Dell’Oro Group’s AI & Cloud-Native Security Advanced Research Report provides a 5-year forecast of the market for securing cloud-native and AI applications. Formerly the Cloud Workload Security Advanced Research Report, it tracks two distinct but increasingly adjacent markets: Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) and AI Systems Security (AISS).
CNAPP secures cloud-native applications across development, deployment, and runtime, incorporating capabilities such as Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM). AI Systems Security addresses a new security layer created by AI applications, covering models, agents, prompts, retrieval paths, memory, tools, orchestration logic, and AI-specific runtime behavior.
Dell’Oro Group tracks CNAPP and AI Systems Security as separate but increasingly adjacent technology segments rather than redefining CNAPP to include AI Systems Security. The research also connects security demand to enterprise public cloud spending and enterprise AI systems spending to assess market growth, vendor positioning, and long-term security attach rates.
AI is expanding what enterprises need to secure. Beyond cloud infrastructure and workloads, AI systems introduce new risks involving models, data retrieval, tool use, agents, and runtime behavior that traditional cloud security controls were not designed to address alone.
CNAPP remains essential for securing the cloud-native foundation, while AI Systems Security is emerging to protect the AI system itself. Understanding both markets helps vendors, investors, and strategy teams identify where security spending is shifting and which technologies and vendors are positioned to benefit.
5-year outlook for AI & Cloud-Native Security
Development, deployment, and runtime security
AI applications, models, agents, prompts, retrieval paths, memory, tools, orchestration logic, and AI-specific runtime behavior
Enterprise public cloud spending, enterprise AI systems spending, and risk-weighted AI systems spending
North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific excluding China, China, and CALA
