Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2026. Read them in this 18th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Avani Desai, Chief Executive Officer, Schellman Compliance, LLC
As organizations move deeper into an AI-driven landscape, one reality is becoming increasingly clear: trust will determine who leads the market in the years ahead. In 2026, enterprises will confront a mix of rapid innovation, expanding regulatory expectations, and rising security threats. These forces will redefine how companies operate and compete. AI, cybersecurity, and data governance are no longer independent disciplines. They form a tightly connected ecosystem that influences every customer interaction, operational decision, and strategic investment.
Leaders across industries are beginning to recognize that responsible AI and resilient security programs are now business imperatives. Success will depend on the ability to demonstrate transparency, manage risk proactively, and build confidence with regulators, partners, and customers. Independent validation, continuous oversight, and evidence-based governance will become the markers of organizations that can be trusted to innovate safely. Against this backdrop, the following predictions illustrate how 2026 may redefine the global digital trust landscape.
The Convergence of AI, Cyber, and Data Risk
In 2026, the biggest challenge for digital trust will be that AI, cyber, and data risk are no longer separate topics, they are converging. Highly capable and increasingly autonomous AI systems, concentration risk in cloud and critical vendors, deepfake-driven fraud, and the weaponization of data are hitting all at once.
Enterprises are used to governing technologies that behave in predictable ways. Generative and agentic AI do not. Yet they are now deeply embedded into customer journeys, supply chains, and critical infrastructure. At the same time, threat actors are using those same tools to scale phishing, social engineering, and exploitation.
The real risk is not just technical failure, it’s a loss of confidence in digital systems. The organizations that will get ahead are those that treat AI assurance and cyber resilience as board-level capabilities, not IT projects. Continuous testing, monitoring, and third-party validation will become essential, replacing one-time, check-the-box exercises with ongoing assurance.
Fragmented Rules, Shared Principles
We are seeing a clear shift toward more prescriptive rules around transparency and accountability, but the path will not be perfectly harmonized. California’s S.B. 53 is setting early expectations in the U.S. for high-compute AI models, requiring disclosures around safety, security, and misuse. In Europe, the EU AI Act and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive are creating parallel accountability frameworks, one focused on responsible AI, the other on human rights and environmental impact.
While this could lead to a patchwork of regional rules, the underlying principles are converging. Documentation, explainability, human oversight, and due diligence are emerging as global norms. Over time, global enterprises will build to the highest common denominator, then use independent assurance to demonstrate compliance across jurisdictions in a consistent and credible way.
AI Governance Moves to the Boardroom
The question is no longer whether to use AI, it’s how to use it responsibly and defensibly. Boards are asking for AI inventories, model risk frameworks, and clear guardrails around high-risk use cases. Investors are beginning to view AI governance in the same context as cybersecurity and data privacy.
Executives are responding by creating cross-functional AI councils that include legal, risk, technology, and business leaders. Many are embedding AI into enterprise risk management programs and piloting internal model controls, testing, and validation. The most forward-looking organizations understand that in a world where everyone claims responsible AI, evidence will matter more than slogans.
Trust Becomes a Strategic Asset
AI and cybersecurity are no longer technical domains, they are system-level issues. At global events like the Fortune Global Forum and the World Economic Forum, leaders are framing AI, climate, and regulation as intertwined forces that will reshape growth, capital, and governance models.
The central theme is that trust is now a strategic asset. Innovation cannot be separated from governance or security. This will drive more joint public-private frameworks, greater expectations for transparency from technology providers, and growing demand for independent validation as a foundation for digital trust.
Regional Differences, Global Alignment
The global community is moving toward shared goals, but along different paths. Europe is leading with comprehensive, rights-based regulation. The U.S. remains more fragmented, with sectoral rules, state-level leadership, and voluntary frameworks guiding the market. Other regions, including the Gulf and parts of Asia, are emphasizing innovation while signaling that trust and safety remain priorities.
The result is a mosaic of regional approaches with a shared center of gravity around transparency, accountability, and resilience. While full harmonization is unlikely, common assurance frameworks will bridge the gaps and enable enterprises to operate under a unified trust posture.
Independent Assurance as Proof of Trust
As responsible AI becomes a global headline, the risk of shallow claims grows. Independent assurance will become the key differentiator between marketing and reality.
Organizations will need to demonstrate, not just declare, that their AI systems are governed, tested, and monitored. Third-party verification will validate that model inventories are complete, controls are effective, and oversight is active. This evidence will provide boards with defensible confidence and give regulators and customers tangible proof of trustworthiness. Over time, AI assurance will resemble financial and cybersecurity audits, complete with independent standards, external testing, and transparent reporting.
Industries Leading the Shift
Sectors under the most scrutiny, financial services, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, are leading in adopting AI model audits, cloud risk management, and sustainability verification.
At the same time, major technology providers are setting the pace on AI governance standards like ISO 42001. Large SaaS and IaaS platforms, along with frontier model developers, understand that independent validation of their AI governance is not just compliance; it is a competitive advantage in earning market trust.
As 2026 approaches, enterprises will operate in an environment defined by rapid innovation and rapidly evolving expectations for accountability. Success will no longer be determined solely by the ability to deploy advanced AI tools. It will be determined by the ability to demonstrate that those tools are safe, governed, and aligned with responsible practices. Organizations that commit to clear oversight, consistent monitoring, and credible assurance will be better positioned to earn the confidence of customers, regulators, and partners.
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Avani is Chief Executive Officer at Schellman, the largest niche cybersecurity assessment firm in the world that focuses on technology assessments. Avani is an accomplished executive with domestic and international experience in information security, operations, P&L, oversight, and marketing involving both start-up and growth organizations. She has been featured in Forbes, CIO.com, and the Wall Street Journal, and is a sought-after speaker as a voice on a variety of emerging topics, including security, privacy, information security, future technology trends, and the expansion of young women involved in technology.
Also passionate about strategic philanthropy, Avani sits on the board of Arnold Palmer Medical Center, Philanos, Audit Committee chairwoman at the Central Florida Foundation, and is the co-chair of 100 Women Strong, a female-only venture capitalist based giving circle that focuses on solving community-based problems specific to women and children by using data analytics and big data. Avani is also an avid runner, always looking to sign up for the next Disney marathon.
With all that being said, Avani still considers her greatest accomplishment to be personal rather than professional-she is the proud mother to three children.
