09/03/26

Advances in artificial intelligence, the growing complexity of IT environments, and increasing pressure for greater energy efficiency are elevating the role of digital infrastructure in supporting modern businesses. Data Centers and mission-critical operations have become essential to ensuring operational continuity, competitiveness, and the ability of organizations to evolve. In this context, IT infrastructure trends for 2026 are gaining prominence in strategic agendas.

For technology and business executives, keeping up with these developments goes beyond technical updates. It means anticipating risks, assessing medium- and long-term impacts, and preparing distributed architectures capable of supporting intensive workloads and increasingly demanding availability requirements.

In this environment, market analyses provide an important reference point for companies seeking to balance innovation, operational efficiency, energy consumption, and regulatory compliance. Below, we present a curated overview of the main predictions for 2026 based on insights from leading research firms such as Gartner, IDC, and the Uptime Institute.

IT Infrastructure Trends for 2026, According to Gartner

The ongoing modernization of data infrastructure has already moved to the center of strategic technology decisions. To help executives make more informed choices in this increasingly complex environment, Gartner analysts highlighted trends expected to significantly impact Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) over the next 12 to 18 months, influencing areas such as energy efficiency, automation, and governance.

1.      Hybrid Computing Becomes the Dominant Model

Hybrid computing is emerging as a response to the fragmentation of digital environments. Instead of concentrating workloads exclusively in public cloud or on-premises environments, organizations are combining public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises infrastructure according to requirements related to performance, latency, data sovereignty, and cost.

For Data Center operators, this model requires flexible and scalable architecture, reinforcing their role as interconnection hubs and as critical infrastructure supporting mission-critical workloads.

2.      Agentic AI: The Evolution of Infrastructure Automation

Agentic AI represents a major step forward in infrastructure automation, enabling systems to make decisions and execute actions autonomously without constant human intervention.

Applied to incident management, capacity planning, root cause analysis, and self-healing environments, this technology expands operational efficiency. For mission-critical operations, the key challenge will be balancing autonomy with control and governance.

3.      AI Governance Platforms and the Need for Operational Oversight

As AI becomes embedded in core infrastructure processes, the need for transparency, oversight, and compliance will increase. AI governance platforms are expected to play a critical role in monitoring and auditing models across operational environments.

For I&O leaders, AI governance will reach a level of criticality comparable to data governance, cybersecurity, and operational continuity.

4.      Energy-Efficient Computing and the New Limits of Digital Infrastructure

Energy efficiency is no longer just an environmental priority – it has become a decisive factor in the viability of digital infrastructure. Intensive workloads, particularly those driven by AI, are increasing both energy consumption and Data Center density.

In this context, energy-efficient computing will increasingly influence decisions regarding architecture, hardware selection, and operational strategies, requiring companies to balance performance, scalability, and energy use.

5.      Disinformation Security: A New Challenge for Digital Resilience

Disinformation security is expanding the traditional scope of digital protection. With the advancement of generative AI and synthetic content technologies, cyberattacks are no longer limited to exploiting technical vulnerabilities – they are also capable of undermining trust, reputation, and organizational decision-making.

In mission-critical environments, this requires a more integrated approach combining infrastructure management, cybersecurity, and risk management.

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AI Maturity in Data Centers: What the Uptime Institute Points to for 2026

While market analyses help outline the future of digital infrastructure, the perspective of the Uptime Institute expands this discussion by examining how artificial intelligence is already redefining operational standards in Data Centers.

In its 2026 predictions, the institute highlights developments that indicate not only growth but also structural changes in the AI ecosystem and in Data Center automation.

1.      The AI Ecosystem Is Taking Shape and Concentrating Compute Capacity

Compute capacity dedicated to large AI models and high-density infrastructure is increasingly concentrated within a smaller number of large organizations.

This trend signals growing specialization and requires Data Centers capable of supporting intensive workloads and highly optimized architectures.

2.      AI-Driven Automation Moves from Pilots to Production

AI-driven automation is expected to move beyond experimental deployments and become integrated into everyday Data Center operations.

Technologies such as reinforcement learning, hybrid digital twins, and early industrial copilots are expected to support closed-loop optimization, while human oversight will remain essential for critical decisions.

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AI Accelerates Investment and Expands Data Center Demand in Brazil, According to IDC

While global discussions around digital infrastructure increasingly focus on artificial intelligence, in Brazil, the numbers already reflect this trend through concrete investment growth.

According to IDC Predictions Brazil 2026, spending on AI – including software, services, and infrastructure – is expected to reach $3.4 billion in 2026, representing growth of more than 30% compared with $2.6 billion the previous year.

Analysts attribute this expansion to the growing adoption of AI agents, which are already being incorporated into digital transformation initiatives across the B2B market.

1.      Data Centers Lead Infrastructure Growth for AI

To support this expansion, IDC projects strong demand for Data Center infrastructure. Brazil’s hosting and infrastructure services (HIS) market is expected to reach $1.7 billion in 2026, an increase of 18% compared with 2025.

Among the 20 categories analyzed by IDC, Data Centers recorded the strongest growth last year, reinforcing their role as the foundation for AI workloads and high-density environments.

2.      Hybrid Environments and IaaS Gain Strategic Importance

IDC also indicates that there is still no consensus regarding where AI workloads should run – whether on-premises, in colocation facilities, via hosting providers, or in the cloud.

The trend points toward hybrid architectures, with 60% of Latin American companies expected to adopt this model by 2030. In 2026, Brazil’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market is projected to reach $4.4 billion, reflecting the central role of cloud infrastructure in AI development and the need for closer integration between business units, cloud providers, and IT teams.

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Latin America Enters a New Phase of Digital Infrastructure

When examining the projections from Gartner, the Uptime Institute, and IDC together, a clear pattern emerges: artificial intelligence will continue reshaping both the pace and scale of digital infrastructure development.

On one hand, global analyses highlight distributed architecture, advanced automation, and rising energy demands. On the other hand, regional data shows that in Brazil, these trends are already translating into tangible investment growth in AI, IaaS, and Data Center services.

This alignment between global trends and regional indicators suggests that Latin America is not merely observing this shift from the sidelines. The consolidation of hybrid environments, the demand for high-density infrastructure, and the growing need for governance and energy efficiency are positioning Data Centers at the core of digital strategy.

Rather than simply following global trends, the region is beginning to build the infrastructure capacity needed to sustain the expansion of AI across the digital economy.

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