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Customer Experience and Collections: Rethinking the Role of Accounts Receivable

Kevin Permenter — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective examines a structural gap in how organizations use the data their AR teams already generate. Collections is often where customer risk becomes visible first. Payment timing slips, disputes pick up, and responsiveness drops. These signals rarely travel beyond finance in time to inform sales, customer success, or credit decisions. Drawing on IDC's 2026 SaaS and Agent Path Survey (n = 130 AR respondents), the document outlines why organizations miss these signals, what it costs them when they do, and what the leaders are doing differently. The takeaway is not better collections execution; it is treating collections as an early signal layer for customer health and connecting this signal to the rest of the business while there is still time to act.

"Most organizations already have the signal. The difference between the leaders and everyone else is whether they use it while it still matters." — Kevin Permenter, senior research director, Financial Applications at IDC

IDC Market Glance: META Artificial Intelligence Core Software, Q1 2026

Melih Murat — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Glance examines the AI core software market in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa (META), providing a structured overview of solution providers based on their core competencies.

AI core software encompasses the capabilities enabling the development, deployment, and operation of AI models and associated systems. It includes two segments: AI platforms, which support data scientists and ML developers across the full life cycle from experimentation to production, and applied AI software, which delivers pretrained AI capabilities directly into business applications and workflows to improve business outcomes.

"META's AI core software market is accelerating, driven by sovereign AI ambitions and a decisive pivot to integrated, platform-led architectures. As governance and resilience become central to adoption, the region's AI maturity will be shaped by the synergy between local innovation and the advanced capabilities of global technology providers," says Melih Murat, Associate Research Director, Artificial Intelligence at IDC.

IDC Survey Spotlight: Are MFT Tool Portfolios Expanding as Enterprises Modernize Integration Architectures?

Andrew Gens — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey Spotlight explores how managed file transfer (MFT) environments are evolving as organizations modernize their integration architectures. MFT remains a critical technology for secure file exchange, compliance, and partner connectivity, but enterprises are increasingly moving beyond a single-platform approach. Many are now managing a combination of legacy and modern MFT tools as they balance modernization goals with the need to maintain existing business processes.

The findings show that organizations are expanding their MFT portfolios as part of a broader transition rather than pursuing immediate replacement. Existing platforms continue to support established workloads, while newer solutions are being introduced to improve orchestration, governance, automation, and operational flexibility. This reflects a measured approach to modernization, where reducing disruption is often just as important as adopting new capabilities.

The research also points to a growing need for tools and services that simplify migration and coexistence. As organizations work to reduce complexity over time, they will look for solutions that provide stronger governance, policy management, and workload portability across platforms. Success will depend less on introducing another tool and more on helping customers modernize and consolidate their environments with confidence.

IDC Survey: Data Monetization Survey Results, 2026

Stewart Bond, Lynne Schneider — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey focuses on how enterprises are scaling data monetization initiatives within increasingly complex external data and AI environments. As organizations rely more heavily on third-party data, collaborative ecosystems, and AI-driven workflows, the challenge is shifting from simply acquiring external data to operationalizing it in ways that are commercially viable, governable, and repeatable across the enterprise.

The research highlights how monetization requirements now extend across pricing strategies, marketplace usability, delivery architecture, integration flexibility, governance controls, and provider trust. Buyers are evaluating external data not only on data set quality, but also on how well monetized data aligns with internal workflows, AI initiatives, compliance requirements, usage rights, and cost-management expectations. The findings show growing demand for operationally compatible delivery models, including APIs, database integrations, clean rooms, software integrations, and AI/ML pipelines.

The study also shows that many monetization barriers are organizational and operational rather than purely technical. Enterprises continue to face friction around integration complexity, data quality, privacy and compliance concerns, legal coordination, skills shortages, and ROI justification. As monetization programs mature, long-term success will increasingly depend on an organization’s ability to combine governance discipline, transparent commercial models, trusted partner relationships, and workflow-ready delivery approaches that allow external data to generate measurable and sustainable business value.

"Data monetization is not only a product or pricing decision but also an operating model challenge. Buyers are asking whether the data can be integrated, governed, and used safely at scale. Providers that address rights clarity, compliance posture, and delivery fit alongside data set quality will be far better positioned to win and retain enterprise customers," says Stewart Bond, VP, data intelligence and integration software, IDC.

IDC Survey: Telecom Transformation, 2026: Partner Signals

Chris Silberberg — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey, conducted in April 2026, builds upon a prior study from 2025 that explored the motivations, objectives, strategies, challenges, and partner preferences of global telecommunications service providers in their digital transformation (DX) efforts.

IDC’s 2026 Worldwide Telco DX IT, Applications, and AI Survey captures insights from 350 telecom operators across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific regions. The findings reveal: cloud providers and generative AI model vendors have emerged as the most strategic partners for telcos executing their GenAI and agentic AI plans; telcos are consolidating around vendors that can offer more complete end-to-end portfolios in their given domain, alongside strong partnerships with hyperscalers; and security, deep telecom domain knowledge, and data governance are the defining capabilities telcos require from partners as they scale AI and agentic technologies across their operations.

IDC Survey: Worldwide SMB AI Platform Spending: Regional Dynamics, Growth Opportunities, and Strategic Priorities, 2024–2029

Supriya Deka, Katie Evans — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey examines how small and midsize businesses (SMBs) worldwide are spending on AI platforms through 2029. It maps regional spending dynamics across the Americas, Europe, and Asia/Pacific regions, identifies growth opportunities driving adoption, and surfaces the strategic priorities shaping vendor selection. The findings provide technology suppliers with the evidence they need to navigate their next steps to better serve the SMB segment.

IFS and AVEVA Announce Strategic Partnership: AI-Powered Continuous Asset Decision Intelligence Helps Deliver Enhanced Aftermarket Service Outcomes

Aly Pinder — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Note provides IDC’s thoughts on the strategic partnership between IFS and AVEVA and its specific implications for the aftermarket and field service management technology market.

Rubrik Forward 2026: Identity Failure is Inevitable; Continuity Is Not.

Emanuel Figueroa — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

What Is the Evolving Role of Track and Trace in Pharma Organizations' Supply Chain Strategy?

Nino Giguashvili — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey Spotlight examines how pharmaceutical organizations worldwide are repositioning investments in track-and-trace/serialization capabilities and how the role of these solutions is evolving in their broader supply chain strategies.

The analysis is based on data from a sample of pharmaceutical and biotech organizations that participated in IDC's Worldwide Supply Chain Survey 2026, conducted in June 2026 among organizations from multiple industries across North America, Europe, and Asia/Pacific.

Zip Superagents and MCP: A Governance-First Path for AI in Spend

Patrick Reymann — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This Link examines Zip’s launch of three interconnected AI offerings - Zip Superagents, a procurement-native implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the Zip AI Spend Automation program - and positions them as an ambitious attempt to become the governed layer through which AI touches enterprise spend rather than a standalone assistant. We review Zip’s governance-first agent architecture, its model-agnostic MCP integration with tools such as Claude and ChatGPT, and the forward-deployed engineer engagement model, highlighting both the potential to address shadow AI and auditability risks in procurement and questions around evidence of at-scale execution and buyer dependence on high-touch services.