* [Blog](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog) * [Network Security](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/) * [Announcement](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/) * Palo Alto Networks Named ... # Palo Alto Networks Named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Operational Technology Security Solutions, Q3 2026 [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Forigin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fnetwork-security%2Fpalo-alto-networks-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-operational-technology-security-solutions-q3-2026%2F) [](https://twitter.com/share?text=Palo+Alto+Networks+Named+a+Leader+in+The+Forrester+Wave%26%23x2122%3B%3A+Operational+Technology+Security+Solutions%2C+Q3+2026&url=https%3A%2F%2Forigin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fnetwork-security%2Fpalo-alto-networks-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-operational-technology-security-solutions-q3-2026%2F) [](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Forigin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com%2Fblog%2Fnetwork-security%2Fpalo-alto-networks-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-operational-technology-security-solutions-q3-2026%2F&title=Palo+Alto+Networks+Named+a+Leader+in+The+Forrester+Wave%26%23x2122%3B%3A+Operational+Technology+Security+Solutions%2C+Q3+2026&summary=&source=) [](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com//www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/palo-alto-networks-named-a-leader-in-the-forrester-wave-operational-technology-security-solutions-q3-2026/&ts=markdown) \[\](mailto:?subject=Palo Alto Networks Named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Operational Technology Security Solutions, Q3 2026) Link copied By [Qiang Huang](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/qiang-huang/?ts=markdown "Posts by Qiang Huang") Sep 01, 2026 5 minutes [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown) [OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/ot-security/?ts=markdown) [Forrester Wave](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/forrester-wave/?ts=markdown) [Industrial OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/industrial-ot-security/?ts=markdown) [IOT security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/iot-security/?ts=markdown) [OT](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/ot/?ts=markdown) ## **A blueprint for securing OT and critical infrastructure in the AI era** The OT attack surface is widening as private 5G, IoMT, and aging legacy systems converge across operational networks. At the same time, Frontier AI has compressed the attack lifecycle from months to minutes --- adversaries now discover and chain vulnerabilities before a patch exists. These shifts are quickly widening the gap between cyber risk and protection in critical infrastructure Closing that gap is what Palo Alto Networks set out to do --- and it's the context for our recognition and ranking as a Leader with the highest score in the current offering category in The Forrester Wave™: Operational Technology Security Solutions, Q3 2026. We're proud of the placement. What matters more to an OT security team is why: to us, it reflects an approach built around three operational outcomes --- resiliency, provable compliance, and a simpler security estate --- rather than another monitoring dashboard bolted on to be managed by an already stretched team. ## **A strategy built for how OT actually operates** Per the report, **"Palo Alto's strategy in OT security is balanced with a solid vision toward platformization, leading to innovation and roadmaps built to drive this vision."** Our platformization approach maps to how IT and OT teams think through digital transformation, and securing operational networks: deploy without disruption, see every asset, prioritize what genuinely threatens operations, and protect the devices you can't patch. All while preparing to defend against AI-powered attacks. The platform approach integrates secure remote access, and sets the stage for improved IT/OT SOC integration. Each step builds on the last, delivered from one architecture under one policy. ## **One platform that sees the threat and stops it** The core of that architecture is enforcement, not just visibility. Forrester's evaluation observes that **"Palo Alto's threat and anomaly detection and network segmentation and management functions stand out because it can support these features with its own deployed firewalls --- in active execution or passive collection modes..."** Because we enforce inline through our own next-generation firewalls, the platform that sees the threat is the platform that stops it, without taking operations offline. Native IEC 62443 zones-and-conduits segmentation turns asset intelligence into enforced policy in industrial environments to control emerging attack surfaces. The payoff for operations is resiliency by design --- security that strengthens uptime instead of trading against it. ## **Innovation that keeps pace with machine-speed threats and compliance** Staying ahead of an AI-compressed attack lifecycle takes more than signatures. Multi-factor risk scoring weighs OT asset criticality, network exposure, and attack-path analysis --- not CVSS in a vacuum --- so teams work the handful of exposures that can actually take operations down instead of drowning in noise. For the legacy PLCs, RTUs, and HMIs that will never get another vendor patch, AI-driven Virtual Patching mitigates exposure at the network layer, with no downtime and no maintenance window. What makes virtual patching an operational control rather than a spec is the speed of delivery. In OT terms, that's the difference between a patch window measured in weeks and protection enforced before the next shift. It's also where provable compliance lives: enforced segmentation and measurable risk reduction you can map to IEC 62443, NERC CIP, and NIS2 --- evidence you can put in front of a regulator or a board, not just a dashboard that flags a problem without closing it. ## **What customers are telling analysts** The market signal in the evaluation tracks with the outcomes we design for. According to the report, **"Customers appreciate Palo Alto's ease of deployment and rate its regulatory and standards compliance tools highly."** That's operational simplicity showing up in practice. The average organization runs 7 OT security tools from different vendors that don't share context --- inflating cost and the load on teams already short on talent. Collapsing visibility, enforcement, prevention, and virtual patching into one architecture means fewer moving parts to buy, integrate, staff, and audit --- and a smaller attack surface from the sprawl itself. ## **What it means for you** If you're securing critical infrastructure against threats that now move at machine speed, the question isn't whether you can see them --- it's whether you can stop them before they reach operations. We believe our placement as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Operational Technology Security Solutions, Q3 2026 reflects a platform engineered to do exactly that. **Read the full report to see Forrester's complete evaluation. → [\[Get the report\]](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/forrester-wave-ot-security-2026)** *Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Forrester resources,* *including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance. For more information, read about Forrester's objectivity [here](https://www.forrester.com/about-us/objectivity/).* *** ** * ** *** ## Related Blogs ### [Industrial OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/industrial-ot-security/?ts=markdown), [IoT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/iot-security/?ts=markdown), [OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/ot-security/?ts=markdown) [#### The Water-Sector Reckoning Is Here --- and the Controls That Stop It Already Exist](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/the-water-sector-reckoning-is-here-and-the-controls-that-stop-it-already-exist/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown) [#### Prisma SASE a Leader in Forrester Wave: Secure Access Service Edge](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/prisma-sase-a-leader-in-forrester-wave-secure-access-service-edge/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Threat Intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-intelligence-1/?ts=markdown), [Zero Trust Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/zero-trust-security/?ts=markdown) [#### Setting the Standard for Zero Trust Platforms](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/07/setting-standard-zero-trust-platforms/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/category/product-features/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [SD-WAN](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/category/sd-wan/?ts=markdown) [#### Chart Your SASE Transformation with Prisma SD-WAN](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2025/06/chart-sase-transformation-prisma-sd-wan/) ### [Industrial OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/category/industrial-ot-security/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown) [#### How OT Connectivity Is Changing the Security Landscape](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/network-security/how-ot-connectivity-is-changing-the-security-landscape/) ### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Threat Intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/threat-intelligence-1/?ts=markdown) [#### A Leader in 2024 Forrester Enterprise Firewall Solutions Wave](https://origin-researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2024/10/leader-in-2024-forrester-enterprise-firewall-solutions-wave/) ### Subscribe to Network Security Blogs! 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