Resource Regions: Central and Eastern Europe
Work in 2026 is being rewired around human-AI teams, where people who learn to collaborate with intelligent systems are gaining a clear edge in productivity, creativity, and career growth. IDC’s latest FutureScape and Future of Work insights show that this is no longer a distant trend but the operating reality for leading organisations worldwide.
The new shape of work
According our 2026 Futurescape for the AI-enabled Future of Work around 40% of roles in the G2000 will involve direct engagement with AI agents by 2026, fundamentally reshaping how entry, mid-level, and senior jobs are designed. In Europe specifically, we expect around 70% of new positions to be directly influenced by AI, blending technical fluency with human-centred capabilities like problem solving, empathy, and domain expertise.
AI is simultaneously and subtly absorbing much of the background work. Our analysis suggests AI tools can save workers over 40% of their typical workday, with IT workers gaining up to 45% of their time back as routine tasks are automated. Instead of spending hours on status reports, basic analysis, or rote documentation, employees can focus more on designing solutions, making decisions, and collaborating with customers and colleagues.
Agents as instruments, not co-workers
One of our most important messages though is that AI agents should be treated as instruments that extend human capability, not as synthetic co-workers to be managed like people. When AI is framed as a powerful tool in a human-led process, organisations are less likely to over-automate and more likely to invest in skills, governance, and thoughtful workflow redesign.
This mindset shift is already visible in how leaders talk about AI “co-pilots” across development, operations, and knowledge work. We predict that as agentic AI matures, organisations that focus on measuring and improving AI–human collaboration, rather than just raw productivity, will see margin gains of up to 15% by the end of the decade.
The skills crunch: $5.5 trillion on the line
The biggest drag on this transformation is no longer the technology but the skills to use it well. Our data shows that over 90% of global enterprises will face critical skills shortages by 2026, with AI-related gaps alone putting up to $5.5 trillion of economic value at risk through delays, missed revenue, and quality issues. Yet in our Global Future of Work Decision Maker only about a third of organisations say they are fully ready for AI-driven ways of working, and just a similar share of employees report receiving any AI training in the past year.
This imbalance is already reshaping labour markets. The 2025 IDC Employee Experience survey shows that that 66% of enterprises are reducing entry-level hiring as they deploy AI, and 91% report roles being changed or partially automated. Routine-heavy junior tasks are disappearing fastest, while demand grows for roles that can design, supervise, and continuously improve AI-infused workflows.
How to ride, not resist, the wave
For leaders and professionals, the 2026 question is not “Will AI take my job?” but “How quickly can my organisation and my skills adapt to human–AI collaboration?”. Our research into AI, automation, and Future of Work points to a few practical priorities that separate frontrunners from the rest.
- Build AI literacy for everyone, not just specialists: core skills now include prompt design, interpreting AI output, and knowing when to override or escalate decisions.
- Redesign roles around human strengths: shift job descriptions toward judgment, creativity, relationship-building, and cross-domain problem solving, with AI handling repeatable analysis and orchestration.
- Invest in trustworthy data and governance: companies that neglect high-quality, AI-ready data will see productivity fall behind as they struggle to scale agentic solutions.
- Measure collaboration, not just output: by 2029, organisations that track and optimise human–AI collaboration are projected to enjoy up to 15% higher margins than those that chase automation alone.
Work has been rewired, but the most valuable node in the system is still the human at the centre of an intelligent network of tools, agents, and collaborators. In 2026, the winners will be those who treat AI not as a threat or a crutch, but as a force multiplier for distinctly human ambition.
For more information see IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Work 2026 Predictions
To watch our EMEA FutureScape predictions presentation, click here.
If you have any questions, please drop them in this form.
Meike Escherich - Associate Research Director, European Future of Work - IDC
Meike Escherich is an associate research director with IDC's European Future of Work practice, based in the UK. In this role, she provides coverage of key technology trends across the Future of Work, specializing in how to enable and foster teamwork in a flexible work environment. Her research looks at how technologies influence workers' skills and behaviors, organizational culture, worker experience and how the workspace itself is enabling the future enterprise.
AI will continue to shape the enterprise communications landscape in 2026, with organisations seeking practical value while navigating cost, governance, and deployment constraints. Interest in AI is high, but companies still face gaps around affordability, readiness, and real-world use cases. As a result, the market will progress through grounded, incremental steps, supported by stronger data foundations, evolving pricing models, and greater collaboration across ecosystems and service partners.
1. AI Adoption Will Remain Pragmatic and Focused on Clear ROI
AI will continue to gain momentum, but organisations will prioritise capabilities that deliver immediate, measurable value, such as summarisation, transcription, call insights, and automated follow-ups.
