UK firms prioritise cyber resilience and AI growth
Agentic AI adoption is rising, pushing firms to strengthen governance, skills, and cyber controls as systems take on more complex tasks.
Cybersecurity is set to receive the largest budget increases over the next 12 months, as organisations respond to rising geopolitical tensions and a surge in high-profile cyber-attacks, according to the KPMG Global Tech Report 2026.
More than half of UK firms plan to lift cybersecurity spending by over 10 percent, outpacing global averages and reflecting heightened concern over digital resilience.
AI and data analytics are also attracting substantial investment, with most organisations increasing budgets as they anticipate stronger returns by the end of 2026. Executives expect AI to shift from an efficiency tool to a core revenue driver, signalling a move toward large-scale deployment.
Despite strong investment momentum, scaling remains a major challenge. Fewer than one in 10 organisations report fully deployed AI or cybersecurity systems today, although around half expect to reach that stage within a year.
Structural barriers, fragmented ownership, and unclear accountability continue to slow execution, highlighting the complexity of translating strategy into operational impact.
Agentic AI is emerging as a central focus, with most organisations already embedding autonomous systems into workflows. Demand for specialist AI roles is rising, alongside closer collaboration to ensure secure deployment, governance, and continuous monitoring.
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