NetApp Announces 2026 Enterprise Technology Predictions as Saudi Arabia Accelerates AI and Cloud Transformation

NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, today shared its 2026 technology predictions and how they align with Saudi Arabia’s digital journey under Vision 2030.

AI sits at the center of NetApp’s Outlook 2026, which predicts a shift from pilots and proofs of concept into large‑scale, business‑critical deployments, where the real advantage comes from how unified, trusted, and accessible data is across the enterprise rather than from ever‑larger models.

As the Kingdom moves from building digital foundations to scaling real‑world AI, cloud, and data services, NetApp expects Intelligent Data Infrastructure to become a core engine behind many of KSA’s most ambitious technology initiatives. This means that building strong data foundations will be as important as selecting the right AI tools.​ This creates an opportunity to leverage AI for smarter government, finance, and energy solutions at scale.

Cloud adoption is expected to enter a more mature phase in 2026. Instead of relying on a one‑size‑fits‑all “cloud first” approach, NetApp predicts that organizations will embrace intelligent workload placement, matching each application and dataset with the most suitable mix of on‑premises, sovereign, and global clouds.

“Across Saudi Arabia, data is shifting from being a by‑product of operations to the core asset that shapes strategy,” said Suhail Hasanian, Senior Regional Director, and General Manager, MEA, NetApp. “Our 2026 predictions reflect what we see with customers in the Kingdom: those who invest in Intelligent Data Infrastructure are the ones turning bold digital initiatives into everyday reality. When AI, cloud, and cyber resilience are all drawing from the same intelligent data foundation, organizations can move faster and with greater confidence.”

Cyber resilience will emerge as a defining benchmark for digital maturity. NetApp expects organizations to be judged less by static policies and more by how quickly they can detect threats, isolate affected systems, recover clean, trusted copies of data, often supported by AI‑driven analytics and automation.

NetApp’s 2026 predictions suggest that Saudi Arabia’s next digital breakthroughs will not come from any single technology in isolation, but from how well organizations connect them through data. The leaders will be those that treat data as a strategic asset and build intelligent, resilient infrastructure to power AI, cloud, and secure digital services at scale in support of Vision 2030’s long‑term ambitions.