Miles Jamison 
- SolarWinds has surveyed more than 800 public sector IT professionals
- The report said 10 percent of respondents implement the three identified AI governance measures
- Only 47 percent of those surveyed said their organizations monitor employee AI use
SolarWinds, a Turn/River Capital-owned software company, has reported that while roughly 90 percent of public sector IT leaders say governance is keeping up with artificial intelligence adoption, only 10 percent said their organizations have implemented the three governance measures outlined in the study.
The company said Tuesday the findings are based on a survey of more than 800 public sector IT professionals in the U.S. and U.K. The three measures are formal enforcement, employee compliance and AI-specific security policies.
The findings come as the White House is requesting $76 billion for IT programs across federal civilian agencies in fiscal year 2027. The Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 FedCiv Summit on Oct. 29 will explore how that funding could shape civilian IT priorities, including generative AI, cloud computing and zero trust. Sign up today!
What Did SolarWinds Find About AI Security?
The company said security and compliance concerns ranked as the biggest obstacle to AI adoption, with respondents admitting that their organizations deliberately relax security controls to speed up AI-powered work.
The report found that while 47 percent of respondents said their organizations track employee use of AI tools, the practice is inconsistent. It also showed that 44 percent saw AI-related security incidents rise year over year and 10 percent do not track incident volume.
At the Office of Personnel Management, more than 70 percent of personnel actively use at least one large language model, according to OPM Chief Information Officer Adam Starr, who was a panelist at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit in March.
What Other IT Gaps Did the Survey Identify?
The survey identified challenges involving operational technology and zero trust. Among respondents with OT environments, 48 percent said OT is fully integrated with IT monitoring.
Thirty-six percent of IT leaders said zero trust is in place throughout most of their environments. A lack of skilled personnel and implementation complexity were each cited by 40 percent as leading barriers to adoption. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and several federal partners have released guidance on applying zero trust principles to OT systems.
The survey also found that 53 percent of respondents had added staff and 58 percent reported larger budgets. Cybersecurity was cited by 64 percent as a driver of those investments, while AI adoption was cited by 47 percent.
