AI is no longer being used as just a tool to assist people. It’s becoming agentic across every industry, moving autonomously, learning adaptively, and embedding itself into the core of how organizations operate. This shift marks one of the most profound transformations in modern enterprise: the rise of agentic AI, where systems don’t just support decision-making, they make, orchestrate, and optimize it.
A recent IDC prediction reveals that by 2027, half of enterprises will be using AI agents to redefine how humans and machines collaborate. That single forecast captures what’s at stake for 2026: the agentic era. It’s an era where workflows, strategies, and even business models are being redefined by systems that learn, reason, and act across every layer of the enterprise.
The question is no longer whether AI will reshape businesses. It’s how quickly, how deeply, and how to prepare.
IDC’s 2026 FutureScape was built to answer exactly that. Through exclusive webinars, global reports, and analyst insights, leaders can see what’s next for their industries and what to do about it now.
To help organizations navigate these accelerating crosscurrents and chart a deliberate path forward, IDC’s 2026 FutureScape brings together the latest predictions, research, and foresight on the next phase of AI’s evolution.
Charting the next AI course
FutureScape 2026 is more than a collection of forecasts. It’s a navigation system for what’s ahead, a guide for leaders to anticipate disruption, steer through uncertainty, and turn turbulence into forward momentum.
Built on 35 global prediction sets across 12 industries, this year’s FutureScape explores how agentic AI will evolve from experimentation to enterprise orchestration, and what that means for strategy, technology, workforce, and trust.
Through IDC’s lens, the agentic journey unfolds as both a challenge and an opportunity:
- Challenge: Economic volatility, regulation, and workforce disruption can quietly pull organizations off course. Fragmented AI adoption risks wasted investment and slower progress.
- Opportunity: With deliberate navigation that aligns strategy, workforce, and tech stack, those same forces can become momentum toward resilience and growth.
FutureScape 2026 reframes disruption as a navigable current. The organizations that will thrive in the agentic era are those that see AI not as an experiment, but as the operating logic of the enterprise.
What you’ll gain from IDC’s 2026 FutureScape
Across every report and prediction, one truth stands out: AI has become the engine of enterprise transformation. The organizations that lead will treat AI as infrastructure, embedding it across decisions, operations, and customer experiences.
FutureScape 2026 identifies four powerful currents shaping this transformation:
- Navigating the crosscurrents of disruption
Leaders are confronting economic uncertainty, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical turbulence. IDC’s research shows that governed, well-aligned AI can transform these disruptive forces into forward motion to fuel agility and growth instead of fragmentation.
- Charting the path to enterprise-wide orchestration
Many organizations are still stuck in pilot mode. The winners will move from isolated experiments to enterprise-scale orchestration, where agentic AI operates seamlessly across data, applications, and workflows to drive continuous improvement and innovation. - Building trust, resilience, and prosperity
As AI assumes greater autonomy, trust becomes the foundation of long-term success. Responsible AI practices, transparent governance, and human oversight will differentiate the organizations that thrive from those that stall. - Unlocking innovation beyond productivity
The true promise of AI lies not in incremental efficiency but in new value creation. FutureScape 2026 highlights how agentic AI is redefining industries from healthcare to finance to manufacturing by powering new business models, products, and experiences.
Every prediction in FutureScape 2026 is grounded in IDC’s data-driven research and designed to help leaders move from insight to action.
Why the 2026 FutureScapes matter now
The 2026 reports arrive at a pivotal moment in the AI transformation journey.
According to IDC’s AI Maturity Model Benchmark, only 1% of organizations have reached the stage of an optimized, AI-fueled enterprise while over half remain in early stages of transformation.
At the same time, global AI investment continues to surge. Agentic systems are projected to account for nearly half of all AI spending by 2029, reflecting the rapid shift from tools that assist to systems that act autonomously and intelligently.
The message is clear: the future isn’t waiting. The gap between early adopters and laggards will widen quickly. Businesses that modernize their technology stacks, reskill their workforces, and embed agentic AI into strategy today will define the next era of innovation, trust, and growth.
How to access the research
IDC’s FutureScape 2026 program brings these insights to life through:
- Global reports: Benchmark your organization against IDC’s global predictions and see where your industry is headed next.
- Webinars: Join IDC analysts and explore how to make the agentic pivot and operationalize AI strategy across your enterprise.
- Events: Connect with peers and IDC experts at regional FutureScape sessions worldwide to translate foresight into action.
- Analyst commentary: Access quick takes, videos, and blogs linking FutureScape predictions to real-time market shifts.
Together, these touchpoints help leaders turn IDC foresight into measurable strategy, bridging the gap between understanding and execution.
Are you ready to chart the path forward?
The crosscurrents of disruption aren’t slowing down. Economic, technological, and societal forces are converging faster than ever. But with the right navigation, they can become momentum.
IDC’s 2026 FutureScape provides that compass. It reveals not only what’s coming next but how to prepare, equipping business and technology leaders with the confidence to steer through uncertainty and harness agentic AI as a force for innovation, trust, and prosperity.
Because the future isn’t being built somewhere else. It’s being built right now.
Be part of it with IDC’s 2026 FutureScape.
