If part of your job is staying ahead of where the market is headed, the stack you built your 2026 plan around won’t survive to 2028. IDC predicts today’s enterprise stack won’t exist in its current form by 2030, and by 2028, 42% of the world’s largest companies will have already rationalized their entire agent and apps portfolio just to keep pace.
That’s not an IT problem. It’s a shift in where value gets created, how deals get won, and what your go-to-market story needs to say next, and it belongs at the leadership table, alongside your P&L and risk register.
That’s the premise behind IDC FutureScape 2027: The Great Rewrite, IDC’s annual technology predictions event for Asia/Pacific, taking place live on 13 November 2026, 8:00 AM–12:00 PM SGT, at the Conrad Singapore Orchard.
The theme: The Great Rewrite
Intelligence is leaving the cloud for the device. AI factories run large-scale inferencing, agents work the network edge, and hardware is being rebuilt to carry it. Robots have moved off the roadmap and onto the factory floor. Quantum computing is out of the lab and into five-year plans, with real use cases beyond cryptography. Connectivity is heading into orbit and under the ocean floor, redefining what “always-on” means. Work is being redivided between people and agents, creating job titles, like Agent Supervisor, that didn’t exist a year ago.
Even the money is being rewritten. Knowing matters less than acting fast, and that shift is forcing CFOs to build an entirely new financial discipline just to keep up with what AI actually costs.
Dozens of evidence-backed forecasts, across every layer of the stack and every industry, converge on one conclusion: AI isn’t being added on top of the technology industry. It’s rewriting it from underneath, from the compute layer to the org chart.
The morning is packed with evidence. Agenda highlights include:
Keynote: The Great Rewrite
AI’s Reckoning: The Race, the Bill and the Ground It Stands On
AI Infrastructure Race: The Compute, Power and Trust Stack Reshaping Asia Pacific
Industry Panel: From AI Deployment in Practice to Emerging Capabilities
Winning in the Reimagined Technology Leader Landscape
Live Q&A and closing remarks
The full agenda, with timings and speaker bios, is available to download from the event page.
As Sandra Ng, senior vice president, Research and Data Intelligence at IDC, puts it, “The technology stack isn’t just evolving, it’s being rewritten from the compute layer up. Every leader in this room has a stake in that rewrite, whether they’re setting strategy, building the roadmap, or telling the story to the market. FutureScape 2027 gives you the evidence to make your next move with confidence, instead of waiting to see how the rewrite plays out.”
Why business and technology leaders need to be in the room
Predictions are only useful if you can act on them. That’s what separates FutureScape from a typical trends report: IDC analysts turn these predictions into a diagnostic tool to help technology leaders develop their enterprise IT strategy and roadmap and navigate their decisions with confidence. If you’re a technology provider, IDC FutureScape reports and analysts can help you identify where your brand needs to position to win in the agentic economy with third-party backed content.
Whichever seat you’re in, this belongs on your calendar for three reasons: early access to evidence-backed predictions for 2027–2031, ahead of your competition; the breakthrough trends defining 2027 and the evidence behind how they’ll reshape IT roadmaps, purchase decisions, and the stories you tell in-market; and the best network in the room, with 150+ industry peers, technology leaders, and IDC analysts all in one place.
This shows up differently depending on your seat:
C-suite: know which shifts change your capital allocation and risk exposure before your board asks.
Sales: get evidence that reframes client conversations around where the market is heading.
Marketing: get the narrative and proof points before your competitors publish theirs.
Product: see which categories, from Agent Supervisor tooling to sovereign AI infrastructure, are being created before they have established players.
MI/Strategy: build your next planning cycle on the same evidence the analysts used to produce it.
“Every year, FutureScape asks the same question: what’s actually going to matter in the year ahead, and what’s just noise? This year the answer touches everything, from where AI infrastructure lives to who’s accountable for governing it. My hope is that leaders leave this room with a clearer view of where to place their bets for 2027,” said Dr. Chris Marshall, vice president, Financial Services Research, IDC.
IDC FutureScape has already earned the trust of business and IT leaders across the region:
“The AI buyer engagement playbook was a game-changer — exactly what service providers need to stay ahead.” – Analyst Relations, Software
“The insights at IDC FutureScape helped us understand not just where AI is going, but how to get there with confidence.” – VP Southeast Asia, Korea and Channels, Solutions Provider
“Appreciate IDC for the bold, global conversations around the future of tech — lots to take forward.” – Industry Analyst, Consulting
Your next move
The technology stack is being rewritten layer by layer, and the leaders who show up with evidence will navigate it with confidence. Seats across the region are limited.
Vanessa Ong is Senior Marketing Specialist, Demand Generation, at IDC Asia/Pacific, where she develops and executes integrated marketing programs that generate qualified leads and support business growth across the APJ region. A seasoned marketing professional with strong expertise in social media marketing and content creation, she is known for turning creative ideas into high-impact campaigns. Vanessa has played a key role in flagship programs including the Future Enterprise Awards and FutureScape, and is recognised as a collaborative team player who brings energy and expertise to every initiative.
The worldwide enterprise application market is approaching $700 billion, and blended growth has held near 13% through the first half of 2026, the third consecutive year of double-digit expansion. Yet, none of that has stopped the industry from convincing itself that the ground beneath it is about to disappear.
