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IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Laser Production Printers 2026 Vendor Assessment

Mitri Roufka, Tim Greene — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC MarketScape assesses the capabilities and strategies of 11 global vendors of laser production printers. It also provides guidance to vendors and advice to companies considering the acquisition of such equipment, including the selection criteria they should consider and the vendors that fit their production printing needs best.

"Production printers are mission critical and have long life cycles. These buying decisions involve high CAPEX, which creates extreme inertia. Customers know that, whatever their possible issues are, getting the printers online quickly is the most critical element in deploying them. Because of this, customers' most important selection criteria is 'Which vendor offers the best service and support that we can trust?'. Features and innovative solutions that address efficiency, automation, and changing business needs are also important but clearly come in the second place," said Mitri Roufka, program director, IDC Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions team.

Red Hat Hardened Images Delivers a Supported, Minimized Base Image Catalog Built on Its Open Source Software Factory

Katie Norton — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Red Hat Hardened Images brings a no-cost catalog of minimized container base images to market, built on the same software supply chain foundation Red Hat uses across its broader portfolio. The new offering gives Red Hat customers a lower-friction path to adopting hardened images and reinforces hardened images as an increasingly mainstream software supply chain control.

Strategic Considerations for Enterprise AI Networking: Datacenter, Cloud, and Interconnect

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 27 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Tech Buyer Presentation examines the strategic networking and interconnect considerations enterprise technology buyers must address when planning and deploying datacenter, cloud, and hybrid AI workloads. Enterprise AI deployments are placing unprecedented demands on datacenter networking infrastructure. Drawing on findings from IDC's 2025 Worldwide AI in Networking Special Report (n = 518), it covers the evolution from traditional datacenter networking to AI-ready architectures, the infrastructure requirements of AI factories, and the key benefits and challenges organizations face. The presentation provides actionable guidance on capacity planning, technology selection, and proactive network design to help enterprise teams ensure their networking infrastructure can scale in lockstep with AI compute demands.

2026年国内ITインフラ支出動向調査：ソブリンAI対応がプライベートAIインフラ投資を促進

Yukihisa Hode, Shinya Kato — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

本調査レポートは、2026年2月に実施した「Japan Digital and AI Infrastructure Strategies and Investment Survey 2026」のユーザー調査データを基に、国内企業のデジタルインフラ戦略およびAI（Aritificial Intelligence）インフラ投資動向を分析したものである。

本調査の目的は、AI活用の本格化を見据え、国内企業のデジタルインフラ戦略やAIインフラ投資動向における優先項目を把握し、分析することである。具体的には、デジタルインフラ投資の目的がビジネス成果志向に転換しているか、仮想化環境の移行がどの程度進んでいるか、AIインフラ投資における優先項目や課題は何か、そして従業員規模によってAIインフラ投資の傾向にどのような違いがあるかに焦点を合わせて分析する。

IDC Japan、Infrastructure, Imaging and Devicesのリサーチマネージャーである宝出幸久は、「国内企業におけるITインフラ予算は増加傾向にあるものの、投資目的は業務効率化への期待が中心であり、イノベーション創出や競争優位の獲得への期待は相対的に小さい。仮想化基盤の移行が計画・実行段階へと進む一方、大企業は安定性、コスト最適化、ソブリンAI対応の観点からプライベートAIインフラを強く志向している。AI活用が加速する中、ITインフラへの戦略的投資が競争優位の確立を左右するという認識を持ち、投資判断の軸を見直すことが不可欠である」と分析している。

Agentic AI Implications for IaaS Network Services

Taranvir Singh — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective explores how agentic AI is transforming IaaS network services, emphasizing the need for high-performance connectivity, efficient application networking, and integrated security and governance. As enterprises scale agentic AI deployments, strategic networking partner preferences are shifting toward cloud SPs. The report offers recommendations for vendors, highlighting the importance of specialized AI networking capabilities, validated designs, and expertise to support dynamic, distributed agentic AI environments.

