NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 23, 2025--
International Data Corporation ( IDC ), the trusted technology intelligence leader, announced the release of its FutureScape 2026 research, a comprehensive outlook on the next five years in enterprise technology.
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Spanning more than 35 worldwide reports, IDC’s FutureScape 2026 details how Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) will evolve from isolated pilots to enterprise-wide orchestration—transforming decision-making, operations, and competitiveness across every sector of the global economy.
“Organizations today are managing through economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Amid it all, agentic AI is emerging as a strategic inflection point,” said Meredith Whalen, chief product, research & delivery officer at IDC. “Our research shows that this new class of AI isn’t just speeding up innovation. It’s reshaping how work gets done, how people contribute, and how industries will grow in the years ahead.”
Charting the Agentic Future
IDC’s FutureScape 2026 research identifies the crosscurrents shaping enterprise strategy: economic volatility, geopolitical shifts, regulatory change, workforce disruption, changing customer engagement, and rising expectations for trust and transparency.
These pressures converge as AI accelerates, creating a pivotal moment for leadership. IDC forecasts that by 2030, 45% of organizations will orchestrate AI agents at scale, embedding them across business functions.
“Leaders can’t control the geopolitical and technology crosscurrents shaping today’s economy,” said Rick Villars, group vice president, Worldwide Research at IDC. “But with a clear AI transformation strategy, strong data and infrastructure, and a skilled AI-ready workforce, they can turn disruption into advantage and steer their organizations toward sustainable growth in the AI era.”
FutureScape 2026 delivers actionable insight to help organizations:
Top Highlights from IDC FutureScape 2026:
Review IDC’s Top IT Industry Predictions on the IDC blog.
FutureScape 2026 Webinars and Global Events
The release of FutureScape 2026 is accompanied by a series of worldwide webinars and regional events that bring IDC’s predictions to life:
Each session will explore how organizations can move from experimentation to orchestration, with IDC analysts offering practical guidance for business leaders worldwide. Webinar registration is open now.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,000 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 100 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on X at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.
International Data Corporation (IDC), the trusted technology intelligence leader, announced the release of its FutureScape 2026 research, which reveals how AI is scaling from pilots to enterprise transformation, helping organizations turn disruption into opportunity through strategy, trust, and innovation.
Agentic AI is redefining enterprise strategy, transforming how technology, people, and performance work together to drive growth. IDC’s FutureScape 2026 reveals how AI is scaling from pilots to enterprise transformation, helping organizations turn disruption into opportunity through strategy, trust, and innovation.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Arsenal resisted a late fightback from Brighton on Saturday to keep hold of first place in the Premier League, but Manchester City and Aston Villa are in hot pursuit.
It is a three-way fight at the top with just three points separating first and third in the standings.
City briefly held top spot after a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest, but when Arsenal beat Brighton by the same score later in the day, it returned to the summit with a two-point advantage over Pep Guardiola's team.
Villa is just a point further back in third after extending its remarkable winning run to 11 games in all competitions with a comeback 2-1 victory at Chelsea.
Villa plays Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday and a win would see it move level on points with the leader at the turn of the year.
Liverpool is up to fourth after its resurgence continued with a 2-1 win of its own against last-place Wolverhampton, which set a new Premier League record for the longest winless run from the start of a season.
Another own goal kept Arsenal at the top of the standings — but it required an outstanding save from David Raya to deny Brighton.
Martin Odegaard gave Mikel Arteta's team a 14th-minute lead — and when Brighton's Georginio Rutter headed a wicked Declan Rice corner into his own net seven minutes into the second half, Arsenal was in control.
But nerves began to spread around the Emirates when Diego Gomez pulled a goal back against the run of play in the 64th. Yankuba Minteh then hit a shot that was destined for the top corner until Raya stretched an arm to push it away.
“Their goal changed the momentum a little bit and they pressed us towards the end, but we got the three points and that’s all that matters,” Odegaard said. “Lots of positives and still some things we can improve, but overall a good game and another win.”
