Kiteworks launches AI governance program ahead of Gartner SRM 2026

By AI, Created 1:15 AM UTC, May 21, 2026, /AGP/ – Kiteworks is rolling out an Innovators in AI Program at Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2026 to give organizations faster controls for AI data access, audit trails and policy enforcement. The move targets enterprise teams trying to govern agentic AI before compliance gaps widen.

Why it matters: - Enterprise AI adoption is moving faster than governance controls. - Kiteworks is positioning the program as a way to manage regulated data access, use and movement before AI agents create compliance gaps. - The program is designed to reduce procurement delays, custom integrations and retrofit costs that can slow AI oversight.

What happened: - Kiteworks announced the Innovators in AI Program on May 27, 2026. - The company will unveil the program at Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2026, set for June 1-3 at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland. - Chief Strategy Officer Tim Freestone will give a featured session titled “Kiteworks: Controlling Data Access and Use by AI Agents for Compliant AI” on June 1 at 3:15 p.m. - Kiteworks said existing customers can activate the program by contacting their Customer Success Manager. - Organizations not yet on the platform can schedule a demo to learn how to join.

The details: - The program includes the Kiteworks Secure MCP Server, policy controls, and full-fidelity audit and telemetry for AI agent deployments. - The Secure MCP Server gives AI assistants and agents, including Claude, Copilot, Agentforce, GPT-4o and any MCP-compatible platform, authenticated access to enterprise data through a policy-enforced bridge. - Policy controls use attribute-based access control at the data layer for every agent action and payload. - Audit and telemetry provide real-time, tamper-evident logs of every agent action, prompt and payload. - Kiteworks said the controls appear in a unified dashboard that tracks human and AI agent activity, geographic access events, policy enforcement counts, anomaly detection and audit logs with file classification tags and outcome status. - Drill-down views identify the files, users and agents tied to each blocked action. - The company said the evidence can be produced in hours rather than weeks of log correlation. - The program runs for 12 months. - Phase 1 covers months 1-6 and includes unlimited agent workflows with full access to the Secure MCP Server and policy controls, free for Kiteworks customers. - Phase 2 covers months 7-12 and is optional, with unlimited access at 50% off the standard Kiteworks rate and no obligation to renew.

Between the lines: - Kiteworks is tying the launch to a common enterprise problem: AI agents can move regulated data across compliance boundaries faster than traditional security stacks can respond. - Freestone said regulators govern data, not models, and argued that compliance obligations do not change when an AI agent touches PHI or CUI. - The program appears aimed at organizations that want governance in place before broader AI deployment forces a costly retrofit.

What’s next: - Kiteworks will host three on-site touchpoints at Gartner SRM. - The company will run live demos at booth 203 across all three conference days. - Kiteworks will also open a private Executive Suite at the Gaylord National Resort on Monday and Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - The company is using the summit to promote the program to both current customers and prospective buyers.

The bottom line: - Kiteworks is betting enterprises will pay for AI governance now, before agentic systems create audit and compliance problems that are harder and more expensive to fix later.