Every few years, enterprise technology rediscovers its love of the apocalypse narrative. The cloud was going to destroy on-premises software. Platforms were going to exterminate point solutions. And now, apparently, AI agents are going to detonate the entire SaaS business model, leaving nothing behind but smoldering subscription contracts.
The SaaSpocalypse thesis has been circulating with real momentum this year, and its appeal is understandable. It has urgency. It has drama. It makes for an excellent conference keynote. The problem is that it is analytically wrong in almost every important way.
What the argument actually claims
The core SaaSpocalypse argument goes something like this: AI agents will soon be able to perform the tasks that SaaS applications perform today. If an AI agent can handle your expense reports, reconcile your accounts, manage your procurement workflow, and schedule your workforce, why do you need Workday, Coupa, SAP Concur, or ServiceNow? The SaaS layer becomes redundant. Vendors who built their businesses on automating discrete business processes get disintermediated by a general-purpose intelligence layer. Subscriptions collapse. The apocalypse arrives.
It is a neat narrative. It is also a fundamental misreading of what enterprise software actually is.
The data model is the product
Here is what the SaaSpocalypse narrative consistently misses. Enterprise SaaS applications are not primarily task executors. They are systems of record, workflow orchestrators, and data governance frameworks. The value in a mature ERP or HCM deployment is not the UI through which a worker submits a purchase order. It is the underlying data model, the audit trail, the compliance configuration, the approval hierarchies, the integration fabric connecting dozens of upstream and downstream processes, and the years of organizational logic encoded in the system.
An AI agent needs clean, structured, governed data to act on. It needs a reliable process layer to execute against. Those things do not come from the AI agent itself. They come from the SaaS systems that the apocalypse is apparently supposed to replace. This is precisely why the most sophisticated AI deployments in enterprise software today are not replacing SaaS. They are running inside it.
SAP is embedding Joule across its entire portfolio. Workday has Illuminate. Salesforce has Agentforce woven into its CRM and service layers. Oracle is pushing AI throughout Fusion. These are not defensive maneuvers by vendors in denial. They are the logical architecture for how AI creates value in complex enterprise environments. AI is augmenting the system of record, not circumventing it.
Data from IDC’s 2026 SaaS & Agent Path and CX Path studies show that 32.8% of companies say they will pay at least 10% more for AI agents embedded directly into their applications, and 18% will pay a premium of 30% or more. That is not simply goodwill toward AI in the abstract. That is a market rewarding vendors for doing the hard work of embedding intelligence into the system of record, which is precisely the incentive structure the SaaSpocalypse thesis assumes does not exist.
We have seen this movie before
In 1999, the conventional wisdom was that the Internet would destroy the enterprise software industry. Why would you pay for a licensed SAP installation when web-native applications could deliver the same functionality cheaper and faster? The web did transform enterprise software. But Oracle, SAP, and other leading software vendors did not disappear. Instead, the incumbents adapted, absorbed the new delivery model, and in many cases emerged stronger. The cloud era brought the same narrative. Salesforce’s “No Software” campaign was positioned by Marc Benioff as the end of not just its direct CRM competitors, but the entire software industry itself. In the end, it did kill Siebel, which Oracle bought for $5.85 billion worth of scraps in 2005. But the software industry lived on. The delivery model eventually changed, but the complexity, the sprawling product lines, the high switching costs, and the underlying need for integrated, process-driven enterprise systems (all of which defined the previous incumbents) did not. Some could also argue that many of today’s leading SaaS vendors increasingly bear a resemblance to the very incumbents they once disrupted, with significant total cost of ownership and complex enterprise implementations that can run six to twelve months. Not to mention the acquisition-driven growth, sprawl, and switching costs that resemble the profile of prior legacy enterprise software vendors.
The Boundaries Are Dissolving. The Software Is Not.
IDC’s recently published report, The Agentic Evolution of Enterprise Applications Framework – September 2026 Update, details the expected phased progression of apps in 18 individual markets. Since last year’s release, the framework introduces a new phase called Cross-Application Agents, in which AI agents stop working inside a single application and instead dynamically assemble whatever combination of capability, workflow, and data a task requires, pulled from wherever it lives, in real time. Oracle’s Fusion Agentic Applications illustrate the point: they are not pre-built applications a user logs into, but agents created autonomously that draw simultaneously from ERP, financials, HCM, or any other relevant system. SAP’s Joule, extended by WalkMe across its application landscape, works the same way. A user states an outcome, and the system pulls from whatever underlying application estate is required, without the user ever needing to know which system was ultimately involved.
While the boundary between applications will increasingly dissolve over the next decade, applications themselves will not. A cross-application agent still has to pull from somewhere, such as the ERP ledger, the HCM record, the CRM pipeline, or the compliance configuration that took years to build. The system of record does not disappear just because the interface sitting on top of it becomes fluid. If anything, this phase raises the stakes on everything argued above. The vendor whose data model, APIs, and integration fabric are ready to be discovered and orchestrated by an agent gains ground, and the vendor who is not becomes invisible. Put simply, if an agent cannot find your capability, your capability does not exist. That is not an apocalypse for SaaS. That is a new, more demanding competitive bar for visibility, and vendors who fail to adapt will simply stop getting called.
