2026 stories
Brands are still relying on people for nearly half of social interactions, highlighting the limits of automation in customer-facing moderation and replies.
Government and media sites were hit hardest as Cloudflare reported 23.2 million network-layer DDoS attacks in the first half of 2026.
A narrower pricing gap and rising listed tech shares suggest European private exits could recover later in 2026, ScaleX Invest said.
Account takeover and card-testing attacks surged as AI lowered the cost and speed of scams, raising pressure on online retailers.
Advertisers are getting more clicks for less, as paid media outlays climbed 17.5% in the first half of 2026 despite a 10.8% drop in click costs.
Power shortages are steering new builds towards emerging markets as Asia Pacific's data centre pipeline climbs to a record 26.5GW.
Attacks are increasingly concentrating on a handful of familiar brands, with Microsoft alone accounting for 23% of phishing attempts in Q2 2026.
Household budgets are set to be reshaped as AI agents steer purchases worth USD $3.35tn by 2030, WARC and PHD say.
Demand for production-ready AI agents is pushing Google to reframe Cloud Run as a platform for long-running, data-driven workloads.
Enterprise buyers will get a new way to assess AI service partners after NiCE introduced a specialism based on certified staff and proven results.
Recognition follows a market shift towards integrated customer communications platforms as 8x8 scores above average on business success and sentiment.
Supplier breaches are amplifying disruption, with ransomware incidents in Europe rising 55.1% year on year in the first four months of 2026.
Higher profitability has helped push enterprise values up by about 15% for the average IT solution provider, according to a new report.
Execution and escalation breakdowns now outnumber hallucinations in enterprise AI failures, according to more than 10,000 observed incidents.
The shortlist spans software, biotech and retail, highlighting the breadth of New Zealand firms vying for EY's 2026 entrepreneur prize.
A surge in small-business borrowing has prompted Iwoca to expand lending capacity, after UK SME lending rose 60% in 2025.
Asia's fund investors shifted towards shares in the first half of 2026, with bond funds sliding to net outflows of USD $3.1 billion.
Despite a global funding slowdown, the UK kept its No 2 FinTech spot as investors backed 181 deals worth USD $1.8 billion in H1 2026.
Household finances are under growing strain as repayment rates fall and missed payments rise, with balances matching a record high.
The tie-up will lift Deluxe's payments and data share of revenue to 57% of 2026 sales and make it one of the 10 biggest non-bank acquirers.
