As we quickly approach the last quarter of the year, it's a good time to reflect on what's happened thus far in 2019, and where we should focus our energy for 2020.

Aviation is a component of critical infrastructure that is comprised of a complex web of public and private organizations relying on millions of assets to move people and cargo around the world. The industry supports countless critical functions such as emergency response, community access, agricultural support, passenger services, national security, law enforcement, border security, intermodal connections to rail and shipping, and much more.

Industries far and wide are raving about all of the ways that artificial intelligence can help transform the world into a more efficient and productive environment. Within cybersecurity, AI is already leaving a lasting impact. Today it is already being used to alleviate the industry's talent shortage by automating processes, increase the accuracy of alerts, minimize false positives in technology, cut down investigation times during incidents, eliminate the need for passwords, and more!

Artificial intelligence is one of the biggest buzzwords of the year. It seems to be a much-needed answer to many woes across various industries and inherent challenges. While many are embracing the concept, others remain skeptical about the true benefit that artificial intelligence can have in businesses. No matter what side of the fence a company is on, there are some considerations to keep in mind and common mistakes to be mindful of as you embark on your AI journey.

The numbers are shocking. According to the 2019 The State of Work Report, employees spend just 40% of their workday on primary tasks. A Gallup poll showed that disengaged employees cost companies in the United States between $450 and $550 billion per year, and highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable than others. So how can an organization find out what employees are doing when they are on the clock so they can take steps to increase engagement and boost productivity?

Companies of various sizes have embraced the concept of the lean startup. Organizations are continually looking for ways to save money and stretch limited budgets to the max. Thanks to the growth in diverse applications of artificial intelligence, technology is helping companies achieve this goal.

Companies of all sizes are learning that when it comes to keeping their digital assets safe; being able to monitor what’s going on within their environments makes all the difference. Unfortunately, those same companies have struggled with basic fundamentals such as maintaining accurate asset inventories and deploying the right technology on those assets to gain visibility into their security posture – two components critical to the effectiveness of traditional visibility programs.

The government sector and all of the agencies that make up this powerful ecosystem play an integral role in global safety and security. Whether considering the U.S. or other countries around the world, cybersecurity tends to be a core factor in national security affairs. As countries increasingly rely on technology to fulfill basic living needs such as getting access to clean water, electricity, and transportation, the risks drastically expand.

Rapidly detecting an incident can be the difference between the survival or closure of a company after a cybersecurity breach. The longer it takes to detect, the more costly it becomes, and visibility plays a vital role in that process. As companies struggle to detect the foul play, contain the incident and coordinate response, without adequate enterprise visibility, the extent of the damage is likely to increase.

Once upon a time, threat detection was based on delayed and reactive notifications associated with rudimentary alerting processes: A system failed, a database of your customer information was found for sale on the dark web, an employee admits to wrongdoing, and more. Addressing these threats was a completely reactive process.