The year 2026 is shaping up to be a turning point for the tech channel and, by extension, for the businesses that rely on it to modernize their operations. The narrative is no longer centered around experimentation but focuses on execution. This is the thesis supported by TD SYNNEX in their latest trend analysis: technology is transitioning from a laboratory setting to a vital cog in business operations, with decisions impacting budgets, risks, and competitiveness.
The company identifies five key vectors that, in their view, will drive most of the digital transformation this year: Agentic Artificial Intelligence, predictive cybersecurity, energy sustainability, hybrid infrastructure, and FinOps. The common denominator is clear: more automation, increased regulatory pressure, higher efficiency demands, and a growing need for financial control in multi-cloud environments.
1) Agentic Artificial Intelligence: from Assistant to Autonomous Execution
TD SYNNEX considers Agentic Artificial Intelligence as the dominant trend for 2026, defining it as a qualitative leap beyond typical pilot projects. The idea is to move from tools that “assist” to systems that plan, reason, and execute complex workflows with less constant human intervention.
This shift involves two concepts gaining prominence in the channel: multi-agent systems (multiple coordinated agents for different tasks) and native AI development platforms designed to build end-to-end automation. The impact isn’t just technical. For integrators, MSPs, and internal teams, the challenge is governing these agents: setting boundaries, supervising, ensuring traceability, and defining responsibilities as automation moves from “macro” to decision-making processes.
2) Predictive Cybersecurity: the Arms Race Between Agents
The second major trend highlighted by TD SYNNEX is a cybersecurity shift from reactive to proactive. The company describes 2026 as a digital arms race where defensive AI agents operate in real-time against attackers using AI to craft sophisticated campaigns, automate reconnaissance, and accelerate exploitation.
Simultaneously, regulatory pressures fuel the market. Frameworks like GDPR and the NIS2 Directive reinforce the need for continuous defensive capabilities, including monitoring, response, and compliance evidence. In this scenario, TD SYNNEX points to emerging commercial solutions such as “virtual CISO” offerings, where AI transitions from an auxiliary tool to sharing operational control in security, always under supervision and with clear policies.
3) Energy and Sustainability: the New Competitive Factor
The third trend essentially calls for realism: the growth of AI and advanced computing comes with an energy cost that now influences investment decisions. TD SYNNEX refers to energy as the new “gold” in the tech sector in 2026— a differentiator that can accelerate or hinder projects.
The company links this pressure to expanding data centers and increased investment in AI-optimized accelerated servers, which tend to raise energy consumption and demand stricter efficiency management. It’s not just about “green” branding. For many organizations, balancing performance and environmental responsibility becomes a practical criterion: load optimization, waste reduction, proper sizing, and adopting technologies that improve energy efficiency and enable smarter infrastructure operations.
4) Hybrid Infrastructure: the Largest Modernization in Decades
The fourth trend directly ties into how AI impacts traditional systems. TD SYNNEX asserts that AI is driving the largest infrastructure upgrade cycle since the birth of the Internet and cloud adoption, because legacy architectures weren’t designed to handle intensive workloads, data, and acceleration.
Their outlook predicts a consolidation of hybrid models: combining legacy systems, cloud, edge, and data centers to allocate each workload where it adds the most value. Practically, this involves redesigning operations: connectivity, latency, data governance, security, continuity, and resilience. By 2026, the debate isn’t whether to use the cloud but how to integrate it seamlessly with other environments without compromising compliance, costs, or user experience.
5) FinOps and Multi-Cloud Financial Management: Optimization Becomes Mandatory
The fifth trend is the most “silent,” but arguably among the most impactful for executive boards: FinOps as a discipline for managing cloud expenditure and sustaining profitability during scaling. TD SYNNEX presents multi-cloud financial management as a strategic technology: providing visibility, cost allocation, consumption control, and governance in increasingly complex architectures.
This pressure intensifies with the shift to as-a-Service models, affecting cost structures and cash flow. For integrators and MSPs, FinOps is also a service: helping clients avoid over-provisioning, organize tags and projects, establish policies, and justify investments with metrics. The message is clear: growing in the cloud without financial control is no longer a sustainable approach.
A 2026 Focus on Execution, Not Promises
As Santiago Méndez, Head of Advanced Solutions at TD SYNNEX Iberia, states, 2026 marks the moment when the channel moves beyond proof-of-concept to a phase of real operational transformation. The key takeaway: organizations that act decisively—supported by a specialized channel—will be better positioned to turn innovation into tangible results.
If 2024 and 2025 were years of acceleration and narrative-building, 2026 will be defined by the friction of real-world challenges: energy, regulation, costs, integration, and continuous operation. According to TD SYNNEX, that’s where competitive advantages will be decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is agentic Artificial Intelligence, and how will it be applied in companies by 2026?
It’s an approach where AI-based systems not only assist but also plan and execute complex tasks (such as process automation, support, and IT operations) under supervision and governed by business rules.
What does “predictive cybersecurity” entail, and how is it linked to NIS2 and GDPR?
It involves anticipating attacks through analytics and automation, using defensive AI to detect early signals and respond faster. Regulatory pressures reinforce the need for continuous controls, evidence, and risk management.
Why has energy sustainability become a priority for data centers and AI projects?
Because AI increases computing demands and, consequently, energy use. Efficiency and sustainable operation are critical for managing costs, scalability, and social acceptance of new infrastructures.
What is the role of FinOps in multi-cloud environments, and why will it be essential in 2026?
FinOps provides control over cloud spending: offering visibility, cost attribution to teams/projects, resource optimization, and governance to prevent overspending during infrastructure and service scaling.
via: TD Synnex