The EMEA IT market continues to grow in 2026. But the real story is not growth alone. It is how that growth is evolving under pressure.
In our latest State of the Market webinar, IDC analysts Andrea Siviero, Stephen Minton, Ewa Zborowska and Lapo Fioretti explored how AI acceleration, geopolitical developments and rising resilience priorities are reshaping IT spending across the region.
Here are five key takeaways that define where the EMEA IT market is heading next.
1. IT spending in EMEA is growing, but becoming more selective
IT spending across EMEA remains on a growth path, supported by strong momentum in software and infrastructure. At the same time, the market is becoming more selective. Devices are expected to decline in 2026, while software, infrastructure and IT services continue to benefit from changing enterprise priorities and AI-related demand.
This reflects a broader shift in how organizations are allocating budgets. Growth is still there, but investment decisions are being made with more scrutiny. Geopolitical pressure, regulation and economic uncertainty are no longer background factors. They are directly shaping where technology spend goes and which initiatives get prioritized.
2. AI is accelerating and reshaping IT spending across EMEA
AI is now one of the clearest growth engines in the market. In EMEA, AI spending is expected to reach $319 billion in 2026, growing 19.2% year over year and expanding more than three times faster than total IT spending.
But the significance of AI is not only its growth rate. It is how deeply AI is starting to influence budget allocation, vendor strategies and enterprise priorities. Organizations are no longer asking whether AI matters. They are asking where it creates measurable value and how quickly it can be embedded into the business.
3. The shift from AI pilots to AI at scale is underway, although slow with AI Value blocked by Execution, not Interest
The AI conversation in EMEA is moving from experimentation to execution. Organizations are becoming less focused on launching new pilots and more focused on improving, scaling and operationalizing the AI initiatives they already have in place.
This is where the market becomes more complex. Nearly 48% of organizations are prioritizing investment in customized AI agents to automate business processes. But scaling AI requires more than enthusiasm or access to tools. It depends on infrastructure, data readiness, governance and skills. The bottleneck is no longer AI ambition. It is execution capability.
4. AI Focus Still High on Efficiency, with Rising Expectations for Innovation and Growth
For many organizations, the first wave of AI value is still rooted in efficiency. AI is being used to automate workflows, improve productivity and reduce operational friction.
But the opportunity is expanding. 93% of organizations now see AI as a source of new revenue, not just efficiency gains. That shift matters because it moves AI from a cost-saving discussion into a growth discussion. The next phase will be defined by organizations that can turn AI into new products, services, business models and customer value.
5. Resilience, governance and AI sovereignty are shaping IT strategy
Resilience is becoming a central filter for technology investment in EMEA. It is now the number two business priority for CEOs in the region, second only to growth.
That has major implications for AI. As organizations scale AI, they need stronger governance, clearer data control, better infrastructure resilience and trusted deployment models. AI sovereignty is also moving higher on the agenda, especially as organizations consider where AI systems are built, hosted, governed and operated.
The message from the webinar was clear: AI scale is not just a technology challenge. It is a trust, governance and resilience challenge.
What this means for technology providers in EMEA
The EMEA IT market is entering a more demanding phase. Growth opportunities remain strong, but they are increasingly tied to execution readiness.
For technology providers, this means helping customers move from AI experimentation to AI at scale. It means supporting data, infrastructure and governance readiness. And it means positioning AI not only as an innovation investment, but also as a resilience investment.
In 2026, competitive advantage will come from helping organizations turn ambition into operational impact.
Watch the webinar on demand
If you want to go beyond the headlines, the full webcast offers a deeper dive into the data, regional dynamics and real-world examples discussed by our analysts.
You will get a clearer view of where growth is actually materializing, how AI maturity is evolving across EMEA, and what is separating organizations that are scaling successfully from those that are not.
And if you would like to explore what these trends mean specifically for your business, our experts are always happy to continue the conversation. Simply reach out via the contact form.
Stephen Minton is a group vice president with the IDC Data & Analytics group, focusing on ICT spending and macroeconomics. Mr. Minton is responsible for Worldwide ICT Spending programs, including the Worldwide Black Book, Worldwide 3rd Platform Spending Guides, and Worldwide Telecom Services Tracker. Mr. Minton's research expertise includes global ICT and economic analysis, and he tracks market data across hardware, software, services, telecom and emerging technologies. He is the author of papers that focus on the economic impact of IT, and is a regular speaker on the subject of IT spending. In 2002 he addressed the United Nations in New York, speaking to UN ambassadors on the subject of the Information Society. Mr. Minton previously worked with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), before joining IDC in 1998. Originally from Hartlepool in the North of England, he graduated from the University of Salford in 1995. He has also worked in the field of consumer market research with Millward Brown International.
Andrea Siviero leads IDC's European Digital Business and Future of Work Research group. The group provides market research insights to foster a purposeful and fair adoption of technologies supporting digital societies, businesses and workforce and empower tech providers in strategic decision making, planning and go-to-market activities. Siviero also co-leads the IDC Worldwide MacroTech Research program, focused on the intertwined connection between the Economical and Digital worlds - analyzing the impact key MacroEconomic factors have on the digital landscape and viceversa, how technologies are impacting economies around the world.
Ewa Zborowska is an experienced technology professional with 25 years of expertise in the European IT industry. Since 2003, she has been a member of the IDC team, based in Warsaw, researching IT services markets. In 2018, she joined the European team with a specific emphasis on cloud and AI. Ewa is currently the lead analyst for IDC’s European Artificial Intelligence Innovations and Strategies CIS.
Lapo Fioretti is a Senior Research analyst in IDC Digital Business Research Group, leading the European Emerging Technologies Strategies research. In his role, he advises ICT players on how European organizations leverage new technologies to create business value and achieve growth and analyzes the development and impact of emerging trends on the markets. Fioretti also co-leads the IDC Worldwide MacroTech Research program, focused on the intertwined connection between the Economical and Digital worlds - analyzing the impact key MacroEconomic factors have on the digital landscape and viceversa, how technologies are impacting economies around the world.
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