For the past two years, artificial intelligence has dominated boardroom conversations and investment plans.
Many companies have forged ahead to try out new capabilities, but as we move into 2026, we’re seeing a shift from experimentation to execution.
Will the AI bubble burst?
With warnings around the ‘AI Bubble bursting’, stemming from high valuations on the stock market, set to continue in the new year, “the challenge for 2026 will be cutting through the noise,” starts Bruce Martin, CEO of Tax Systems.
“The AI bubble may ‘pop’, but this will only mean that businesses gain clarity on where AI genuinely adds value and where it’s just an expensive distraction. This is a positive that will ensure that organisations avoid over-engineering their operations in the rush to adopt new tools.”
He believes that a disciplined approach will matter far more than chasing the latest model: “The organisations that embrace AI thoughtfully, remove unnecessary complexity, and equip their teams with effective tools will be the ones that come out stronger on the other side of this cycle.”
Across the infrastructure ecosystem, the market itself is beginning to stabilise. Terry Storrar, Managing Director at Leaseweb UK, sees “AI’s trajectory shifting from the initial explosive hype to pragmatic growth.
“While the early boost and surges in investment have created inflated expectations, the coming year will see the focus shift from speculative hype to more tangible value. This will mean businesses reassessing their goals and focussing on prioritising AI initiatives that enhance efficiency and customer engagement, such as applied machine learning or agentic automation.”
Many organisations are deliberately pacing their investments as they look to 2026, Susan Odle, CEO of StorMagic, adds: “Companies are slow-rolling IT modernisation initiatives to make sure their systems and vendor selections are designed to be flexible enough to hold up under financial pressure.”
She is seeing a shift to a more strategic, considered approach to AI. “More than ever, leadership means showing up, explaining decisions, listening without defensiveness and engaging customers and their trusted channel partners as part of the process,” she adds. “The companies that will stand out in 2026 will be led by people who communicate clearly, act with consistency and build relationships that endure through change.”
Ultimately, buyers are becoming far more discerning. Jay Hack, VP & General Manager, eMaint at Fluke Corporation, says expectations have hardened. “AI alone isn’t a differentiator anymore. Proven results are. The demonstration phase is over; expectations have replaced curiosity. Buyers no longer want a tour of what AI could do; they want evidence of what it has done.”
Scaling intelligence, not experiments
For supply chains and manufacturers, AI is moving beyond pilots and proof-of-concept. “After years of disruption from crises, tariffs, and climate events, companies have realised that resilience is not just about surviving shocks – it’s about building systems that learn, adapt, and anticipate,” explains Simon Bowes, European Corporate Vice-President for Manufacturing Industry Strategy at Blue Yonder.
“In many ways, the argument in favour of using AI to improve supply chain performance and resilience has already been won. Blue Yonder’s Supply Chain Compass research reveals that 74% of industry leaders believe AI is already transforming their operations. The challenge now is moving from experimentation to scaled deployment – unifying data, connecting processes, and equipping teams to act on AI-driven insights with confidence.”
“Today’s organisations require systems that can adapt in real time, resolve issues autonomously, and deliver seamless customer experiences,” agrees Nicola Kinsella, Chief Strategy Officer at Fluent Commerce. “Agentic AI will continue powering these capabilities, helping to provide the flexibility and scale that companies need to compete on a global stage.
“Retailers, for example, will benefit from using agentic AI to monitor factors such as unexpected weather events, market shifts, or port delays, and predict risk using historical data. The technology can monitor vast datasets in a matter of seconds, flag delays and recommend alternative fulfilment locations. Armed with this intel, teams can automatically take action to minimise customer impact and fulfil the customer promise.”
Data storage needs continue
As AI use continues to soar in 2026, data storage will remain a top priority. “Generative AI is driving massive growth in unstructured data, creating storage demands that exceed traditional IT budgets,” explains Carlos Sandoval Castro, IBM Worldwide Tape Offering Manager, the LTO Program. “Object storage, once a single-tier HDD solution, must evolve.
“The future is tiered – integrating tape and other low-cost, long-term media as deep archive targets. This approach delivers significant savings compared to cloud archives while maintaining flexibility. Cloud remains part of hybrid strategies, but adding tape unlocks scalability, affordability, and a future-ready architecture for petabyte-scale environments.”
Security’s accelerating arms race
The need for thoughtful application is becoming especially clear in cybersecurity and data protection. Martin Gittins, Area Vice President for North Europe at Commvault, argues: “Traditional approaches to resilience are no longer enough in the age of AI. With data being generated at unprecedented rates and agents making decisions with little human oversight, security, identity and recovery – too often treated as separate issues and split between teams – must be brought together.
“This approach creates a new category called resilience operations (ResOps), which will define 2026 as a new discipline that rearchitects resilience for the modern enterprise, managing it across increasingly complex and emerging AI environments,” he adds.
While agentic AI is set to become one of the most significant areas of development, the amount of data passing through these servers will make them a tempting target for cybercriminals. Mark Skelton, Chief Technology Officer at Node4, warns that “it is vital that businesses do not get carried away with the hype and put in the groundwork to effectively implement these AI platforms.
“As we head into 2026, businesses are aiming to achieve true Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), where the technology possesses human-level cognitive abilities. This is becoming a reality far quicker than we previously believed it would, so businesses cannot delay introducing guardrails to maintain proper governance as artificial agents become more widespread.”
“AI will deepen the arms race and the need for ‘proactive security’,” Laurie Mercer, Senior Director of Solutions Engineering at HackerOne furthers. “Attackers are already using LLMs like DeepSeek to weaponise known vulnerabilities. What used to take state-level capability is now accessible to a teenager with a jailbroken model.
“Defensive teams will need to ‘fight fire with fire,’ embedding AI into triage, discovery and response just as aggressively. The momentum is real, but speed is survival. Hesitation is the new vulnerability. By the end of 2026, over 70% of enterprise security teams will deploy AI-based tools for triage, detection or response.”
Humans versus machines – who will win?
As AI becomes embedded into everyday tools and workflows, the skills required to use it effectively are also changing. “2026 will be the year when a new kind of tech literacy becomes essential,” explains Charis Thomas, Chief Product Officer at Aqilla.
“Remember how we once had to learn to search the internet effectively by refining queries, judging sources and understanding how information was surfaced? We will now need to learn how to interact with AI in the same way. This prompt literacy isn’t about tricks or shortcuts; it’s the modern equivalent of learning how to research properly.”
She warns, “the dividing line won’t be between organisations that use AI and those that don’t. It will be between those who apply it thoughtfully and those who let AI guide them unquestioningly.”
Chris Lloyd, Chief Solutions and Technology Officer at Syspro, agrees: “AI is only as reliable as what it learns from, and poor data erodes the confidence leaders need to help their teams thrive. AI adoption will mirror the speed of executive trust, and when leaders embrace AI as a partner in progress, businesses will not only move faster but evolve smarter alongside technology.”
As 2026 approaches, the message from industry leaders is clear: AI’s next chapter will not be defined by bold claims or rapid rollout, but by credibility, control and clear outcomes.
