IGEL Now & Next 2026: Turning endpoint strategy into resilient reality

Across industries, CIOs are navigating environments defined by constant change, growing attack surfaces, and increasing expectations for availability. The question is no longer whether disruption might occur, but whether IT organizations are prepared to keep the business running when it does. Coming out of IGEL Now & Next® 2026 in Miami, CIOs discovered a clear direction for how endpoint strategy must evolve to meet today’s operational realities.

Security incidents, operational outages, and infrastructure failures are no longer confined to edge cases. They are conditions that modern IT and OT environments must be designed to withstand. As a result, the conversation around endpoints is shifting. The focus is moving from prevention alone toward preparation, continuity, and recovery as part of day‑to‑day architectural decisions.

AI is raising the stakes: Zero trust must now do the heavy lifting

Forrester Principal Analyst James Plouffe described in his keynote how adversaries used AI for reconnaissance, to enumerate vulnerabilities, write custom exploits, and even do the heavy lifting of the paperwork, with AI guardrails “still in their infancy.” 

The recurring thread is velocity and volume, and AI “exacerbates security issues you already have.” He noted that only 67% of organizations report their sensitive data was breached or compromised at least once in the previous 12 months, averaging roughly 2.8 breaches a year, representing billions of dollars in damages. 

While he notes zero trust suffers from fatigue, with “just over 20% putting it in their top five strategic priorities,” implementing zero trust well helps take a big bite out of 14 of the other 22 priorities, including improving detection and response and preventing social engineering and identity-based attacks.

From secure endpoints to adaptive platforms

A key outcome of Now & Next 2026 was clarity around how endpoint strategy must evolve. IGEL’s move from a Secure Endpoint OS Platform to an Adaptive Secure Endpoint Platform™ reflects a broader shift CIOs are navigating: Endpoints are no longer static control points, but active participants in security, access, and resilience strategies.

For CIOs, immutability and centralized management remain essential, but no longer sufficient. Modern environments require policies that adjust dynamically based on role, location, and trust conditions. As IGEL describes, this approach allows “security and experience to adjust in real time based on who the user is, the device, location, and trust conditions.”

CIOs are changing their architectures to account for variability up front, using adaptive endpoints to preserve secure access and continuity however conditions may change.

Business continuity becomes an endpoint capability

Continuity planning is no longer about post-incident recovery. CIOs increasingly need the ability to maintain secure access while an incident is still unfolding, not after remediation is complete. At Now & Next 2026, this shift was a major focus in Jason Mafera’s keynote, where he described business continuity as part of a broader “constant of change” shaping IT strategy. He shared that it is no longer about VDI or not VDI. It is about enabling all application delivery methods while providing flexibility, security, and easier management regardless of strategy. 

This is the operational reality CIOs are designing for in 2026. Environments now span cloud desktops, published applications, SaaS, enterprise browsers, and locally delivered workloads, and continuity must extend across all of them. When disruption occurs, whether from ransomware, outages, or failed updates, the priority shifts from restoring systems to preserving access. 

IGEL BC&DR™ supports this model by allowing IT teams to instantly move endpoints into a secure, controlled state while maintaining user productivity through alternate delivery paths. The result is a more resilient operating posture, where continuity is defined by the ability to shift execution paths without breaking access, keeping the business running as conditions change. 

Preparing for when attacks happen

The business continuity message continued on the mainstage by General Paul M. Nakasone, former Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and former Director of the National Security Agency. He stated in his keynote that resilience is not simply a technical capability, but an organizational mindset that must be established well in advance of an incident.

Nakasone challenged organizations to move beyond contingency thinking rooted in uncertainty. Rather than asking, “If we get attacked, what will we do?” he argued that leaders must operate from the assumption that attacks are inevitable and plan accordingly, shifting the question to, “When we get attacked, here’s what we do.” The distinction has direct implications for preparedness, decision‑making, and execution.

The time to figure out roles, responsibilities, and decisions is not during the incident.

For CIOs, that message resonated strongly with broader discussions across the conference focused on business continuity at the endpoint. When disruption occurs, organizations need predefined response paths, clear authority, and the technical ability to preserve secure access without hesitation.

Customer leadership in action

During the event, IGEL presented the inaugural Now & Next® Innovation Award to Baptist Health Jacksonville. Baptist Health Jacksonville was recognized for revolutionizing its endpoint security, cutting device costs, streamlining management, and channeling cost savings into patient care. 

The two runners‑up, Eurocell and Texas Children’s Hospital, were also recognized for their efforts to modernize endpoint access and security within their respective environments. These customers tell their story in videos found on the Now & Next sessions page.

A growing ecosystem shaping what comes next

Beyond customer stories, Now & Next 2026 highlighted continued growth across the IGEL ecosystem.

In the keynote sessions, IGEL leaders announced expanding engagement across customers, technology partners, and community members. Recognition programs, including the IGEL Ready Partner Awards, MSP Awards and the inaugural class of IGEL Technology Professionals, recognized key partners and IGEL experts who are paving new paths forward.

CIO takeaways from IGEL Now & Next 2026

For CIOs planning the next phase of their security and resilience strategy, several themes stood out:

• Zero Trust must be executed at the endpoint, not just in identity or network layers.
• OT security is evolving to resilience and predictability. Immutable systems reduce risk without impacting uptime.
• Business continuity is about access, not just recovery. Maintaining secure user access during an incident matters as much as restoring systems
• Preparedness requires active planning. Organizations must assume attacks will occur and define response paths in advance.

IGEL Now & Next 2026 session content is available on demand. To learn more about these and other announcements from IGEL Now & Next 2026, visit igel.com/nowandnext2026.