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Google-Apple Partnership: Will the Next Siri Update Open an Agentic Market of More than 2 Billion Shoppers?

Gerry Murray, Tapan Patel, Ornella Urso — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective discusses the Google–Apple partnership, which marks a pivotal shift toward agentic commerce with the potential to transform Siri into a seamless gateway to Google's expansive retail AI network. This collaboration is set to replatform digital commerce, driving frictionless, AI-mediated shopping experiences across billions of devices and compelling brands to rapidly adapt their infrastructure and strategies to remain competitive in an evolving, intent-driven marketplace.

OpenClaw Hints at New Class of Assistant But Requires Caution for Now

Nancy Gohring, Maureen Fleming, Tim Law, Shari Lava, David Schubmehl — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Originally called Clawdbot, then Moltbot and now OpenClaw, this new breed of AI assistant is the latest technology to take the AI world by storm. Enterprises should tread very carefully for now but take inspiration from the possibilities that OpenClaw presents.

PTC Announces Windchill AI Parts Rationalization

John Snow — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

PTC has introduced Windchill AI Parts Rationalization, a plug-in designed to reduce the number of duplicate parts that must be managed within manufacturing companies. This new functionality is designed to evaluate and standardize enterprise part data within Windchill PLM, improving the cost, time and quality of product development. Part duplication has been a persistent and costly issue for discrete manufacturers, unnecessarily delaying product development and driving supplier re-qualification, excess inventory, and downstream complexity. PTC’s approach focuses on delivering near-term value through lightweight, shape-based AI comparisons integrated directly into PLM workflows, avoiding the more complex approach of detailed geometric analysis. PTC's announcement represents a practical and meaningful approach for applying AI to a real, cross-functional PLM problem that spans engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations and has resisted efficient solutions for decades.

Retail Digital Infrastructure Today: AI and Data Imperatives Fuel Big Shifts in IT Spending

Margot Juros — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Tech Buyer Presentation covers key IT spending shifts and trends as retailers face a fast-changing/volatile landscape with macroeconomic uncertainties and heightened customer expectations and demands. Retailers are shifting investment to modernized infrastructure (cloud/edge, AI, networking, data) and connected/integrated systems and solutions needed to enable the greater agility, efficiency, and innovation that today's landscape demands for competitive success.

Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television Update and Impact in 2026

Alex Holtz — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective provides update and impact of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) in 2026. By 2026, the global FAST market will be transformed by OEM-driven CTV ecosystems, live sports and event programming, and advanced ad technologies. Regional expansion is powered by localized content and operational maturity. FAST will shift from simple channel growth to unified, data-optimized, and event-centric streaming, becoming a foundational element of global TV distribution and unlocking new strategic opportunities for content owners, technology leaders, and advertisers.

"As FAST evolves from experimental channels to a unified, event-driven ecosystem, the future of television will be shaped by those who master live engagement, operational agility, and data-powered monetization, transforming free streaming into the new foundation of global media," stated Alex Holtz, research director, Worldwide Media and Entertainment Digital Strategies, IDC.

IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Services 2026 Predictions — Canada Implications

Sreenivas Duvvuri Venkata, Jason Bremner — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC FutureScape provides IDC's top 10 predictions for worldwide services and implications for Canada for 2026–2031. This year's predictions for Canada are influenced strongly by the impact of agentic AI, with a focus on scaling AI use across the organization.

IDC's December 2025 Canada IT Decision Makers Survey indicates that 78% Canadian organizations are increasing IT spending on external services in 2026. Among primary reasons for that increase are investments made into innovative technologies and prioritization of technology as an enabler of growth. AI services are expected to receive a lion's share of the increment, in addition to security services. As organizations plan for greater use of agentic AI, across initiatives including application modernization and business functions like product R&D or customer service, controlling challenges such as agent sprawl is critical to the sustainability of investments. IDC expects partners such as cloud providers and systems integration and IT consulting vendors to play a critical role in helping Canadian organizations navigate this journey.

"Emerging frontier models and agentic solutions are making services-as-a-product models a lucrative reality. Its impact extends far beyond technology, affecting ways of working and business culture at its core," says Sreenivas Duvvuri Venkata, research analyst, Enterprise Services at IDC. "Grappling with change across the board, Canadian leaders will require to take a closer look at their internal operations, technology stack, and outsourcing footprint to remain relevant in the current business landscape."

IDC PeerScape: Best Practices for Meter Data Management System Deployment

Jean-François Segalotto, Gaia Gallotti — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC PeerScape examines five best practices drawn from real-world utility deployments across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia/Pacific. It highlights how utilities are evolving MDMS from a transactional system into a foundational intelligence layer supporting grid operations, customer engagement, regulatory reporting, and future digital energy services. The document offers guidance to help technology buyers evaluate MDMS strategies, avoid common architectural pitfalls, and maximize long-term value from their metering data investments.

Keynote Presentation from IDC Manufacturing Summit, Czech Republic

Gunjan Bassi — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

These event proceedings were presented as the opening keynote at the IDC Manufacturing Summit held in Pilsen, Czech Republic, on Nov 5-6, 2025. The summit brought together technology and business leaders from the manufacturing industry to share their visions, strategies, and practical experiences.

In an era of constant disruption, AI-powered operational excellence is becoming a strategic enabler of resilience, agility, and innovation across manufacturing. In her keynote, Thriving in the Unknown: Transforming Manufacturing Through Operational Excellence, Gunjan Bassi (Research Manager, IDC Manufacturing Insights) explored how data-driven, AI-enabled operations help organizations adapt and thrive amid uncertainty.

Miro Broadens Collaboration Capabilities with AI Workflows Release and Miro Engage Beta

Melinda-Carol Ballou — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

Miro recently announced general availability (GA) of AI Workflows for enterprise customers, advancing its AI Innovation Workspace portfolio from Canvas 25 (see Miro Canvas 25: The Canvas Is the Prompt for Visual Collaboration, IDC #lcUS53882825, October 2025). The company also beta released "Miro Engage" to help entice passive meeting attendees to become active, collaborative participants. The release of AI Workflows positions the Miro canvas as a shared, team-centric orchestration surface where reusable Flows and task-aware Sidekicks operate on artifacts teams have created, leveraging visual context and existing enterprise data. For business leaders and innovators, the question is whether collaborative AI can compress decision cycles, reduce handoffs, and improve traceability without compromising governance. Evaluation should emphasize measurable cycle-time compression, decision quality, fidelity of visual parsing, audit-grade telemetry (steps, parameters, and lineage), and bidirectional integration with systems of record across planning, requirements, test, and code.

CFO and CIO Roles in Enterprise Transformation: Distinct Mandates, Converging Influence

Heather Herbst, Teodora Snoddy — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective explores the distinct yet converging roles of CFOs and CIOs in enterprise transformation, emphasizing that successful initiatives require clear mandate alignment and joint ownership. As finance and technology become increasingly intertwined, driven by AI, regulatory demands, and data integrity, the CFO's influence over transformation investments is rising, while the CIO remains essential for technical enablement. Enterprises must clarify decision rights and foster collaboration to ensure trust, compliance, and strategic outcomes.

"When trust becomes a financial mandate and scales a technical imperative, the future of enterprise transformation depends on CFO-CIO partnership, not just technology." — Heather Herbst, research director, CFO Buyer Insights