Sophos, a global cybersecurity company, launched Sophos CISO Advantage, an agentic AI-enabled solution that connects security operations to security strategy.

The solution gives organizations a clear picture of their cyber risk. It also provides a prioritized plan to reduce that risk and measurable proof of progress. Everything is presented in plain language that business leaders can understand, fund, and act on.

It is delivered through Sophos Fusion, the Sophos AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System. The rollout begins today across North America, the UK, and the rest of Europe.

Sophos says the offering defines a new category. It turns security data into strategy and measurable improvement. It assesses an organization’s environment and maps it against industry frameworks. It then turns the result into a prioritized plan at a speed and scale that human experts alone cannot reach.

For most organizations, building and executing a strong cybersecurity strategy is both the greatest opportunity and the greatest challenge. The industry has invested heavily in tools that prevent, detect, and respond. Global spending on information security is expected to reach $240 billion in 2026.

However, the market remains fragmented. Organizations often rely on disconnected assessments, spreadsheets, and point solutions to manage cyber risk. As a result, it is hard to measure progress, prioritize investments, and demonstrate the impact of security programs.

Sophos attributes the gap largely to a scarcity of security leadership and talent. According to the 2026 CISO Report, an estimated 35,000 CISOs serve 359 million businesses worldwide. That is a ratio of roughly 10,000 to one.

Hiring alone cannot close the gap. The 2026 MSP Perspectives Report found that, on average, 46% of customers now look to their MSP to act as their CISO. In addition, 84% of MSPs expect demand for CISO services to increase over the next year.

Organizations without a CISO lack the skills and resources to assess risk and build a strategy. Those with a CISO face growing pressure. They are increasingly asked to prove control effectiveness to boards, regulators, and insurers. Meanwhile, average CISO tenure runs 18 to 26 months, and 75% are considering a job change.

Sophos says its new solution addresses that gap. It builds a security assessment unique to each organization’s environment and threat profile. It maps controls against frameworks including NIST CSF, CIS v8, Cyber Essentials Plus, and NCSC CAF.

It then produces a prioritized, budget-aligned roadmap. The roadmap shows what to fix first, what it costs, and why it matters to the business. Because it is part of Sophos Fusion, each assessment draws on live threat intelligence. It also uses the collective insight from 625,000+ Sophos-defended organizations, rather than generic benchmarks.

Rob Harrison, senior vice president, product management, Sophos, explained the thinking behind the launch. “Good security strategy has always required expertise that’s too scarce to scale, so it’s stayed a luxury only the largest enterprises could afford,” he said.

“Sophos CISO Advantage changes that. We built it around the question every board is now asking its security team: are we safer than we were last quarter, and can you prove it? Putting a credible answer within reach of any organization, not just the ones that can staff a large security team, is how the industry starts to close the resilience gap.”

Sophos notes that each organization’s path will differ. Some will own and run the program themselves. In that case, internal teams drive strategy and use the solution as their system of record.

Others may start with an MSP partner to stand up the program and build confidence. They can then move to running it in-house. Many will begin with a baseline assessment and then move into a continuous managed service delivered entirely through a partner. The solution supports all three approaches.

For MSPs that already act as the de facto security lead for customers, it turns that role into a structured, scalable, and billable service. For organizations that want to own their program, it provides the system, the framework, and the AI-powered workflows to do so without a dedicated security team. In both cases, the outcome is the same: a clear program, measurable improvement, and reporting that leadership can act on.

Early market feedback has been positive. Phil Haris, research director, governance, risk and compliance solutions at IDC, said CISOs are being asked to move faster and manage more risk. They must also show meaningful progress to boards, regulators, and insurers. He added that “there are too many tools out there that track activity without any insight.”

According to Haris, security teams need a way to understand where they stand and take action. They also need to show how their posture is improving. He said vendors that bring this together in one AI-native system, from assessment through remediation, will shape where the market goes next.

An MSP partner also shared its view. David Peck, President of Trebron Security in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said, “CISO Advantage gives us a structured way to deliver something we were already doing informally.” He added, “We can now walk into any customer conversation with a clear program, a prioritized plan, and reporting that leadership can buy into. It has elevated how we position ourselves.”

On availability, the solution is offered beginning October 2026 across North America, the UK, and the rest of Europe. It is sold as an annual term license or as a monthly subscription through MSP Flex. Global availability is expected by the end of calendar year 2026. Sophos CISO Advantage Plus is targeted for mid-2027. It adds convergence, risk, and governance capabilities for enterprise organizations.

To learn more about CISO Advantage, visit the Sophos product page.

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