As AI continues to accelerate the pace and scope of work, CIOs must prepare for four shifts that will influence the future of work, said Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Revenue and Recurring Billing find that organizations are seeking greater visibility and analysis of revenue-related activities and more flexible software for pricing, selling and billing for an expanding array of products and services. They are rapidly integrating AI into revenue intelligence platforms and other systems to increase automation, improve consistency and accelerate sales cycles.

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in audit functions is nearly universal, with 93% of audit leaders reporting some level of AI use, according to a webinar poll by Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

The survey of 161 chief audit executives (CAEs), conducted in May 2026, also highlighted a significant gap: 60% of audit functions do not have a formal AI strategy in place, raising concerns about the long-term value and consistency of AI investments.

The worldwide market for OEM-refurbished multifunction printers (MFPs) and printers strengthened in the first half of 2026, according to the IDC Worldwide Semiannual Refurbished MFP/Printer Tracker. Unit shipments grew by 14.5% year over year, with growth concentrated in the Americas and EMEA.

A Gartner survey of 1,303 respondents from organizations with enterprisewide annual revenue of at least $50 million in fiscal year 2025 found that, despite this lack of success, investment in AI continues to accelerate. Eighty-five percent of functional leaders plan to increase spending in 2026 after dedicating an average of 12% of their functional budgets to AI in 2025.

The 2026 ISG Provider Lens Medical Device Digital Services report for the U.S. finds that digital investment is increasingly focused on complete product lifecycles rather than isolated technology programs. As devices become more connected, engineering, regulatory affairs, quality management, cybersecurity and post-market operations are becoming interdependent functions that require an integrated digital foundation. A software update can simultaneously affect validation evidence, cybersecurity posture, regulatory documentation and field performance, ISG says.

According to the IDC Worldwide AI and Generative AI Spending Guide 2026 V2, European spending on artificial intelligence will reach nearly $470 billion in 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.0% over the 2025–2030 forecast period. Generative AI (GenAI) solutions are already embedded across enterprise deployments and are expected to account for more than 55% of the total market by the end of the period.

The Gartner Quarterly Emerging Risk Report series compiles insights and perspectives from enterprise risk management (ERM) leaders, risk professionals, auditors and senior executives on emerging and future risks. Gartner surveyed 316 senior executives and risk managers across a range of sectors and regions.

The 2026 ISG Provider Lens Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Services report for France finds that the country is expanding domestic computing infrastructure while strengthening its focus on digital sovereignty and AI. France’s national AI strategy places increasing priority on computing infrastructure, with more than €109 billion in investments being announced at the AI Action Summit in Paris in 2025. These developments are making local control and infrastructure availability more consequential in enterprise cloud planning.

According to IDC’s Worldwide AI and Generative AI Spending Guide, V2 2026, August, Asia/Pacific AI and GenAI investment, including China and Japan, is set to grow from $121.5 billion in 2025 to $555.2 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.5%. This growth reflects enterprises moving generative AI and Agents beyond isolated pilots and into core, enterprise-wide operations. Agentic AI and orchestration platforms emerge as key catalysts, enabling enterprises to unify predictive, generative, and prescriptive capabilities within a single governance framework rather than managing them as separate initiatives.

Customer service organizations are prioritizing technology investments as AI rapidly reshapes the function. A Gartner survey of 199 service and support leaders conducted in April through May 2026 revealed that spending on AI has increased by 38%, while overall service and support function budgets have grown just 2%.

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Learning and Development report that traditional learning management systems have merged with learning experience platforms to form a new category that combines administration, skills awareness and engaging user experiences. Integrated with human capital management systems, human resources data, collaboration applications and content providers, these platforms allow organizations to carry out successful skills strategies without additional administrative burdens.

The worldwide external OEM enterprise storage systems (ESS) market continued its sharp acceleration in the second quarter of 2026, reaching $10.3 billion in vendor revenue, a 33.6% year-over-year increase, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker. It represents the second-highest quarterly total in the tracker’s history, trailing only Q4 2025, and the highest revenue ever recorded outside a fourth-quarter period. ESS growth accelerated further from the 28.7% rate posted in the first quarter of 2026, marking a second consecutive quarter of acceleration after the market’s 3.9% full-year 2025 growth rate.

Gartner predicts over half of successful cyberattacks on AI agents are expected to exploit access control weaknesses and prompt injections by 2029. There is a growing need for organizations to identify, monitor and protect AI models from these unique threats, which is driving the adoption of advanced AI security solutions. To build a strong defense, businesses need to combine their existing security systems with specialized AI security tools.

The US, which is central to the advanced-chip ecosystem, is expected to capture almost half (48%) of this investment, at $15.1 trillion. Asia Pacific is expected to account for $US8.2 trillion cumulative capex, led by China and India, while sovereign AI strategies are accelerating investment in Europe and the Middle East.

The 2026 ISG Buyers Guides for Contact Centers find that contact center software, originally built for efficient routing and interaction management, now orchestrates workflows throughout the customer journey and uses data to improve operational and business decisions. Platforms increasingly incorporate advanced analytics, automation and self-service features. With the integration of AI, they are beginning to perform quality management, summarize interactions and use automated agents to assist human operators.

The worldwide external OEM enterprise storage systems (ESS) market continued its sharp acceleration in the second quarter of 2026, reaching $10.3 billion in vendor revenue, a 33.6% year-over-year increase, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Enterprise Storage Systems Tracker. It represents the second-highest quarterly total in the tracker’s history, trailing only Q4 2025, and the highest revenue ever recorded outside a fourth-quarter period. ESS growth accelerated further from the 28.7% rate posted in the first quarter of 2026, marking a second consecutive quarter of acceleration after the market’s 3.9% full-year 2025 growth rate.

As finance teams begin to deploy AI agents, CFOs face a critical decision between focusing on immediate returns or prioritizing governance and oversight. The risks and opportunities of AI agents are fundamentally different from previous automation waves in finance.

New Omdia research shows that US PC shipments (excluding tablets) grew 1.0% year-over-year (YoY) in 2Q26 to 18.8 million units, returning to growth following a 7.0% decline in 1Q26. Growth was driven by demand being brought forward as retailers and channel partners secured inventory ahead of price increases resulting from memory and storage supply constraints. Average PC sell-in prices in the US exceeded $1,000 for the first time, up 12.0% YoY. However, the return to growth is expected to be short-lived, with Omdia forecasting US PC shipments to decline 10.7% for the full year and 18.4% in the second half of 2026.