The real disruption hides beneath the aggregate
The honest version of the AI-and-SaaS story is not apocalyptic. It is structural. AI is compressing the time-to-value for enterprise software implementations. It is reducing the manual labor embedded in processes that SaaS applications have long only partially automated. It is enabling smaller teams to manage more complex operations. It is shifting competitive advantage away from vendors who simply automate a process and toward vendors who can deliver measurable business outcomes through intelligent, adaptive workflows.
Our pricing research further validates this trend. The share of enterprise application pricing tied to consumption or outcomes, just 13% today, is projected to reach 63% over the next ten years, as traditional licensing and straight per-seat subscription pricing give ground to models more closely tied to usage and results.
These shifts will create winners and losers, and this unevenness is already evident in recent market data. As I wrote in my last blog, blended growth across public application vendors during the first half of 2026 has so far landed at roughly 13%, a number that looks unremarkable until you split it apart. Collaboration software and finance automation are accelerating, with vendors like Atlassian and Monday.com posting revenue growth above 20%, while customer service platforms and HCM vendors sit closer to flat. The aggregate market number hides that divergence, which is exactly why the loudest apocalyptic claims are looking at the wrong number.
To show this clearly, the table below categorizes the trajectories of all 18 markets into four bands:
Agentic Leaders – that start ahead and stay ahead
Fast Accelerators – that start behind but catch up
Steady Movers – that climb at a more measured pace
Structural Laggards – that never fully close the gap
Category
Market
2026
2030
2038
Agentic Leaders
Contact Center
50%
80%
97%
HCM
48%
70%
99%
Supply Chain
40%
75%
100%
Procurement
35%
75%
100%
Financial
33%
75%
99%
Fast Accelerators
Customer Service
25%
80%
100%
Advertising Technologies
19%
76%
100%
Enterprise Collaboration
8%
63%
94%
EAM/ALM
6%
53%
100%
Engineering/R&D
5%
45%
100%
Steady Movers
Talent Acquisition
27%
57%
90%
Customer Analytics
17%
45%
95%
Marketing
14%
53%
92%
Structural Laggards
ERP
22%
39%
80%
PSA
22%
42%
84%
Sales Performance & Productivity
15%
45%
87%
Employee Experience
13%
24%
78%
Digital Commerce
4%
14%
58%
Figures represent the share of each market projected to be Agent-Enhanced, Agent-Led, Agents as Apps, or Cross-Application Agents in the given year. Source: IDC’s Agentic Evolution of Enterprise Applications Framework, Sept 2026.
The dispersion here is the real story. Contact Center starts 2026 at 50% and Digital Commerce starts at 4%, a twelve-fold gap in the same year, on the same framework. By 2038, the gap is still more than forty points, from Digital Commerce’s 58%, up to a full 100% in several markets. That is not the shape of a single technology wave hitting every application market at once. It is a market that is fragmenting, with its underlying markets evolving on their own timelines.
ERP, a market at the center of the data-model argument above, falls in the Structural Laggards category and is only projected to sit at 80% Agent-Enhanced or beyond by 2038. Digital Commerce tops out at 58%. Even a decade from now, a meaningful share of enterprise application usage is projected to still be running on traditional or lightly AI-assisted interfaces.
The SaaSpocalypse makes for a great headline, but reality requires something a bit harder. You need to understand what enterprise software actually does, and why organizations need it to continue doing what they do best. SaaS & Agent Path finds that AI-driven capability is now the single most important attribute in a vendor evaluation, at 34%, ahead of ease of integration at 29% and data security at 28%. Moreover, 24.7% of companies say they plan to switch vendors outright if the next release fails to ship adequate agentic features. That is real, usable leverage, and it belongs in the room at your next renewal negotiation.
Rather than checking to see if the SaaSpocalypse sky is falling, my advice is to use that leverage on your next SaaS renewal, focusing on reviewing your contract to ensure your vendor’s pricing model is predictable, transparent, and constructed to deliver the best possible value for your investment. It’s a far better use of your time.
Eric Newmark - Group Vice President & General Manager of IDC's SaaS, Enterprise Software, CX and Workplace Solutions Division
Eric Newmark is Group Vice President & General Manager of IDC’s SaaS, Enterprise Software, CX, and Workplace Solutions Division, which includes several teams of analysts covering SaaS, 18 enterprise application markets, software monetization, business platforms, marketplaces, and services firms focused…
As IDC walked the show floor, one trend stood out above all others: artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the defining feature of the modern device experience, shaping innovation across PCs, smartphones, wearables, smart home products, and connected consumer electronics.
AI development push closer to the endpoint
At AMD’s IFA 2026 keynote, Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD’s Computing and Graphics Group, outlined a vision of “Personal AI,” where capable AI development and inference workloads can run directly on endpoint devices rather than relying exclusively on cloud infrastructure. Key announcements included support for Project Zenith, Microsoft’s ready-to-code Windows developer experience for Ryzen AI Halo systems, as well as next-generation high-memory AI platforms designed to run larger models locally. Together, these announcements show how AI PCs are evolving from productivity devices into serious AI development platforms, combining powerful silicon with a streamlined software stack.
