The era of digital transformation has shifted. According to the 2026 Connectivity Benchmark Report, which surveyed 1,050 IT leaders globally, the industry has entered a new phase: the age of the agentic enterprise.
The report reveals that the race toward agentic AI is already well underway. A staggering 88% of organizations report they are on track toward partial or full agentic transformation. Furthermore, nearly all respondents (98%) indicate their organization plans to adopt these capabilities, signaling that autonomous, AI-driven systems are rapidly becoming the new standard for enterprise IT.
However, the data also uncovers a complex reality behind this adoption curve. While ambition is high, IT leaders are facing significant architectural headwinds, data fragmentation, and governance hurdles that threaten to stall progress.
The expanding application landscape
As organizations race to deploy agents, the scale of the enterprise landscape is expanding. The report indicates that the average organization now manages 957 applications.
Interestingly, this number rises for those furthest along in their journey. Organizations that have fully adopted agentic transformation manage an average of 1,057 applications – 10% more than the general mean. This suggests that as businesses embrace autonomous technologies, their technological footprint grows, potentially compounding integration challenges.
The connectivity paradox
Despite the volume of applications, the report highlights a critical disconnect. On average, only 27% of these applications are currently connected. Even among organizations that have achieved agentic transformation, only 32% of their applications are connected.
This lack of connectivity is creating a barrier to value. The data shows that 71% of respondents agree their IT infrastructure makes systems overly dependent on one another. Consequently, 82% of IT leaders cite data integration as one of the biggest challenges their organization faces when using AI.
The impact of this fragmentation is tangible. Eighty-six percent of IT leaders agree that without proper integration, AI agents can introduce more complexity rather than value. Currently, half of all AI agents operate in silos rather than as part of a cohesive multi-agent system.
Projects delayed and goals at risk
The friction caused by these integration challenges is affecting project delivery. The benchmark report reveals that 26% of IT projects, on average, were not delivered on time in the last 12 months. This delay correlates with the heavy manual lift required for connectivity; IT teams now report spending an average of 36% of their time designing, building, and testing new custom integrations between systems and data.
As a result of these compounding factors, a trust paradox has emerged. While adoption plans are near-universal, 64% of IT leaders express concern regarding their ability to successfully meet their near-term AI implementation goals.
The state of governance
As organizations navigate this shift, the role of APIs in supporting AI remains central, as 94% of IT leaders state that AI agents will require IT architecture to be more API-driven. However, the data exposes a significant gap in management and security:
- Ungoverned APIs: Despite their critical role, 27% of all APIs remain ungoverned within organizations.
- Governance frameworks: Only 54% of organizations currently have a centralized governance framework with formal policies and oversight from a dedicated team or board for their agentic capabilities.
Emerging standards
The report highlights that to bridge the gap between isolated agents and complex systems, IT teams are moving quickly to adopt new standards. The report finds that 40% of respondents are using Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocols, and 39% are using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Despite this rapid uptake of new protocols, keeping pace remains difficult. Sixty-eight percent of IT leaders responded that they still find it challenging to stay current with emerging standards and protocols for AI agents.
Uncover more insights with the 2026 CBR
The 2026 Connectivity Benchmark Report paints a clear picture of an industry in transition. While 88% of organizations are moving toward agentic transformation, the data indicates that success is heavily dependent on resolving deep-seated challenges in data integration, connectivity, and governance.
Download the 2026 Connectivity Benchmark Report to unlock the complete data and strategic insights for navigating the age of the agentic enterprise.