While interest in agentic AI grows, mainstream adoption will be limited by cost and narrow use-case readiness. Vendors will increasingly focus on making agentic capabilities more affordable, modular, and easier to deploy.
2. Data Foundations Will Become the Enabler for Context and Automation
As organisations look into value extraction, data quality and connectivity become essential. AI will need access to contextual, structured, and cross-functional data to deliver accurate outcomes and automate workflows.
To meet these needs, vendors will open their ecosystems, deepen integrations with CRM, ERP, and workflow tools, and begin supporting agent-to-agent orchestration (A2A/MCP) across front-, mid-, and back-office processes.
3. Pricing Models Will Evolve to Reflect AI Consumption Patterns
As AI features become more widely used, traditional subscription pricing will feel less aligned with the way organisations actually consume AI. Vendors will gradually introduce usage-based or metered models, allowing customers to scale AI adoption at their own pace.
To ensure reliability, AI will increasingly blend generative and deterministic approaches, supported by stronger AI observability to maintain accuracy and trust.
4. Verticalisation and Professional Services Will Help Close the Adoption Gap
AI adoption challenges vary significantly by industry. In 2026, more vendors will develop vertical-specific UC&C solutions that reflect distinct workflows in sectors such as healthcare, retail, financial services, and manufacturing.
Because the gap between vendor innovation and customer adoption persists, vendors will collaborate more closely with professional services providers who can translate innovation into practical transformation through guided deployment and workflow redesign.
5. Europe Prioritises Hybrid Deployment and Democratized AI for SMBs
In Europe, concerns around data sovereignty and transparency will continue to influence technology decisions, prompting sustained interest in private cloud and selective retention of on-premises components. Most organisations will move toward hybrid models that offer both innovation and control.
At the same time, European vendors will intensify their focus on SMBs, which represent the bulk of the region’s economy. 2026 will see continued efforts to democratise AI, offering simpler, lighter-weight solutions—such as AI receptionists—as well as modular capabilities that make AI adoption accessible to smaller businesses via partner-led delivery.
Conclusion
In 2026, enterprise communications will move forward through practical AI adoption, deeper data integration, flexible pricing, verticalised innovation, and hybrid deployment models. Markets like Europe will emphasise sovereignty and SMB accessibility, but globally, success will depend on vendors balancing innovation with pragmatism—offering AI that is trustworthy, affordable, and genuinely transformative for how people and organisations communicate and work.
For more information, drop your question in here.
For more predictions, watch IDC’s EMEA FutureScape predictions webcast here.
Oru Mohiuddin - Research Director - IDC
Oru Mohiuddin is a Research Director in the European Enterprise Communications and Collaboration team. Based in London, she is responsible for IDC’s coverage of Unified Communications and Collaboration in the region. Her work focuses on tracking the markets for premise-based and cloud solutions and new developments and trends, particularly in the light of changing work patterns impacting the traditional mode of enterprise communication. Prior to joining IDC, Oru worked for Euromonitor International, where she focused on Future of Work and technology in the SMB context. She also worked in New York and Bangladesh and speaks English and Bengali. Oru was awarded Chevening Scholarship by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to pursue her MSc in International Development from the University of Birmingham. In addition, Oru has a BA from Marymount Manhattan College in New York.
Graham Fruin - Senior Research Analyst, European Enterprise Communications and Collaboration - IDC
Graham Fruin is a senior research analyst in IDC's European Enterprise Communications and Collaboration team. Based in the U.K., his primary focus is on the voice and data connectivity markets. His work has a particular emphasis on the migration from legacy voice solutions to IP-based platforms and the way they are used in conjunction with unified communications. In addition, he analyzes the evolution of the internet access market, which includes the rapid proliferation of Fiber to the Premises (FttP) across Europe.
In December 2024, one year ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared on the BG2 podcast that “SaaS is dead.” The comment set off a shockwave across the technology industry and many felt provoked. After all, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has defined enterprise computing for nearly two decades, representing a massive share (over 10% according IDC’s Black Book) of IT spending in 2024 and forming the backbone of digital transformation strategies worldwide.
Yet, when we cast a cold IDC analytical eye beyond the provocative statement, a crucial truth emerges: SaaS, as we know it, is being disrupted, not by decline but by evolution.
The Status Quo: SaaS at Its Peak
Today, most of the world’s leading software vendors are, in some form, SaaS companies. Among the ten most valuable software players, including Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, SAP, and Shopify, SaaS delivery models dominate. Enterprises have grown dependent on the SaaS ecosystem, licensing countless applications to manage HR, payroll, CRM, expenses, and vertical industry workflows.
