Crisis is the new normal: Everest Group finds 80% of organizations expect AI ROI – but execution gaps threaten outcomes in 2026

Everest Group has released findings from its latest study, Key Priorities for Technology and Services Spend in 2026 , revealing how organizations must fundamentally rethink technology and services investments to navigate a "permacrisis" environment, an era defined by sustained geopolitical, economic, and regulatory disruption.

Drawing on insights from a global survey of more than 200 senior decision-makers from large organizations, including CIOs, CTOs, procurement executives, and business unit leaders, alongside executive interviews and Everest Group's ongoing market intelligence, the study reflects perspectives from organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

All respondents represent organizations with annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion and hold direct responsibility for, or influence over, spend and investment decisions for technology and services. Participants were validated via LinkedIn and bring a minimum of 10 years' professional experience, with at least 50% of responses sourced from the United States and United Kingdom. The research was conducted between late 2025 and early 2026 and captures how decision-makers are reshaping investment strategies in response to continuous disruption.

Rather than waiting for stability, organizations are embracing a dual mandate: driving operational performance while accelerating transformation initiatives, marking a decisive shift from reactive cost management to proactive, outcome-led investment strategies.

A market defined by continuous disruption
Organizations are operating against a backdrop of overlapping shocks, including geopolitical instability, trade fragmentation, capital pressures, and AI-driven regulatory realignment, with no clear return to pre-crisis conditions. This has created a "crisis-as-usual" mindset, fundamentally reshaping how organizations prioritize spend, evaluate partners, and define success.

Five key trends shaping 2026
Everest Group has identified five defining trends influencing investment decisions for technology and services:

• Sustained investment despite uncertainty: The global business services [1] market continues to grow as organizations balance cost discipline with transformation priorities
• Rise of business-led, multi-stakeholder decision-making: 58% of organizations report increased business involvement or shared authority in sourcing decisions, signaling a shift toward integrated governance models
• Execution-led innovation becomes critical: Only 15% of organizations believe service providers are leveraging AI extensively, while 34% report limited, selective adoption, highlighting a significant gap between innovation ambition and execution
• AI moves from hype to accountability: While 80% of organizations expect positive ROI from AI, 67% cite legacy infrastructure and 55% cite change management challenges as key barriers to realizing value
• Embedded productivity in sourcing deals: New IT and BPO contracts increasingly require AI-enabled productivity gains from day one, with measurable outcomes embedded into pricing and delivery models

A new standard for technology companies and service providers
The research underscores that baseline delivery is no longer sufficient. Organizations are demanding proactive, execution-driven innovation that improves productivity, scalability, and operational reliability.

Services and technology providers will be judged less on innovation narratives and more on their ability to deliver measurable business impact, where measurable impact, not experimentation, becomes the defining benchmark.

Five actions for organizational leaders
To navigate 2026 and beyond effectively, Everest Group recommends that senior executives:

• Develop evolution and reinvention scenarios for each function underpinned by clear operating model transformation strategy
• Focus on process-and data-first (vs. tech first) approach to realize measurable impact through AI initiatives
• Adopt unified governance models with shared accountability across business and technology teams
• Build agile sourcing and delivery models that can flex under geopolitical, regulatory, and macro pressure
• Embed A4 (automation, arbitrage, GenAI, and agentic) levers into deal economics

Rajesh Ranjan, Managing Partner, Everest Group:
"In today's permacrisis environment, performance and transformation are no longer sequential - they must happen together. Organizations that redesign their operating models, build unified governance, and adopt agile, A4powered sourcing and delivery architectures are proving that measurable value can be achieved even amid volatility. This is the new leadership agenda: perform with discipline while transforming with intent"

Study scope and methodology
The Key Priorities for Technology and Services Spend in 2026 study is based on a combination of primary research and Everest Group's proprietary market intelligence. The research includes a global survey of senior decision-makers across business, IT, and sourcing functions, supported by targeted executive interviews and ongoing analysis of technology and services market trends. Insights are further triangulated with Everest Group's Executive Insights™, SoE readiness assessments, and market forecasting models to ensure robust, forward-looking perspectives on organizational priorities.

Looking ahead
As organizations mature in their approach to AI and digital transformation, the emphasis in 2026 will shift decisively toward execution, accountability, and measurable value creation.

Organizations that align technology and services investments with operational outcomes, and foster tighter collaboration between business and IT, will be best positioned to lead through ongoing disruption.

Access the full research
To learn more, access the full report: Key Priorities for Technology and Services Spend in 2026

If you are interested in hearing more, make sure to rewatch our Leading Through a Permacrisis: Key Priorities for Technology and Services Spend in 2026 webinar from March 24 - Webinar

Note [1] Global Services is the export of services such as business processes, ER&D, and IT; this includes notional revenue of in-house / shared services organizations as well as revenue of third-party service providers; but does not include revenue from serving domestic (national) markets.