Gartner: Six Infra Trends That Will Matter in 2026

If you’re leading infrastructure and operations right now, you need to know what Gartner thinks matters for the next 12 to 18 months.

Mid-December 2025, the research firm identified six trends that I&O leaders need to watch and act on. “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 organizations, so that they’ll be able to adapt, respond effectively, and drive innovation,” says Jeffrey Hewitt, vice president analyst at Gartner.

Here’s what made the list.

Hybrid computing: Building for what comes next

First up is hybrid computing, which orchestrates across diverse and sometimes incompatible compute, storage, and network mechanisms. According to Gartner, it enables I&O leaders to future-proof infrastructure investments with a composable and extensible compute fabric, while maximizing the value of emerging technologies by combining their strengths.

“Hybrid computing will force I&O leaders to adopt composable business and technology architecture as part of a long-term strategy for building systems and applications,” says Hewitt.

Agentic AI: Systems that act autonomously

“AI is one of the top three priorities for CIOs, and agentic AI is a very beneficial subset of that,” Hewitt notes. “Agentic AI provides a significant opportunity for I&O leaders in that it enables performance gains through time savings, which will increase over time as systems evolve. It can support I&O by quickly analysing complex datasets, identifying patterns and acting autonomously.”

The key word there is “autonomously,” which really means that these systems don’t just analyze but also act.

AI governance platforms: Watching the watchers

AI governance platforms oversee and manage AI systems by incorporating responsible AI practices. According to Gartner, these platforms address potential compliance and business risks, including bias, lack of transparency, data protection and privacy issues, model evaluation and validation, and security threats.

Gartner defines AI governance as the process of creating policies, assigning decision rights, and ensuring organizational accountability for risks and decisions related to the application and use of AI techniques.

Energy-efficient computing: Reducing power and carbon

Gartner positions energy-efficient computing as a sort of subset of hybrid computing. It’s defined as a package of technologies and practices to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of IT systems.

According to Gartner, energy-efficient computing enables I&O leaders to significantly impact power and environmental aspects in a sustainable way. Infrastructure leaders can create positive business outcomes by implementing tailored long-term strategies using novel and emerging technologies, such as optical computing and neuromorphic systems.

Disinformation security: Protection in the deepfake era

Disinformation security is a suite of technologies that can address disinformation to help enterprises discern trust, protect their brand and secure their online presence. It covers deepfake detection, impersonation prevention and reputation protection.

“Given the evolving technology landscape, disinformation security will enable I&O leaders to ensure trust in communications, identity and reputation,” Hewitt says.

Geopatriation: Moving beyond global hyperscalers

Finally, there’s geopatriation, which is the relocation of workloads and applications from global cloud hyperscalers to regional or national alternatives due to geopolitical uncertainty.

“Geopatriation is an extension of a previous trend called ‘nationalism versus globalism,’” says Hewitt. “Arguably, it goes beyond cloud from just data sovereignty to operational sovereignty to technical sovereignty. Geopatriation empowers I&O to reduce geopolitical risks and address specific sovereignty requirements. It also enables I&O leaders to support and increase the independence of domestic economies.”

What infra leaders do next

“By understanding the full impact of these emerging trends, enterprises can implement effective tactics to respond, get ahead of the curve, and maximize the value of their I&O operations in 2026,” Hewitt says.

I&O leaders who understand these trends and act on the ones most likely to impact their organizations will be positioned to adapt, respond effectively, and drive innovation.

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