Technology investment shifts toward AI agents and security

Global technology investment trends are shifting toward security, AI agents, and sovereign cloud solutions. An EY study of 1,590 companies reveals that 66% are investing in or planning to invest in AI agents, while 89% consider technology policy a critical factor in investment decisions. Security has emerged as the most important criterion when selecting technology vendors.

In the infrastructure sector, Gartner predicts that global spending on AI-optimized Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will reach $66 billion by 2027. Notably, spending on inference workloads is expected to surpass training workloads by 2026, driven by the rise of autonomous AI agents. This shift reflects a transition from model development to real-world deployment and continuous real-time execution.

As AI agents gain rapid adoption—with Gartner noting they are being implemented faster than cloud technology—experts warn of governance challenges. Because many AI agents are being deployed by business units rather than IT departments, companies must establish governance frameworks early to prevent fragmented and unmanaged systems.