From AI to Cybersecurity: Key Technology Trends Defining the IT Industry in 2026
Key Highlights
- A net 77% of business and technology professionals feel optimistic about their organization’s prospects.
- More than half (51%) of respondents expect revenue and profitability to exceed 2025 levels, while 29% anticipate flat performance year over year.
- Training existing employees is the preferred strategy for closing skills gaps in 2026.
Technology and business leaders are entering 2026 with strong confidence that operational efficiency and productivity gains will power growth, according to CompTIA, Inc.
CompTIA’s newly released IT Industry Outlook 2026 reveals that a net 77% of surveyed professionals feel positive about their organization’s prospects in the year ahead. More than half (51%) expect to surpass 2025 revenue and profitability levels, while 29% anticipate matching this year’s performance. The report is based on a survey of 1,012 business and technology professionals.
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, trade disruptions and cautious customer spending, organizations are pressing forward with strategies focused on operational improvement. CompTIA’s annual outlook highlights five trends expected to shape technology and business priorities over the next 12 months:
- AI adoption accelerates, with greater emphasis on delivering measurable organizational value.
- Cybersecurity expands across the enterprise, driving the evolution of training and skills.
- Businesses strengthen data practices to support strategic objectives.
- Automation reshapes workflows, backed by strong technical teams.
- Workforce pipelines take center stage as companies align skills with tasks.
"Operational improvements are impacted by performance in each of these five areas," said Seth Robinson, VP, Industry Research, CompTIA. "Artificial intelligence adoption may become a top factor in these improvements, but workflow transformation and skills building will also be necessary ingredients in positive outcomes, with cybersecurity the overarching consideration."
Digital transformation continues to advance, with 54% of respondents reporting partially digitized workflows and ongoing efforts to expand automation. Notably, three of the top five drivers of optimism for 2026 are tied directly to operational improvements:
- Improved operational efficiency (51%)
- Using AI to boost productivity (45%)
- Reaching new customer segments (45%)
- Improvement in sales/marketing (42%)
- New lines of business or new products (37%)
Investment in AI is expected to rise sharply, with 84% of professionals anticipating moderate to significant increases in AI spending. In addition, a net 94% say they are at least somewhat likely to invest in AI-specific training in 2026.
"It will be critical for companies to understand the total cost of AI implementation and to ensure a workforce capable of deriving business value," Robinson noted.
Cybersecurity remains another top priority as digital environments grow more complex. Respondents identified data security (52%), security data analysis (43%), securing AI-enabled operations (42%) and risk management (42%) as areas requiring a robust workforce and pipeline of future talent.
Data capabilities also present a challenge. Most organizations report limited maturity across data management, analytics and security. About half plan to invest in training data specialists, educating the broader workforce on data fundamentals, and upgrading hardware and software to strengthen data architecture.
Overall, companies favor upskilling existing employees to close skills gaps in 2026.
"This allows companies to capitalize on the institutional knowledge they already possess while expanding expertise and best practices to tackle new tasks in AI environments, especially when training is combined with industry-recognized certifications that validate knowledge and skills," Robinson said.
Source: CompTIA
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