Gartner has outlined the key infrastructure and operations (I&O) trends set to shape enterprise IT over the next 12 to 18 months, with the findings presented at the Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference.
According to Gartner, the evolving technology landscape is pushing I&O leaders to reassess how they design, manage and govern enterprise infrastructure as organisations prepare for 2026. The firm emphasised that awareness and early preparation around these trends will be critical to maintaining resilience, efficiency and innovation.
“I&O leaders must be aware of all of these trends and prepare to act on the ones that are most likely to impact their organisations,” said Jeffrey Hewitt, Vice President Analyst, Gartner.
He added that understanding their full implications would help enterprises respond more effectively and maximise the value of their infrastructure and operations functions.
Hybrid computing emerged as a central theme, described as an approach that orchestrates workloads across diverse and sometimes incompatible compute, storage and networking environments. Gartner said this model enables organisations to future-proof infrastructure investments by adopting composable and extensible architectures while combining the strengths of both legacy and emerging technologies.
Agentic AI was highlighted as a growing priority, particularly as organisations seek greater automation and efficiency. Gartner noted that agentic AI can analyse complex datasets, identify patterns and act autonomously, delivering time savings and performance improvements for I&O teams as systems continue to evolve.
The firm also drew attention to AI governance platforms, which are becoming increasingly important as enterprises scale AI adoption. These platforms help organisations define policies, assign accountability and manage risks related to bias, transparency, data protection, model validation and security.
Energy-efficient computing was identified as another major trend, driven by rising energy costs and sustainability goals. Gartner said I&O leaders can reduce power consumption and carbon footprints by adopting new technologies and practices, including longer-term strategies involving emerging approaches such as optical computing and neuromorphic systems.
Disinformation security is gaining prominence as enterprises face growing risks from deepfakes, impersonation and online reputation threats. Gartner said these technologies and practices are essential for maintaining trust in communications, identities and digital presence.
Finally, Gartner highlighted geopatriation, the relocation of workloads from global cloud hyperscalers to regional or national providers due to geopolitical uncertainty. The firm said this shift reflects a broader move from data sovereignty to operational and technical sovereignty, enabling organisations to reduce geopolitical risk while supporting domestic digital ecosystems.
Together, these trends underscore the increasing complexity of enterprise IT environments and the need for I&O leaders to take a strategic, forward-looking approach as they plan for 2026.
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