Will AI finally live up to its promises? Or are there other areas that deserve far more attention? Let’s review the trends for 2026 you shouldn’t miss in the year ahead.
The first trend for 2026 has been written in the stars since the infamous acquisition of VMware by Broadcom at the end of 2023. Broadcom then hiked the price of VMware and followed up by making even more changes that left many users dissatisfied. The result was predictable.
More virtualization and containerization
Since the acquisition, many CIOs have been tasked with finding and implementing a cheaper alternative to VMware, and this process is already well underway. “We clearly see this in the conversations we’re having with clients,” says Dennis Grigaliunas, sales engineer at Piros. “We’ve had lots of people looking for a solution in recent months, and many organizations are already running a POC or POS.”
What’s striking, however, is that companies still on the lookout for an alternative often have unrealistic expectations. “For example, we were recently asked about the success rate of implementing virtualization with Red Hat OpenShift,” adds Angelo Jacobs, business development manager at Piros. “Unfortunately, it’s not easy to put a percentage on that. A lot depends on preparation, and there’s no one-to-one alternative to VMware. But if you choose virtualization with Red Hat OpenShift, you’ll be ready for the future. It allows you to both virtualize and containerize immediately.”
Cloud native development gaining importance
Virtualization and containerization as part of application modernization brings us to another hot topic for 2026: cloud sovereignty. More companies, governments, and other organizations are realizing that we need to work on cloud sovereignty here in Europe.
“When choosing a new virtualization solution like OpenShift, it’s best to opt for a cloud solution that’s as EU-based as possible,” Angelo continues. “We’re seeing increasing interest in European cloud initiatives, such as the German Hetzner and the French OVHcloud. American cloud providers are responding too, with Microsoft’s launch of Azure Brussels Central being a good example, although you’ll remain a customer of a US company, of course. Fully European hardware isn’t realistic just yet, and you’d have to question whether that’s necessary anyway.”
In search of successful AI POCs
According to MIT, around 95% of generative AI pilots fail. “We believe that even in 2026, making a successful proof of concept with AI will remain challenging,” Dennis says. Many companies want to incorporate AI into their processes but don’t quite know how to get started. There’s a lot involved. It all starts with getting your data in order, but then you have to choose the right platform on which to develop your AI model.
Piros supports Red Hat OpenShift AI in this area. “It’s wrong to start with the technology,” Dennis continues, “and that’s where too many companies miss the mark. Terrified that they’ll miss the AI boat, they go looking for problems they can solve with AI. In truth it’s more effective to start with a specific challenge and then determine whether AI can provide the solution. AI can certainly be powerful, but it’s not always the answer.”
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