How Local Leaders Can Shift Their Trajectory In 2026

In 2026, business leaders won’t just be navigating change, they’ll be building the plane mid-flight. As the new year kicks off, the pace of technological advancement is accelerating, redefining the very fabric of business. The traditional boundaries between business and technology have all but disappeared — tech is business, and business is tech. This convergence demands agility, bold decision-making, and innovation in motion. In a world powered by exponential leaps in AI, cloud, and digital ecosystems, transformation is no longer a project with an end date, but rather a continuous journey. Success depends on how fast you can evolve without losing altitude.

Here are the top trends shaping business modernisation in 2026, and guidance around how leaders can stay ahead.

Efficiency takes centre stage as organisations rethink virtualisation

South Africa’s persistently subdued growth outlook is forcing leaders to sharpen their focus on efficiency. Despite improvements in electricity supply, the economy remains stuck in low gear, and that reality is reshaping IT priorities.

For decades, virtualisation has been the backbone of enterprise infrastructure. But rising licensing costs, and the widespread adoption of hybrid cloud environments are prompting a rethink. Add to that the demands of AI workloads, and it’s clear: the old playbook no longer works.

Leaders are asking tough questions: How do we reduce costs without sacrificing performance? How do we modernise without adding complexity? The answer lies in adopting a more open, flexible approach to virtualisation — one that optimises existing investments while simplifying operations across both hybrid and private environments.

To start, businesses should audit their current environments to uncover underused resources and eliminate overprovisioning. Leveraging AI-driven insights can help right-size workloads and consolidate virtual machines for greater efficiency. At the same time, reducing licensing costs requires a strategic shift toward open platforms that support multiple hypervisors, easing dependency on costly proprietary solutions. Finally, planning for hybrid flexibility is essential: solutions that integrate seamlessly across private, public, and edge environments allow organisations to modernise at their own pace without disruption.

Efficiency isn’t just about trimming costs — it’s about building a foundation for agility and innovation.

From pilots to proof: The pressure to accelerate AI value

The race to turn AI ambition into tangible business outcomes is intensifying. In South Africa, IT leaders face mounting pressure to move beyond pilots and deliver measurable impact. Yet, this urgency collides with a hard truth: without robust infrastructure and clean, well-governed data, even the most advanced AI models will fail.

The path forward starts with clarity. Leaders must identify high-impact use cases that align with business objectives and can scale successfully. At the same time, investing in data curation and governance frameworks is non-negotiable. Fragmented datasets need to be transformed into centralised intelligence to unlock actionable insights.

Turnkey AI solutions offer a practical way to accelerate progress. Prebuilt platforms enable businesses to deploy AI applications quickly without reinventing the wheel, reducing complexity while ensuring performance. In a climate of tight budgets and high expectations, these ready-to-go systems can help leaders prove value fast, while laying the groundwork for long-term resilience.

Security everywhere is key to resilience

Cybersecurity is entering a new frontier. South African organisations are facing heightened exposure, with only 8% reporting no data breaches in the past three years, far below global averages. The rise of AI-powered threats, from malware and supply chain attacks to deep-fake social engineering, is amplifying risk and demanding a new mindset. Traditional, reactive approaches are no longer enough.

The challenge for local leaders is twofold: strengthen defences while accelerating innovation. Yet fewer than a third of companies are investing significantly more on proactive measures. Adoption of principles and practices like data minimisation and responsible AI is limited. These weaknesses matter because AI-driven attacks exploit poorly governed systems.

Instead, security must be “built in, not bolted on”. That means embedding cybersecurity principles, like zero trust, into every phase of the business and technology lifecycle, from design and development to deployment and maintenance. Leaders should prioritise proactive measures such as continuous monitoring, rigorous testing, and governance frameworks that anticipate evolving threats. Equally critical is fostering a culture where security is everyone’s responsibility, not just an IT function.

In an era where AI accelerates both opportunity and risk, resilience depends on making security a design principle, not an afterthought.

Rethinking roles and building collaborative, future-ready teams

As technology becomes inseparable from business strategy, the lines between roles are blurring. Conversations about AI and cybersecurity can no longer sit solely with CIOs or CISOs; they must involve HR, finance, and operations. Business decisions are now tech decisions — and vice versa.

African CEOs are signaling this change, with 67% redeploying staff into AI-enabled roles. Already, leaders recognise that digital literacy and AI fluency are essential leadership traits. In fact, these rank among the top three capabilities for modern executives.

With this in mind, South African businesses must redesign roles to reflect convergence across functions and close critical skills gaps. That means embedding AI and cybersecurity awareness into every department, fostering cross-functional teams, and investing in continuous learning. HR must lead cultural transformation, finance must understand tech-driven investment priorities, and boards must engage deeply on risk and resilience.

The future workforce isn’t just tech-savvy, it’s integrated. Companies that embrace this will unlock agility, innovation, and resilience in an era defined by rapid change.

Building the plane while flying isn’t just a metaphor, it’s the reality for South African business leaders navigating 2026. Success will hinge on having the right systems, technology, and talent in place to adapt at speed. From rethinking virtualisation and accelerating AI adoption to embedding security and redefining roles, resilience depends on strong foresight. Those who invest in solid foundations while delivering quick wins will not only stay airborne, they’ll chart the course for growth.

• President Ntuli, Managing Director of HPE South Africa