In today’s volatile digital economy, the twin imperatives of artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity dominate boardrooms, policy debates, and research agendas. The stakes are enormous: according to industry forecasts, global spending on AI-driven automation is projected to exceed $600 billion by 2030, while damages from cybercrime could top $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. Against this backdrop, researchers like Wilfred Oseremen Owobu are charting pathways that bridge efficiency with resilience, automation with trust.
Owobu’s recent scholarly contributions, one focused on enterprise communication security architectures, the other on AI-powered business process automation, have ignited conversations in both industry and academia. His insights resonate in an era where organizations must streamline operations without compromising security. Tech Announcer sat down with him for an in-depth interview, exploring the intersections of automation, security, and strategy in the digital age.
The Early Spark
TechAnnouncer (TA): Wilfred, your work sits at the intersection of two fields often treated separately. What first drew you to this combination?
Wilfred Oseremen Owobu (WOO): I started by observing how enterprises struggled. On one side, leaders demanded faster processes, cost savings, and automation. On the other side, every digital tool opened new vulnerabilities. That tension fascinated me. I realized efficiency without security is reckless, and security without efficiency is unsustainable. My research is about balancing these forces.
Securing Digital Workflows: Beyond Perimeter Defenses
TA: In your paper on enterprise communication security, you highlight the limitations of perimeter-based models. Why are these outdated?
WOO: Traditional firewalls assume everything inside the network is trustworthy. But in 2025, that assumption collapses. Remote work, cloud platforms, and mobile devices have erased perimeters. A single compromised employee device can trigger a breach worth millions. The answer lies in modern architectures: Zero Trust, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), and Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP).
These frameworks shift the focus to identity, continuous verification, and adaptive controls. They don’t just protect data, they preserve trust. Today, 61% of enterprises globally report adopting Zero Trust strategies. It’s no longer experimental; it’s a survival imperative.
TA: Which industries stand to benefit most?
WOO: Finance and healthcare top the list. In banking, downtime caused by cyberattacks costs an estimated $7 million per hour. In healthcare, a ransomware attack can delay surgeries or disrupt life-saving equipment. Manufacturing is another critical case. When a supply chain is disrupted by a breach, ripple effects can shut down production lines across continents. These are not abstract risks, they’re lived realities.
AI as the Engine of Automation
TA: Let’s talk about your other major paper, which proposes an AI-driven model for process automation. What sets your approach apart?
WOO: Traditional Business Process Automation (BPA) is static, it automates rules. AI-driven BPA is dynamic, it learns, adapts, and decides. We’re not just automating payroll or data entry; we’re enabling predictive fraud detection, demand forecasting, and even customer sentiment analysis.
The data is compelling: AI-driven BPA can reduce operational costs by up to 35%, cut error rates by 80%, and improve process speed by five to ten times. For instance, in supply chains, AI can predict demand fluctuations weeks in advance, preventing overstocking or shortages. In customer service, AI chatbots can resolve 70% of queries instantly, freeing human agents for complex issues.
Methodology Matters
TA: Your work is known for its emphasis on methodology, especially systematic reviews. Why insist on this rigor?
WOO: Because the AI space is saturated with hype. Methodology filters the noise. I follow frameworks that ensure transparency and reproducibility. In practice, this means analyzing hundreds of case studies, extracting quantitative results, and comparing them across industries. That’s how we demonstrate not just that AI works, but by how much it reduces costs, how significantly it improves productivity, and under what conditions it succeeds.
Automation’s Human Dimension
TA: Critics worry automation will erase jobs. How do you respond?
WOO: That fear is understandable. But history shows that automation doesn’t eliminate work, it transforms it. In my model, retraining and redeployment are central. Imagine a factory where AI handles scheduling, inventory, and routine reporting. Workers don’t vanish; they shift into higher-value roles, quality oversight, innovation, customer engagement. In fact, by 2030, AI is projected to create 97 million new roles globally, even as it automates routine functions. The challenge is training people fast enough to step into those roles.
Bridging Cybersecurity and AI
TA: You’ve suggested that cybersecurity and automation aren’t separate silos. Can you explain?
WOO: Think of it this way: every time you automate, you increase the attack surface. Every chatbot, every automated transaction is a potential target. Conversely, cybersecurity itself increasingly depends on AI, algorithms that detect anomalies, predict attacks, and shut down threats in real time. These domains feed each other. The future lies in fusion strategies where AI enables automation and simultaneously strengthens defenses.
Emerging Trends: Promise and Peril
TA: Looking forward, what developments excite or concern you most?
WOO: I’m excited by decentralized identity management, systems that put users in control of their credentials rather than centralized authorities. I’m also intrigued by AI-driven threat intelligence that predicts attacks before they happen, reducing response times from hours to seconds.
But I’m concerned about opacity. Too many AI models are black boxes. Enterprises can’t rely on systems they don’t understand. That’s why explainability, transparency, and accountability must be built into the next generation of AI tools. Without it, trust collapses.
Regulation as a Catalyst
TA: Regulation often lags behind innovation. How do you see that tension playing out?
WOO: Regulation is not the enemy, it’s a catalyst. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar frameworks push companies toward transparency and accountability. Non-compliance fines can reach billions, but the real cost is loss of trust. Enterprises that treat regulation as part of their innovation DNA actually move faster because they don’t waste time retrofitting compliance later.
The Personal Mission
TA: Wilfred, beyond the technical models, what keeps you personally invested in this field?
WOO: Impact. When a hospital avoids downtime during a cyberattack because of a secure communication framework, lives are saved. When a small business cuts costs through automation without laying off staff, families thrive. Research isn’t just academic, it’s a responsibility. I’m motivated by the idea that my work helps build a digital economy that is not only efficient but also trustworthy and humane.
Conclusion
Over two hours of conversation, one theme kept emerging: balance. Owobu insists that automation without security is reckless, and security without automation is unsustainable. His research does not simply theorize, it offers blueprints for organizations confronting real-world pressures: tighter margins, rising cyberattacks, shifting regulations, and an urgent need for resilience.
The data speaks clearly. By integrating AI into business process automation, companies can slash costs by a third and boost productivity severalfold. By adopting modern security architectures, they can reduce breach risks by more than half and meet increasingly complex compliance standards. Yet the true value lies in convergence: a future where efficiency and security evolve together, shaping enterprises that are fast, resilient, and trusted.
As 2025 unfolds, one conclusion stands out. In the global race for digital transformation, those who ignore either automation or security will falter. Those who embrace both, guided by rigorous research like Owobu’s, will define the next decade.
