IDC - Executive Insights Hub

A curated hub of IDC benchmarks and forward-looking predictions for strategic decision-makers.
of individuals will search and engage with brands via GenAI by 2026
more likely to improve visibility and renewal rates with quarterly analyst briefings
of CEOs say their organization must focus on innovation to thrive this year
Boards no longer treat AI and risk as separate conversations. CEOs whose reporting, budgets, and leadership structures still do are already behind.
IT security/risk management and IT & telecom together account for more than half of all planned tech investment worldwide.
Board briefings on AI strategy jumped from 47% to 62% of CEOs in 2026.
By 2027, 45% of AI apps/services will fail to progress beyond proof of concept.
It leads all planned new-role additions globally.
By 2026, 37% of G2000 firms will use agentic AI beyond pilots.
By 2027, 80% of G2000 RFPs will require strict data governance commitments.
Your next move: IDC’s latest research on where boards, budgets, and leadership are heading next.
CIOs and CISOs are converging around one mandate: prove AI works at enterprise scale without breaking the risk posture the board just started watching.
Operational efficiency and cost optimization is now the top measure of CIO success in 2026, up from second place in 2025.
Cybersecurity threats rank as the top barrier at 34% in 2026, up from 33% in 2025.
24% of CIOs cite AI/ML engineers as the hardest role to recruit, almost double the next-closest category.
Just 2% of security executives now prioritize implementing zero trust, favoring initiatives with clearer, measurable outcomes.
93% of CISOs report directly to the CEO, COO, or president, yet only 7% of senior executives trust security most.
IT security and IT & telecom combined represent more than half of CEOs’ top 2026 technology investment priorities worldwide.
Your next move: IDC’s latest research on closing the gap between AI ambition and execution.
The CMO mandate is expanding into full revenue ownership, but execution is lagging the expectations already being set for it.
By 2030, 40% of enterprise companies will unify marketing and sales under marketing leadership.
Marketers project 5x ROI on GenAI and up to 20x ROI with agentic AI by 2028.
49% of marketers haven’t yet started or implemented AI/GenAI adoption.
MarTech spend hit a record 4.4% of the marketing budget in 2024, up from 3.5% the year before.
For the first time, social spend surpassed content marketing as the #3 program spending line.
By 2027, 57% of campaigns will see declining engagement as brands converge on similar AI-generated creative.
Your next move: IDC’s latest research on where AI is already reshaping the CMO mandate.
AR is evolving from a briefing function into a strategic intelligence capability — teams that don’t formalize measurement and cross-functional alignment are leaving influence on the table
57% of B2B buyers cite analysts as a frequently used source at the Evaluation stage.
39% of buyers rank analyst reviews among the most helpful content at Evaluation and Purchase.
71% of buyers now favor digital channels over traditional sales engagement overall.
IDC’s C-Suite Survey Spotlight names trust and credibility as the top vendor characteristic buyers value.
71% of developers discover new tools through colleague recommendations, more than any other source.
No single source dominates AI decisions; search engines lead recall at just 19%.
Your next move: IDC’s guidance on turning analyst relationships into measurable influence..
Across functions, leaders are adapting to a world where GenAI intermediates brand interaction, insight discovery, and decision-making, forcing new approaches to visibility, messaging, and influence.
Executives face larger buying committees, higher scrutiny, and faster change. Analyst validation, evidence-backed narratives, and consistent positioning now play a central role in reducing decision risk.
From marketing to MI&S, leaders are being asked the same question: What value does this deliver? Strategy, AI investment, and market positioning increasingly require defensible ROI and operational clarity.
IDC helps leaders validate assumptions, pressure-test strategies, and navigate market uncertainty with evidence-based intelligence.