Gartner unveils top technology trends for 2026
Summary
Gartner analysts at the IT Symposium in Orlando have identified ten technology trends set to reshape enterprise operations by 2026, with AI firmly taking centre stage across development, security and infrastructure. The list spans AI supercomputing platforms, multi-agent systems, domain-specific language models, AI security platforms, AI-native development platforms, confidential computing, physical AI, preemptive cybersecurity, digital provenance and geopatriation.
The analysts emphasise that innovation is accelerating: breakthroughs are happening in real time and organisations must focus on small, manageable steps — especially when deploying multi-agent systems and domain-specific models. Security and data provenance are called out as essential as threat actors adopt generative AI, and geopatriation is emerging as a strategic choice for where to locate sensitive AI and data workloads.
Key Points
- AI-native development platforms will pair developers with AI assistants, boosting productivity and enabling more parallel projects.
- AI supercomputing platforms will provide the compute, orchestration and accelerators needed for real-time innovation across industries.
- Modular multi-agent systems will handle task-specific workflows, reducing hallucinations when agents are small and focused.
- Domain-specific (small) language models will deliver more precise, faster results than monolithic LLMs by focusing on organisational knowledge.
- AI security platforms and preemptive cybersecurity will use prediction to anticipate, deny, disrupt and deceive attacks.
- Confidential computing will protect data while in use, addressing privacy and compliance in shared compute environments.
- Physical AI — autonomous, sensing devices — will grow but requires careful real-world testing and safety checks.
- Digital provenance will authenticate origins of data and assets to combat fake files and supply-chain deception.
- Geopatriation will drive placement of applications and data to sovereign or local cloud options for regulation, compliance and resilience.
- Organisations should start small: build narrow agents and domain models, maintain transparency about model knowledge, and prioritise security and provenance in every project.
Why should I read this?
Because Gartner just handed you a practical roadmap for where enterprise tech will head next — and where you should focus your budget and pilots. If you care about getting AI to actually help your teams (not just hype), this is the checklist: faster compute, smaller specialised models, safe agents, and better provenance/security. Short, sharp and useful — no need to wade through the whole conference deck unless you want the detail.
Author take
Punchy and clear: this isn’t future-speak. Gartner is signalling that AI will be embedded across development, security and infrastructure decisions immediately. Treat the ten trends as a prioritised starter list — adopt small, verifiable projects first and wrap them in provenance and preemptive security. Missing these basics risks falling behind while adversaries weaponise the same tech.
Source
Source: https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/news/366633313/Gartner-unveils-top-technology-trends