IDC FutureScape 2027 Predicts 60% of Enterprises Will Run a Majority of Their Business Processes AI-first by 2029, up from 13% in 2026

IDC’s 250 p edictio s ac oss 25 esea ch a eas show which pa ts of the AI-d ive ew ite of e te p ise IT that tech leade s ca still i flue ce

BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IDC Resea ch, I c. (IDC) p edicts that by 2029, 60% of Global 2000 (G2000) e te p ises will u most of thei busi ess p ocesses AI-fi st.¹ The p edictio —pa t of IDC Futu eScape 2027, the compa y’s a ual fo ecast fo e te p ise tech ology leade s—is p edicated upo ope atio s a d decisio s bei g left to AI age ts. IDC also p edicts that by 2028, 70% of Global 2000 (G2000) e te p ises will be able to co ti uously ve ify decisio s thei AI age ts a e maki g, up f om 14% today.² These p edictio s a d 248 mo e a e bei g eleased this week.

IDC Futu eScape 2027, titled The G eat Rew ite: Wi i g i the Age tic Eco omy, comp ises 250 p edictio s ac oss 25 esea ch a eas, i cludi g AI facto ies, e te p ise softwa e, qua tum computi g, fi a cial se vices, healthca e a d gove me t. A dedicated team of IDC a alysts i each a ea d aws o the compa y’s p op ieta y esea ch to ide tify the 10 developme ts that will shape that a ea, with p ojected timi g a d busi ess impact. Each of the 25 sets of p edictio s was p oduced i depe de tly. Compa ed side by side, they eached the same co clusio : AI is ew iti g eve y laye of e te p ise IT at o ce, but the fo ces i volved a e alte i g p io ities at diffe e t speeds. IDC so ted those fo ces by the situatio al wi dow each o e p ese ts: some wi dows a e closi g; othe s a e ope i g a d yet a thi d catego y is just begi i g to eme ge.

“Nea ly eve y tech leade I talk to wa ts to k ow whethe they a e behi d o AI,” said Me edith Whale , Chief Resea ch & Data I tellige ce Office at IDC. “The a swe depe ds o the wi dow. Some wi dows a e closi g, a d mo e spe di g will ot eope them. Othe s a e still ope , but the time to shape them is sh i ki g. I eve y case, the wi e s will be the o ga izatio s that ve ify what each age t does as fast as they deploy it. IDC Futu eScape 2027 puts a date a d a umbe o each wi dow so leade s ca see which decisio s ca still cha ge the outcome fo thei o ga izatio .”

I side IDC Futu eScape 2027

The Closi g Wi dow: the adva tage fo compa ies with a head sta t is compou di g

• Rise of ope models attacks the AI Eco omics challe ge. By 2028, e te p ises will shift 60% of AI wo kloads f om p op ieta y LLMs towa d ope -sou ce models a d leve age model outi g st ategies to educe costs a d hedge agai st ve do lock-i . E te p ises that make those moves quicke will be the fi st to cou te the age t i fe e ce ove spe d.³
• Data volume out u s data value. IDC p edicts 60% of e te p ises will fail to co ve t thei data i to measu able busi ess value by 2028, as data volumes outpace thei ability to defi e a d gove the value of that data.⁴

The Ope Wi dow: the deadli e to i flue ce these fights is comp essi g

• Gove a ce ca ot keep pace with age t velocity. Te esea ch a eas, wo ki g i depe de tly, flagged the same gap: ove sight is losi g the ace agai st age t deployme t speed. IDC p edicts G2000 e te p ises without kill switches (co t ols that ca shut dow a misbehavi g age t) fo AI age ts i p oductio by 2028 will see 25% highe liability i su a ce p emiums a d twice as ma y mate ial audit fi di gs.⁵
• Age t deployme t is accele ati g. I IDC’s Futu e E te p ise Resilie cy a d Spe di g Su vey, 95.4% e te p ises have deployed age ts i to a ave age 11 p oductio wo kflows th ough July 2026, a d thei mo thly i fe e ce budget is close to $118,000.⁶ The sha e of e te p ises wo ldwide whose age tic bills have ise with o published p ice cha ge will also g ow, f om 20% today to 55% by the e d of 2027, acco di g to IDC.⁷
• Softwa e co t acts a e bei g ew itte a ou d age ts. By 2028, 75% of G2000 ve do co t acts will i clude liability clauses fo age t-i itiated actio s, IDC p edicts, maki g thei abse ce a ed flag i ve do selectio .⁸
• Global tech ology a chitectu e is b eaki g apa t. Ni e esea ch a eas epo t that dive gi g egulatio has made mai tai i g a si gle global a chitectu e i c easi gly imp actical. By 2029, 35% of G2000 compa ies will u ju isdictio -specific AI model egist ies a d co t ols, IDC p edicts.⁹

