Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2026. Read them in this 18th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Steve Douglas, Head of Market Strategy, Spirent Communications
When change is occurring at light speed, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what’s happening today-let alone predict what’s around the corner. New technologies and standards are emerging daily, but here at Spirent we have a unique perspective. As a leading provider of network test and assurance solutions for 5G, AI networking, Cloud, satellite communications and more, we have an opportunity to explore game-changing technology well before it goes mainstream.
The coming year promises to be an exciting one, with innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and vertical industries with specialized needs. Building on our experience from hundreds of global testing engagements, we’ve put together a preview of what’s in store for 2026. Here are some of the top developments we’ll be tracking.
AI personalized devices bring intelligence and time savings even closer to home.
With so much processing power migrating to the edge for a multitude of use cases, it’s only natural that more AI functionality is moving there as well. Over the coming months we’ll see advanced smartphones running persistent on-device AI models and agents trained on personal context, improving the user experience even as they reduce cloud and network dependence.
Our smartphones know more about us than any other device, and they’re acquiring more data about us all the time. Research shows that almost half of users spend five to six hours on smartphones daily in the United States. At the same time, processing power on smartphones has dramatically increased. That means we’ll be seeing more AI inferencing happening on these devices, rather than data center infrastructures. The evolution promises to unlock new efficiencies, more personalized, context-rich AI interactions, and potentially ease some of the scalability issues of fast-growing data centers.
As synthetic media attacks surge, content provenance becomes critical.
As GenAI has come of age, rich media has been a natural showcase for its capabilities. But the same technology that can embed your pet in a Star Wars scene can also pose serious cybersecurity threats. In the year ahead, deepfake phishing and AI-generated social engineering will cause an exponential increase in enterprise breaches.
To maintain digital trust, more organizations will be exploring how they can verify the authenticity and provenance of content. Content provenance embeds identity into videos, photos, and other content from the moment it’s created. It gives consumers peace of mind in knowing that content is what it claims to be, and can track and record content changes, like image changes or manipulation of a video clip. Security and content leaders recently formed a Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to create technical standards to confirm the source and history of media, to help users tell the difference between real and fake media.
Quantum secured links take cybersecurity to a new dimension.
Quantum technology is bringing big changes not only to compute platforms, but to securing communications. In the coming year, we’ll see a growing number of Telecom operators begin trialling and piloting Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over metro networks to secure critical national infrastructure.
Quantum technology remains tricky to harness, but research has been underway for two decades. What makes QKD different than traditional key encryption? It applies the laws and qualities of quantum physics to protect data, instead of mathematical algorithms. Since QKD relies on transmitting photons over fiber optic cables, it’s subject to distance limitations, and initial commercial offerings will be limited in scope due to the need for quantum repeaters. But if QKD can successfully make the leap from the lab into production, it has powerful potential for securing government and mission-critical communications.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Douglas is Head of Market Strategy for Spirent Communications, helping to define technical direction, new innovative solutions and market-leading disruptive technologies. With over 20 years� experience in telecommunications, Stephen has been at the cutting edge of next generation technologies and has worked across the industry with service providers, start-ups, and network equipment and device manufacturers, helping drive innovation and transformation across the 5G ecosystem. Stephen is an ardent believer in connected technology and strives to challenge, blur and break down the silos that prevent innovation and business success.
