Demand for analytics services has reached an inflection point, with new opportunities around the development and implementation of secure, industry-aligned agentic AI solutions refueling growth

From shadow AI to the advent of AI agents, generative AI (GenAI) has increased IT complexities and the need for greater enterprise resiliency, compelling vendors to enhance their cybersecurity portfolios. This is not surprising, given that according to TBR’s November 2024 Digital Transformation: Voice of the Customer Research, buyers ranked cybersecurity as the No. 1 technology supporting their digital transformation (DT) programs. Using AI to automate cyber threat detection will create opportunities to establish guardrails around AI identity in the world of multiagent ecosystems. Vendors’ ability to manage liability and accountability around AI cybersecurity will remain a key question as reports of bad AI continue to surface.

Analytics and insights services revenue expanded 5.9% year-to-year, on average, in 4Q24 for the 20 vendors included in TBR’s 1Q25 Digital Transformation: Analytics Professional Services Benchmark

While revenue growth remains lower than two years ago, when analytics and insights (A&I) services revenue expanded 14.3% year-to-year in 4Q22, there was a slight improvement in 4Q24 compared to six months ago when sales grew 5.6% on an annual basis. We believe the A&I services market has bottomed out and will start to improve as vendors capitalize on the dual opportunity to embed analytics tools within their IT modernization frameworks and develop and implement agentic AI solutions that address specific industry and functional pain points. We believe these two trends will also expand the addressable market opportunities for vendors as the need for greater AI security and a right-skilled bench will allow them to demonstrate value while they pivot their commercial models toward outcomes.

Security-related risks is among the top GenAI adoption barriers, presenting vendors with an opportunity to position cyber and AI as complementary solutions to help scale adoption

As TBR wrote in our 1H24 Cloud Infrastructure & Platforms Customer Research: “Most respondents cited security as the biggest GenAI adoption barrier, which makes sense as customers also referenced security as the biggest pain point associated with cloud technology.
 
That said, data-related challenges, such as governance and control of the data, are moving up the ranks and only reinforce the role that data architecture and data strategy play in GenAI adoption. It is a strong indication of where the hyperscalers and their partners, including the data ISV platforms they integrate with as well as the GSIs [global systems integrators], should be focused to help customers overcome these barriers. When asked about the role GSI partners play in data strategy, one-third of respondents said that the GSIs were instrumental in putting the right policies, tools and best practices in place around areas like data governance, quality and access.”
 
These findings are closely aligned with data from TBR’s November 2024 Digital Transformation: Voice of the Customer Research report where enterprise buyers ranked cybersecurity as the No. 1 technology supporting their DT programs. While investing in cyber-related capabilities is not a new trend, we believe the technology is experiencing a boom in terms of investment especially as chief information security officers try to balance the management of shadow AI with the increased use of GenAI tools for software development, content production and sales automation, among other functions.
 
While in the past cyber and cloud have gone hand in hand in terms of the buyer purchasing cycle, we see an opportunity for vendors to position AI and analytics and the attached cyber services as a more appealing value proposition especially as all parties face a new reality where robots (GenAI) are protecting themselves from other robots (cyberattacks).
 

The rise of robots guarding robots presents an opportunity for vendors to demonstrate value through accountability and cyber liability management, backed by domain and partner knowledge

Balancing the development of AI security models with enabling workforce productivity through the use of AI will help vendors create strong use cases for how to navigate the complexities that have arisen from the advent of the greater need for AI security. Vendors can then bring these experiences into client discussions as they often face similar struggles as shadow AI becomes mainstream.

Examples of vendors’ recent activities

• Accenture launched a suite of GenAI-enabled cyber resilience services and capabilities addressing issues such as deepfakes and helping prevent customer disruptions from across IT operations through supply chain management. Some of the services include Secure AI Solutions, which address enterprises’ AI program life cycle; Deepfake Protection; and Business Cyber Crisis Recovery.
• In October Eviden inaugurated an AI supercomputer in Denmark called Gefion as part of a deal from March with the Danish Centre for AI Innovation, which is owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. The supercomputer will enable large-scale AI projects and high levels of security for Danish data sovereignty, and support research and innovation in healthcare, life sciences and green transition.
• Cognizant expanded its Neuro suite to include cybersecurity offerings. The additional capabilities support a variety of devices across IoT networks and provide an AI-derived interface that showcases internal insights.
• The alliance with Clearspeed will leverage Deloitte’s IndustryAdvantage framework and Clearspeed’s AI-enabled risk identification platform to provide risk data and management capabilities supporting U.S. federal clients.
• DXC Technology has partnered with Checkmarx, a cloud-native application security specialist, to deliver comprehensive application security solutions globally. By offering Checkmarx One to its customers, DXC Technology aims to accelerate vulnerability detection and remediation throughout the software development life cycle.
• In August IBM announced it is adding GenAI capabilities to its managed Threat Detection and Response Services. The company launched IBM Consulting Cybersecurity Assistant to help clients better identify, investigate and respond to security threats. The Cybersecurity Assistant will be part of IBM Consulting’s threat detection and response practice and IBM Consulting Advantage.
• In September Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced an expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud with the release of two solutions: TCS Managed Detection and Response and TCS Secure Cloud Foundation.