Axonius Named a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Proactive Security Platforms, Q3 2026

The most successful security programs tackle proactive security as a top priority. They put security controls in place before vulnerabilities are even cataloged. That’s the core defender advantage against AI-driven attackers, especially as the time from vulnerability disclosure to exploit keeps shrinking.

Forrester Research evaluated 12 vendors in The Forrester Wave™: Proactive Security Platforms, Q3 2026 to find out which platforms can deliver proactive security at scale, across all assets, no matter where they live. Axonius is a Strong Performer in the evaluation. 

Key takeaways: 

• Axonius is the only vendor to achieve the highest score possible in the prioritization transparency and customization criterion. 
• Axonius was recognized with above-average customer feedback in the evaluation.

The advantage for proactive defenders

As soon as a vulnerability is published, attackers leverage AI speed and automation to build exploits and chain attacks. Defenders have something attackers don't: knowledge of their own environment and the opportunity to defend before the attack window is even opened. Every asset, every identity, and every exposure is yours to own and proactively defend.

Proactive security is the systematic exercise of that knowledge. Done at scale, with full coverage, it's an asymmetric advantage. It’s one where the defender is structurally ahead of the attacker, not chasing them.

That advantage only materializes when you exercise it: across endpoints, identities, networks, cloud, applications, code, and exposures, no matter where they are hosted.

"If attackers know your environment better than you do, that's a problem." 

— Doug Graham, Chief Trust Officer, Lionbridge. Read the Customer Story

Proactive security starts with knowing what to protect

Reactive security programs work from a limited window and scope. They anchor defense on cataloged vulnerabilities frequently without a reliable picture of everything running in the organization or where control gaps exist.

Without a holistic view, security programs have a structural problem. They're prioritizing from a reactive signal on a limited subset of the environment.

We built Axonius to give you the continuous and complete picture of all assets interfacing with your data and processes, alongside security coverage, compensating controls, and exposures, so you can act before attackers do.

"Insecurity thrives in ambiguity, and without visibility, you can't lead with confidence."

— Chaim Mazal, Chief Security Officer, Gigamon. Read the Customer Story

Findings are half the story. Fixing things is mandatory.

Visibility without action is just data. The part that actually reduces risk is remediation, and remediation has a friction problem.

Organizations invest heavily in systems to drive remediation: in endpoint management, cloud security, IT service management (ITSM), and identity platforms. Those investments are supposed to reduce risk. What they frequently lack is the layer that tells them what to fix first, why it matters, and where to route the work without adding another point solution on top of the ones already there.

We built a catalog of over 1,400 bi-directional integrations to make that happen across the tools already in your stack. A finding that needs a patch goes to the endpoint platform. An identity adjustment goes to the identity provider. A ticket creates itself in the right system, to the right owner, and with the right service level agreement (SLA). The fix happens through tools your remediators know and use. This cuts the translation burden between security findings and operational action.

We designed the Axonius Asset Cloud to make sure security and IT teams are able to fix problems proactively with the tools already supported by their stakeholders, without forcing them to introduce additional agents or subscribe to walled gardens.

“This has been instrumental in uncovering security gaps and automating remediation actions."

— Bianca Wirth, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Read the Customer Story

When the board asks why

Proactive security depends on prioritization to work: making sure the organization is focusing first on the areas of higher risk. However, good prioritization must clear two bars: that of the security and IT teams and that of the broader stakeholders (remediators, peer departments, and the board). A prioritization model that can't be explained outside the security and IT teams can't generate the organizational buy-in to actually get things fixed.

When the chief information security officer (CISO), the board, or an auditor asks why one finding ranked above another, what was done about it, and whether it worked, the answer is in the Axonius Asset Cloud. Risk weightings are configurable. Every decision is auditable. Because the logic is transparent and adjustable, security and IT programs can tune their prioritization model to the business, not the other way around.

“People respond better when they're given accurate, contextual information instead of vague security alerts. That reduces resistance and improves cooperation.”

— Kara Keene, Senior Manager of Attack Surface Reduction, TransUnion. Read the Customer Story

We're just getting started

Recently, we launched the Axonius AI Agent to accelerate how you can deploy proactive security, built on top of the same platform evaluated in the Forrester Wave. To learn more about the Axonius AI Agent, request a demo. 

Additional resources

• Read the press release to learn more about Axonius’ recognition in The Forrester Wave™: Proactive Security Platforms, Q3 2026.
• Access The Forrester Wave™: Proactive Security Platforms, Q3 2026.

Forrester disclaimer

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