Enterprise Horizons 2026: Executive insights at a glance

Your one-stop view of the trends shaping enterprise growth

Growth is back. But it’s under pressure from every direction.

AI is accelerating. Network infrastructure is struggling to keep pace. Talent shortages continue to impact transformation. And across global enterprises, leaders are being forced to make decisions faster, with less margin for error.

This page gives you the executive view of the latest tech trends shaping 2026 based on insights from 800 global technology leaders. It distils the most critical insights from IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, Enterprise Horizons 2026: Global Technology Leader’s Priorities and Insights into one place, so you can see what matters, fast.

You’ll find:

• The biggest risks to growth
• Where AI is delivering real value
• Why networks are becoming the limiting factor
• How skills, sovereignty, and ESG are reshaping decisions

But this is just the surface.

For the full data, benchmarks, and regional breakdowns, access Enterprise Horizons 2026.

What’s holding back enterprise growth in 2026?

Growth is strong. Execution is under pressure.

Key data

• 78% expect moderate to strong growth
• 63% say cybersecurity is the biggest threat
• Only 5% say their networks are fully ready

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

What this means

Confidence is there, investment is there and the ambition is clear. But what’s missing is a structural alignment between ambition and execution:

• AI is scaling faster than infrastructure
• Cyber risk is rising faster than defenses
• The network is not ready
• Skills are lagging behind demand

And these different forces have a compounding effect. Investing in one tech trend has a ripple effect across the entire network and tech stack. This year’s focus will be on stress testing all these elements to make sure they can all hold up under pressure.

Which technologies are enterprises prioritizing in 2026?

The investment choices shaping 2026 tech trends:

Key data

• 61%: Cybersecurity
• 51%: AI / ML
• 36%: Networking & connectivity

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

The priorities are clear. The implications are not.

Cybersecurity ranks as both the top technology investment and the top business risk. AI and machine learning follow closely as the primary drivers of innovation and efficiency. Network and connectivity investments rank just behind, highlighting their critical role in enabling both security and AI at scale.

This is not a typical technology cycle.

In previous years, organizations could prioritize one transformation area at a time. In 2026, that approach no longer works.

Enterprises are being forced to:

1. Secure their environments
2. Scale AI initiatives
3. Modernize networks
4. Maintain compliance across regions
5. Improve sustainability outcomes

All at once.

This stacking of priorities defines today’s latest tech trends. It also explains why execution is becoming harder, not easier.

The organizations that succeed are not those investing the most. They are the ones aligning these priorities into a single, coherent strategy.

AI investment trends in enterprises

Where is AI improving organizations?

AI is already delivering measurable improvements across key business areas.

Key data

• 90% of organizations report increased productivity.
• 84% report improvements in quality.
• 78% see gains in customer experience.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

These outcomes define the current wave of AI trends, where AI is driving efficiency and performance improvements across the enterprise.

How well has AI delivered ROI?

Despite these gains, financial outcomes are more mixed.

Key data

• ~60% report positive ROI
• Majority see partial or moderate returns
• Most expect 1–4% revenue uplift

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

While many organizations report positive ROI, many still say AI has only partially met expectations and revenue impact is modest. So there’s a gap between AI effort and AI value.

Why are AI outcomes uneven?

The issue is not the technology itself. It is the environment in which it operates.

Most organizations are still in the early to mid stages of adoption. 62% remain in limited use, with only a small percentage achieving transformative deployment.

What’s holding AI back? 

• Data quality challenges limit model performance
• Skills shortages slow implementation
• Infrastructure gaps restrict scalability 

AI governance trends

As investment increases, governance becomes critical.

Organizations are shifting from:

• Experimentation → Execution
• Exploration → ROI accountability

These AI governance trends reflect a broader shift from experimentation to disciplined execution.

The organizations that succeed with AI are not necessarily those investing the most. They are the ones building the right foundations to support it.

The infrastructure readiness gap

How ready are enterprises’ networks to support future needs?

This year’s data shows that network readiness remains one of the biggest constraints on enterprise growth.

Key data

• Only 5% of organizations consider their networks fully ready for future demands.
• 57% report that their networks are mostly ready but contain gaps.
• 34% say their infrastructure will need to be upgraded or replaced soon.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

What’s holding enterprise networks back?

Three core challenges stand out:

1. Lack of flexibility to adapt to changing demands (54%)
2. Insufficient resilience to maintain uptime (51%)
3. Limited bandwidth to handle increasing data volumes (42%)

These challenges are becoming more acute as AI workloads grow and become more distributed.

Why networks now define success or failure

Networks have become the main driver of business performance. Organizations that report successful AI outcomes are significantly more likely to attribute that success to strong network performance. And those experiencing failures often cite network limitations as a key factor.

