digital transformation and growth (and is perhaps key in driving 65% of I&O leaders to believe that IT infrastructure is more important in the running of their organization today than ever before) AI enablement has not necessarily been the priority for I&O teams. In fact, more long running challenges topped the priority list for I&O leaders, including improving the security and performance of remote access technologies (43%), and improving visibility into network operations and performance (35%) which both outrank work to support the organization’s adoption of AI (34%).

Mike Anderson, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Netskope commented on the findings; “AI has increased demand on enterprise infrastructure at a pace that legacy systems were never built to support. Our research shows that this strain has been amplified by a widening communication gap inside organizations. Senior leaders want clearer insight into the resilience and readiness of their IT environments, while I&O teams are under growing pressure to deliver performance, security, and reliability with limited resources. The way forward begins with translating infrastructure decisions into business terms so leadership can see how modernization reduces risk, improves agility, and prepares the organization for safe and effective AI adoption. When IT and the C-suite share this understanding, infrastructure becomes a strategic advantage rather than a constraint.”

The research offers five recommendations for I&O leaders to forge stronger connections with the C-suite:

1. Translate infrastructure decisions into business outcomes (e.g., talk about agility and risk reduction, not just technology terms like "ZTNA roll-out").
2. Engage earlier and more actively in strategic planning to design infrastructure for the future.
3. Advocate for architectural simplicity and consolidation to move away from reactive 'Band-Aid' fixes.
4. Create ongoing visibility for senior leaders with transparent reporting that demystifies the "black box" of the IT estate.
5. Position I&O as an enabler of safe, fast AI adoption to reduce C-level anxiety and build trust.
   

To learn more, download the research report, Crucial Conversations: Line of Sight, here.

About Netskope
Netskope (NASDAQ: NTSK), a leader in modern security and networking for the cloud and AI era, addresses the needs of both security and networking teams by providing optimized access and real-time, context-based security for people, devices, and data anywhere they go. Thousands of customers, including more than 30% of the Fortune 100, trust the Netskope One platform, its Zero Trust Engine, and its powerful NewEdge network to reduce risk and gain full visibility and control over cloud, AI, SaaS, web, and private applications—providing security and accelerating performance without trade-offs.

Learn more at netskope.com, on LinkedIn, and on Instagram.

Media Contact:
press@netskope.com

Investors:
ir@netskope.com

FAQ

What did Netskope (NTSK) research released Jan 20, 2026 find about AI readiness?

The research found only 38% of I&O leaders believe current infrastructure can handle AI demands and 18% are fully confident in team and budget.

How many I&O leaders told Netskope (NTSK) senior expectations have risen in 12 months?

80% of I&O leaders said expectations from senior leaders have increased over the past 12 months.

What alignment gaps did the Netskope (NTSK) Jan 20, 2026 report identify?

Key gaps include 63% feeling removed from strategic conversations and 20% lacking clear CEO/CIO objective understanding.

Which infrastructure priorities outranked AI support in the Netskope (NTSK) study?

Improving security and performance of remote access (43%) and visibility into network operations (35%) outranked AI support (34%).

What recommendations did Netskope (NTSK) give I&O leaders to address AI demands?

Five recommendations include translating infrastructure into business outcomes, engaging earlier in planning, simplifying architecture, creating transparent reporting, and positioning I&O to enable safe AI adoption.

What immediate risks for shareholders does the Netskope (NTSK) research imply?

The report signals operational risk from legacy infrastructure: limited AI readiness, misaligned KPIs, and potential underinvestment affecting performance, resilience, and security.