Like all professional relationships, the interplay between enterprise AI and data requires care and caution—but a new survey suggests the two don’t always work well together.

The research, from Nasuni, a data platform that focuses on unstructured data and cloud storage, shows how mishandling the relationship can lead to security breaches, gaps in data quality, and misuse of AI technology.

Parag Pathak, Nasuni VP of product marketing, told IT Brew that the company surveyed 1,000 purchasing decision-makers from around the world to get a sense of how the technology is deployed and data is managed. The company’s State of Enterprise File Data 2026 report details how unstructured data is impacting enterprises as they determine the best approach to AI implementation.

“A year or two ago, the biggest thing around AI was the models—do I have the better model, do you have the better model,” Pathak said. “What this report is surfacing is that it’s no longer the model, it’s the upstream data.”

How do we fix this relationship?—EH

When managed service provider Ensono began building its DiagnoseNow tool, an internal AI-assistant for handling root-cause analysis and remediation of IT incidents, the company’s tech leaders divvied up the responsibilities.

The AI-powered service desk tool pulls data associated with a ServiceNow case number, summarizes the incident, and suggests resolutions.

This chain of actions requires a chain of command. The CIO handles security of the data in the data lake, the CTO manages ServiceNow concerns and the client-facing portal, and the chief AI officer (CAIO) writes the tool’s first version and logic.

This is just one example of how CAIOs are helping accelerate companies’ automation efforts. Interested in embracing AI as fast as possible, more organizations are seeking out executives with this specialized knowledge: an IBM survey found that a little over three in four (76%) global CEOs have a chief AI officer in 2026—up from 26% in 2025.

How everyone gets along.—BH

How much is your organization’s identity access security worth? With the average cost of recovery after a breach surpassing $1.6 million, according to a new study, it’s critical for organizations to balance the budgets for their cybersecurity needs.

Cybersecurity and threat intelligence company Sophos surveyed 5,000 IT and security leaders to understand how IT leadership is approaching issues around identity and cybersecurity. The report states 71% of organizations reported at least one identity-related security breach in the past year, with an average of three attacks per victimized organization.

Delinea defines identities as digital versions of employees that can access specific services and resources. As IBM details, threat actors target identities via phishing, credential theft, and more, with the goal of impersonating users and accessing systems. IT professionals can attempt to counter these attacks via stringent identity and access management (IAM) to manage users and access privileges.

Building a better shield.—CN