Forrester advises cautious tech budgets & AI investment for 2026
According to Forrester's new findings, factors such as tariffs, trade disputes, cyber threats, and persistent economic uncertainty are prompting organisations to shift towards careful growth planning. The company states that scenario planning is now an essential approach for technology leaders, enabling them to anticipate both deeper budget cuts and possible opportunities for investment. This approach prioritises expenditure on initiatives that create value for customers while reducing costs tied to complexity and encouraging ongoing, low-cost experimentation.
Budget outlook
The survey underpinning the Budget Planning Guides reveals that 86% of technology leaders are expecting to work with increased budgets in 2026, albeit with a more conservative outlook than previous years. The financial services and healthcare sectors, in particular, are forecasting double-digit percentage growth in their budgets, driven by plans to ramp up investment in generative AI, analytics, and threat intelligence initiatives.
The guides offer benchmarks and recommendations across several areas, including technology and security, B2B and B2C marketing, customer experience, digital strategy, and sales and revenue operations. These resources are designed to help executives allocate funds with greater confidence in a volatile environment.
Areas of focus
Forrester identifies key areas where technology leaders should deepen investments in 2026. These include data literacy and employee AI readiness programmes, as continuous, persona-based training is necessary to ensure all employees are equipped to use AI responsibly and interpret AI-driven insights. The guides also recommend increased spending on customer insights and data management strategies, emphasising the importance of understanding customer needs amid ongoing uncertainty.
Conversely, Forrester's guidance suggests scaling back budgets allocated to legacy technology infrastructure and re-examining the cloud-first approach. The report notes that changes in sovereignty regulations, geopolitical conditions, and a focus on executive cost reduction are shifting the conversation towards cloud-as-necessary strategies. The advice for legacy systems is to "declare tech debt bankruptcy and outsource the legacy tech stack to ensure operational reliability while freeing up funds to build a modern, adaptive, and AI-powered ecosystem that drives innovation."
Experimental priorities
On the experimental front, Forrester highlights agentic AI for task automation and industry-specific edge intelligence as areas worth exploring in 2026. The deployment of autonomous AI agents within business applications and across app ecosystems may offer disruptive potential for automation. Simultaneously, utilising edge intelligence with mobile, Internet of Things, and other edge devices is expected to become more commonplace over the next two to four years, especially as advances are made in chipsets, machine learning, and 5G capabilities. "While conservative budget expectations are a fine starting point for 2026, now is not the time to get complacent," said Sharyn Leaver, Chief Research Officer at Forrester. "With no end in sight to today's volatility, leaders should be prepared for both more aggressive cuts and unexpected investment opportunities. They can achieve this through constant, low-cost experimentation and gain the edge to outmaneuver competitors the moment the opportunity strikes. Forrester's Budget Planning Guides are designed to empower business leaders to invest wisely, scale back where needed, and experiment continuously to succeed in times of change."
APAC perspective
Frederic Giron, Vice President and Senior Research Director at Forrester, addressed the Asia-Pacific region's (APAC) distinct budgeting landscape. He stated, "APAC is expected to see the highest rate of IT spending growth in 2026. According to our survey, 88% of tech decision-makers anticipate growth in IT spend in 2026, compared to 82% for both North America and Europe."
Giron noted differences in regional priorities, adding, "They have slightly different priorities, as well: Tech decision-makers in APAC are more focused on software and digital strategy than their counterparts in North America and Europe. This reflects a broader shift as the region moves from being a fast adopter to a bold innovator, setting global trends in areas such as multilingual generative AI and humanoid robotics."
He further explained some of the operational challenges faced by APAC leaders: "After security (25% of respondents), the most significant challenge for APAC tech leaders when executing their software strategy remains lack of alignment between IT and the business (20% of respondents). This alignment is key because it ensures that technology investments translate into tangible business and customer value."
The 2026 Budget Planning Guides are intended to provide decision-makers with data-backed insight on where to allocate resources, areas where cuts can be made, and where experimentation could deliver value, based on the current and anticipated economic climate.
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They can achieve this through constant, low-cost experimentation and gain the edge to outmaneuver competitors the moment the opportunity strikes. Forrester's Budget Planning Guides are designed to empower business leaders to invest wisely, scale back where needed, and experiment continuously to succeed in times of change." APAC perspective Frederic Giron, Vice President and Senior Research Director at Forrester, addressed the Asia-Pacific region's (APAC) distinct budgeting landscape. He stated, "APAC is expected to see the highest rate of IT spending growth in 2026. According to our survey, 88% of tech decision-makers anticipate growth in IT spend in 2026, compared to 82% for both North America and Europe." Giron noted differences in regional priorities, adding, "They have slightly different priorities, as well: Tech decision-makers in APAC are more focused on software and digital strategy than their counterparts in North America and Europe. 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