 |
|
|
|||||
When I looked ahead to 2026, one issue jumped out in every conversation I had with business leaders: Resilience is buckling under pressure. The pace of change is no longer just fastit is accelerating beyond the reach of traditional playbooks. We are entering an era of complexity risk, where the greatest threats stem not only from malicious actors, but from the sheer entanglement of our own systems. Below are the four shifts business leaders must prepare for to navigate 2026. 1. Recovery will become the most important metric For years, companies have focused their investments on prevention. But AI changed the economics of cyber risk. Offensive AI makes it fast and inexpensive for attackers to generate malware, exploit known vulnerabilities, and pivot across a digital environment. Even strong defenses will miss things. Rubriks latest research highlights thatonly 28% of organizationsbelieve they can fully recover from a cyberattack within 12 hoursa steep decline from 43% in 2024. The gap in confidence underscores the growing friction between rapid tech adoption and operational resilience. The organizations that thrive in 2026 will prioritize validating data integrity before restoring systems, and establishing isolated cyber vaults for safe testing and rebuilding. Recovery strategies should guarantee that the restored environment is free of malicious code, making robust recovery engines a necessity, not a convenience. 2. Identity security will become the top budget priority Identity is one of the biggest, and least understood, business risks. Most companies today drastically underestimate their identity footprint. In the AI era, non-human identitiesthe service accounts and machine credentials that fuel our automationnow outnumber humans. Instead of breaking in, attackers are logging in by exploiting this labyrinth of unprotected non-human credentials. By 2026, these silent entry points won’t just provide a foothold; they will be the primary lever for achieving full-system compromise. Rubrik found that nearly 9 in 10 organizations plan to hire identity security professionals in the next year. As a result, executives should prepare for a significant rebalancing of budgets, with identity security moving to the top of the priority list. The reality is that identity sprawl will only accelerate as AI increases automation and service connectivity. In 2026, the ability to govern and secure identities will matter more than the data infrastructure those identities protect. 3. AI agent sprawl will trigger a governance renaissance Many organizations are deploying AI agents, sometimes hundreds of them, to handle everything from customer support to code generation to workflow automation. But behind the scenes, most teams lack clear oversight into what those agents are doing, what data they touch, and whether their output is correct. This great AI sprawl is setting up a governance crisis. In 2026, companies will realize that deploying AI agents at scale requires the same level of rigor as onboarding employees or granting system access. A new class of business-critical questions will emerge: Which systems can autonomous agents interact with? How do we validate the accuracy of their actions? What remediation steps are required when agents make mistakes? Success in agent-driven environments requires new frameworks for monitoring, workforce, and security, which includes heavy investment in robust governance and remediation systems. Done correctly, it enables transformation; done poorly, it creates uncontrollable risk. 4. Multi-cloud complexity will force a unified control plane Most enterprises today use a mix of cloud platforms, each with its own backup, security, and identity tools. What began as flexibility has evolved into operational drag. In 2026, the myth that native cloud tools are good enough will collapse. Fragmented environments slow recovery efforts, make migrations painful, and increase the time it takes to diagnose issues across platforms. Companies running multiple cloud-native backup systems are already experiencing longer recovery times, prompting emergency migrations and avoidable downtime. The business case for unifying control across clouds, once seen as an IT optimization, will become a survival requirement. Future-proof organizations are consolidating multi-cloud management into a single pane. Success here depends on one thing: seamlessly merging identity security with data defense to create a unified hub for all corporate data. Leaders will then shift focus toward achieving centralized visibility across clouds, enabling unified orchestration for recovery. 2026 DEMANDS SHARPER RESILIENCE In 2026, business resilience will depend on how effectively organizations recover, how intelligently they govern identity and AI agents, and how well they manage the complexity of multi-cloud environments. Executives who embrace these shifts early will reduce risk, accelerate innovation, and create more durable, adaptable enterprises. Those who delay may find that complexity (especially in managing non-human identities), not attackers, is the biggest threat to their future. Arvind Nithrakashyap is CTO of Rubrik.
