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.
AI search and automation are helping restaurants win more bookings as OpenTable expands tools aimed at cutting staff workload and boosting covers.
Rising memory and storage costs are pushing prices higher, threatening European PC shipments as buyers delay refreshes.
Rising printer-related breaches are costing firms more than USD $1.3 million on average, putting print security higher on corporate risk agendas.
Better AI security programmes are easing immediate threat concerns, but many CISOs still doubt their organisations can manage risks over the next two years.
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.
More than one million bags were mishandled across major US airlines in the first half of 2026, though the overall rate improved year on year.
Pay for Leinster Chartered Accountants stayed near a record in 2026 as AI use jumped to 53% and hybrid working held firm.
Rising scam losses are pushing Australian firms towards stronger payment and login controls as regulators prepare tougher enforcement.
Hidden endpoint blind spots are leaving Southeast Asian firms exposed to downtime, data leaks and losses above USD $1 million.
Higher module costs are expected to squeeze developers as India races past its annual solar installation record and tightens local sourcing rules.
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.
.webp)
