TBR’s Business Insights

Skills Shortage Will Challenge the Scaling of Sovereign AI in 2026

02.20.26

AI-related skills will remain scarce across both buyers and ecosystem partners as the rapid pace of innovation and the technical complexity required to enable sovereign AI continue to hinder adoption. These challenges, combined with a lack of clearly defined and compliant use cases among sovereign customers, gaps in sovereign cloud infrastructure availability and steep AI learning curve faced by ecosystem partners, will constrain meaningful investment and implementation of sovereign AI throughout 2026.

PaaS Revenue Will Outpace SaaS Revenue for Cloud Software Vendors

02.17.26

Enterprise customers are prioritizing the modernization of their existing SaaS estates rather than adding new applications, driven by market saturation, accumulated technical debt, and a growing imperative to become AI-ready. As IT buyers shift their focus toward modern platforms, traditional SaaS leaders should expect their PaaS segments to continue significantly outperforming their core SaaS businesses in revenue growth.

Dee Angela, Canva Pro

Alliances Will Extend Beyond Core Offerings as AI-driven Sales and Marketing Reshape Ecosystems

02.12.26

IT services companies have their limits, and clients have preferred technology vendors, leading IT services companies to look to alliances to drive new growth. We have seen this pattern before, but in 2026 we will see IT services companies extend those alliances into devices, connectivity and even silicon, requiring a multiparty alliance approach that will strain commercial models, sales strategies and alliance leaders across the ecosystem.

Consulting Will Rebound in 2026

02.10.26

After a period of relative softness, consulting revenues are expected to rebound to high-single- or low-double-digit growth as pervasive uncertainty pushes enterprises to seek external guidance. Demand will be particularly strong around risk mitigation, strategic planning and AI adoption, positioning forward-deployed engineers, supply chain management and people advisory services as leading revenue drivers in 2026.

Bad Debt Expenses Will Rise for CSPs in 2026

02.06.26

In a K-shaped economy that increasingly separates financial winners from losers, the majority of households and businesses on the lower arm of the “K” are under mounting financial strain and are finding it more difficult to pay their bills. As these economic pressures persist, communications service providers (CSPs) should expect bad debt expenses to continue rising, with the potential to meet, or even exceed, levels experienced during the Great Recession.

How Will Advanced AI Impact Pricing, Labor Practices and Client Expectations?

02.05.26

Advanced AI may be front and center in IT services strategy, but execution challenges remain a familiar story. Despite ongoing hype around unlocking new efficiencies and nonlinear growth, IT services firms continue to grapple with the reality of needing labor arbitrage in the short term and meeting client expectations.

Gustavo Quiroga Gaitan, Canva Pro

AI Alliances Will Increasingly Target OT

02.03.26

New and expanding partnerships are increasingly targeting the convergence of IT and OT, as system integrators (SIs) align with OEMs, manufacturing ISVs and silicon providers. This momentum is driven by the strong growth potential in high-tech manufacturing, where solutions that improve accuracy, efficiency and safety can be deployed on-site without reliance on rack-scale compute systems in neoclouds or Tier 1 clouds. As a result, while AI has long operated at the edge, these partnerships will accelerate both the sophistication of AI-driven use cases and the pace of solution framework development.

Agentic AI Adoption Is Pressuring Security Architectures to Converge

01.29.26

The emerging pattern of multicloud security consolidation has direct implications for both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft, as enterprises reassess detection pipelines, governance models and operating frameworks heading into 2026. Although AWS remains well positioned in analytics-heavy workloads, the company needs to reevaluate its long-established “building block” approach, especially as peers deliver more integrated platforms. For Microsoft, its strengths will continue to be with organizations where Microsoft 365 already anchors their identity and collaboration strategies.

Saitharn, Getty Images via Canva Pro

The U.S. doesn’t have a Spectrum Shortage — It has a Utilization Problem

01.13.26

The mobile industry continues to beat the drum for more spectrum, but it should instead focus on fully utilizing the spectrum already allocated. TBR notes there are vast tranches of spectrum in the U.S. market that are broadly underutilized, either for technical or economic reasons. And challenges will only worsen as the industry aims to bring upper midband frequencies into the fray, which have greater propagation challenges and are less suited for macro coverage.

Previous Next

Our most-read analysis, free in your inbox each week!

Fill out the form to the right to subscribe to Insights Flight today

Expectations for AI PCs in 2024

02.15.24/by Ben Carbonneau, Senior Data Analyst

Discover the buzz around AI PCs reshaping the device industry. As hardware advances, software development lags, delaying potential commercial PC refreshes. Dive into predictions for 2024 with TBR Senior Analyst Ben Carbonneau.

GenAI Expectations for Enterprise Buyers in 2024

02.13.24/by Bozhidar Hristov, Principal Analyst

Discover how GenAI is reshaping enterprise landscapes in 2024. With heightened expectations, vendors must showcase tangible use cases and outcomes. Explore how GenAI intersects with digital transformation predictions and the imperative for preparedness in data architecture. Unlock insights into navigating the GenAI journey for sustainable growth. Download TBR’s Top Predictions for Digital Transformation in 2024 for a comprehensive outlook.

GenAI and the Power of the Use Case

01.26.24/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal Analyst

In 2024, vendors adept at collaboration in the GenAI space and substantiating their promises with actual client outcomes will lead the pack. Those lacking in either area may still ride the GenAI wave, but they risk lagging behind with subpar results and waning market relevance.

Service Providers: IT Modernization Isn’t Flashy, but It Leads to Tangible Savings. Here’s How …

01.19.24/by Chris Antlitz, Principal Analyst

AI (especially generative AI) is of particular interest to service providers f late following technological breakthroughs from OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform, which has demonstrated that generative AI has developed to a point that it is able to bring useful outcomes to businesses and consumers alike.

Infographic: Top 2023 Takeaways for the Federal IT Services Market

Technology Business Research, Inc.

Top 2023 Takeaways for the Federal IT Services Market [Infographic]

01.18.24/by John Caucis, Senior Analyst

This infographic contains the three key takeaways from TBR’s latest research on the U.S. federal IT services market and what these events mean for you. Infographic includes takeaways for stakeholders, including M&A prospects, resilient spending trends, and the rise of advisory practices, amidst unprecedented growth in federal IT services.

Jirsak/GettyImages/CanvaPro

Infosys and TCS: Forecasting to 2027 and Anticipating Upcoming Earnings

10.09.23/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal Analyst

Ahead of quarterly earnings releases, we look at best-case scenarios for CAGR for India-centric vendors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys.

Free Data & Analysis

Subscribe to Insights Flight today!