Jack Huynh introduces the AMD Threadripper Halo Station during his keynote at IFA 2026, showcasing AMD’s next-generation AI workstation platform. Source: AMD YouTube, 2026.
AMD also emphasized the importance of ecosystem integration beyond the device itself. The new Threadripper Halo Station brings workstation-class AI compute into a local development environment, while the company’s collaboration with SUSE aims to help developers move AI applications from Ryzen AI Halo systems into enterprise-scale production deployments. New Ryzen AI Max-powered systems announced by Acer and Lenovo across notebooks, mini PCs, and desktop form factors backed up that strategy. These announcements point to a broader industry trend: AI innovation is shifting toward high-performance endpoint devices that combine compute, memory capacity, developer tooling, and ecosystem support to bring AI development and inference closer to the user.
A multi-platform strategy takes shape at IFA 2026
Acer presented a broad portfolio spanning consumer, gaming, and commercial segments, making clear that the vendors on the show floor were tailoring device designs to specific workloads rather than relying on a single platform strategy. The announcements included the AMD Ryzen AI-powered Aspire G 3D 16, the Intel-based Predator Atlas 7 gaming handheld, the Veriton RI110 AI Mini Workstation for professional AI and productivity workloads, and a compact system concept based on NVIDIA’s RTX Spark platform. Together, these devices reflected the expanding range of AI, gaming, content creation, and workstation use cases emerging across the PC market.
The Acer Predator Atlas series handheld gaming PC, powered by Intel’s Arc G3 processor platform and designed for high-performance portable PC gaming. Source: IDC, 2026.
Acer’s announcements pointed to a pragmatic approach to device design: instead of committing to a single processor roadmap, the company matched AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA platforms to distinct customer requirements and form factors. As AI PCs continue to evolve and new categories such as AI workstations and gaming handhelds gain traction, the vendors IDC saw at IFA are competing on their ability to address a wider range of usage scenarios. Acer’s IFA portfolio confirmed how this flexibility can help position the company across several of the fastest-growing segments of the client device market.
Broadening reach across consumer and gaming segments
At IFA 2026, Dell Technologies focused on two areas of the device market that continue to show strong demand: affordable premium consumer laptops and high-performance gaming peripherals. The new Dell 14S extends design elements often associated with premium PCs into a more accessible segment, combining a lightweight aluminum chassis, multiple color options, long battery life, and a portable form factor. According to Dell, the device is aimed at students and young adults who prioritize mobility, battery life, design, and value in equal measure. The Dell 14S doesn’t compete solely on specifications. It reflects how personal devices are becoming both productivity tools and expressions of personal preference.
Dell 14S consumer laptop in Velvet Green finish, displayed as part of the Dell 14S lineup shown at a product showcase. Source: IDC, 2026.
Dell also used IFA to expand the Alienware display portfolio with new OLED gaming monitors targeting different player segments. The Alienware 32 4K OLED focuses on visual fidelity across PC and console gaming, while the Alienware 25 560Hz QD-OLED targets competitive esports players and was developed in collaboration with Team Liquid. That partnership shows how gaming hardware vendors are pulling direct feedback from professional players into product development. As competitive gaming continues to mature, factors such as refresh rate, motion clarity, ergonomics, and setup consistency are becoming important differentiators alongside raw performance specifications.
Lenovo brought new products and new concepts
Lenovo brought two RTX Spark machines to its Innovation World event before IFA. The Yoga 9n 2-in-1 is likely the first Spark-based 360-degree convertible and includes dual-surface pen input designed for creators. It will ship in 11- and 16-inch sizes. The Pro 9n is the more conventional creator laptop, but also includes pen input, and will ship in 11 and 15-inch sizes. No pricing yet, but as with all RTX systems, we expect them to be premium.
The IdeaPad Vibe is Lenovo’s answer to Apple’s MacBook Neo. Seven Pantone colors, swappable keycaps, and a starting price of $699. Snapdragon X or Ryzen AI inside, Lenovo’s work-in-progress AI assistant Qira on board, Copilot+ across the line, shipping in October. The IdeaCentre AIO i desktop also comes in a variety of colors and will sell for $939 in November.
Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe series, unveiled at Lenovo Innovation World 2026. Source: Lenovo, 2026.
Lenovo also showed two Intel-powered concept notebooks. Project AeroBlade is a 14-inch fanless notebook under 10mm thick and 830g, using Frore’s AirJet solid-state cooling in place of a traditional fan. And Project Swan’s 14-inch display rolls out to 17 inches.
Over on the Motorola side, Lenovo announced two smartphones and a smart watch. The special-edition razr, done in a PANTONE Meteorite finish with 35 hand-set Swarovski crystals and a faceted crystal on the hinge. It includes a 3.6-inch cover screen, a 6.9-inch folding AMOLED interior screen, and dual 50MP cameras. No pricing yet.
Over on the Motorola side, Lenovo announced two smartphones and a smart watch. The special-edition razr, done in a PANTONE Meteorite finish with 35 hand-set Swarovski crystals and a faceted crystal on the hinge. It includes a 3.6-inch cover screen, a 6.9-inch folding AMOLED interior screen, and dual 50MP cameras. No pricing yet.
