India’s technology ecosystem has moved past its experimental phase. Years of rapid adoption have built scale, confidence, and capability across enterprises. As we look toward 2026, the conversation shifts decisively from deploying technology to embedding intelligence into the core of how businesses operate, decide, and grow. The next phase of India’s tech journey will be defined by autonomy, interoperability, trust, human–technology collaboration, and outcomes that can be measured. Together, these trends signal a clear move from promise to performance.

1. Agentic AI moves intelligence from support to autonomy

One of the most significant shifts in 2026 will be the rise of agentic AI. These systems operate with a higher degree of autonomy, planning tasks, coordinating across workflows, learning from outcomes, and acting independently within defined guardrails. AI moves closer to managing complexity at scale, rather than supporting isolated tasks. For enterprises, this changes how intelligence is deployed. Agentic AI enables end-to-end orchestration across functions, allowing organisations to redesign processes rather than optimise them in silos. Confidence in this shift is already visible. According to the Value of AI report by SAP in collaboration with Oxford Economics, Indian businesses expect an average ROI of 7%, or about $2.8 million, from agentic AI over the next two years. As much as 85% see AI agents as having moderate to high potential to transform operations, while nearly half believe they will influence strategic planning in the near term. Agentic AI is moving rapidly from concept to core capability.

2. Interoperability becomes the backbone of enterprise intelligence

As intelligence becomes more autonomous, the digital foundations supporting it must evolve. In 2026, the focus shifts from scaling infrastructure to enabling interoperability. Intelligence depends on context, and fragmented data landscapes limit its effectiveness. Enterprises will prioritise unifying data across systems, environments, and regions so information flows seamlessly. Interoperability improves data quality, reduces complexity, and allows intelligence to be applied consistently across the organisation. Infrastructure investments will be judged less by size and more by their ability to support insight, coordination, and informed decision-making.

3. Cybersecurity becomes central to business resilience

As digital systems and intelligent automation grow deeper, cyber risk rises, too. In 2026, cybersecurity sits at the heart of business strategy. Organisations will treat cyber risk as a strategic priority because interlinked systems and autonomous technologies create exposure that leaders must manage with purpose. Security will be designed into technology from the beginning. Teams will embed safeguards across the lifecycle of AI systems, protecting against misuse, bias, and vulnerabilities rather than just reacting to threats after they appear. Trust is strengthened when systems are transparent about how they operate, how decisions are made, and how risks are mitigated. Enterprises will adopt zero-trust frameworks, stronger identity controls, and AI-enabled threat detection that spots and responds to attacks in real time. As automation becomes smarter, visibility into system behaviour will matter more. Organisations will give users clarity into data sources, decision reasoning, and controls so they can validate results and recover quickly when issues arise. Cybersecurity will no longer be a defensive cost centre. It will become an enabler that lets businesses innovate with confidence. When security, ethics, and accountability are built into systems by design, leaders can scale technology with trust and resilience at every level.

4. Enterprises enter the age of human–AI collaboration

The future of work in 2026 will be shaped by collaboration between humans and intelligent systems. As AI takes on more analytical and operational responsibilities, human roles will increasingly focus on judgment, creativity, oversight, and ethical decision-making. Technology will act as a co-pilot, augmenting human capability rather than replacing it. This shift will require new skills and mindsets. AI literacy will become essential across roles, enabling employees to understand how systems operate, question outputs, and apply insights responsibly. Continuous learning and reskilling will be critical as work becomes more fluid and interdisciplinary. Organisations that invest equally in human capability and advanced technology will be best positioned to unlock long-term value.

5. Technology that delivers

Perhaps the most defining change in 2026 will be how success is measured. Enterprises move beyond tracking adoption to focusing on tangible outcomes. AI and digital platforms are evaluated on their impact on efficiency, resilience, customer experience, and decision quality. This reflects growing maturity. Many organisations already see returns as AI moves from pilots into core operations. The Value of AI report shows that a strong majority of businesses expect AI to become central to business processes, decision-making, and customer offerings by 2030. In 2026, outcome-led adoption separates meaningful transformation from surface-level experimentation.

(The author is MD, SAP Labs India; Chairperson, Nasscom; and President, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. Views are personal.)