Arsenal has become a set piece specialist, but in recent weeks it has benefited from a slew of own goals, with Rutter's the latest to prove decisive.
It was the fourth time in as many games an opponent has scored an own goal against the league's frontrunner.
Rayan Cherki kept Manchester City's title challenge powering on with a late winner at Forest.
The France forward's 83rd minute strike secured victory at the City Ground to make it six league wins in a row for Guardiola's team. City is on an eight-game winning run in all.
“Today is a big win,” Cherki told TNT Sports. “I’m proud of the team because this game is very complicated to win.”
It was Cherki's second goal in three games and fifth overall. He also provided an assist with an intricate pass to Tijjani Reijnders to put City ahead three minutes into the second half.
Omari Hutchinson equalized for relegation-fighting Forest, which was holding out for a crucial point until Cherki fired through a crowded box for the winner.
Guardiola, who has won 12 league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City, looks like a man who believes his team is ready to regain the crown it surrendered to Liverpool last season. He joined in the celebrations with the traveling fans after the final whistle — acting conductor as they celebrated wildly after another win.
“When we won a lot of titles in Barcelona, Bayern Munich, here, you have a lot of games of this type,” he said. “The body language, how we celebrated, the connection with the fans is there."
Super sub Ollie Watkins came off the bench and extended Villa’s winning run.
With Unai Emery’s team trailing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to Joao Pedro’s first-half strike, Watkins was sent on to try to salvage something.
And the England striker delivered in emphatic fashion, leveling the game within five minutes of coming on and then heading in the winner in the 84th to stun the home crowd and spark frenzied celebrations among Villa’s traveling supporters.
That’s 12 wins in Villa’s last 13 league games to firmly establish itself as a genuine title contender with Arsenal up next.
“Amazing is the word to sum it up,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
A fourth straight win for Liverpool and another sign that Florian Wirtz is finding his feet in England's top flight.
Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal since joining the defending champion from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and it proved to be decisive against Wolves.
Wirtz doubled Liverpool's lead before halftime after Ryan Gravenberch had opened the scoring at Anfield, but Wolves halved the deficit through Santiago Bueno after the break.
“I was confident that I will score one day, but of course I wanted to start earlier, scoring and assisting," Wirtz said. “It was like this and I have to accept it. I just know that it would come and I tried to keep going like that.”
After seeing its title defense unravel between September and November, Liverpool is now on a seven-game unbeaten run.
Wolves are on a very different run. After 18 rounds of the season the Midlands club has set a new low in the Premier League era — overtaking the record it shared with Sheffield United for the longest winless start to a campaign.
Kevin Schade scored a hat trick in Brentford's 4-1 rout of Bournemouth.
Antoine Semenyo was on target for Bournemouth ahead of the January transfer window when he is reportedly a target for some of the Premier League's top clubs, including Man City.
West Ham's relegation fight was dealt a blow as Raul Jimenez scored in the 85th to seal a 1-0 win for Fulham, while second-to-bottom Burnley drew 0-0 with Everton.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Chelsea's Benoit Badiashile, bottom, tackles Aston Villa's Boubacar Kamara, during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Aston Villa, at Stamford Bridge, in London, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
Brentford's Kevin Schade celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game, during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Bournemouth, at the Gtech Community Stadium, in London, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. Peter Tarry/PA via AP)
Liverpool's Florian Wirtz celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in Liverpool, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres and Arsenal's Declan Rice celebrate after Brighton's Georginio Rutter scored an own goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion in London, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Nottingham Forest's Omari Hutchinson celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, in Nottingham, England, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Manchester City's Tijjani Reijnders celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, in Nottingham, England, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (Barrington Coombs/PA via AP)
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates at the end of the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, in Nottingham, England, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Manchester City's Rayan Cherki scores his side's second goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, in Nottingham, England, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Manchester City's Rayan Cherki, left, celebrates with Erling Haaland after scoring his side's second goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, in Nottingham, England, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (Barrington Coombs/PA via AP)