The moto watch ultra is Motorola’s first LTE smartwatch, runs Wear OS, leans on Polar for health tracking, and is the first wearable with Qira built in. Stainless steel, 46mm, and it offers up to two days of battery life. It began shipping in the US on September 10 at $350.
Local AI infrastructure takes shape in the NAS category
MINISFORUM focused on an emerging area of the AI market: local AI infrastructure. The company’s new AI Agent NAS N5 MAX-P495 and AI Mini Workstation MS-S1 MAX-P495, both powered by the AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ PRO 495, combine high memory capacity, local AI compute, and large-scale storage in compact form factors. The AI Agent NAS supports up to 192GB of memory and up to 200TB of local storage, positioning it as a platform for AI agents, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), knowledge bases, and other data-intensive AI workloads that benefit from keeping both compute and data local.
The MINISFORUM N5 MAX AI NAS. Source: IDC, 2026
The AI Agent NAS stood out as an example of how local AI infrastructure is evolving beyond standalone AI PCs and workstations. By combining AI compute, large memory configurations, and substantial local storage in a single system, MINISFORUM is addressing two common constraints in enterprise AI deployments: memory capacity and data locality. As AI agents and RAG-based applications become more prevalent, bringing compute and data together within the same platform could become as important as increasing AI performance itself.
The Mini PC reimagined as a distributed AI platform
GEEKOM showcased a range of AI-focused devices, including the new GeekBook X16 Pro laptop, IT13 Mega mini PC, and A5 2027 Edition, but the most notable demonstration was a distributed AI cluster built from four A9 Mega mini PCs connected over USB4 and operating as a single system. Powered by AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processors, the cluster showed how compact AI PCs can be combined to run large AI models locally without traditional server infrastructure. Alongside the cluster, GEEKOM positioned the GeekBook X16 Pro as a portable AI-capable laptop and introduced new mini PC options addressing both high-performance and mainstream productivity use cases.
GEEKOM’s setup skipped the dedicated workstation or datacenter-class system entirely. It showed how multiple compact AI PCs could function as a small AI cluster located next to a user’s desk. As organizations evaluate privacy, data sovereignty, and local AI deployment models, these distributed architectures may emerge as an alternative path for increasing AI capacity while retaining the flexibility and form factor advantages of mini PCs.
Ecosystem strategy expands across PCs and intelligent edge devices
Qualcomm pointed to both the expanding scale of its Snapdragon-powered PC ecosystem and its broader ambitions in edge computing. Across the show floor, systems from ASUS, Acer, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung showed how OEMs are applying Snapdragon platforms across multiple form factors and user segments. The expansion of the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core portfolio continues to extend Copilot+ PCs into broader market tiers, and the range of devices on display backed up Qualcomm’s ecosystem-driven approach, where design differentiation is becoming important alongside platform performance.
Qualcomm used its booth to showcase the breadth of the Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PC ecosystem. Source: IDC, 2026.
Beyond PCs, Qualcomm introduced the Dragonwing Q-2390 and Dragonwing IQ-2390 processors, expanding its reach into consumer, commercial, and industrial intelligent edge devices. The new platforms integrate AI, vision, connectivity, and edge processing capabilities in a single design, targeting applications ranging from smart home products and retail systems to industrial automation and building management solutions.
Smart home robotics extends beyond the vacuum
Away from computing devices, one of the most dynamic categories at IFA 2026 was smart home robotics. IDC data shows that vendors shipped just over 30 million household cleaning robots worldwide in 2025, spanning robot vacuums, robotic pool cleaners, and robotic lawn mowers. That represented 17% growth year over year and a third consecutive year of double-digit expansion, and the pace has since accelerated, with IDC figures showing the market up more than 25% year over year in the first half of 2026. Robot vacuums still account for close to 80% of units, but the fastest movement is happening at the edges of the category. Robotic lawn mowers grew 64% in 2025 and a further 76% in the first half of 2026, while premium vacuums priced above $600, equipped with multi-sensor AI navigation, now make up roughly a third of all units shipped. The category is shifting from single-purpose indoor cleaning toward multi-scenario automation that spans both indoor and outdoor tasks, and IDC expects shipments to reach 54 million units by 2030.
Roborock exhibit at IFA 2026, showcasing the company’s robotic cleaning and lawn care product ecosystem under the theme “Rocking Life with You.” Source: IDC, 2026.
Roborock used the show to make that shift concrete. The company has been the number-one robot vacuum vendor globally by unit share every quarter since the second half of 2023, reaching an all-time high of 27% in the second half of 2025, and IDC ranks it first across the entire household cleaning robot category with close to 18% share in 2025. At IFA, Roborock extended well beyond the vacuum. Alongside new flagship models led by the Saros 20 Flow Complete and Saros 20 Neo, and the wheel-legged Saros Rover designed to climb stairs and move between floors, the company introduced its first robotic pool cleaner, the RockAqua P1, and a wire-free lawn mower, the RockNeo Q2, which uses LiDAR-based navigation to operate without boundary wires. The lineup signals a deliberate push into adjacent outdoor categories: Roborock is applying the navigation, mapping, and obstacle-avoidance technology it refined indoors to the two fastest-growing outdoor segments, where navigation performance is likely to be a key competitive differentiator among vendors.
