2026: what to expect in tech

Recently, four Jamf leaders sat down to share issues they believe will shape the form of tech next year and beyond.

Key takeaways:

• Organizations focusing on infrastructure resilience will do better than those who do not.
• Managed Service Providers will step in to play a more crucial role in all aspects of business.
• Targeted phishing attacks will increase steeply in 2026 by using AI.
• Mobility teams will take a more active role in fighting attacks in real time.
• Schools will face mounting difficulties in protecting student data, meeting expectations and controlling AI use.

Infrastructure resilience

"We're seeing interesting shifts in how our customers think about infrastructure resilience, especially in financial services," said Linh Lam, Jamf's CIO. "Recent outages have reminded CIOs that when you're managing thousands of Apple devices containing sensitive customer data, redundancy and reliability aren't optional; they're essential."

"The focus has shifted from cloud versus on-premises to: 'How do we architect for continuous availability?'," continued Lam. The key, she said, is using tools that don't compromise security and uptime, yet still offer deployment flexibility and consistent Apple fleet management.

In fact, rather than stepping back from cloud strategies, said Lam, forward-thinking CIOs leverage cloud capabilities for more sophisticated approaches. "They're building resilient architectures that ensure their most critical device management functions remain operational under any circumstances," said Lam.

Managed Service Providers (MSP) will impact larger business strategies

Marc Botham, Global VP of Channel and Alliances at Jamf, believes that hyperscaler marketplaces will profoundly transform how MSPs work.

"As they continue to broaden their offerings and simplify the deployment of cloud services, MSPs will face new pressures to differentiate themselves beyond basic provisioning," said Botham. "In 2026, there will be an increase in the number of services and solutions delivered across multi-cloud environments, which MSPs will be expected to manage."

The result, believes Botham, will be greater partnership and collaboration between MSPs and IT teams within ecosystem models.

Shift of MSP role

MSPs, said Botham, will shift from service executor to trusted strategic advisor. "Trust will become a key profit driver as customers prioritize transparency, authenticity and channel partnerships that demonstrate genuine value and purpose beyond price promotions."

MSP influence on mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions activity, says Botham, will be concentrated in MSP space in 2026.

"MSP growth has rebounded following several years of economic uncertainty and elevated borrowing costs. Companies are actively seeking opportunities to acquire providers to accelerate market expansion," said Botham.

"Companies will target specialist MSPs to help them expand into specific new markets and sectors," continued Botham. "In addition to expanding scale, they will turn the acquired MSPs into multi-form service providers, combining traditional managed services with reselling, consultancy and advisory offerings."

Cybersecurity gets personal

Michael Covington, VP of Portfolio Strategy, Jamf, believes industry leaders should focus more on phishing: innocent-looking emails that seek victims among unsuspecting users.

While phishing isn't new, said Covington, "We will see AI as more of a supplemental tool for threat actors to launch attacks at scale and victimize the masses as opposed to the hyper-specific, sophisticated attacks."

Because of this, said Covington, "The malicious or ignorant insider will become the biggest threat to an organization." Forward-thinking business leaders will need to focus on threats like this by keeping BYOD systems safe. "More organizations will establish a container environment for employees to keep communications secure and minimize insider threats," he added.

Event-focused social engineering attacks

"In 2026, the most effective malicious application of AI will be its use in crafting attacks that exploit humans," said Covington. "This will prompt an evolution of the spray-and-pray social engineering techniques we currently see, but with more compelling multi-channel tactics that will chip away at the target's defensive instincts with carefully assembled misinformation."

Thanks to AI, continued Covington, "criminals will need only basic information to develop highly targeted attacks." Attackers, he said, will link attacks to events in the news, using social media to identify who is connected to or impacted by those events.

"These attack campaigns won't just target high-profile individuals," said Covington, "but anyone associated with them." While the attacks might be personal, compromised users are the weakest link in organizations. This puts businesses at risk.

How mobility teams will get ahead of security threats

"Teams responsible for security operations often send a list of potential risks to their mobile counterparts, seeking assurances that the appropriate actions have been taken to minimize the organization's exposure," said Covington. "This happens because security teams lack real-time visibility into the overall risk posture of mobile devices." Proactive mobile security teams will respond faster to security issues.

With the help of device-based security actions using Apple Declarative Device Management (DDM), mobility teams will begin to assume responsibility for mitigating mobile-related security risks in 2026. "They will resolve issues as they are encountered, rather than waiting for the sporadic check-ins with security," continued Covington, "minimizing friction for users and reducing the organization's overall exposure to risk."

Schools will face unique cybersecurity issues in 2026

Student data will be at increased risk

The combination of the increased sophistication of cybersecurity attacks with underfunding for K-12 systems will leave student data exposed even more in 2026, said Mohandas. "The sector still underestimates the long-term impact of compromised student identities that can be misused far into adulthood."

The trouble with AI in schools

In 2026, said Suraj Mohandas, Senior Director, Education Strategy at Jamf, the way students use AI technology will "outpace schools' ability to secure it."

In struggling to keep up with the speed of AI adoption, school administrators will use several different strategies. "Some will try to shut it off altogether," said Mohandas, "while others will attempt to deploy it responsibly but will lack the frameworks, staffing and clarity to do it well."

Looking closely at solutions that address AI issues in schools will go a long way toward tackling this problem.

Platform intelligence > add-ons

"Apple Intelligence and the growing push from Google and Microsoft to bundle AI into existing licenses will shift the landscape," said Mohandas. "Schools will rely more on platform-level capabilities, questioning whether they need as many add-ons." Strategic school IT departments, continued Mohandas, "will move from buying tools to designing secure, low-friction learning environments that don't burden teachers or slow down the classroom."

Regulation will stay fragmented while scrutiny increases

"With COVID-era funding gone," said Mohandas, "districts will demand clearer justification for every new technology investment." Mohandas is hopeful that the education sector will see stronger collaboration across regulators, but fragmentation will persist. Finding device management and security solutions that can assure adherence to regulations and compliance requirements will be key.

"Identity lifecycle management," said Mohandas, "will rise in priority as schools confront constant device turnover and inconsistent access controls. Budgets will tighten while expectations rise, and leaders will be forced to make sharper decisions about what truly matters in securing their environments."

Prepare for the challenges headed your way in 2026.

As cybersecurity, business strategy and other challenges come your way, it's best to be prepared. Finding a platform with powerful management capabilities and strong security measures that easily adapts to your needs can be a key factor in staying on top of any surprises that the new year may bring.

If the company you choose to employ also has deep and longtime partnerships with top MSPs and integrators, all the better!