Notes: Cloud Security Outlook - Revisiting Wiz vs. PANW (Pt.2)

Summary

• Since our deep dive in 2022/23, the cloud security market has consolidated around two clear leaders - PANW and Wiz - making them the focus of Part 2.
• We examine Wiz’s evolution and strategy to understand the trajectory of cloud security and the capabilities that legacy vendors must adopt to stay competitive.
• We highlight how Wiz has extended its scanning foundation into effective runtime protection, creating a more unified and synergistic CNAPP.
• We assess the growing importance of risk prioritization in vulnerability management as the number of CVEs surges beyond manageable levels.
• We analyze how PANW’s Cortex Cloud initiative could narrow its contextualization gap with Wiz by unifying real-time protection and detection under XSIAM.

Cloud security is entering a new era of complexity and urgency. As discussed in the Cloud Security TAM section of Part 1, the rising demand for AI is directly fueling the adoption of cloud infrastructure and enabling more software creation. In turn, it is creating more assets to manage and secure. AI is the latest catalyst in a long trend of attack surface expansion — following the shifts from on-prem to cloud, from office-bound to remote work, then to edge computing, and now to cloud-hosted AI workloads and AI-enabled software creation. Each shift has increased the number of exposed systems and entry points, providing attackers with more opportunities.

What sets AI apart is its dual role: not only does it consume more cloud services, but it also pulls more of the physical world online. AI thrives on data - especially real-world, real-time data - and enterprises are now accelerating digitalization to feed that need. This means bringing more OT and IoT devices online, which were previously siloed or left disconnected due to the complexity of managing and analyzing their data. With AI making analysis more scalable and actionable, organizations now see a compelling reason to connect everything from factory sensors to retail cameras. Even in traditional industrial sectors, no company wants to risk falling behind in the AI arms race.