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Agentic Orchestration Becomes the Operating Model of Advertising in 2026

Alex Holtz — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective examines how agentic AI orchestration platforms (Publicis Groupe's CoreAI, Omnicom's Flywheel + Annalect AI, and WPP Media Open Intelligence) are turning closed-loop advertising into a business cycle flywheel for the 2026–2030 window. It quantifies the device foundation (mobile + CTV) and channel overlays (social and retail media networks) against the worldwide 2025–2030 forecast, maps the ecosystem partners that close the loop (Amazon, Walmart Connect, TTD, LiveRamp, Vizio, Samsung, YouTube/Google TV), and frames three reusable archetype activation stacks (archetype 1, Amazon + Roku, championed by Omnicom; archetype 2, Walmart–Vizio, championed by Publicis Groupe, and archetype 3, walled garden + clean room, championed by WPP Media) that buyers can use to choose a primary closed-loop architecture and the agency of record that follows from it. This document also flags the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) and live event streaming measurement gap, assesses the impact of the 2025 Omnicom–IPG combination on holding company concentration, and May 2026 Publicis Groupe–LiveRamp announcement on the identity layer. It also introduces the independent advisor layer: management consulting practices outside the holding companies that help buyers build and run commerce media businesses on their own terms, with McKinsey & Company's commerce media practice as the neutral advisor case in point and Accenture Song as the hybrid advisory and execution alternative.

"The closed loop is no longer a thesis; it is the operating model. Picking a primary archetype, such as Amazon + Roku, Walmart–Vizio, or walled garden + clean room, is now the same decision as picking an agency of record. Advertisers that make the pick deliberately will pull further ahead of those who run all three in parallel every quarter the flywheel turns," says Alex Holtz, research director on worldwide media and entertainment digital strategies, IDC.

Alphabet 2Q26 Results: AI Investments Drive Commercial Returns

Matthew Eastwood, Dave McCarthy — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

How Do You Substantiate the Value of AI in Your Organization?

Heather Herbst — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective highlights the critical need for finance organizations to establish a clear, data-driven baseline before deploying AI agents. Without a pre-deployment measurement of current processes, claims of AI-driven value lack credibility and cannot withstand board scrutiny. The document outlines a disciplined, KPI-based approach to quantifying agent impact, ensuring that efficiency, quality, and risk improvements are real, measurable, and defensible for CFOs and technology buyers.

"You can't measure the future without measuring the present. Without a baseline, every claim of AI value is just a story, not evidence." — Heather Herbst, research director, CFO Buyer Insights at IDC

IDC MaturityScape: Enterprise Architecture 2.0

Serge Findling, Rob Baigert — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC MaturityScape provides a comprehensive framework for guiding the evolution of enterprise architecture (EA). Designed for CIOs, C-suite executives, senior IT executives, enterprise architects, and business leaders, it defines five stages of EA maturity — from ad hoc (architecture in silos) to optimized (adaptive architecture) — assessed across five critical dimensions: vision, strategy, and value realization; adaptive architecture and delivery; technology platforms and digital ecosystems; trusted processes, risk, and resilience; and people, collaboration, and EA operating model. This framework allows organizations to assess their current state and chart a purposeful path to reach their desired maturity level.

"Architecture maturity is ultimately measured by one key factor: pivot velocity. This refers to the speed at which an enterprise can reallocate its technical assets, redefine strategic targets, and adapt smoothly to changing market demands," explains Serge Findling, adjunct research advisor for IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "Effective CIOs utilize enterprise architecture to transform technology from a series of projects into a unified capability for growth, resilience, and innovation."

Saucy, Audacious, and Human: Winning in the Era of Intelligent Collaboration

Wayne Kurtzman — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective discusses how the worldwide collaboration applications market continues to grow, yet many enterprises struggle to convert tools into tangible collaborative success. IDC's research reveals that effective collaboration hinges on three interconnected elements: a culture that prioritizes people over process, a highly integrated stack of collaborative applications grounded in AI capabilities, and continuous learning, often through peer mentoring and modeling. This research shows how companies are winning at collaboration, and how their collaborative technology stack and cultures are evolving their businesses.

"Culture eats everything. The secret sauce isn't hiding in the latest collaboration technology; it's in how you empower your workforce to collaborate and upskill to make the latest technology your market advantage," says Wayne Kurtzman, research vice president of Social, Communities and Collaboration at IDC. "Companies integrating AI with their core systems, including the collaboration platforms, and upskilling their workforce are creating new revenue streams. They are using collaborative environments with trust and experimentation to make their own market advantage."

The Open Imperative

Marlanna Harrington — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective examines the maturation of open table formats as the default foundation for enterprise data platforms and the governance challenges that have emerged above the storage layer. The document covers the open table format landscape, the emerging Open Semantic Interchange standard, catalog interoperability dynamics, and the implications of agentic AI for data consistency and semantic governance.

