Technology Trends We Expect to See in 2026

2025 has passed us by and we're left reflecting on the developments that were made throughout the year. AI seemed to be the word of the moment in 2025, in particular operationalising AI under constraint.

Chatbots and AI moved from being more of a fun tool to experiment with, to an embedded co-worker. However, hesitations around security, authenticity and accuracy have held many back from fully adopting this new technology.

Looking forward to the next year, we asked some of our technical experts, working with our customers to design modern and competitive systems, their thoughts on technological developments for 2026.

Generative and Agentic AI

AI is expected to remain a hot topic; however, we’re now moving away from the “doubt” phase of the technology, in which we question its capabilities, and shifting towards an evaluation of its value.

As the tools in this space develop, and as our understanding of their value grows, AI is moving away from just content creation towards more agentic capabilities. Major cloud providers are developing in this space, getting it ready for large enterprise adoption.

In terms of hardware, this large-scale adoption and growth in AI use cases will demand upgrades in equipment to meet continued demand. For many, the use of refurbished can allow them to install more powerful devices and install specialised inventory clusters, to meet the technical demand of AI and experiment with this technology, without the price tag of new devices.

Continued Expansion of Edge Computing

The acceleration of networks, thanks to faster 5G/6G capabilities and IoT connected devices, allows for the growth of edge computing and push critical workloads away from data centres.

This is due to two key factors: ultra-low latency requirements, and regulatory and data sovereignty concerns.

In terms of latency, the ultra-low rates of edge computing allow for the effective and optimised running of real-time applications, including autonomous systems and smart manufacturing. Data sovereignty also requires localised processing and storage of a company’s information, ensuring its security and ownership.

Leading names in the industry are heavily investing in edge-ready hardware, including compact servers and integrated networking systems. This equipment enables businesses to deploy applications at remote sites quickly and reliably, supporting their mission critical operations.

The increase in edge-computing demands means an increased demand for robust, flexible and quickly deployable hardware to aid agility and scalability.

Sustainable IT & Circular Economy

Sustainability is growing in importance within the business world, with many expected to report on sustainable development, reduce environmental impact and aid the growth of green skills.

IT hardware and data centre technology have come under increased scrutiny due to their environmental impact, and there is growing pressure to minimise this as much as possible.

With this in mind, sustainable solutions for heat reuse, water usage and IT maintenance could emerge in the coming year. We’ve already seen some solutions take hold, such as atNorth and EcoDataCenter in the Nordics who focus on low-cost renewable power, free cooling and heat reuse.

As environmental regulations, cost pressures and customer preference for sustainability grow, sustainability and circular IT practices are becoming more prominent in the technology sector.

This means a shift towards refurbished hardware, quality IT maintenance and sustainable IT disposal. The industry is adapting to meet cultural preference and legislative need.

AI-Powered Cybersecurity & Confidential Computing

As AI develops, so does the risk of AI cybercrime. Threats are becoming more intelligent and more automated, meaning that cybersecurity must adapt to keep systems protected. Phishing, malware generation and reconnaissance are becoming more sophisticated and the industry is responding.

The attack surface for many businesses is growing, resulting in a heightened demand for modern security features (TPM chips, encrypted memory etc.) as well as for confidential computing.

2025 has seen some large cyber-attacks come to light, with high-profile victims including Qantas, Sydney Tools, and Google.

Companies can be expected to be investing in their cybersecurity in the face of a growing threat, and IT security providers are developing emerging solutions to combat the threats AI throws our way.

DDR4 and DDR5 Memory

AI, and the ceasing of DDR4 manufacturing by leading vendors, have made RAM a bottleneck for the technology industry.

Towards the end of 2025 we have seen the prices of DDR4 RAM modules skyrocket, with many turning to the refurbished market to ensure that they can keep their hardware running with these components. This situation isn’t expected to ease up any time soon, and many have been encouraged to purchase spares and upgrades as quickly as possible to avoid the rising prices.

This position is further heightened due to the demands of AI on server RAM – the speed and compute demand of AI technology require high-bandwidth memory to support full functionality, driving prices higher for DDR5 modules.

This means that capacity planning, rightsizing estates, as well as clever use of existing hardware/memory modules, will be a key theme for IT strategies going into the new year.

Advancements in Quantum Computing

We could see some exciting announcements in the quantum computing field in 2026 with the roadmaps that we’ve seen come to light.

IBM has a roadmap targeting “quantum advantage” on real workloads by the end of 2026, with key milestones about demonstrating useful logic qubits, better error-correcting codes and deeper circuits.

It’s expected that 2026 will see the first production-grade examples of where quantum can clearly aid optimisation, chemistry or material problems. This gives governments a strong incentive to invest further in the technology.

“In the very near future, quantum computing will begin to shift from theoretical promise to practical impact – with advances in error correction, scalability of qubit architectures and algorithmic innovation (enhanced further by AI) we will potentially unlock new solutions in materials science, cryptography, and optimisation. The frontier is no longer just more qubits, but smarter, reliable systems that make quantum advantage real in everyday applications.”

Alex Atack, Technical Architect

Containerisation

Containerisation is gaining prominence in the industry, with leading vendors, such as VMWare, investing more into the technology. Containerisation has the potential to displace virtualisation as it solves many of the problems virtual machines were created for – portability, isolation, efficient multi-tenancy – with reduced costs and tighter alignment to how modern software is built and deployed.

VMWare by Broadcom seem to be shifting their portfolio to meet the needs of a world where customers will run a mix of legacy VM-based workloads and new containerised apps.

“Containers have the potential to replace virtual machines as the way to run production workloads. There are more applications being released as containers on a regular basis. VMware recognised this potential a while ago and introduced containerisation into their product range under the Tanzu products, and more recently with their pivot to more DevOps style environments with the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) suite of products.”

Julain Learmonth, Technical Consultancy Manager

We’re excited to see what the new year brings to our industry, both challenges and opportunities. Our team is on hand to discuss your IT needs with both new and high-quality refurbished IT hardware. Browse our full range here or get in touch for a more personalised approach.