ECOVACS was also on the show floor showing off new products including the DEEBOT X12S OmniCyclone which offered 97% removal of dust mite allergens and 95% removal of dust mites from carpet, claims that were verified by third-party SGS. The X12S also introduced a physical privacy shield that covers the onboard camera, giving users a hardware-level privacy control in addition to the software toggle. These are the type of features that ECOVACS typically introduces first on its X series vacuums before they trickle down to the more mainstream-priced T series.
ECOVACS DEEBOT lineup showcased at IFA 2026. Source: IDC, 2026.
Beyond the vacuum, ECOVACS also used IFA to reinforce its multi-category ambitions, emphasizing that cleaning will be one of many in-home categories where the company will offer robotic solutions. The company already holds the top rank in robotic window cleaners with its WINBOT line, according to IDC. The company also offers pool cleaning and lawn mowing robots with the ULTRAMARINE and GOAT products, respectively.
The IDC take
IFA 2026 showed how AI is shaping device design decisions across the industry. Rather than being treated as a standalone feature, AI is influencing hardware architectures, memory configurations, software environments, and deployment models across PCs, workstations, and edge systems. A recurring theme across the show was the emphasis on local AI execution, enabled by advances in compute performance, expanded memory capacity, and more capable endpoint devices.
From an IDC perspective, differentiation is gradually shifting beyond processor performance alone. The vendors IDC tracked at IFA are competing on their ability to deliver integrated AI platforms that combine compute, memory, storage, developer tools, and ecosystem partnerships. Whether through high-memory AI PCs, workstation-class systems, AI-enabled storage platforms, or clustered mini-PC architectures, the focus is on creating practical environments for deploying and running AI workloads closer to users and data.
Smart home robotics confirmed the same pattern from a different angle. In cleaning robots, differentiation is moving decisively toward AI and navigation, and the category leaders are now extending those capabilities from indoor floors into outdoor tasks such as lawn care and pool cleaning. IDC expects household cleaning robots to remain one of the fastest-growing consumer device categories through 2030. Roborock and ECOVACS are already running that playbook, extending their indoor navigation stacks into lawn care and pool cleaning ahead of most competitors.
Francisco Jeronimo - VP, Data and Analytics, Devices, IDC EMEA
Francisco Jeronimo is VP for Data and Analytics at IDC EMEA. Based in London, he leads the research that covers mobile devices, personal computing devices, emerging technologies and the circular economy trends across EMEA. His team delivers data on personal…
Jitesh Ubrani - Director, Consumer Devices Research
Jitesh Ubrani is a Director at IDC leading a team of analysts within the Worldwide Consumer Device Trackers group, covering wearables, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), tablets, phones, PCs, gaming, and smart home devices, with a focus on market…
Tom Mainelli - Group Vice President, Device & Consumer Research
Tom Mainelli heads the Device & Consumer Research Group, overseeing a wide array of hardware and technology categories catering to both home and enterprise markets. His team's research spans PCs, tablets, smartphones, wearables, smart home devices, thin clients, displays, and…
Mohamed Hefny - Senior Program Manager, Data and Analytics
Mohamed Hefny leads market research in EMEA on professional workstation PCs and solutions. He also reports on professional computing semiconductors, processors, and accelerators (CPUs and GPUs), as well as breakthroughs and trends related to the market. In addition, Mohamed is…
On September 9th, at Connected Britain 2026 in London, I moderated a panel discussion that highlighted a clear evolution in the industrial 5G market, with enterprise interest moving beyond validation toward a more disciplined assessment of where 5G drives meaningful operational performance.
As panelists discussed deployment economics, and what’s needed to achieve scalability beyond individual use cases, three key themes emerged:
#1 – The business requirement is what determines the connectivity architecture
Industrial environments have a growing range of connectivity options; therefore, the appropriate model depends on the operational characteristics of the use case.
During the panel, mobility, predictable performance, security, resilience, coverage, and low latency emerged as important factors strengthening the case for private 5G. Mike Lewis, Market Advisor at Enterprise Ireland, emphasized the importance of starting with the business context and identifying where these characteristics address a specific operational requirement. Manufacturing, transport, and logistics, where mobility and automation are premiums, can provide a stronger rationale where network performance directly affects operational processes.
At the same time, the market is moving beyond a binary distinction between public and private networks. Alessandro Bovone, Chief Information & Technology Officer at JT Global linked this evolution to the broader issue of enterprise sovereignty. In this context, sovereignty extends beyond ownership of dedicated infrastructure to encompass control over connectivity, security, resilience, data flows, and the delivery of network capabilities across enterprise operating environments.
The strategic implication is that enterprises should define the operational outcome, sovereignty requirements, and required service characteristics first, and subsequently determine whether private, public, hybrid, or multi-technology connectivity provides the appropriate architecture.
#2 – Operational outcomes are becoming the basis of the business case
Damian Cross, Head of Technology Automation at Peel Ports Group provided a strong example of how private 5G can translate network performance into measurable operational value. Under its previous Wi-Fi architecture, connectivity interruptions as equipment moved between access points could affect up to 15% of operations. The organization therefore established a private 5G proof of concept covering approximately 80 acres and initially connected four types of operational equipment with different throughput and latency requirements.