However, the sheer sprawl of SaaS adoption has created complexity for business users. Employees navigate dozens of interfaces daily, shifting context between multiple systems that rarely communicate smoothly. Despite efforts to simplify workflows through integrations and APIs, SaaS remains a patchwork of interfaces and data silos, forcing users to adapt to the software rather than the other way around.
The Complexity Problem and the AI Opportunity
This complexity is the Achilles’ heel of the SaaS model. Each SaaS application demands its own learning curve and user interface, often used sporadically and inefficiently. In this environment, AI offers a compelling remedy.
Instead of navigating multiple dashboards, users could interact with agent-driven, conversational interfaces that perform tasks across systems. Imagine instructing an AI agent to “approve last week’s expense reports” or “generate next quarter’s sales forecast” and having the agent orchestrate workflows across HR, finance, and CRM systems behind the scenes.
This agentic, “flow-of-work” user experience could replace much of today’s direct interaction with SaaS applications. The result? AI as the new interface layer, which is one that abstracts away complexity, automates repetitive processes, and redefines how enterprises consume software.
The Disruption: From Seats to Outcomes
Such a shift has profound implications for how SaaS is bought and sold. The traditional per-user, per-month licensing model becomes increasingly obsolete as digital labor replaces manual interaction. IDC predicts that by 2028, pure seat-based pricing will be obsolete, with 70% of software vendors refactoring their pricing strategies around new value metrics, such as consumption, outcomes, or organizational capability (please see IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Agentic Artificial Intelligence 2026 Predictions, IDC #US53860925, October 2025).
This agentic IT disruption will impact IDC’s existing forecasts for the various levels in the IT stack differently as shown below. Also, the impact will change over time, as for examples SaaS Applications and IT Services will feel a negative impact in the short term, while recovering if we look five years out to 2030.
For infrastructure hardware, IDC sees a different impact with a short term boost, followed by headwinds as inference costs drop exponentially.
Source: Charting the Agentic Future: 10 Vision Statements for 2030 (IDC #US53909225, November 2025)
Inside the enterprises, this evolution changes the economics of enterprise software. Companies optimizing AI agent development to reduce licensing costs will need to revisit their roadmaps as vendors adjust to these emerging pricing paradigms. Meanwhile, process owners may gain more flexibility, designing application-neutral operational efficiencies that transcend the limitations of current SaaS systems.
Business and IT Implications
The rise of AI agents doesn’t just alter pricing, it transforms how technology functions within organizations.
From a business perspective, enterprises may initially lose the tactical benefit of reduced software costs but gain strategic control over innovation and process optimization. Process teams will design workflows around end-to-end outcomes rather than application silos, supported by a new breed of “headless” software modules accessible via APIs and marketplaces.
From an IT standpoint, this means a fundamental re-architecture of the enterprise tech stack. Where today’s stack is built around SaaS interfaces, tomorrow’s will revolve around AI agents that interact with modular backend services. Data lakes and live data connections become critical enablers, while vendor relationships evolve from UI-centric engagement to agentic enablement partnerships.
Guidance for Technology Buyers
For IT and procurement leaders, this transformation demands foresight and experimentation. Buyers should assume that software vendors will increasingly position their offerings to accommodate or counteract the impact of digital labor.
Before adopting agentic systems, IDC advises enterprises to:
- Build proofs of concept (POCs) and define clear ROI metrics around cycle time, productivity, and revenue improvements.
- Evaluate end-to-end process efficiency, not just individual task automation.
- Explore packaged AI agents offered by existing SaaS vendors, integrating them as part of broader operational redesigns.
In other words, the transition to AI-driven enterprise software should be intentional, data-backed, and aligned with measurable business outcomes.
The Road to 2030: SaaS Reimagined
By the end of this decade, the enterprise technology landscape will look radically different. The AI agent will become a new enterprise SKU, purchased via marketplaces and powered by modular backend capabilities rather than monolithic SaaS platforms. User interfaces will still be critical to productivity but so will orchestration of more-or-less autonomous workflows.
SaaS is not dead, but it is metamorphosing. The software industry is entering a new chapter defined by AI, automation, and outcome-based economics. For vendors, it’s a challenge to reinvent their business models. For buyers, it’s an invitation to rethink how software delivers value.
Either way, the next generation of enterprise technology will be less about screens and more about agents.
Got a question? Drop it in here.
You may be interested in listening to IDC EMEA’s predictions for 2026 and beyond.
Bo Lykkegaard - Associate VP for Software Research Europe - IDC
Bo Lykkegaard is associate vice president for the enterprise-software-related expertise centers in Europe. His team focuses on the $172 billion European software market, specifically on business applications, customer experience, business analytics, and artificial intelligence. Specific research areas include market analysis, competitive analysis, end-user case studies and surveys, thought leadership, and custom market models.