Top Technology Trends You Should Know About in 2026

2026 is shaping up to be a major turning point in tech. Technology AI is getting smarter, workplaces are becoming more automated, and new interfaces are changing how we interact with the world. These shifts matter because they will influence how we work, build, learn, and grow in the next few years.

In this edition, we walk through the top tech trends that will define 2026 and what they mean for your career.

Understanding the technology landscape in 2026

Technology is no longer moving in isolated tracks. AI, automation, data, and immersive computing are blending into one ecosystem. This convergence is reshaping industries, speeding up innovation, and creating new expectations for skills. As you dive into the trends shaping 2026, it’s helpful to view the year as a turning point: tools are becoming more intelligent, workplaces more connected, and decisions more data-driven than ever.

Every organization we studied is discovering the same truth: What got them here won’t get them there.

The infrastructure built for cloud-first strategies can’t handle AI economics. Processes designed for human workers don’t work for agents. Security models built for perimeter defense don’t protect against threats operating at machine speed. IT operating models built for service delivery don’t drive business transformation.

This isn’t only about enhancement. It’s about rebuilding.

For 17 years, Tech Trends has explored emerging technologies poised to reshape business in the next 18 to 24 months. Our research is based on trend sensing from conversations with Deloitte subject matter experts and external technology leaders, as well as Deloitte’s proprietary research on emerging technologies. This year, the data reveals five interconnected forces.

AI goes physical: Navigating the convergence of AI and robotics  

Amazon deployed its millionth robot, and its DeepFleet AI coordinates the entire robot fleet, improving travel efficiency within warehouses by 10%. BMW’s factories have cars driving themselves through kilometer-long production routes. Intelligence isn’t confined to screens anymore; it’s embodied, autonomous, and solving real problems in the physical world.

The agentic reality check: Preparing for a silicon-based workforce

Only 11% of organizations have agents in production, despite 38% piloting them. The gap between pilot to production tells you everything. Forty-two percent are still developing their strategy, while 35% have no strategy at all. Gartner predicts that 40% of agentic projects will fail by 2027—not because the technology doesn’t work, but because organizations are automating broken processes instead of redesigning operations. HPE’s chief financial officer captured what works: “We wanted to select an end-to-end process where we could truly transform, not just solve for a single pain point.” Redesign, don’t automate. That’s the pattern separating success from failure.

The AI infrastructure reckoning: Optimizing compute strategy in the age of inference economics

Token costs have dropped 280-fold in two years;yet some enterprises are seeing monthly bills in the tens of millions. Usage exploded faster than costs declined. Organizations are discovering their existing infrastructure strategies aren’t designed to scale AI to production-scale deployment. They’re shifting from cloud-first to strategic hybrid: cloud for elasticity, on-premises for consistency, and edge for immediacy.

The great rebuild: Architecting an AI-native tech organization

AI is restructuring tech organizations, making them leaner, faster, and more strategic. Only 1% of IT leaders surveyed by Deloitte reported that no major operating model changes were underway. Leaders are shifting from incremental IT management to orchestrating human-agent teams, with CIOs becoming AI evangelists. Success requires bold reimagination: modular architectures, embedded governance, and perpetual evolution as core capabilities.

The AI dilemma: Securing and leveraging AI for cyber defense

The technology meant to give businesses an advantage is becoming the target used against them. AT&T’s chief information security officer “What we’re experiencing today is no different than what we’ve experienced in the past. The only difference with AI is speed and impact.” Organizations must secure AI across four domains—data, models, applications, and infrastructure—but they also have the opportunity to use AI-powered defenses to fight threats operating at machine speed.

Throughout this year’s report, you’ll meet technology leaders successfully navigating this sea change. They don’t have all the answers, but there are noticeable patterns as they light the way forward.

• They lead with problems, not technology. Broadcom’s CIO: “Without focusing on a specific business problem and the value you want to derive, it could be easy to invest in AI and receive no return.”
• Specifically, their biggest problems. UiPath CEO: “Rather than getting stuck in a cycle of perpetual proofs of concept, consider attacking your biggest problem and going for a big outcome.”
• They prioritize velocity over perfection. Western Digital’s CIO: “We’d rather fail fast on small pilots than miss the wave entirely.”
• They design with people, not just for them. Walmart involved store associates in building its scheduling app, which includes shift swapping, schedule visibility, and employee control. The result: Scheduling time dropped from 90 minutes to 30 minutes, and people actually used the app.

Low Code, No Code, and AI Assisted Development

Low-code and no-code development will take a major leap forward in 2026 as AI becomes deeply integrated into the entire software creation process. Instead of relying solely on traditional coding, teams will increasingly build applications through natural language, automated components, and AI-powered development environments.

