NetApp CPO Syam Nair on Governing Data Instead of Identities

Jennifer Lawinski •
July 10, 2026    

Syam Nair, CPO, NetApp

Agentic artificial intelligence is forcing enterprises to rethink one of cybersecurity’s foundational principles: zero trust. Syam Nair, chief product officer at NetApp, said traditional identity and network-based security models were designed for humans, not autonomous AI agents capable of making decisions and executing actions at machine speed.

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Unlike copilots and chatbots that operate with continuous human oversight, agentic AI systems can reason, interact with multiple data sources and trigger downstream workflows independently. That shift dramatically raises the stakes for governance, as a single incorrect decision can quickly cascade across enterprise systems.

“The human role doesn’t go away. It evolves,” Nair said. “Humans are still accountable for what AI does.”

Nair argued that enterprises must extend zero trust principles beyond identity and network controls to the data layer itself. Instead of relying on one-time authentication or static permissions, organizations need continuous governance that evaluates an agent’s intent, business context and the sensitivity of the data it accesses in real time.

In this video interview with ISMG, Nair discussed:

Why agentic AI requires zero trust to move beyond identity and network controls;
How metadata enables continuous governance at the data layer;
Why governance should accelerate – not hinder – enterprise AI innovation.

Nair leads NetApp’s product strategy for intelligent data infrastructure, hybrid cloud and AI. Prior to joining NetApp, he was chief technology officer at Zscaler and held senior leadership roles with Salesforce and Microsoft.