TBR’s Business Insights

Federal IT Spending Trends: Why Growth Is Contracting and Where It Is Shifting

03.30.26

The Trump administration has proposed a double-digit increase in defense spending, which will flow through to IT budgets in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, particularly in areas of national security, which will receive top priority. Federal IT acquisition is also slowly pivoting to embrace outcome-based contracting, while the DOD looks to accelerate IT purchasing by adopting new and innovative IT procurement approaches.

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Governance Becomes a Prerequisite for Success with AI

03.30.26

Governance was a recurring theme across content sessions and executive meetings at Mobile World Congress 2026. As telecom operators move from experimentation to operational in AI, creating a corporatewide, centralized framework for data management, model oversight and regulatory compliance is becoming essential. Without clear governance, AI initiatives often remain fragmented across business units, leading to inconsistent outcomes, duplicated efforts and limited enterprise impact.

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New Growth in Consulting Is Emerging from an Unexpected Place: Managed Services

03.18.26

A scaled managed services practice trained in spotting consulting opportunities and armed with AI-enabled solutions will unquestionably win some management consulting market share. More significantly, from TBR’s objective view, is whether the Big Four firms can manage their staffing, brand promise and technology alliances to take advantage of the managed services practices they’ve already built and use those opportunities to return to robust management consulting growth. Maybe, but probably not all four. The next two years will be telling, and TBR expects the existing differences between the Big Four will become even more pronounced.

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.

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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.

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3 Ways AI Is Transforming the Cloud Industry in 2024

04.10.24/by Allan Krans, Practice Manager and Principal Analyst

Hyperscalers and SaaS providers are clearly on the front lines of GenAI monetization, but the availability of GenAI services through cloud delivery methods will also accelerate the development of the market.

How AI is Revolutionizing Telecom: Top Transformations for 2024

04.04.24/by Chris Antlitz, Principal Analyst

Discover how AI is revolutionizing the telecom industry in 2024. Learn about advancements in contact centers, customer lifecycle management, and corporate functions, driving efficiency and innovation.

When Will GenAI Impact the Devices Market?

04.02.24/by TBR

Generative AI (GenAI) will make devices, especially PCs and smartphones, more powerful and easier to use, and that will drive business among device, platform, silicon and software vendors but will not change the structure of the ecosystem. New opportunities in software and services will present themselves, new companies will enter the market, and most new companies will ultimately be acquired.

Cloud Components Market 2024: AI, Hybrid Solutions and Key Acquisitions

03.21.24/by Catie Merrill, Senior Analyst

Explore the latest trends in the cloud components market for 2024, focusing on acquisitions, AI advancements, and hybrid solutions. Discover how leading vendors like Dell, Cisco and HPE are shaping the landscape.

Unlocking Business Success: Competitive Intelligence

03.13.24/by Allan Krans, Practice Manager and Principal Analyst

Discover the power of competitive intelligence for business success. Learn how to leverage CI to gain insights on competitors, partners and customers.

Expectations for GenAI Deployment in IT Services in 2024

02.28.24/by Patrick Heffernan, Practice Manager and Principal Analyst

Delve into the current landscape of GenAI deployment in 2024. Despite initial hype, concerns around cost, technology challenges, and ethics persist. Explore how IT services vendors are pivoting towards business-backed use cases to sustain client interest. Anticipate shifts towards outcome-based pricing and increased focus on data orchestration. Download TBR’s predictions for IT services and consulting markets in 2024 for insights into GenAI pressures and talent challenges.

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