"Networking is foundational to agentic AI. Its pervasive presence across AI agent interactions positions it as an important enabler of end-to-end connectivity, security, and governance," says Taranvir Singh, research manager, Cloud Networking Services, IDC. "For AI agents to operate at production scale, the network must function as an intelligent policy fabric, not just an underlying transport layer."

Datacenter Colocation Service Vendor Profile: Digital Realty

Mary Johnston Turner — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Vendor Profile offers an overview of Digital Realty Trust, one of the major global providers of datacenter facilities, colocation, and interconnection services.

Dell Technologies World 2026: AI Focus Dominates Dell's Storage Roadmap

Natalya Yezhkova, Carol Sliwa, Ashish Nadkarni — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

At Dell Technologies World (DTW) 2026, the company made a series of announcements spanning primary storage, object storage, cyber resiliency, and data management for AI workloads, reflecting a broader industry shift toward treating storage as a foundational layer in an AI infrastructure stack. Core announcements included Dell PowerStore Elite, an upgrade to its all-flash storage system; enhancements to the Dell AI Data Platform, including new orchestration and search capabilities; a new high-density ObjectScale X7700 storage appliance; and the completion of the Exascale Storage portfolio with the forthcoming addition of PowerFlex block storage.

Dell Technologies World 2026: Operationalizing AI at Enterprise Scale

Matthew Eastwood, Tom Mainelli, Ashish Nadkarni, Leslie Rosenberg — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

At Dell Technologies World 2026, Dell advanced its “full stack” AI-ready IT portfolio by announcing developments in compute, data management, storage, networking, cyber recovery, AI-enabled automation, end-user devices, and IT services. Dell positioned AI infrastructure as the foundation for data lifecycle management, emphasizing “AI for infrastructure and infrastructure for AI.” A highlight was the enhanced AI Factory narrative, marking a shift from reference architecture to production-scale systems. The event underscored that enterprise AI is progressing from pilots to operational deployment, where data access, GPU utilization, sovereignty, and hybrid placement decisions are increasingly important. Dell conveyed that success in AI now hinges on the design, deployment, and operation of integrated AI systems at scale—requiring the right hardware across hybrid, multicloud, on-premises data centers, and desktops. Enterprises must manage token economics, enabling customers to use their own data for AI model development while controlling bandwidth and token costs.

IDC Survey Spotlight: How Are Printing Volumes Changing in Europe’s Office Environment by Document Type?

Mitri Roufka — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey Spotlight investigates how printing volumes are changing in Europe’s office environment by industry and document type. It examines the business areas where organizations continue to report increased print activity and the factors behind this growth, including customer and business partner preferences, legal requirements, higher business activity, administrative needs, and document retention requirements.

This document also highlights how print demand differs across sectors and document categories. It identifies where printing remains closely tied to external communication, finance and accounting processes, HR, service operations, legal and compliance requirements, and operational workflows. The document provides insight into how organizations continue to rely on print, even as physical documents remain expected, required, easier to manage, or necessary for formal and auditable business processes.

Key Considerations for Enterprises When Selecting a Device-as-a-Service Provider

Lara Greden — Tue, 26 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective provides guidance for enterprise technology buyers evaluating and selecting device-as-a-service (DaaS) providers. Drawing on IDC MarketScape: Worldwide DaaS 2025 Vendor Assessment (IDC #US53783925, September 2025), this document outlines the key market forces driving DaaS adoption, the critical capability dimensions buyers should evaluate across vendors, and specific recommended actions for structuring DaaS engagements that deliver measurable business value.

"Managing modern device fleets is both complex and costly, posing challenges for IT in balancing employee satisfaction, cost control, and strategic initiatives. As organizations evaluate device-as-a-service offerings, the key lies in selecting a vendor whose breadth of hardware, life-cycle services, and management capabilities aligns with their unique needs," says Lara Greden, senior research director, Flexible Consumption and Financing Strategies, IDC.