Craig Adams, chief product officer at Rapid7, discusses the growing complexity of security operations and how organizations can better align tools, teams and processes.

Adams, a longtime technology leader, notes that one of the biggest pain points he hears from customers is tool sprawl. Security teams are drowning in dashboards, alerts, and integrations—each product designed to solve a slice of the problem, but collectively creating operational drag. The result is that analysts spend more time wrestling with interfaces than addressing threats.

The conversation turns to how artificial intelligence is reshaping the space. Adams emphasizes that AI should augment, not replace, security expertise. Used well, AI can take on repetitive tasks such as triage, correlation, and prioritization, freeing analysts to focus on higher-level investigations and response. But he cautions that blindly applying AI without guardrails risks introducing new blind spots.

Another theme Adams highlights is the widening gap between defenders and attackers. Adversaries are already leveraging automation and AI to move faster, while defenders remain bogged down by fragmented tools and manual processes. Closing that gap requires platforms that consolidate visibility, streamline workflows, and enable teams to act decisively under pressure.

Adams also underscores the importance of collaboration across security, IT, and development teams. Security can’t operate in isolation; it has to be integrated into how organizations build and run technology. Simplifying security operations, embedding it into everyday workflows, and giving practitioners tools they can actually use are essential steps forward.

For practitioners and leaders alike, the message is clear: security isn’t just about adding more tools. It’s about making security operations more effective, resilient, and human-centered in an environment that only grows more complex.