Convergence Is the New Mandate: 99% of Enterprises Prioritize Unifying Security and Networking – But Only 30% Have Done It, Versa Study Finds

News Summary

• The problem: Enterprises are paying a measurable "complexity tax" – the daily cost of running fragmented, siloed networking and security environments, where 1 in 3 have already suffered a breach tied to gaps between the two teams.
• The AI accelerant: AI has made that tax acute by amplifying the speed, scale, and sophistication of both business operations and cyber threats.
• The response: 99% of senior leaders have named convergence a strategic priority, but only 30% have implemented shared ownership, exposing a wide gap between ambition and execution.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Versa, the global leader in unified security and networking, today released its inaugural Annual State of SASE + AI Report, "The Cost of Complexity". Based on a survey of 525 senior IT and security decision-makers at U.S. organizations with 1,000 or more employees, the research documents the measurable cost enterprises are paying every day for running fragmented, siloed networking and security environments. Versa calls this the complexity tax. AI is exposing organizational and architectural gaps in this fragmented infrastructure, forcing networking and security teams to collaborate more closely. The announcement was made at Versa’s annual Versatility conference, held May 11-13, 2026, in Santa Clara.

The findings are stark. More than one in three organizations (35%) suffered a security breach in the past year linked to gaps between security and networking teams. More than half (53%) are absorbing higher operational costs from redundant tools. Nearly three-quarters (73%) saw a critical project delayed or derailed by integration complexity. What was once an inefficiency is now measurably driving cost, risk, and delay across the enterprise.

"The complexity tax has been hiding in plain sight for a decade," said Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa. "AI made it visible, and AI is making it increasingly untenable. When one in three enterprises tells us a breach was caused or worsened by their own teams not talking to each other, that is not an inefficiency – it is a structural liability. The good news is that leaders now see the problem clearly: 99% have named convergence a strategic priority. The work ahead is to bring teams and technology together to execute."

The Hidden Cost of Fragmentation

The complexity tax shows up across every layer of the enterprise:

• 53% report higher operational costs from managing redundant and overlapping tools
• 47% report increased security risk from inconsistent policy enforcement
• 45% report delayed rollouts of new applications or services
• 36% report slower threat detection or response times

Vendor sprawl compounds the problem. Organizations juggling 50 or more vendors are nearly twice as likely to report delayed application rollouts as those with the leanest stacks (61% vs. 34%) and significantly more likely to report inconsistent policy enforcement (57% vs. 40%), reinforcing the reality that fragmentation compounds risk, not just cost.

AI Is the Forcing Function

95% of leaders say AI is forcing their networking and security teams to collaborate more closely, and it is not hard to see why. According to one C-level executive surveyed for the report, “AI tools require massive data access, cloud connectivity, APIs, and model integrations, which blur the line between network performance and security risk.”

When asked what derails critical projects, leaders pointed to a mix of technological and human breakdowns:

• 73% cite the technical complexity of integrating new solutions
• 64% cite conflicting priorities between teams
• 60% cite over-reliance on legacy vendors
• 55% cite budget disagreements between networking and security teams
• 48% cite poor coordination between networking and security teams

Convergence Is Inevitable; Execution Is the Gap

The consensus on the answer to complexity is overwhelming: 99% of senior leaders say moving to a more converged, unified security and networking platform is a recognized organizational goal. The primary driver is not cost: 58% cite strengthening security posture as a top reason to converge – nearly three times the share who cite lowering total cost of ownership (19%), signaling that this is risk-driven, not budget-driven.

But execution lags ambition. Only 30% of organizations have implemented shared ownership of SASE strategy, even though 43% of decision-makers say a joint committee should own it. Internal conflict peaks during the planning phase, when 76% of organizations report frequent or occasional budget disagreements between networking and security teams – the highest rate at any stage in the SASE journey.

“The industry has named the problem and named the answer,” said Kumar Mehta, Co-Founder and CDO of Versa. “Organizations that unify networking and security on a single architecture will turn AI from a source of exposure into a source of competitive advantage. The rest will watch cost, risk, and breaches compound.”

Availability

The Annual State of SASE + AI Report, "The Cost of Complexity" is available here.

Methodology

The report is based on a survey of 525 senior IT and security decision-makers in the United States conducted in March 2026. All respondents hold titles of Director or above, including C-level executives, Vice Presidents, Directors, and Network/Security Architects, at organizations with 1,000 or more employees. Respondents span Financial Services, Retail and E-commerce, Energy/Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Technology/Media/Telecom, and Government and Public Sector.

About Versa

Versa, the global leader in unified security and networking, enables organizations to create self-protecting networks that radically simplify and automate their network and security infrastructure. Powered by AI, the VersaONE Universal SASE Platform delivers converged SSE, SD-WAN, and SD-LAN solutions that protect data and defend against cyberthreats while providing a superior digital experience. Thousands of customers globally, with hundreds of thousands of sites and millions of users, trust Versa with their mission-critical networks and security. Versa is privately held and funded by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Mayfield, and BlackRock. For more information, visit https://www.versa-networks.com and follow Versa on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) @versanetworks.