IT Outlook 2026: AI and Efficiency Drive Growth Amid Rising Risks

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – January 06, 2026 – A wave of strong optimism is carrying the technology sector into 2026, with a significant majority of business leaders betting on improved operational efficiency and artificial intelligence to fuel growth and profitability. A new report from the tech industry association CompTIA, the "IT Industry Outlook 2026," reveals that a net 77% of professionals feel good about their organization's prospects, even as they navigate economic uncertainty and evolving customer spending habits.

The comprehensive survey of over 1,000 business and tech professionals found that 51% expect to surpass 2025 revenue levels, while another 29% anticipate matching last year's performance. This confidence is largely pinned on internal improvements, with 51% of respondents citing enhanced operational efficiency as a primary driver for their positive outlook. The report identifies five interconnected trends shaping this landscape: the relentless push for AI-driven outcomes, the expansion of cybersecurity, a doubling-down on strategic data practices, workflow renovation through automation, and a critical focus on building robust workforce pipelines.

"Operational improvements are impacted by performance in each of these five areas," said Seth Robinson, vice president of industry research at 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."

The AI Imperative: Balancing Ambition with Reality

Artificial intelligence stands out as the transformative force of 2026, with 45% of leaders identifying its use for productivity as a key reason for optimism. The CompTIA report shows an overwhelming commitment to this technology, with 84% of organizations planning a significant or moderate increase in AI investments and a net 94% likely to fund AI-specific training.

However, this enthusiasm is tempered by the practical realities of implementation. "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. Industry analysis supports this caution, indicating that for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), software licenses represent only 30-50% of the total cost. The bulk of the investment—often ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 over five years—is consumed by essential integration work, data preparation, employee training, and ongoing maintenance.

Despite the costs, the potential return is compelling. Forecasts from other industry analysts like Gartner and Deloitte align with CompTIA's findings, showing that AI is rapidly moving from isolated experiments to scaled, enterprise-wide operations. Some studies suggest early adopters are seeing an average ROI of 42%, with AI-powered tools reducing routine task times by up to 30%. The focus in 2026 is shifting from AI that "chats" to AI that "does," with autonomous agents beginning to handle end-to-end tasks and integrate directly into core business workflows, making automation and innovation the new standard for competitive advantage.

The Expanding Cyber Battlefield

As organizations integrate AI more deeply into their operations, they simultaneously open a new and complex front in cybersecurity. The need to secure these AI-enabled systems is a top concern for 42% of professionals surveyed by CompTIA, highlighting the dual nature of AI as both a powerful tool for defense and a formidable weapon for attackers.

The 2026 threat landscape is increasingly defined by this duality. Security experts warn that AI is becoming the "attacker's operating system," capable of automating reconnaissance, crafting hyper-realistic phishing campaigns, and deploying attacks at unprecedented scale. The rise of commoditized deepfakes for social engineering and the potential for "data poisoning"—where adversaries invisibly corrupt the data used to train AI models—present novel and significant risks.

In response, the cybersecurity industry is shifting its strategy from reactive defense to proactive resilience. Leading security firms are championing "preemptive cybersecurity," which uses AI-driven SecOps to predict and neutralize threats before they can cause damage. This aligns with CompTIA's report, which identifies data security (52%) and security data analysis (43%) as critical areas requiring a skilled workforce. The consensus is clear: organizations must move toward Zero Trust architectures, implement robust AI governance to monitor and control AI behavior, and build systems that can not only resist attacks but also recover from them quickly.

Data and Automation: The Engines of Efficiency

Underpinning the push for both AI and enhanced cybersecurity is a renewed focus on strategic data practices and intelligent automation. The CompTIA report notes that while most firms do not yet consider themselves highly capable in data management, about half are planning to invest in training for data specialists and improving their data architecture. This investment is crucial for achieving the operational efficiencies that business leaders are counting on.

The concept of "digital provenance" is gaining traction, reflecting the critical need to verify the origin, ownership, and integrity of data as it flows through complex supply chains and is used to train AI models. With global regulations like the EU AI Act tightening, ensuring data traceability and transparency is no longer just a best practice but a compliance necessity. Businesses are seeking unified data protection platforms that can secure information across disparate cloud, SaaS, and AI environments.

This strategic approach to data directly fuels the report's fourth trend: workflow renovation through automation. As organizations build more reliable data foundations, they unlock the potential for AI-driven agents to automate complex processes, freeing up human workers for more strategic tasks. This is the practical mechanism for realizing the productivity gains and operational improvements that 54% of professionals are actively pursuing through digitization and automation projects.

Bridging the Great Skills Divide

The successful implementation of AI, cybersecurity, and data strategies hinges entirely on the fifth and perhaps most critical trend: developing the workforce. The technology sector faces a staggering skills gap, with an estimated 4.8 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally and a severe shortage of AI and data science expertise.

CompTIA's research reveals that the preferred strategy for tackling this challenge is to train existing employees. "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 explained.

This focus on upskilling reflects a broader industry transformation some analysts have dubbed the "Great Rebuild" of enterprise technology. IT departments are evolving from back-office support centers into strategic, revenue-generating partners. This requires a fundamental shift in skills, moving from routine maintenance to orchestrating human-agent teams and driving innovation. To close the gap, companies are increasingly relying on a combination of internal training programs, platform-based learning from providers like Coursera and LinkedIn, and strategic partnerships with external experts. This strategic focus on human capital, combined with technological investment, is poised to define the most successful organizations in the coming year.