Aug 19, 2025

The AI-Native Era is Here: What this Gartner® Innovation Insight Means for Your Software Security

By Joe Ariganello

A new era of software engineering is emerging, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront. As the 2025 Gartner® Innovation Insight for AI-Native Software Engineering report states: “AI-native software engineering will require software engineering leaders to mitigate new risks and tackle new challenges.” Here are the key insights and perspectives that will help you navigate the new normal.

The Core of the AI-Native Transformation: Unleashing Creativity, Embracing Automation

At its heart, AI-native software engineering signifies a future where AI is an integral, disruptive force across the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The Gartner report highlights several key findings, including:

Unlocking Developer Potential: AI-based tools are set to significantly boost developer productivity, allowing teams to focus on high-value tasks that require creativity and critical thinking. Early agentic workflows have already shown the ability to translate user intent into direct actions, reducing mundane work.
The Rise of Autonomous Tasks: Autonomous and semi-autonomous tasks are increasingly permeating every stage of software development, marking a significant shift towards more efficient and automated processes.
The Evolving Role of Developers: Developers are taking on a more strategic role, akin to orchestra conductors, directing AI-based tools and agents to achieve complex tasks. This requires a deep understanding of software engineering to effectively guide these AI systems.
AI Code Assistants: The adoption of AI code assistants is expected to skyrocket, with 90% of enterprise software engineers projected to use them by 2028, up from less than 14% in early 2024. This rapid adoption underscores AI’s profound impact on daily coding practices.

Navigating the New Landscape: Challenges and Strategic Imperatives for Security

While the promise of enhanced productivity is compelling, the report also outlines the inherent risks that demand attention, including:

Expanded Threat Surface: AI tools increase the attack surface, making it more vulnerable to security breaches and unforeseen vulnerabilities. It’s essential to account for agentic workflows when assessing and mitigating software supply chain risks.
The Dangers of Over-Reliance on AI: Blindly trusting AI outputs without proper verification and explainability can lead to serious business and reputational risks. This risk is amplified in multi-agent workflows where AI-generated context is passed between agents.
Software Quality Concerns: While AI-based tools can auto-refactor and auto-fix security vulnerabilities, they can also introduce new vulnerabilities, duplicate code, or cause infrastructure misconfiguration errors. Insufficient human oversight of AI-generated code can lead to defects leaking into production.
Loss of Critical Skills: Over-reliance on AI can erode fundamental developer skill sets, impacting succession planning and the ability to address AI-induced bugs.

Veracode’s Perspective: Secure AI, Human-Empowered Development

To us, the Gartner report affirms Veracode’s strategic focus on enabling developers to create secure software by integrating AI into their workflows, prioritizing security as a core component of development rather than just a productivity tool.

Key Elements of Veracode’s AI-Native Approach

Accurate, Context-Sensitive Fixes

Proprietary AI that provides precise, context-aware remediation suggestions for vulnerabilities detected by our SAST, DAST, and SCA tools. These recommendations are integrated into workflows, enabling faster and more effective issue resolution.

Developer Oversight in AI Processes

Responsible by design that maintains a “human-in-the-loop” approach for critical security functions. AI streamlines remediation, but developers review and approve all fixes, ensuring accuracy, maintainability, and compliance with organizational policies.

Enhanced Developer Efficiency

Automating routine remediation tasks that allow developers to focus on higher-priority responsibilities, aligning with Gartner’s guidance to prioritize impactful work in the development process.

Embrace the AI-Native Future Securely

Software engineering leaders must equip their teams to thrive in this era of enhanced developer productivity, advanced agentic workflows, and rapid feedback cycles, while proactively addressing emerging risks.

The Gartner Innovation Insight for AI-Native Software Engineering report is a critical resource for navigating this transformative landscape. It offers in-depth analysis of strategic planning considerations, the evolving role of developers, and practical guidance for securely integrating AI into development practices.

To lead effectively in the AI-native era, access to authoritative, up-to-date insights is essential.

Download your copy of the 2025 Gartner® Innovation Insight for AI-Native Software Engineering report today to gain the strategic clarity and actionable recommendations needed to shape your organization’s future in software development and security.

Gartner, Innovation Insight for AI-Native Software Engineering, By Manjunath Bhat, Arun Batchu, Mark Driver, Philip Walsh, Adrian Leow, 13 January 2025.

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