Demand is growing in the transportation and logistics sector for simplification of networking and security, stronger observability, better protection against ransomware, and support for hybrid application environments, according to the The State of Network Security in Transportation & Logistics from Aryaka.
Transportation and logistics enterprises are undergoing a period of rapid technical transformation. They rely heavily on both physical and digital infrastructure to support modern, distributed IT environments.
Furthermore, as supply chains become more connected, cloud-enabled, and AI-enabled network complexity and cybersecurity risk have increased. Organizations now operate global, hybrid environments supporting warehouses, fleets, air and sea transport, and real-time systems. These changes have all created an urgent need for resilient, high-performance, and secure network infrastructure.
In the report, transportation and logistics organizations indicate that their top networking and network security priority over the next 12 months is simplifying and lowering network costs (70%), followed by enhancing network performance and security visibility (57%) and reducing workload on IT teams (51%). This demonstrates the importance of better operational efficiency and visibility for transportation and logistics firms, with organizations looking to minimize manual oversight and gain more transparent insights into performance and risk.
Other key findings include:
Cybersecurity is Top Daily Challenge
Organizations said that staying ahead of cybersecurity threats (81%) is the biggest day-to-day networking challenge, followed by cost-effective modernization (62%) and understaffed IT teams (60%).
Ransomware Vexes the Industry
Ransomware and malware threats (77%) are the top network security concern in the industry, with policy enforcement (66%) and remote access control (64%) close behind.
Organizations Aren't Ready for GenAI Challenges
Only 28% of respondents have started implementing solutions to mitigate GenAI network and security challenges, while 56% are either still evaluating GenAI risks or are unprepared.
Hybrid IT Infrastructure Dominates
Three quarters of respondents (74%) rely on a hybrid mix of private data centers and cloud environments, making flexibility and connectivity across environments critical.
Legacy Apps Moving to the Cloud
Most respondents are actively migrating or planning to migrate legacy apps to the cloud, introducing transitional complexity.
"To gain agility and accommodate rapidly evolving supply chains, transportation and logistics enterprises are relying more on hybrid IT, highly distributed cloud deployments, and GenAI. But these technologies are introducing new network performance, security, and visibility challenges that the sector hasn't been equipped to effectively manage with legacy infrastructure," said Ken Rutsky, Chief Marketing Officer at Aryaka. "The industry needs to modernize their approach to networking to mitigate these challenges and successfully move their businesses into the future."
Methodology: Conducted by GatePoint Research, the report surveyed senior executives across the transportation and logistics sector.
