Key Takeaways

  • The Technology Alliances Program expanded by adding Akamai, ColorTokens, Corsha, Elisity, and Zero Networks
  • The integrations align with increasing industry pressure to adopt OT-aware microsegmentation in mixed IT and OT environments
  • Growing cyber risks and regulatory frameworks are pushing critical infrastructure operators toward identity-based and Zero Trust segmentation strategies

The announcement from Claroty on June 30, 2026, lands at a moment when industrial and critical infrastructure operators are reassessing their network architectures. Many have been inching toward more granular segmentation for years. Yet the practical hurdles in operational technology environments, especially those running legacy or proprietary systems, slowed progress. The shift toward modern enforcement highlights a broader industry movement across utilities, manufacturing, energy, transportation, and healthcare.

The company added five partners to its technology alliances program: Akamai, ColorTokens, Corsha, Elisity, and Zero Networks. Each brings specific microsegmentation or identity security capabilities focused on a single goal: limiting lateral movement across cyber-physical systems. Industry surveys demonstrate sustained increases in OT threat activity. The SANS ICS Security Survey 2023 indicated that 86% of industrial organizations observed growth in OT and ICS threats. Since flat networks remain a primary vulnerability in these environments, the operational value of segmentation is clear.

Complexity can derail ambitious security implementations, with many operators heavily weighing the risk of downtime. To address this, the new integrations emphasize identity-based policies that follow devices rather than IP addresses, automated least-privilege recommendations, and an agentless, infrastructure-centric method to cover un-agentable assets.

Federal guidance heavily influences current microsegmentation adoption. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency repeatedly notes that unsegmented OT networks are a major factor in successful intrusions, and its advisories highlight segmentation as a foundational safeguard. The National Institute of Standards and Technology echoes that message in the NIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture guidance, which places strong emphasis on controlling lateral movement in high-value environments. These references appear frequently in procurement language, creating a reinforcing loop between policy and operational decisions.

Analysts and regulators are also driving implementation. According to Gartner, 75% of organizations are expected to adopt some form of OT or ICS segmentation by 2026, up from 25% in 2021. The firm cited rising ransomware exposure, compliance demands, and the need to maintain continuity in asset-intensive environments as primary catalysts. Meanwhile, the European Union's NIS2 directive and standards such as IEC 62443 continue to surface as frameworks operators want to align with, even when compliance is not mandatory. The platform supports this by enabling accelerated documentation and automated controls mapped to those regulatory requirements.

The new partners each illustrate a different path toward segmentation in cyber-physical environments. Akamai targets convergence between IT and OT to reduce blind spots. ColorTokens utilizes a risk-weighted model, combining OT asset context with additional threat signals. Corsha focuses on machine identity verification, which addresses the risks of connecting more systems and automating workflows. Elisity provides bi-directional identity-based microsegmentation, allowing asset and risk intelligence to flow across systems. Zero Networks addresses lateral movement risks, citing internal data indicating that 80% of enterprise servers can be reached from anywhere inside the network.

Sector-specific incident data further underscores the necessity of these architectures. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity has tracked incidents in the energy sector and found that 29% involved weak segmentation or insecure remote access. Simultaneously, operators report increased supply chain complexity and remote maintenance traffic. That combination creates exposure points that targeted segmentation mitigates.

Telecom and transportation providers are also modernizing their operational backbones. Many turn to identity-based enforcement because agent installation on legacy assets is often not feasible. Standards bodies such as the IEEE have published guidance on network zoning and segmentation for safety-critical systems, which heavily influences engineering teams. When engineering and security groups work from different playbooks, segmentation projects stall. The integration of these microsegmentation tools bridges the operational and cybersecurity domains.

Segmentation extends beyond security parameters. Operators prioritize uptime, predictability, and maintaining safe performance envelopes. While segmentation limits disruption during a cyber incident, it also enables teams to observe how assets communicate, often revealing pathways for operational improvements. Orchestrated enforcement and reduced blind spots support this dual-use requirement.

Aging equipment, tightly coupled processes, and limited maintenance windows continue to complicate OT network implementations. However, the new integrations align with a broader pattern across industrial cybersecurity in which more organizations adopt Zero Trust models, specifically adapting them to operational realities rather than duplicating IT patterns.

The Claroty Technology Alliances Program has been expanding to address these complex requirements. This latest cohort indicates an increasingly specialized ecosystem, emphasizing identity, asset context, and machine-to-machine verification. The expanded alliances reflect an industry that views segmentation as a foundational tool to support operational resilience.

As cyber-physical systems grow more connected and automation layers become more intelligent, granular segmentation is necessary to contain the ripple effects of system incidents. The newly integrated partnerships provide critical infrastructure operators with functional pathways to implement these controls in environments where reliability is tightly intertwined with human safety.