2026 Trends: The Future of Managed Solutions
Managed solutions are hitting a new stride. Technology stacks keep getting more intricate, AI is now baked into everyday operations, and companies want partners who deliver more than basic upkeep. They're after smart orchestration, real intelligence, and results they can actually measure.
Analysts at Gartner describe their top technology trends for 2026 as catalysts for business transformation, not just technology shifts. These trends highlight AI supercomputing platforms, multiagent systems, AI native development, and hybrid computing architectures as the foundation for the next wave of change. For managed services and managed solutions providers, this landscape creates five clear priorities.
- AI augmented and automated operations
Gartner and other industry sources forecast a significant increase in automation across infrastructure and operations by 2026, including the use of AIOps, intelligent agents, and self-healing workflows to reduce manual intervention and downtime. Rather than counting individual automations, mature organizations will measure how coherent and resilient their automation environment is overall.
Managed solutions will increasingly incorporate AI not only for monitoring and alerts, but for predictive issue detection, automated remediation, and data driven optimization of workloads and resources.
- Hybrid, multi cloud, and edge orchestration
According to Deloitte's Tech Trends 2026 report, leading enterprises are implementing three-tier hybrid architectures that leverage cloud for elasticity, on-premises systems for consistency, and edge computing for immediacy, especially as AI workloads scale. Their research shows 87% of data center leaders plan to ramp up emerging AI cloud usage, while 78% anticipate increased edge technology adoption in the next 12 months to manage costs, latency, and security.
This shift moves organizations beyond cloud-first strategies toward strategic hybrid models that balance public cloud, private infrastructure, and edge processing for data-intensive and real-time applications.
- Outcome based and value focused models
As automation and AI reduce some categories of manual effort, buyers are rethinking how they measure value from managed solutions. Industry analyses show growing interest in commercial models that link fees to business outcomes, such as uptime, customer experience metrics, productivity improvements, or time to market, rather than purely hours or tickets.
This shift requires providers to bring stronger analytics, benchmarking, and governance to engagements. It also rewards partners that can design services around clear, measurable results.
- Embedded security, compliance, and digital trust
With rising cyber risk and evolving regulations, security and compliance are no longer bolt on considerations. Gartner’s 2026 technology trends emphasize digital trust, governance, and responsible AI as critical pillars for any advanced technology deployment.
Managed solutions will increasingly bundle continuous security monitoring, policy enforcement, and compliance reporting into their core offerings. Providers that can help clients manage digital trust, auditability, and regulatory requirements will have a decisive advantage.
- Domain specialized, cross functional teams
Finally, as technology and business models converge, enterprises are looking for managed partners that bring industry specific expertise as well as technical capability. Analysts and commentators on 2026 technology and workforce trends note that the most effective teams are multi-disciplinary and combine domain knowledge, data skills, AI fluency, and operational experience.
Managed solutions that embed cross functional squads, for example teams that include engineers, data professionals, industry SMEs, and change management experts, will be better positioned to drive meaningful transformation rather than incremental optimization.
How Akraya approaches managed solutions for 2026
For Akraya, managed solutions are not only about operational continuity. They are about giving clients a strategic orchestration layer that combines technology, talent, and insight. This means building AI aware operations, designing services around outcomes, and staffing cross functional teams that understand both the technology stack and the business context.
As 2026 approaches, organizations that align their talent strategy and managed solutions strategy will be in the strongest position. They will have the skills, systems, and partners needed to navigate uncertainty, unlock new value, and move faster than the market.
Akraya is committed to helping clients get there, with workforce and managed solutions built for an AI powered, skills driven, and constantly evolving future of work. Reach out to us today.