Category:
E-Commerce
In a recent interview with Wired, billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates made clear she is no friend of hustle culture and nonstop busyness. My parents were countercultural. They actually taught us that you needed breaks, she says. We took Sundays off as a family, and guess what else? My parents actually taught me the importance of rest, of taking a short nap every day. Building quiet, restful moments into your day doesnt just help you think more clearly and feel better physically, she continues. It also helps you check in with yourself and your values. It is important to know who you are as a person and to live in that direction and in that lane, even when the world calls you to move in different ways, she says. Naps are clearly one (research-backed) way to do that. But in interviews and social media posts throughout the years, French Gates also recommends another way to take a pause from busyness and get back in touch with yourself The Book of Awakening by poet and cancer survivor Mark Nepo. The book she reads almost every day When Wired asked French Gates to name a book she thought everyone should read, she mentioned Nepos book. That made me curious and prompted me to dig into what the book is all about and why she is such a huge fan. Rather than a novel that spins a story of a nonfiction book designed to teach you about a particular subject, The Book of Awakening is a collection of short essays, one for each day of the year. Theres no need to read from cover to cover, you can dip in and out whenever you feel the urge. Which is apparently just what French Gates does. In a 2018 social media post she explained, I open The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo almost every day and years later, I still get something new out of it every time I turn a page. It was illustrated by a much marked-up page from her personal copy of the book. A daily read to quiet the mind Put that together with the latest Wired interview, and its clear French Gates has been perusing this particular book for more than seven years and still finding valuable nuggets within. What kind of insights is she discovering there? Marks writing helps me step back, be still, and center myself particularly on days that feel especially chaotic, or when I need a moment of quiet, French Gates continues. Helping people find enough stillness to remember what truly matters to them and notice the grandeur of the world is just what Nepos book promises. As Amazons description puts it, this spiritual daybook is a summons to reclaim aliveness, liberate the self, take each day one at a time, and to savor the beauty offered by lifes unfolding. It aims to help readers stay vital and in love with this life, no matter the hardships. Psychologists (and Oprah) agree with French Gates This all might sound a little woo-woo to some hard-charging entrepreneurs. But hard science suggests that taking even just a few minutes out of your day to cultivate a sense of awe in this way can have impressive benefits. Research by UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner and others shows awe reduces stress, loneliness, and depression, and nudges us to be kinder and more generous to others. It even seems to have physical benefits, including reduced inflammation. The idea of taking a quiet moment outside of the hustle and bustle each day to reflect and reconnect with yourself is also endorsed by plenty of other super-achievers besides French Gates. Oprah Winfrey (who also recommended Nepos book) always takes a moment to pause and set an intention before every big event in her day. I never go downstairs to tape a show. Any kind of media appearance that I dont have a conversation by myself alone, I need time alone, she has said. Again, this isnt hocus-pocus. Psychologists explain that touching base with our values and intentions primes our mind to pay attention to what really matters to us when things get busy. Just as someone who just bought a Toyota will suddenly notice all the Toyotas on the road, someone who takes a moment to recommit to gratitude is more likely to notice the bright spots in their day. Read daily for more self-awareness and awe If taking a quiet moment each day to cultivate awe to quiet your mind and remember your values appeals to you, then French Gates has offered the same, simple advice for years. Pick up a copy of The Book of Awakening and leave it somewhere handy. Naps refresh the mind and body. This book will refresh your spirit, she insists. Jessica Stillman This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
Category:
E-Commerce
In a reversal from previous years’ pollution reductions, the United States spewed 2.4% more heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels in 2025 than in the year before, researchers calculated in a study released Tuesday. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions is attributable to a combination of a cool winter, the explosive growth of data centers and cryptocurrency mining, and higher natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. Environmental policy rollbacks by President Donald Trumps administration were not significant factors in the increase because they were only put in place this year, the study authors said. Heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas are the major cause of worsening global warming, scientists say. American emissions of carbon dioxide and methane had dropped 20% from 2005 to 2024, with a few one- or two-year increases in the overall downward trend. Traditionally, carbon pollution has risen alongside economic growth, but efforts to boost cleaner energy in recent years decoupled the two, so emissions would drop as gross domestic product rose. But that changed last year with pollution actually growing faster than economic activity, said study co-author Ben King, a director in Rhodium’s energy group. He estimated the U.S. put 5.9 billion tons (5.35 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide equivalent in the air in 2025, which is 139 million tons (126 million metric tons) more than in 2024. The cold 2025 winter meant more heating of buildings, which often comes from natural gas and fuel oil that are big greenhouse gas emitters, King said. A significant and noticeable jump in electricity demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining meant more power plants producing energy. That included plants using coal, which creates more carbon pollution than other fuel sources. A rise in natural gas prices helped create an 13% increase in coal power, which had shrunk by nearly two-thirds since its peak in 2007, King said. Its not like this is a huge rebound, King said. Were not sitting here claiming that coal is back and going to dominate the sector or anything like that. But we did see this increase and that was a large part of why emissions went up in the power sector. It will take time for data to reflect Trump policies King said the list of more than two dozen proposed rollbacks of American environmental policies by the Trump administration hadn’t been in place long enough to have an effect in 2025, but may be more noticeable in future years. Its one year of data so far, King said. So we need to see the extent to which this trend sustains. Solar power generation jumped 34%, pushing it past hydroelectric power, with zero-carbon emitting energy sources now supplying 42% of American power, Rhodium found. It will be interesting to see what happens as the Trump administration ends solar and wind subsidies and discourages their use, King said. “The economic case for adding renewables is quite strong still,” King said. This stuff is cost-competitive in a lot of places. Try as they might, this administration cant alter the fundamental economics of this stuff. Before the Trump administration took office, the Rhodium team projected that in 2035 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions would have fallen between 38% and 56% compared to 2005 levels, King said. Now, the projected pollution drop is expected to be about one-third less, he calculated. Experts say pollution increase is an ominous sign Others who were not involved in the Rhodium report said last year’s increase in emissions is an ominous sign. Unfortunately, the 2025 U.S. emission increase is likely a harbinger of whats to come as the U.S. federal leadership continues to make what amounts to a huge unforced economic error by favoring legacy fossil fuels when the rest of the world is going all in on mobility and power generation using low-carbon technology, primarily based on renewables and batteries, said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck. Overpeck said that favoring fossil fuels will harm both the U.S. economy and air quality. Longtime climate change activist Bill McKibben said bluntly: It’s so incredibly stupid that the U.S. is going backwards on this stuff.” The Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement it wasn’t familiar with the Rhodium Group report and is carrying out our core mission of protecting human health. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Seth Borenstein, AP science writer
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||