Fortinet Philippines country manager Veronica “Bambi” Escalante during the VSTECS CXO Tech Summit 2026 in Boracay.
Photograph by Gwen Bergado for DAILY TRIBUNE.
BORACAY– Veronica “Bambi” Escalante, country manager of Fortinet Philippines, emphasized the importance of integrating cybersecurity into digital transformation strategies as businesses increasingly adopt artificial intelligence (AI).
Fortinet is a US-based cybersecurity company that provides security solutions to help organizations protect their networks, systems, and digital infrastructure.
Escalante noted that organizations already face complex technology environments involving legacy infrastructure, cloud platforms, on-premises systems, and the growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) and edge devices. AI adoption adds another layer of complexity to these challenges.
“Weave security in your technology or digital transformation strategy,” Escalante expressed during the VSTECS CXO Tech Summit 2026 media briefing Thursday afternoon.
“Don't let security be an afterthought,” she added.
She also emphasized balancing innovation and protection, warning against being “too overly aggressive for innovation that we forget security.”
At the same time, she cautioned against excessive security restrictions that could prevent organizations from embracing AI transformation.
Escalante further recommended adopting an AI-native security framework to address gaps created by disconnected cybersecurity tools, citing that organizations may use an average of 43 different tools to manage security, making coordination increasingly important.
An integrated approach, she said, would enable “shared intelligence, shared context” and consistent security enforcement across systems, helping protect businesses as they pursue AI adoption and digital transformation.
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