The trial separated technical validation from business-value assessment. Within two weeks, network and equipment KPIs showed that the required connectivity performance had been achieved. Over the subsequent three-month analysis period, Peel Ports identified that, under its previous Wi-Fi environment, approximately 49% of equipment movements were unproductive. Improved connectivity then supported its “global pooling” operating model, enabling container movements to be assigned dynamically to reduce unnecessary travel and improve equipment productivity.
The infrastructure economics were also significant. Peel Ports reported that nearly 80 Wi-Fi access points could be replaced by four 5G radios across the operational environment, with a payback period of less than eight months. Once the network was established, it also supported additional applications including body-worn cameras, mobile CCTV, IoT devices, AI-enabled video analytics, and safety-related alerts.
For IDC, the Peel Ports example reinforces an important principle. The return on private 5G should not be assessed primarily through network metrics. It should be evaluated through the operational KPIs that the network enables. These can include equipment productivity, unproductive movement, process availability, downtime, safety, asset utilization, automation efficiency, and ultimately financial return.
For technology suppliers and service providers, this raises the commercial expectation. Connectivity capability needs to be translated into demonstrable operational and financial outcomes.
#3 – Scaling requires assurance, integration, and commercial flexibility
The discussion also highlighted why successful pilots do not automatically translate into large-scale deployments.
Technical assurance is becoming increasingly important. Enterprises need evidence that network performance can be sustained under real operating conditions, particularly where 5G supports operational technology or critical processes.
Legacy OT integration remains a material barrier. Industrial equipment was not necessarily designed for native 5G connectivity. Retrofitting machinery, integrating gateways, managing devices, and connecting existing applications can therefore represent a substantial part of the deployment effort and economics.
Commercial models need to reduce the risk of adoption. The growing interest in network-as-a-service, subscription-based, and lower-CapEx approaches that allow enterprises to begin with anchor use cases, demonstrate value, and subsequently expand.
Partnerships are equally important, particularly where delivering an end-to-end industrial solution requires connectivity, integration, devices, applications, and operational expertise from multiple ecosystem participants.
The industrial 5G market is entering a more mature phase in which technical capability alone will not determine adoption.
The panel discussion pointed to several requirements for broader scale including clearly defined business intent, measurable operational outcomes, technical assurance, suitable spectrum, integration with the existing operational environment, sovereignty requirements, and commercial models capable of supporting expansion.
The closing perspectives from the panel captured many of these priorities through a concise set of themes: outcomes, scalability, spectrum, transformation, intent, and assurance.
I see the next stage of industrial 5G will therefore be determined by the industry’s ability to translate successful implementations into repeatable, scalable, and commercially sustainable operating models.
Turning insight into action
For enterprises: Industrial 5G’s next phase is about measurable outcomes, not connectivity specs. If you’re planning a scaled deployment, whether you’re still building the business case, tackling legacy OT integration, or expanding beyond initial pilots, the operational context matters as much as the technology. We can help you define what success looks like and chart a path that’s right for your organisation.
For service providers and technology suppliers: This market shift toward outcomes-driven procurement is reshaping commercial expectations. Positioning your solution through operational KPIs rather than network performance alone is becoming the competitive imperative. Understanding how enterprises evaluate business value, structure commercial flexibility, and manage technical assurance can help you build stronger customer relationships and win larger deployments.
Want to discuss how this applies to your business? Contact our experts or get in touch directly.
Lizzie Li is Associate Research Director of IDC China's Enterprise System and Software Research that focuses on research and analysis of the China Datacenter, Cloud Computing, and IT infrastructure markets. She also provides intelligence and consulting services in customized projects for…
You know the investment is right. You’ve watched the threat shift, you’ve read the incident reports. But conviction isn’t a line item. When you ask for budget, the board isn’t asking whether you’re right. They’re asking how you know, and whether anyone outside your building agrees with you.
Security leaders are drowning in internal data and starving for external validation. A board member asks, “Is this what other companies our size are spending?” and if the honest answer is “I’m not sure,” the request loses momentum right there.
IDC Quanta closes that gap directly. It’s the interface that sits between your environment and IDC’s full research and analyst base, built so you can ask a direct question and get a direct, sourced answer, not a generic report you have to reverse-engineer into relevance. You bring your documents, your procurement history, your risk posture. IDC Quanta pairs that context with IDC’s research and points you to the named analyst assessment and peer benchmark that actually apply to your situation.
What that looks like in practice
Say you’re building a case for zero-trust investment ahead of next quarter’s board meeting. You ask IDC Quanta directly: how does spend in this category compare across organizations your size and sector, and what’s the analyst view on the risk of waiting.
IDC Quanta names the analyst instead of paraphrasing into an anonymous “industry report says.” It might surface something like this: the share of organizations paying a ransom to regain access to their systems jumped from 29.6% in 2024 to nearly 50% in 2025, and the average payment, $166,000, doesn’t even count the downtime, which runs $357,000 an hour for a large business (IDC’s Future Enterprise Resiliency & Spending Survey, Wave 5, 2025). That’s the kind of number that gets follow-up questions instead of a polite nod.
One depends on the room trusting your judgment. IDC Quanta gives the room a second, independent source, one that was already looking at your sector before you asked.
Bring more than conviction to your next board review. IDC Quanta pairs your own risk posture with named IDC research built for security leaders defending budget.
