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Agent-Based Marketing Operations in the Midmarket: Current State and Near-Term Outlook

Roger Beharry Lall — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC presentation examines the current state and near-term outlook for agent-based (agentic) marketing operations among United States–based midmarket organizations that are already using or planning to use AI agents in the next 12 months. Drawing from an online survey of 150 senior marketing and advertising leaders (i.e., director level and above) from U.S. midmarket and enterprise companies, the research quantifies adoption levels, planned deployments, and key use cases for AI agents across core marketing functions and industries.

This presentation focuses on how midmarket organizations are incorporating autonomous agents into campaign execution, personalization, workload automation, and customer data management, and how these patterns vary by company size and go-to-market focus. It evaluates preferred deployment models (i.e., embedded, third party, and custom built) alongside emerging expectations for pricing and management structures as agents move from pilot to production.

Beyond adoption metrics, the survey probes organizational readiness and risk posture, covering governance maturity, data and content quality, and the practical challenges of integrating agents into existing people, process, and technology stacks. For vendors, services firms, and marketing leaders, the findings provide a benchmark for SMB progress in agentic marketing and pinpoint the skills, governance, data, and integration gaps that must be closed to unlock the next wave of AI agent–driven performance.

The SMB AI Adoption Journey, Part 1: Top Priorities in AI Investment

Elisabeth Clemmons, Katie Evans — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey presentation looks at SMBs' top priorities in terms of investment in forward-looking technologies, namely AI and automation. It also provides an overview in terms of employee size, region, digital transformation journey, and vertical. This presentation draws from IDC's February 2025 Worldwide Small and Medium Business Survey.

SMB Budgeting for AI/Automation, 2026

Elisabeth Clemmons, Katie Evans — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation examines small and medium-sized businesses' (SMBs') technology budgets and investment priorities, with a specific focus on AI and automation technologies, including GenAI and agentic AI. It highlights key priorities for SMBs in planning their AI/automation investments and provides an overview of preferred pricing strategies and models.

To What Extent Are SMBs Using Low-Code/No-Code Technologies?

Elisabeth Clemmons, Katie Evans — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey Spotlight examines how SMBs are approaching low-code/no-code practices in their organizations. It draws from IDC's Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business Survey, fielded in February 2025.

AI in Adtech: Industry Context, Brand Realities, and Evolving Use Case Considerations, 2026

Roger Beharry Lall — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation, initially shared in December 2025, begins by exploring the current advertising technology (adtech) context — the rise of unified omni-channel strategies, the shift from SEO to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven discovery, and the growing importance of first-party data, identity resolution, and data governance as prerequisites for effective artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the advertising technology landscape, redefining how brands discover audiences, orchestrate campaigns, and extract value from data across channels.

Against this backdrop, the presentation then examines some burgeoning AI use cases across the adtech landscape, including media buying, optimization, creative, and performance, contrasting midmarket and enterprise adoption patterns, risk considerations, and organizational decision dynamics.

The deck provides a practical, data-backed framework for vendors and brands planning AI-enabled adtech road maps and go-to-market strategies.

How Company Size Informs CIO Strategies: Differences Across Lower Midmarket, Upper Midmarket, and Large Enterprise from IDC's 2025 CIO Sentiment Survey

Mona Liddell — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Tech Buyer Presentation examines how CIO priorities and challenges compare across company size using data from IDC's 2025 CIO Sentiment Survey (n = 437). While many priorities are shared across lower midmarket (500–999 employees; n = 105), upper midmarket (1,000–4,999; n = 163), and large enterprise (5,000+; n = 169) organizations, the data reveals meaningful differences in execution capacity, operating constraints, risk exposure, and the impact of scale. The findings define practical archetypes by company size and highlight where CIOs face similar expectations but need different approaches across digital transformation, investment priorities, talent and skills, security and AI risk, and technical debt.

Japan IT Spending Forecast Update by Vertical Segment, Company Employee Size, Company Revenue, and Regional Segments, 2025–2029

Hitoshi Ichimura — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC study reports the actual IT spending (2023, 2024) and the IT spending forecast (2025–2029) by industry segment, company size, and annual turnover in the Japan IT market. This study analyzes IT spending trends across 15 product categories, 21 industry categories, five employee size categories, four annual turnover categories, and eight regional categories, reporting on IT spending trends observed in each industry sector.

The Japan IT market in 2026 will experience a slowdown due to a rebound in PC renewal demand, but positive growth will be maintained. These factors include the ongoing digitalization and digital business promotion in many companies, as well as an increase in projects related to legacy system renewal and infrastructure modernization, primarily among large and medium-sized enterprises. In the near term, the Japan IT market is expected to expand; however, after the conclusion of these large-scale projects, IT spending will focus on promoting digital business, potentially leading to the emergence of start-ups and emerging vendors with strengths in in-house development and the digital business sector. Under these circumstances, Hitoshi Ichimura, senior research manager for Verticals & Cross Technologies at IDC Japan, states, "Alongside responding to current legacy system renewals and infrastructure modernization projects, IT suppliers should strengthen initiatives that enable mid- to long-term business expansion, such as providing collaborative services aimed at supporting in-house IT capability development within user enterprises, and fostering partnerships with start-up companies and emerging vendors."

Telecommunications for Worldwide SMBs: Key Priorities and Challenges, 2025

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation looks at telecommunications priorities for SMBs around the world. It looks at available resources that SMBs have for managing telecommunications resources and current and future plans for investment. It also provides a regional view of the U.S., Western Europe, and APAC regions. It draws primarily from IDC's February 2025 Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business Survey, as well as IDC's September 2025 U.S. SMB Communications Survey, May 2025 European Small and Medium-Sized Business Data-Driven Strategy Survey, and September 2025 APAC Enterprise Connectivity and Telecom Services Survey.

IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business 2026 Predictions — Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications — Positioning for Success — Opportunities for Tech Sales and Marketing Leaders

Supriya Deka — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Presentation is an accompanying piece to the main IDC FutureScape Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business 2026 Predictions — Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications. It provides specific recommendations for two tech vendor personas: tech sales leaders and tech marketing leaders.

IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Small and Medium-Sized Business 2026 Predictions: Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) Implications

Supriya Deka — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This IDC FutureScape presents 10 key predictions for Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) (APEJ) small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) (1–500 employees) and midmarket (500–999 employees) through 2026 and beyond, focusing on AI, cybersecurity, financial operations (FinOps), and macroeconomic forces shaping digital strategy.

"For SMBs in APEJ, the next phase of digital growth isn't about adopting more tools; it's about making technology deliver measurable business results. As AI, cloud, and automation become accessible, success will come from using them strategically to improve efficiency and profitability," says Supriya Deka, research manager, Asia/Pacific Growth-Focused Technologies and Business Strategies at IDC.