International Data Corporation (IDC) has shared key research insights that outline how artificial intelligence is reshaping the global economy, transforming enterprise decision-making, and redefining how organisations build, buy and deploy technology.
The research focused on five areas: the economic impact of AI; the rise of the agentic buyer lifecycle; the expansion of the AI model landscape beyond LLMs; new frameworks for measuring AI business value; and the emergence of AI agents as a new application model reshaping enterprise software and services.
Together, these trends signal an AI supercycle defined by two phases: infrastructure buildout and enterprise adoption.
“We are entering the strongest technology spending cycle in nearly 30 years, driven by AI and the rise of agents,” says Meredith Whalen, chief product and research officer at IDC. “But this is not just a buildout story.
“The real value comes from adoption, and most enterprises are still in the early stages of that shift. The market reaches an inflection point closer to the end of the decade, as AI becomes embedded into how work actually gets done.”
AI economic impact
IDC forecasts that AI will generate $22,5-trillion in cumulative global economic value by 2031, driven by productivity gains, new revenue models, and business transformation.
However, the timeline remains uncertain. Near-term value depends on how quickly organizations move from experimentation to operational deployment, with workforce transformation, upskilling, and AI agents playing a central role.
IDC also highlighted that while the war in the Middle East will stress test the economy via energy volatility, infrastructure resiliency, and supply chain, it will not disrupt the trajectory of the market.
The agentic buyer lifecycle
IDC research shows buying processes are shifting from human-led journeys to AI-mediated decision systems, where agents shape discovery, evaluation and selection.
This shift is driving:
- Zero-click, agent-driven discovery
- Reduced brand control over customer relationships
- Increased importance of structured data and agent visibility (AEO)
Beyond LLMs
IDC introduced new research showing that enterprise AI is rapidly evolving beyond general-purpose models into a multi-model, multimodal, and multi-agent landscape.
This shift marks the end of the “one model fits all” approach and introduces a new layer of complexity in how enterprises design, govern, and optimise AI systems.
Organizations are adopting “model choice” strategies and must now manage increased complexity in model selection, governance, and orchestration.
Agents as apps
IDC also introduced new research, “Agents as Apps: The Rise of Agents — A Vendor Business Model Reset,” which examines how AI agents are redefining enterprise software and services.
The research finds that AI agents are shifting the application model from tools that require user interaction to systems that execute outcomes autonomously at scale.
In this model, competitive advantage moves away from user interfaces and toward agents that can reliably deliver results with trust, performance, and economic efficiency.
IDC’s research outlines 10 critical moves that enterprise software vendors and service providers must take to remain competitive in the agentic era, warning that without immediate strategic adaptation, organisations may face stagnation or decline.