**Top IT Predictions in APAC in 2026**

As we enter the new year, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is poised for significant technological advancements. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a crucial role in shaping these developments, with enterprises prioritizing sovereign architectures that prioritize data residency as a competitive advantage.

**Cloud Sovereignty Takes Center Stage**

With countries like Singapore and India implementing digital sovereignty frameworks and data protection acts, cloud sovereignty has become a hot topic in the region. Analyst Forrester predicts that by 2026, half of APAC enterprises will make sovereignty-based controls a top criterion for cloud and AI platforms.

"Sovereignty is about control and choice," said Martin Creighan, Vice-President for APAC at Commvault. "In a multi-cloud, multi-region world, enterprises need the freedom to decide where data resides – on-premise, in a private cloud, a local hyperscaler region, or a global cloud – while still maintaining visibility into under whose laws it sits, and how it can be recovered without crossing borders."

**AI Innovation: A Shift Towards Localisation**

In 2026, AI innovation will become more localized and relevant to markets in Southeast Asia. Gavin Barfield, Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer for Solutions at Salesforce ASEAN, notes that there will be more investments in localizing AI to reflect the unique linguistic tapestry in ASEAN.

"AI models fine-tuned with regional linguistic and cultural nuances will deliver more accurate and contextually relevant responses, improving customer experience and delivering true business impact in the region," said Barfield. "We will also see a variety of LLM [large language model] options emerge for local businesses, as global LLMs localise and more regional, local and even industry-specific small language models [SLMs] emerge to cater to varying needs."

**APAC: The Global Data Backbone**

As APAC continues to be the primary engine for global economic growth, the region has seen significant investments in digital infrastructure such as datacentres and subsea cables. Singapore's high-capacity subsea systems will further improve connectivity across the region.

"By 2026, this dense subsea mesh will naturally raise expectations for private, isolated pathways and security-baked infrastructure," said Amajit Gupta, Managing Director and Group CEO of Lightstorm. "Growing AI-led and cross-border workloads will reinforce this direction."

**AI-Assisted Software Development: A Workforce Recalibration**

As the tech sector layoffs continue, the new year will see a recalibration of the region's technology workforce. Marcus Low, Vice-President and Managing Director for APAC and Japan at Sonar, notes that AI has lowered the barriers to coding, making software development more accessible.

"With this, we'll also see more of a focus from the volume of AI-generated code to the verification of its output," added Low. "By 2026, the ability to collaborate with AI in software development, rather than compete against it, and focus on verifying its output, will be a defining skill for employability and growth in the region's evolving tech economy."

**The Rise of Vibe Hacking**

Social engineering will evolve beyond phishing into full-scale psychological manipulation in 2026. Findlay Whitelaw, Security Researcher and Strategist at Exabeam, notes that AI-enabled insiders are primed to use LLMs to plan and execute sophisticated attacks.

"This may span from deepfake scams to vibe hacking, where AI-crafted messages mimic the tone and trust of executives within the organisation," said Whitelaw. "Vibe hacking takes traditional phishing techniques to the next level by leveraging familiarity and exploiting trust."

**Observability: The Future of Digital Trust**

Peter Marelas, Senior Director of Product Management at New Relic, expects observability to become an enabler of digital trust, resilience and competitive advantage.

"Organisations will find that traditional monitoring is inadequate in the AI era," said Marelas. "They need intelligent observability not just to see what's happening, but to understand why it's happening, and what to do next."

**The End of Proprietary Hypervisors**

Matthew Oostveen, Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer for APAC and Japan at Pure Storage, predicts that the decade-long dominance of proprietary hypervisors will finally fracture.

"Enterprises across the region, tired of rising license fees and shrinking flexibility, will begin rewriting their infrastructure playbooks," said Oostveen. "Virtualisation will no longer be a product; it will be a capability, embedded natively into cloud, container and edge platforms."

**Ransomware: A Mass-Scale Cyber Crime Economy**

Reuben Koh, Director of Security Technology and Strategy at Akamai, notes that ransomware will become fully commoditised, transforming into a mass-scale cyber crime economy.

"With off-the-shelf ransomware-as-a-service subscriptions, AI-powered 'vibe-hacking' and growing collaboration between cyber criminals, hacktivists, and state-aligned actors, launching an extortion campaign will require far less expertise than before," said Koh.

**Open Source: The Key to Enterprise AI**

Guna Chellappan, General Manager for Singapore at Red Hat, notes that the demand for cloud-native, AI and cyber security talent continues to outpace supply across APAC. In 2026, open source will play a key role in bridging this gap.

"Tools and frameworks are also made available to everyone, instead of just a few," said Chellappan. "As more enterprises contribute back to these communities – by building on ideas quickly and responsibly – APAC will strengthen its position in digital innovation, not just as a consumer but increasingly as a creator."

**The Access and Permissions Crisis**

Craig Nielsen, Vice-President for APAC and Japan at GitLab, notes that organisations will confront an access and permissions crisis as agent-to-agent interactions expose the limitations of traditional access control systems.

"Organisations must accept that this will require rethinking identity and access management from first principles," said Nielsen. "They should assemble cross-functional teams to design governance frameworks built for autonomous systems, rather than retrofitting human-centric models."

These predictions showcase the exciting technological advancements on the horizon in APAC. From cloud sovereignty to AI innovation, observability, and open source, the region is poised for significant growth and transformation.