The Eme gi g Wi dow: ew catego ies ope to whoeve moves fi st 

• A ew job catego y is bei g c eated to supe vise machi es. By 2029, IDC p edicts G2000 e te p ises will shift 30% of e t y- a d mid-level executio oles towa d age t supe visio a d o chest atio .¹⁰ I IDC’s Futu e of Wo k Su vey, 49% of midma ket o ga izatio s (1,000 to 4,999 employees) expect e t y-level headcou t to g ow ove the ext 18 mo ths, a d 17% expect a decli e.¹¹
• AI is leavi g the sc ee . Eight esea ch a eas, i cludi g e e gy, ma ufactu i g, etail a d co ectivity, desc ibe AI movi g i to physical ope atio s. By 2030, IDC p edicts 40% of elect ic utilities will use g aduated autho ity f amewo ks that let AI age ts ca y out selected outi e g id-co t ol actio s, educi g ope ato i te ve tio by 25%.¹²
• Midma ket o ga izatio s a e ahead of e te p ises o age t deployme t. I IDC’s Futu e of Wo k Su vey of 1,146 busi ess leade s, 46% of midma ket o ga izatio s (1,000 to 4,999 employees) have deployed age tic AI ac oss seve al depa tme ts, ahead of 40% of e te p ises (5,000 o mo e employees). O ly 31% of those midma ket o ga izatio s have a fully ope atio al AI ce te of excelle ce to ove see AI gove a ce, compa ed with 43% of e te p ises.¹³

Membe s of the media ca equest the complete set of 250 p edictio s at p ess@idc.com. IDC clie ts ca access the suppo ti g esea ch a d guida ce o acti g o each p edictio o IDC.com a d i IDC Qua ta afte Octobe 29.

Eve ts a d E gageme t

IDC Futu eScape 2027 lau ches Octobe 27 to 29, followed by a global p og am of webi a s a d live eve ts. Regist atio fo each eve t is ope o li e. 

• The G eat Rew ite: Wi i g i the Age tic Eco omy (Oct 28 Webi a )
• The G eat Rew ite: IDC Futu eScape 2027 Si gapo e (Nov 13 Live Eve t)
• Chi a ICT Ma ket Fo ecast Fo um (Nov 18 Live Eve t)
• Ow the Eco omics of AI Befo e You Boa d Does (Dec 2 Webi a )
• The G eat Rew ite: IDC’s EMEA Tech P edictio s fo 2027 & Beyo d (Dec 9 Webi a )

About the Resea ch IDC’s Futu e E te p ise Resilie cy a d Spe di g Su vey (FERS) was fielded i two waves: Wave 4 i July 2026 ( = 1,835). IDC’s Futu e of Wo k Su vey was fielded Ap il to May 2026 amo g 1,146 di ecto -level a d above IT, HR a d li e-of-busi ess leade s i mo e tha 20 cou t ies. Segme t samples we e small (500 to 999 employees), = 296; midma ket (1,000 to 4,999 employees), = 564; a d e te p ise (5,000 o mo e employees), = 286. All espo de ts wo k at o ga izatio s with mo e tha 500 employees that have impleme ted, o pla to impleme t withi 18 mo ths, a AI-e abled wo k model.

About IDCIDC Resea ch, I c. (IDC) is the tech ology i tellige ce laye of the AI eco omy. A global leade i esea ch a d data fo mo e tha 60 yea s, IDC’s expe t a alysts, p op ieta y datasets, a d igo ous methodologies a e t usted by busi ess a d IT leade s to guide c itical busi ess st ategies a d IT i vestme ts. Today, that i tellige ce is built i to the tools a d wo kflows whe e wo k gets do e with IDC Qua ta, maki g wo k sha pe , teams faste , a d busi esses ha de to beat. 

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¹ IDC Futu eScape 2027: AI’s Busi ess Model Rei ve tio , P edictio 1, “AI-fi st Tippi g Poi t” ² IDC Futu eScape 2027: AI Facto ies Rew ite IT, P edictio 8, “AI Facto y T ust Bottle eck”³ IDC Futu eScape 2027: Velocity of AI & Automatio , P edictio 4, “Rise of Ope Models” ⁴IDC Futu eScape 2027: Data’s Sema tic I tellige ce E a, P edictio 10, “G owth i the datasphe e” ⁵IDC Futu eScape 2027: AI Eco omics a d CFO D ive Value C eatio , P edictio 9, “Kill switch egulatio g ows” ⁶ C ossi g the Age t Eco omy’s Cost Gove a ce Gap: A Challe ge fo Tech Leade s# US54890226, August 2026. Based o IDC’s Futu e E te p ise Resilie cy a d Spe di g Su vey (FERS), Wave 4, July 2026 ⁷IDC Futu eScape 2027: Age tic Evolutio of E te p ise Apps, P edictio 10, “E te p ise App Ve do Eco omics” ⁸IDC Futu eScape 2027: Age tic Evolutio of E te p ise Apps, P edictio 6, “Rogue Age t I dem ificatio Clauses” ⁹IDC Futu eScape 2027: Sove eig ty & Regulatio s Reset IT’s Rules, P edictio 3, “F agme ted AI Model Gove a ce” ¹⁰ IDC Futu eScape 2027: Huma -Age t Wo kfo ce St ategy, P edictio 3, “Job A chitectu e Shifts”¹¹ IDC Su vey: Global Midma ket Wo k Evolutio — Wo ldwide Futu e of Wo k, 2026, #US54585526, July 2026. Based o IDC’s wo ldwide Futu e of Wo k Su vey, co ducted Ap il to May 2026 ¹² IDC Futu eScape 2027: E e gy & Resou ces, P edictio 1, “Gove ed Auto omous G id Ope atio s” ¹³ IDC Su vey: Global Midma ket Wo k Evolutio — Wo ldwide Futu e of Wo k, 2026, #US54585526, July 2026. Based o IDC’s wo ldwide Futu e of Wo k Su vey, co ducted Ap il to May 2026