ARLINGTON, Va. – October 27, 2026 -- Infotech's annual report, Tech Trends 2027: Bring Clarity Amid Chaos, identifies 14 trends across four themes that will change the cost, security and viability of enterprise technology investments next year. The research and advisory firm finds that as AI model capabilities converge, architecture, tooling and governance will increasingly determine enterprise AI outcomes.
The report draws on expert interviews and primary and secondary research. It covers financial services, healthcare, legal services, manufacturing and government, and tracks policy and procurement developments in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the European Union. Each trend is rated for market readiness and enterprise traction.
AI cost volatility and expanded attack surfaces top the IT stack agenda
Theme 1 covers four trends. Personal AI accounts, unsanctioned connections and agents embedded in approved software widen the attack surface, and Infotech says every agent will need an accountable human owner. AI is also accelerating how fast software flaws are found and exploited, which the report says requires continuous security testing and greater vendor accountability.
Consumption-based pricing and multi-step agent workflows complicate spending forecasts, a trend the report labels a "budget reckoning." Infotech points to cost attribution, model selection and usage controls as the levers for tying AI spend to business value. The report also argues that AI agents in intelligent process automation platforms can extend existing robotic process automation investments.
Vendor consolidation and specialized AI raise switching risk for buyers
Theme 2 warns of AI sector consolidation through 2027. Deals that hire away a vendor's core team may disrupt product development and support without triggering acquisition-linked contract protections. Infotech advises negotiating service continuity, data portability and transition periods while buyers still have leverage.
In regulated industries such as healthcare, legal and financial services, specialized AI outperforms general-purpose models. The report says this may leave few credible substitutes, which makes switching harder and gives vendors more pricing power. AI agents are also absorbing tasks that once built junior employees' experience, so organizations will need to redesign entry-level roles.
Humanoid robots, AI-native telecom and satellites move into pilot territory
Theme 3 separates near-term governance needs from opportunities for targeted pilots. Mobile networks are becoming an AI services layer as 5G Advanced rolls out through 2027, with 6G following by 2030. Network APIs will open services such as fraud detection and low-latency processing, but adopters need an API security strategy and safeguards against consumption-based cost spikes.
Falling unit costs and rising investment create more openings for humanoid robot pilots, although autonomy remains limited. Infotech recommends bounded testing and vendor evaluations that account for reliance on human teleoperators. Recording-enabled AI wearables call for acceptable-use policies that still accommodate employees using them as assistive devices.
Post-quantum readiness and sovereign AI enter vendor assessments
Theme 4 ties procurement to geopolitics. Quantum computing and AI-assisted attacks could weaken widely used encryption, and governments are issuing post-quantum migration guidance and timelines. Infotech advises mapping where cryptography is embedded and adding post-quantum readiness to vendor assessments.
For critical applications, the report recommends access to at least two competitive frontier AI providers, with workloads designed to shift between them. Provider selection will increasingly weigh jurisdiction, operational control and continuity of access.
The final trend flags prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, where contracts on executive turnover, layoffs and earnings give insiders new reasons to act on confidential information. IT, legal, corporate communications and investor relations will need to coordinate monitoring and name prediction markets in insider-trading policies.
"The right response to an emerging technology may be a limited pilot, a change to procurement requirements, or a decision to keep watching," said Brian Jackson, Principal Research Director and lead author of the report.