This is one of the most clear tech trends from the InfoBrief:

The network is no longer a background system. It is the platform your business runs on. 

From reactive upgrades to proactive network strategy

Network investment is still be treated as a reactive process. Capacity is only added when performance issues arise. And unfortunately, just because it’s not visibly broken doesn’t mean you can assume it works.

Enterprises need to redesign connectivity so that it’s:

• Flexible enough to adapt to changing workloads
• Resilient enough to maintain uptime under pressure
• Intelligent enough to optimize performance in real time

Digital sovereignty reshapes infrastructure decisions

Digital sovereignty (sometimes called cyber sovereignty, technological sovereignty and data sovereignty) is the ability to control the data you rely on, collect, and create. Different countries and regions can have different data governance rules (GDPR, SOX, EU Data Governance Act, CCPA, ASEAN's Data Management Framework, DPDP, etc.) to abide by, and digital sovereignty is how you meet them. It’s how you move, store, and protect your data.

And it’s no longer a niche, governance concern and is instead becoming a core part of enterprise strategy.

Key data:

• 33% of organizations now rank it as a high or top priority.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

Why is data sovereignty rising?

The drivers are clear:

• Increasing regulatory requirements
• Concerns over cross-border data flows
• Growing geopolitical uncertainty

What is the impact on network infrastructure?

This creates new challenges for global enterprises as global network infrastructure must now deliver both:

1. Global consistency
2. Local compliance

This requires more sophisticated network architectures and more coordinated approaches to connectivity. Digital sovereignty is not just about where data resides. It is about how infrastructure is designed to support both performance and control.

The global technology talent squeeze

What are the latest tech hiring and skills gap trends?

The talent gap continues to widen.

Key data:

• 58% of organizations say talent shortages are a greater risk to growth than cybersecurity or geopolitical threats.
• 61% report unfilled critical technology roles.
• Up to 49% of digital initiatives are delayed as a result.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

AI skills demand trends are accelerating

Demand for AI, data, and cybersecurity expertise is increasing rapidly.

These AI skills demand trends are reshaping how organizations approach hiring and workforce development. Companies are hiring fewer people overall, but those they do hire are more specialized and more expensive. At the same time, they are investing more heavily in upskilling existing employees.

Why the skills gap matters

Without the right skills:

• AI initiatives stall
• Security risks increase
• Infrastructure projects are delayed

Organizations are increasingly turning to automation and managed services to fill these gaps and maintain momentum.

Sustainability pressures on technology

How are ESG trends shaping enterprise decisions?

Sustainability is becoming a core factor in technology strategy.

Key data:

• 60% of organizations say it is a higher priority than ever.
  68% consider sustainability credentials when selecting technology partners.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

These are defining ESG trends for 2026.

How enterprises are balancing sustainability and innovation

The rise of AI introduces new challenges as AI workloads are energy-intensive. As adoption increases, so does demand for power and infrastructure.

At the same time, organizations are under pressure to reduce their environmental impact.

To address this, enterprises are:

• Improving energy efficiency
• Monitoring and limiting AI usage
• Investing in renewable energy and infrastructure

How is AI changing executive leadership focus?

AI is redefining the role of technology leadership. In the IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, Enterprise Horizons 2026, Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility, 12% of enterprises were actively hiring for a Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer. This year, that number has increased to 22%.

However, while this number is still fairly low, the role of the Chief Information Officer has evolved due to AI adoption.

Key data:

• 49% of tech leaders report a shift toward more strategic leadership roles.
• 48% say leaders are taking on greater responsibility for AI governance.

n = 800; Source: IDC’s Technology Leaders Survey, 2026, January 2026

At the same time, alignment between the CIO and CFO is becoming critical. Investment decisions, cost control, and ROI measurement all require close collaboration.

The big picture: what’s really holding back enterprise growth

Every trend leads back to the same conclusion: Growth is not constrained by ideas. It is constrained by readiness.

• Cyber risk is rising faster than defenses
• AI is scaling faster than execution
• Networks are not ready for future demand
• Skills are in short supply
• Regulatory pressures are increasing
• Sustainability expectations are rising

And these challenges are interconnected.

Go deeper: access the full Enterprise Horizons 2026 report

This page gives you the signal and executive insights, the IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, Enterprise Horizons 2026: Global Technology Leader’s Priorities and Insights gives you the evidence.

Inside it you’ll fine:

• Data from 800 global technology leaders
• Regional insights across US, Europe, APAC
• Deep dives into AI, cybersecurity, and network readiness
• Actionable recommendations for enterprise leaders

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