The Shift AI-assisted development tools will handle code generation, debugging, testing, and optimization in real time. Low-code platforms will allow users to describe what they need in plain language and instantly convert that intent into functional modules. This shift will empower non-technical teams to create tools on their own while enabling software engineers to focus on architecture, security, and performance.

The Payoff Organizations will benefit from faster development cycles, fewer bottlenecks, and reduced dependency on manual coding. Teams will launch prototypes in hours instead of weeks and maintain applications with far greater efficiency. This transformation will make software development more accessible and collaborative across departments.

The Opportunity Professionals who understand AI-driven development workflows, automation pipelines, and low-code ecosystems will be highly sought after. Skills in prompt design, system thinking, and workflow orchestration will be essential for building modern applications in a hybrid human-plus-AI development environment.

Key Takeaways

• Agentic AI is the next frontier. It’s estimated that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously. 
• Edge computing is expanding at a projected compound annual growth rate of 33%  between 2025 and 2033, cutting latency by processing data near its source.
• Cybercrime costs could reach $15.63 trillion globally by 2029, with AI-powered disinformation and deepfakes accelerating attacks.
• Quantum timelines remain contested, but to stay ahead, organizations should begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography.
• Projections predict that 80% of people will interact with smart robots daily by 2030, up from just 10% today.

Whether you’re a CIO wondering how to stay ahead of the competition or a tech enthusiast thinking about a staying on top of IT trends and developments does more than satisfy casual interest — it’s essential for staying grounded in an environment of constant disruptions.

Artificial Intelligence continues to be the. This shouldn’t be too surprising, since it affects all other trends on this list. Whether it’s the continuing interest in organizations across every industry are investigating how they can stay ahead of the ever-accelerating curve. But when it comes to the latest trends in information technology, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s what we’re seeing for the next big IT trends in 2025 and heading into 2026 as identified by consultants, analysts and technologists.

Advances in Artificial Intelligence

The next big thing in AI looks to be Agentic AI takes generative AI a step further by performing autonomous tasks, planning and achieving goals on behalf of the user or another system, all without relying solely on human prompts or oversight. While agentic AI was virtually unused just last year, now estimates that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously using this technology.

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Applied AI — especially the ability of AI to enhance efficiency and accuracy, improve efficiency and cost savings and offer better decision-making through predictive analytics — will continue to gain in popularity. However, this drive for larger sources of data will demand an increase in real-time data and raise concerns about implementation costs and risks of bias and privacy violations.

AI governance will increasingly become a priority for organizations, and predicts that by 2028, enterprises using AI governance platforms will achieve higher customer trust ratings and better regulatory compliance scores than their competitors. We’ll also see the first adoption of AI regulations in different regions, 

Push for Greater Connectivity

The implementation of 5G by the telecommunications industry continues, as does the private adoption of 5G networks across different industries. Enterprise adoption is progressing at a slow but steady pace, as 5G integration — despite successful pilot programs —remains costly and is delivering Expect the conversation around 5G to shift more toward 5G Advanced, especially with announcing the first nationwide 5G Advanced network, and the future possibilities of 6G cellular.

As 5G matures, we’ll continue to see growth in IoT devices — such as connected vehicles, smart buildings, agricultural drones, and supply chain management tools — along with the expansion of remote visual inspection for tasks ranging from building assessments to remote surgery. The development of 5G and IoT will also determine exactly how far vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology will take us to fully autonomous vehicles. A robust infrastructure will need to exist alongside refined V2X technology and to enable better communication between cars and city infrastructure. Companies still have work to do if they want to win over consumers who are.

If space is the final frontier, then low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites might be part of our daily commute. Amazon is launching its to compete with SpaceX in bringing internet access and communication to remote parts of the world. The new space race is already raising concerns about space debris — especially as more orbital objects are seen — and is likely to prompt stronger calls for regulation and oversight.

Greater Adoption of Edge Computing

The rise of AI-powered devices and increased availability of 5G networks is also driving another emerging trend in information technology — the adoption of edge computing. We’re seeing that the edge computing market is at a 33% CAGR from 2025 to 2033.

Unlike cloud computing, which sends data to off-site servers for storage or processing, edge computing places processing nodes closer to the data source and the end user. This allows for quicker and more efficient processes than having to transfer data to centralized platforms. Edge computing allows for an instant response, tightens the feedback loop and helps to improve resilience against network downtime.

Part of what’s supporting efforts in edge computing is. As a single software package, a container allows a user to effectively run multiple isolated applications on a single device. Containers are a key tool for enabling microservice architecture as they can be utilized to package an application, put it onto a piece of hardware and allow it to function, increasing

By processing data closer to its origin, edge computing can drastically reduce latency, which is especially valuable for companies with customer-facing digital applications in remote or distant locations. Industries such as retail, manufacturing, utilities and transportation and logistics will benefit the most from these edge, real-time operations.

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