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Artificial Intelligence is entering its most transformative phase yet: The agentic future. In this new era, humans and intelligent systems don’t just interact; they act together with intention, autonomy, and scale. According to IDC’s FutureScape 2026 predictions, organizations in Asia/Pacific are rapidly shifting from AI experimentation to enterprise-wide orchestration—where adoption fuels growth, innovation, and market leadership.​

Why 2026 will be a pivotal year for AI adoption

AI has already moved beyond proof-of-concept. IDC projects that AI-related investments in Asia/Pacific will grow 1.7x faster than overall digital technology spending, creating a $1.6 trillion economic impact by 2027.

By early 2025, AI spending reached $90.3 billion, signaling unprecedented momentum. This acceleration is not just about technology—it’s about competitive advantage.

Key AI adoption trends driving the shift:​

  • Enterprise AI transformation – Companies are integrating AI into core operations to boost productivity, lower costs, and open new revenue streams.​
  • AI-powered customer experience – Personalized, emotionally intelligent interactions are becoming the norm.​

Autonomous systems in business – From supply chains to marketing, autonomous agents are optimizing decisions in real time.​

Opportunities across the AI ecosystem

For technology providers, the agentic future opens massive possibilities:​

  • Infrastructure and cloud providers – Demand is surging for AI-ready platforms and compute resources.​
  • Model and tool developers – Specialized AI models tailored to industry needs are gaining traction.​
  • Consultancies and integrators – Enterprises need guidance on how to implement and scale AI for maximum ROI.​
  • Consumer devices – Tap into where technology providers can serve up new use cases and opportunities in the AI era ​

For enterprise leaders, the biggest gains will come from integrating AI capabilities across departments — not just in isolated use cases.​

Turning predictions into impact

IDC’s predictions for 2026 and beyond are more than industry forecasts—they are a roadmap to revenue. Whether you’re a CIO, CMO, product leader, or technology provider, understanding these trends will help you:​

  • Identify emerging markets before competitors do.​
  • Prioritize high-impact AI investments.​
  • Build an AI adoption strategy that scales.​

Join IDC FutureScape 2026: Your Gateway to the Agentic Future​

charting the agentic future

Step into the future ahead of your competition in the Asia/Pacific region. Join us on November 14, 12:00-5:00 PM, and get access to exclusive IDC insights on tech predictions, market forecasts, and direct buyer feedback from IDC’s leading voices on Asia/Pacific technology and innovation:

  • IDC Predictions 2026: Charting the Agentic Future – Sandra Ng, GVP and General Manager for Asia/Pacific Japan Research
  • Everything AI – Dr. Chris Marshall, VP APAC AI and Industry Research
  • Consumers in the AI Era – Bryan Ma, Global and APAC Devices Research
  • Decoupling and Top China B2B/B2C Trends – Zhenshan Zhong, VP China Research
  • Services Disruption in Tech: Thriving in the Age of AI – Linus Lai, VP APAC Services and CEO/CIO Research

Seats are limited so reserve your spot now, register today!

The 2025 Asian Financial Services Congress (AFSC) and Financial Insights Innovation Awards (FIIA) were more than just industry events. They reflected the rapid pace of financial services transformation and spotlighted the technologies and strategies that help institutions respond to constant change.

One truth came out clearly this year: Resilience and innovation are essential for success in 2025 and beyond. At AFSC, financial services leaders explored the emerging technologies and real-world AI use cases that are driving competitive advantage—and discussed how institutions can respond to increasing complexity, from geopolitics to talent shortages.

In adapting to the new landscape, two powerful forces are shaping transformation in 2025:

  • Technology suppliers accelerating innovations, setting benchmarks, and raising the bar for performance.
  • Financial institutions navigating shifting demand, geopolitical pressure, and execution risks.

Staying competitive requires clarity. It’s no longer just about adopting technology—it’s about applying it with precision.

Three strategies to strengthen financial services

These three proven strategies emerged as critical for leaders navigating digital transformation and rising expectations.

  1. Responding to geopolitical risk with five key levers

To stay agile, financial institutions are aligning technology and operating models to address:

  • Technology decoupling and regional sovereignty
  • Intraregional trade and its impact on growth
  • Cybersecurity threats intensified by AI and automation
  • De-dollarization trends in global finance
  • Procurement changes in a shifting supply chain
  1. Closing the financial services skills gap

The challenge isn’t technology, it’s execution. Despite a surge of more than 8 million new STEM graduates in Asia and the release of over 70 new large language models (LLMs) within three years of first launch, many projects failed before delivering value.

To realize ROI, institutions must evolve their workforce. That means reskilling technically trained professionals into financial services experts who can connect innovation to business goals.

  1. Prioritizing high-impact AI use cases

Leaders are no longer experimenting—they’re scaling what works. IDC identified 12 AI use cases delivering measurable value across banking and insurance, including:

  • SME lending automation
  • Customer onboarding optimization
  • Fraud detection
  • Risk modeling and forecasting

Each use case was validated by case studies from top Asian financial institutions, demonstrating operational gains and business impact.

Throughout the event, CXOs and digital transformation leaders reinforced these strategies during expert panels. Technology suppliers brought critical perspective, showcasing how successful AI implementations are creating repeatable models for the industry.

Real use cases. Real results.

Execution matters. The FIIA Awards honored institutions that turned their ideas into action. Ten awards were presented to eight financial institutions, including five full-service banks, one digital-only bank, and two insurers.

Winners were selected based on clear, outcome-oriented criteria:

  • Demonstrated scalability and ROI
  • Customer-centric innovation promoting inclusivity and access
  • Forward-looking initiatives with industry-wide implications.

Congratulations to all the winners for showing how innovation can move from pilot to proof.

What comes next for 2026 onwards

As 2025 enters its final quarter, the direction is clear—financial services institutions must act on proven strategies, invest in execution, and double down on AI use cases that deliver value.

Chart your Agentic AI future! Attend these IDC AI webinar series to dive deeper into the Agentic AI and its use cases:

Ashish Kakar - Research Director - IDC

Analyst Profile
Dr. Ashish Kakar is research director for IDC Financial Insights in Asia/Pacific. Based in Singapore, he is the lead Financial Insights analyst responsible for all aspects of banking and insurance research. Dr. Ashish's own interest is in fraud and risk, resilience, customer centricity, AI/ML, retail banking, insurance, alternative investment management, cloud and infrastructure, and credit risk management. Prior to joining IDC, Dr. Ashish had over 16 years' experience in Citibank, five years' experience with insurance companies, and has run his own asset management start-up for two years. In his last role in Citibank, Dr. Ashish managed processes across banking technology, servicing operations, and product. He was a regional senior with oversight of the Asia and Europe operations.
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