"Open table formats have settled the storage question. The harder work is now above the format layer, governing catalogs, anchoring semantic definitions, and ensuring that AI agents query data that is consistent, trusted, and auditable," said Marlanna Harrington, senior research analyst, Data Platforms, IDC.

Agentic Orchestration Checks In: The Opportunity for Media Networks Has Arrived for Travel and Hospitality

Alex Holtz, Dorothy Creamer — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective explores how agentic orchestration and the rise of travel and hospitality media networks are reshaping advertising as streaming fatigue drives budgets toward new, data-rich environments. With the emergence of programmatic access to first-party travel data, operators such as Marriott, United, and Booking.com are pioneering closed-loop, high-intent advertising surfaces. The report details the architectural, operational, and measurement challenges and opportunities as travel media networks formalize, offering a blueprint for stakeholders to capture non-endemic brand demand and sustainable growth.

"As streaming fatigue pushes advertising budgets into new territory, travel and hospitality emerge as the next frontier for commerce media," says Alex Holtz, research director, Worldwide Media and Entertainment Digital Strategies, IDC. "The closed-loop infrastructure that transformed retail is now poised to redefine how brands reach authenticated, high-intent audiences across journeys. The question isn't if this shift will happen — it is who will own the loop, and how quickly they will build before the market consolidates."

"In travel, agentic AI is the new gatekeeper of intent, identity, and experience," says Dorothy Creamer, senior research manager, hospitality and travel digital strategies, IDC. "The brands and operators who master orchestration across loyalty, mobility, and marketplace data will unlock a flywheel of value that outperforms every channel they know. The window to build is open now, but the architecture you choose will determine your destiny."

Agents at Work: Salesforce CNX26 and What the Agentic Platform Looks Like in Production

Dorothy Creamer — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective discusses Salesforce Connections 2026 (CNX26) and what the agentic platform looks like in production. At CNX26, Salesforce demonstrated an agentic enterprise platform spanning marketing, commerce, and service on its Customer 360 foundation. The June release for Agentforce Commerce and the acquisitions of Cimulate and Contentful extend that scope for retail, hospitality, and travel operators, adding composable commerce, intent-aware search, and enterprise content on a unified architecture. The primary challenge for buyers is not platform selection but the data readiness and organizational work that must precede deployment.

“Salesforce built its CNX26 presence around a unified story for agentic commerce backed by live production evidence. This refresh provides a pathway for intent-aware search, dynamic content, and composable storefronts, giving retail, hospitality, and travel operators a credible entry to the conversational, contextual commerce experience guests increasingly expect,” says Dorothy Creamer, senior research manager, Hospitality and Travel Digital Strategies, IDC. “What the platform does not provide is a shortcut around data quality. The strategic message for hospitality and travel operators is clear: Get your guest and transaction data unified, because the platform is ready to use it.”

Certinia Acquires Moonnox, Creating Digital AI Value: Professional Services Automation Platform with AI Architected at the Core

Mickey North Rizza — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Today, Certinia, an AI-powered Professional Services Automation (PSA) vendor, announced it has acquired Moonnox, an AI-native services delivery platform purpose built for the professional services sector. This combination of both an AI-powered PSA vendor and an AI-native services platform enables Certinia to bring even more value with its systems of records of PSA, Financial Management, and Customer Success Cloud Services, through the extension of Certinia's AI System of Action, called Veda, enabling Certinia to become a platform that powers AI-native services with AI architected as the core customer delivery mechanism.

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide AI-Enabled Order Orchestration and Fulfillment Applications for Retail and B2C 2026 Vendor Assessment

Ornella Urso — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC MarketScape provides a vendor assessment of worldwide AI-enabled order orchestration and fulfillment applications for retail and B2C and B2C for 2026. Order orchestration and fulfillment has become a competitive capability rather than a routine process, and modern software aims to help retailers manage its complexity across capture, promising, orchestration, fulfillment, and returns. Retailers continue to rebuild operations and technology to handle the scale and complexity of omni-channel demand. The most persistent gap remains real-time, network-wide inventory visibility, while composable architecture has become a baseline expectation, and AI, including agentic AI, is moving from road map toward early production with uneven maturity.

"The costs of shipping, last-mile delivery, and returns have made channel-by-channel decisions too slow and too expensive to sustain. In response, retailers are aligning operations around order management as a real-time coordination layer, where each order is sourced and fulfilled against a single picture of demand and inventory", says Ornella Urso, research director, IDC Retail Insights. "Order orchestration and fulfillment have become a key lever that increasingly moves margin and service outcomes, between customer engagement and operations to serve customers consistently and profitably. One more, AI (and agents) is central to this shit."