Most vendors think they are early.
They pace an AI security pitch to a market they assume is still forming. Waiting for the category to settle. Waiting for buyers to catch up.
The buyers already moved.
Nearly half of every project signal our members sent in the last two weeks was the same shape: the AI agents are deployed, and now they need to be controlled. These leaders are moving on it this quarter.
In their words:
"We continue to deploy agents at scale." (Chief Architect, enterprise software)
"AI governance is a huge focus. Teams are trying to figure out the right approach without slowing the business down." (Enterprise Security Program Manager, finance)
"There is no current method to monitor, detect, and secure AI use." (Director of IT, hospitality)
"Police what AI agents are being leveraged across the business units." (Head of Cybersecurity Strategy, software)
"We have budget for AI Security and AI Governance for FY27. I am exploring solutions now." (Head of Information Security, healthcare)
The agents shipped first. The controls are being bought second. That gap is the whole market.
A buyer who already has agents in production is not weighing a nice-to-have. They carry live risk and a funded budget line, and they want to hand it to someone this quarter.
That is when a meeting is worth the most: after the problem is real, before the shortlist is set. Most vendors do not hear about these projects until the RFP lands. By then the room is full.
When we put a vendor in front of one of these leaders, 78% of those meetings end in a booked next step. They have already named the project and the timeline.
If you sell into AI governance, agent security, or shadow AI, this is your window. Meet these buyers one at a time, pay per meeting, no contract. Reply to this email and I will show you how.
— Ryan
New to the network
These IT and security leaders opted into the network in the last two weeks.
Chief Information Security Officer at Parsons ($4B revenue)
Senior Advanced Systems Engineer & Cyber Security Lead at Honeywell ($37.4B revenue)
Director of IT at CDW Corporation ($18.5B revenue)
Associate Director, IT Security Risk at Columbia University Medical Center ($9.9B revenue)
Director of Security at Remitly ($1.6B revenue)
Vice President, Enterprise Business Systems & IT at The Knot Worldwide ($455M revenue)
Head of Cybersecurity Alliances at Black Box Corporation ($705M revenue)
Information Systems Security Manager at US Federal Government (3M employees)