ADAPT Tech Trends 2025: The 3 Essential Shifts for IT Leaders

Written by Patricia | Jul 14, 2026, 2:28:31 AM

Each year, the pace of technological change accelerates, and 2026 is no exception. For IT leaders, the best antidote to uncertainty is readiness. There are three key tech trends that are already reshaping the agenda this year, demanding immediate attention from businesses seeking to survive and thrive. Are you taking action?

1. Modernisation isn’t a choice - it’s mandatory

Legacy systems — outdated, fragile, and often heavily customised — are becoming increasingly unsustainable. In many organisations, ageing core platforms — often more than 20 years old — still underpin critical operations. Yet these systems are costly to maintain, risky to operate, and ill-equipped for the demands of today’s AI-driven world.

In 2026, the risk of standing still — falling behind competitors, missing growth opportunities, or facing costly system failures — has become too great. Modernisation is no longer a strategic option; it’s a business imperative.

Fortunately, even the most complex legacy environments can now be transformed with confidence. Low-code development was already fast. AI-powered low-code development is even faster.

A prime example is OutSystems’ Mentor, which reimagines legacy modernisation. Instead of rebuilding code, forms, and logic from scratch, Mentor automatically generates the foundations of a new OutSystems application based on your existing legacy systems. This approach accelerates the code migration phase from months to weeks.

OutSystems’ AI-powered platform streamlines every stage of the development lifecycle. The result? Dramatically reduced time, cost, and risk to modernise legacy systems compared to traditional software development methods.

2. Beyond efficiency – shifting to value creation

Previously, IT teams have been measured by their ability to drive efficiency. But today, technology is at the heart of customer experience, product innovation, and competitive strategy. As a result, IT leaders are being asked to deliver not just operational gains, but tangible business value.

Automation, faster time-to-market, and improved experiences are now the true markers of success. Yet outdated technologies too often stand in the way—consuming resources just to keep the lights on and limiting organisations’ ability to innovate.

The solution? Modern technologies that leverage AI, support secure digital services, and enable scalable applications that can adapt to changing business needs and customer expectations.

One such technology is OutSystems’ AI-powered platform, which enables IT teams to do more than optimise processes—they can create differentiated experiences and accelerate new digital strategies. With the platform’s AI app generator, Mentor, applications can be transformed from a requirements document into a fully functional app with front-end, logic, and data structured in minutes, not hours. Outsystems provides the agility organisations need to compete and lead in the digital economy.

3. Moving from AI experimentation to enterprise execution

2025 was the year of AI exploration. While there were small successes, many companies struggled with early AI initiatives that failed to yield significant productivity gains.

In 2026, the focus must shift from AI experimentation to enterprise execution.

Rather than employing an ad hoc approach to various AI tools, organisations now need to adopt a more disciplined, business-aligned approach to AI to solve real problems and demonstrate measurable value.

For example, OutSystems embeds AI throughout the entire software development lifecycle —not just coding — enabling organisations to build enterprise-grade apps faster, better, and more efficiently, without sacrificing quality or governance. AI capabilities boost developer productivity by up to 100%, slash costs, and reduce time to value. Built-in AI agents can be created in minutes without requiring specialised skills, and the platform ensures secure and compliant AI adoption through integrated privacy and security controls.

By bringing AI together within a single, unified platform, IT leaders can finally move from hype to real, scalable impact.

A final word

2026 isn’t just another year for technology — it’s a defining one. The difference between thriving and surviving will come down to how quickly and confidently organisations modernise, shift their mindset toward value, and turn emerging technologies like AI into real business impact.

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