The endpoint landscape is shifting quickly and IGEL Now & Next 2026 aims to turn zero trust from a slide show promise into an enforcement plan you can operationalize at the endpoint. Set for March 30–April 2 at the iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the event will bring together architects, security leaders, and strategists to focus on prevention-first security, endpoint resilience, and measurable attack surface‑ reduction.
To get a preview, VMblog sat down with Carl Gersh, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at IGEL.
VMblog: In a crowded field of 2026 events, what are the 2–3 things that make Now & Next different from other events?
Gersh: Several things make IGEL Now & Next stand out as a must-attend event:
- An endpoint-first view of zero trust. It’s the enforcement layer where prevention becomes real.
- A program engineered for candid, peer-level strategy, not expo noise.
- A cohesive architecture that pairs prevention-first enforcement with operational resilience and supplies playbooks and metrics you can deploy on Monday.
VMblog: You’ve invited General (Ret.) Paul Nakasone, former Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the NSA, to keynote. What themes will he bring, and how do they shape the event?
Gersh: General Nakasone’s perspective elevates endpoint security to the level of critical‑infrastructure risk management. Attendees can expect insights on nation-state adversaries, deterrence, and why prevention must be builtin‑, not bolted on. It reinforces our intent to move the endpoint strategy from a narrow tactical control to mission-level resilience, which is a conversation this industry needs right now.
VMblog: Beyond keynotes and classroom sessions, what expanded formats will help attendees practice what they learn after Now & Next?
Gersh: We have expanded technical breakouts focused on enforcement and resilience, developed curated learning tracks, and scheduled a variety of live demonstrations, hands-on laboratories, and workshops throughout the week. For example, if you are a healthcare professional, we can provide a tailored experience where some content is somewhat broader, while other material is highly specific to healthcare and its unique challenges. This approach ensures that, depending on your industry, role, and level of maturity, you receive content that is most relevant to your professional needs. Additionally, as previously mentioned, we are conducting IGEL Certified Professional boot camps on-site and offering Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for government attendees.
VMblog: This year, you are emphasizing “zero trust in practice”—not theory. Why is now the appropriate time to implement zero trust at the endpoint, and why is IGEL central to that shift?
Carl Gersh: Detection and response can’t keep up with today’s automated, opportunistic threats, especially as distributed work, SaaS, and unmanaged devices expand the attack surface. Zero trust only works when it’s enforced at the endpoint. That’s why we’re focused on prevention, reducing local OS complexity, and strict application controls with results you can track over time. Attendees will leave Miami with a playbook for standardizing on a secure endpoint OS, enforcing read-only system partitions, applying identity- and posture-based conditional access, restricting execution to trusted, policy-defined apps, and continuously measuring attack surface reduction.
VMblog: IGEL has been advocating the Adaptive Secure Desktop. In 2026, what makes a desktop “adaptive,” and how will attendees see it in Miami?
Gersh: Adaptive means the desktop adjusts to identity, posture, and policy in real time while minimizing local OS risk. In Miami, you’ll see that vision operationalized: secure OS standardization, read-only partitions, identity combined with conditional access, trusted apps-only execution, and a methodology to measure attack surface reduction. We’ve expanded technical breakouts, added curated tracks for CISOs and regulated industries, and built in live demos and hands-on workshops so teams can practice the enforcement steps.
VMblog: You’ve got dedicated tracks for Healthcare, Financial Services, Government, Retail, and Manufacturing. Why is industry-specific guidance critical in endpoint security?
Gersh: Regulations, risk profiles, and workflows differ by vertical, and the controls and metrics must reflect that. Our tailored tracks pair role-based strategy (CISOs vs. practitioners) with industry-specific sessions and panels from leaders in healthcare, finance, and the public sector. For the first time, we’re offering CPE credits for government employees via Carahsoft, and we have a government-compliant hotel option for attendees who require it.
VMblog: You’ve introduced the IGEL Preventative Security Model with the philosophy that preventing a breach is better than managing recovery. How does it differ from a decade of detection and response?
Gersh: Detect and respond remains essential, but it is not sufficient. Our model emphasizes prevention at the endpoint: reducing local complexity, enforcing application trust, and obstructing persistence. This approach is complemented by resilience measures that ensure user productivity in the event of a cybersecurity breach or system outage. For instance, endpoints running Windows daily can fail over to IGEL OS to maintain operational continuity while IT conducts recovery, exemplifying resilience alongside prevention.
VMblog: We often hear that resilience, not uptime, is the defining metric now. Within this context, how should CIOs and CISOs rethink endpoint strategy, and what will they take home from Miami?
Gersh: Consider two key perspectives: first, to mitigate potential issues proactively; and second, to maintain operational continuity during incidents that occur. Attendees will leave with a board-ready enforcement playbook (encompassing secure OS, read-only partitions, identity and posture management, trusted applications, and measurable reductions); a resilience blueprint ensuring endpoint continuity (including rapid failover to IGEL OS when needed); and a measurement framework designed to demonstrate the reduction of attack surface over time.
VMblog: AI is accelerating both innovation and exploitation. How is AI reflected in the agenda, particularly at the endpoint?
Gersh: AI has increased the speed and scale of phishing, supply chain compromise, and account abuse, pushing detection to the brink. Our response is to reduce exploitable surface area and enforce policy at the endpoint, then measure outcomes so leaders can show progress against AI-accelerated risk. Expect sessions that connect identity, posture, and application trust to practical defense against AI-driven campaigns.
VMblog: Your integration story with Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco, and Omnissa, among others, is a major theme for IGEL Now & Next 2026. How are you positioning IGEL as the orchestration layer that ties best-of-breed security together? Will we see those integrations live?
Gersh: Enterprises already own powerful tools, including network, identity, SASE, EDR. IGEL’s role is the endpoint enforcement and orchestration layer. This is where policies from those platforms are translated into what runs on the device. At IGEL Now & Next 2026, you’ll see live demonstrations of these integrations working together to shrink the attack surface and prove outcomes, not just activity.
VMblog: How are IGEL partners like Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, and others contributing beyond sponsorship?
Gersh: Beyond the logo wall, partners are co-creating content, showcasing joint solutions, and joining panels and meetups to share lived experience securing the modern workspace. The value is in peer-level exchange, candid dialogue on architecture, budgets, and board expectations, rather than just vendor pitches.
VMblog: Who should attendees try to meet, and how is IGEL Now & Next 2026 structured to make those connections meaningful?
Gersh: IGEL Now & Next is built for peer-level strategy conversations: roundtables, VIP programs, industry-specific meetups, and evening receptions that create space for candid exchanges among CISOs, CIOs, practitioners, and publicsector leaders. That’s‑ where the most actionable insights usually surface.
VMblog: After four days in Miami, how do you help attendees convert learnings into action?
Gersh: We’ll have recordings and recaps, but the real lift comes from certification pathways (IGEL Certified Professional boot camps) and the community connections forged during the week. For government teams, CPE credits via Carahsoft add compliance value. Ultimately, the unscripted conversations between sessions often reshape roadmaps more than any slide.
VMblog: Where can people learn more and register?
Gersh: For full details and registration, visit the IGEL Now & Next 2026 event hub and sign up directly.
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