Five items were positioned at their peak: frontier AI, FDE (Forward Deployed Engineer), agent-based AI, physical AI, and cloud resilience. Gartner predicts that the market centered on agent-based AI will continue to evolve rapidly.
In particular, Gartner believes that frontier AI is a core technology supporting the AI industrial revolution, and is becoming a strategic foundation that will determine the competitiveness of companies and the technological sovereignty of nations. Major vendors such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are racing to develop frontier AI with more advanced inference capabilities and AI agent capabilities. Improved performance is driving innovation in a wide range of fields, including software development, research and development, business automation, and scientific computing.
Tadaaki Ega, Gartner's Distinguished Vice President Analyst, says:
"Frontier AI is likely to become the intelligence base of all AI services and AI agents in the future, and for companies, the important management issue is not 'whether to adopt it or not,' but 'which model to use and under what kind of governance.'"
Companies that use frontier AI strategically can gain new competitive advantages. On the other hand, there is also an increased risk of dependence on specific vendors, restrictions on provision due to geopolitical factors, price fluctuations, and the impact of laws and regulations. Gartner points out that competitiveness is determined not only by performance but also by a comprehensive AI strategy that includes a multi-AI model strategy, sovereign AI, and data sovereignty.
Cloud strategy is also a human resources strategy
Approximately 20 years have passed since the introduction of hyperscalers, and the cloud has become an essential infrastructure for enterprises. Recently, AI and the cloud have evolved together, and the cloud has evolved from a platform that uses AI to an "AI-driven cloud" that is designed and operated with AI at its core. This paradigm shift is changing not only the role of the cloud, but also corporate IT strategies, business strategies, and the competitive environment itself.
"The cloud is not just an extension of traditional IT infrastructure, but is transforming into a strategic platform for building, executing, linking, and operating AI agents. Companies need to position the cloud as a management platform that supports continuous innovation. In the future, not only AI itself, but also the evolution of the cloud infrastructure that supports it will determine corporate competitiveness." (Mr. Iga)
Transforming to an AI-driven cloud cannot be achieved by simply implementing technology. It is essential for everyone from management to the field to continually improve their knowledge and capabilities regarding AI, cloud, and platform engineering. Mr. Ega says, ``Competitiveness in the AI era is determined not by the technology itself, but by the people and organizations that use it to create value.Cloud strategy is also a human resources strategy.''
Rather than just looking at individual products and vendors, user companies need to continuously monitor changes in the overall market, such as AI agent platforms, AI-driven clouds, standardization, and open ecosystems. Gartner recommends that it is important to flexibly review your company's architecture, partner strategy, and investment timing to turn change into a competitive advantage.