Why named beats anonymous
Boards are trained to discount unattributed claims. “Studies show” gets a raised eyebrow. “According to [Analyst Name] at IDC, based on research into organizations comparable to ours” gets a nod, because it’s checkable. Most dashboards were never built to clear that bar.
Getting the evidence right is half the job. Presenting it with the confidence of someone who’s done this before is the other piece. Through IDC Quanta, you also get access to Pathways, IDC’s leadership coaching built specifically for the moments where technical rigor has to translate into boardroom command. And if you’re an IDC CIO Executive Council (CEC) member, that peer stress-test happens before you ever reach the boardroom.
You don’t need more conviction. You need the named evidence and peer benchmark that says you’re right too.
Ryan Smith is the Director of Content Marketing at IDC, where he leads brand-level content and social media strategy, aligning research insights with compelling storytelling to engage technology decision-makers. With a background in both IT and marketing, Ryan brings a unique blend of technical understanding and creative strategy to his work. He’s also a seasoned storyteller, speaker, and podcast host who believes the right message, told the right way, can drive both trust and transformation.
Christina Cardoza - Content Marketing Manager - IDC
Christina Cardoza is a Content Marketing Manager at IDC, where she specializes in brand content and social media strategy. With a background in journalism and editorial leadership, she has a proven ability to transform complex technology topics into clear, actionable insights.
IT services buyers across the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META region) are making big decisions right now about their technology partners. Their business models are under pressure to transform, their technology budgets are flowing toward AI and automation, and IT services vendor partnerships are being evaluated through a new lens. That lens is AI capability and it matters more than track record, security expertise, or cloud skills.
Here’s the problem: the IT services partners they’re evaluating are weakest on exactly this criterion.
AI capability gap: why IT services partners are falling behind
New research across the META region shows a sharp disconnect. When services buyers rank what matters most in choosing a partner for 2026 and beyond, AI and agentic AI capabilities land at the top. Ahead of innovation track record. Ahead of security credentials. Ahead of cloud-native skills.
When those same buyers score their current partners on that same criterion, the numbers drop significantly. Satisfaction gaps open up precisely where buyers have their highest expectations.
This isn’t a positioning problem. It isn’t a pricing problem. It’s a capability gap, and it’s affecting vendor retention and deal size over the next 18 months.
Why IT services buyers demand change in 2026
73% of organisations across the META region believe their business needs to reinvent within five years just to survive. That reinvention is already happening. Application modernisation, multicloud strategy, and AI/ML deployment are topping investment roadmaps through 2027.
Budgets are flowing. 56% of organisations across the META region are planning to increase IT services spending in 2026 versus 2025. That figure rises to 79% when we look ahead to 2027. As that investment accelerates, vendor conversations are shifting. Buyers used to ask ‘should we adopt AI?’ Now they ask ‘which partner has the depth and track record to execute this?’
What META services buyers are asking their IT services partners
When services vendors sit down with buyers across the region, three questions keep coming up.
The first is straightforward: where does your AI capability actually stand? Buyers are committing real budgets to public cloud, on-premises infrastructure, and AI/ML systems. They need confidence that their partner has the maturity and the delivery history to handle work at scale. When capability gaps exist, they show up fast under budget pressure.
The second question is about delivery models. Most vendors remain primarily human-centric in how they deliver services, while a few are experimenting with fully automated alternatives that remove humans entirely from the value chain. Vendors who can articulate a more nuanced approach to this tension are winning conversations.
The third question cuts deeper: are you helping us think, or are you executing for us? Technology consulting firms have already claimed 37% of business strategy conversations across the region (IDC EMEA IT Services 2026). If your firm competes primarily on delivery execution, that advisory seat gets harder to claim as months pass.
How IT services vendors are closing the AI capability gap
The pattern across the region is clear. Vendors who invest in AI capability first are seeing stronger client retention and larger deal sizes. Vendors who can explain how they layer AI into delivery while keeping human expertise in control are more credible to risk-averse buyers making large bets. And vendors who’ve moved from execution conversations to strategy conversations with their clients are building stickier partnerships.
Making these shifts takes work. It means restructuring how engagements are staffed, how delivery is orchestrated, and how partnerships develop over time. But the vendors doing this now are securing better positioning with their largest META clients.
These questions – where’s your AI capability, how do you want to deliver, can you help us think – are the ones IT services buyers across the META region are asking right now. On October 6, IDC analysts Matt Wilkins and Eric Samuel are bringing these questions directly to IT services partners and technology leaders across the EMEA region. Join us for the live webinar and bring your questions.
Eric Samuel - Associate Research Director, Services
Eric Samuel leads IDC’s Middle East and Africa IT Services Strategies program, delivering market intelligence, competitive analysis, and strategic guidance that help IT services providers strengthen their position and accelerate growth across the region. His recent work has focused on:…
Judy Dai is joining as the research manager of IDC China Client Devices, focusing on the market insights of wearable and audio markets. At the same time, she is responsible for providing project consulting, market analysis, business development, and customer…
Lily is the Research Manager for China Robotics and Embodied Intelligence, specializing in market research on embodied intelligent robots. She has long focused on the development trends of China’s embodied intelligence robotics industry, systematically studying the evolution of robot hardware,…
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