Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced an expansion of their long-standing strategic alliance. New offerings will combine Precision AI technology from Palo Alto Networks and Accenture’s secure generative AI services to help organizations embrace “the potential of AI with cybersecurity.”
The use of Gen AI is accelerating rapidly, “presenting both challenges for organizations with the rise in AI-generated cyberattacks and opportunities for transformation.”
In a recent survey from Accenture, 97% of organizations “responded that they expect Gen AI to be transformative, but only 31% have invested significantly—organizations struggle to scale AI effectively while mitigating risks.”
Palo Alto Networks and Accenture are working together “to help solve this for joint clients, enabling them to work toward a secure AI future through intentional design, deployment and use of AI that creates value while also improving cybersecurity outcomes.”
Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO at Palo Alto Networks, said:
“AI is transformational to every aspect of the enterprise business when used the right way. With Accenture, we’re uniting Precision AI-powered solutions and services expertise, helping our joint customers use the best of AI to create value for their business today and in the future—with better real-time security outcomes. The expansion of our partnership underscores the critical importance of a strong AI ecosystem for customers.”
Karthik Narain, group chief executive — Technology at Accenture, said:
“Generative AI is being adopted by companies across industries as the #1 lever for reinvention. It is also a moment of reinvention for cybersecurity—creating new risks, but also providing new tools. Accenture and Palo Alto Networks are helping clients confidently navigate each phase of their AI journey, ensuring cybersecurity is prioritized right from the outset.”
Palo Alto Networks Secure AI by Design creates “a secure AI ecosystem that prioritizes the integrity of AI security frameworks, improves security compliance and minimizes data exposure. Accenture will offer comprehensive AI diagnostic services powered by Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) and AI Access Security to secure clients’ AI environment with AI Runtime Security, helping them develop a multilayered strategy to support every stage of the AI lifecycle.”
Cross-platform offers will include:
- Securing Gen AI builds: The combined offering secures the data/AI framework lifecycle from ingesting, storing and processing data to model training and deployment leading to data analysis and visualization. It secures the full AI lifecycle, protecting against vulnerabilities.
- Discovery and exposure management: Accenture’s AI Discovery & Exposure Management offering, powered by Palo Alto Networks cutting-edge AI Security Posture Management and AI Access Security capabilities, provides a comprehensive solution to govern and defend AI environments.
- Proactive threat detection and prevention: Palo Alto Networks suite of AI cybersecurity products powered by Precision AI offers advanced threat detection and prevention capabilities. Combined with Accenture’s services capabilities, the offering helps clients identify and block AI-generated attacks, safeguard data with policy controls across applications and users, and proactively address AI-specific threats through expert guidance and hardening of AI-enabled application development.
- Responsible AI practices: Palo Alto Networks and Accenture are jointly committed to fostering ethical and responsible AI adoption with an approach that leverages AI cybersecurity assessments to establish a foundation for secure, responsible practices throughout an organization.
Palo Alto Networks will collaborate closely with Accenture Security “as a design partner to develop and customize Palo Alto Networks AI Runtime Security to meet specific client needs, and better protect AI-powered business applications, models and enterprise data in real-time from AI-specific and foundational cyberattacks.”
