Healthcare IT Visibility Gap Exposed in New Industry Report

WanAware study finds infrastructure blind spots driving preventable incidents, security lag, and AI readiness gap

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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A new report from WanAware, an innovator in intelligent observability, reveals that healthcare organizations' modernization and AI ambitions are outpacing their ability to see, secure, and manage critical infrastructure. The survey of 600+ healthcare IT leaders found that 60% report at least 26-50% of their infrastructure is insufficiently monitored, leading to preventable incidents, security detection lag, and growing risk as AI adoption accelerates.

Why it matters

The lack of end-to-end visibility across healthcare IT environments, including network infrastructure, cloud workloads, endpoints, and medical devices, has tangible consequences. In 2025, the healthcare sector experienced over 1,700 security incidents and 1,500 confirmed data breaches, underscoring how blind spots persist despite increased spending on security and monitoring tools.

The details

The report found that healthcare organizations have responded to growing complexity by adding more tools, but this strategy is reaching its limits. On average, respondents rely on 6-10 monitoring and asset management tools, with 40% using 7 or more. However, fewer than one-third say those tools are fully integrated, leading to declining clarity as tool stacks grow. This fragmented visibility is already driving recurring disruptions, with 42% of organizations experiencing infrastructure incidents monthly or more often.

  • The Healthcare IT Visibility Gap report is based on a survey conducted in January 2026.

The players

WanAware

An innovator in intelligent observability, dedicated to solving the most pressing challenges in IT performance, availability, and security monitoring.

Jeff Collins

CEO of WanAware.

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What they’re saying

“There's a widening gap between how modern healthcare environments are built and how well they're actually understood. Organizations are deploying more tools and pushing forward with AI initiatives, but without a unified view of their infrastructure, risk becomes embedded in daily operations.”

— Jeff Collins, CEO

What’s next

The report suggests that the path forward lies in unified, real-time infrastructure visibility that serves as the system of record for operations, security, and transformation. Healthcare organizations that close the visibility gap will not only reduce preventable incidents, but also strengthen resilience, accelerate modernization, and build a trustworthy foundation for AI-enabled care.

The takeaway

This report highlights the growing disconnect between healthcare organizations' technology ambitions and their ability to effectively manage and secure their critical infrastructure. Addressing the visibility gap will be crucial for healthcare providers to realize the full potential of modern IT systems and emerging technologies like AI while mitigating the risks of preventable incidents and security breaches.