Futuring
Tech Trends report 2026
The Tech Trends report 2026 is a biennial publication based on international trend studies and market reports, enriched with the insights of experts from the SURF cooperative and beyond. Together, institutions look ahead to opportunities as well as challenges that have a direct impact on learning, discovery and collaboration. We look not only at the maturity and potential of new technologies, but also at the public values involved. From privacy and autonomy to inclusiveness and sustainability.
The technological developments in this report take place within a broader context of social, technological, economic, environmental and political influences. These drivers, from ageing and digitalisation to climate change, inequality and geopolitical tensions, shape the playing field in which education and research must set their course.
Thanks to the collaboration of many members from the SURF cooperative, this report provides a broad-based and in-depth picture of the framework within which the digital future of education and research moves in the coming years.
Download the full report from SURFdrive
Prefer to delve deeper by theme? Each chapter can also be downloaded separately below.
What will you find in the report?
The Tech Trends report consists of ten in-depth chapters, each focusing on a core trend defining our digital future:
- More diversified access to large AI models
- Changing dynamics in Responsible AI
- Increase in co-evolution between hardware and AI
- Collaboration between humans and AI
- From large to small language models
Download this chapter 18 pages
2. Immersive Technologies
- AR and smart glasses become more prominent
- Democratisation of XR content creation using generative AI
- Increasing AI-enhanced user experience
- Growing big tech competition for the XR stack
- Public investments in XR continue to increase
Download this chapter 18 pages
3. Data Management
- Increased application of FAIR principles to enable digital ecosystems in Europe
- Standardisation of data space architectures for secure and trusted data sharing
- Growing relevance of TRUST principles for data repositories to secure data
- Growing significance of augmented data management
- Emergence of DNA-based data storage to preserve data for a very long time
Download this chapter 19 pages
4. Digital Trust
- Trusted digital recognitions are emerging
- More decentralisation of data ownership enabled by SSI solutions
- Emergence of organisational wallets
- Push for transparent supply chains with digital product passports
- Digital Trust Frameworks: from hierarchical to distributed trust
Download this chapter 18 pages
5. Cybersecurity
- Emerging dual-use of AI in cybersecurity
- More accessible privacy-enhancing technologies to share data
- Rising pressure to prepare for post-quantum cryptography
- Emergence of measures for secure Internet of Things
- The growing need for security protocols to work in the cloud
Download this chapter 19 pages
6. Cloud computing
- Growing investments in the European cloud infrastructure & sovereignty
- More AI-driven hardware in data centres to manage workloads in the cloud
- Bringing computing resources closer to the 'edge
- Growing need for automated cloud and edge resource management
- Towards cloud native services and application design for research
Download this chapter 20 page
7. Computing
- Increasing need for heterogeneous and hybrid computing platforms
- Trade-offs in accuracy with approximate computing
- Growing emphasis on neuromorphic (brain-inspired) computing
- Integrating photonics for accelerated information processing
- Exploring biological systems for computing
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8. Connectivity
- Fixed wireless access
- The battle for airwaves
- AI/Ops, digital twinning and the emergence of the LLM in network operations
- Power usage and ecological footprint
- Fibre optic networks: strategic infrastructure for the knowledge economy
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9. Quantum Technologies
- From ad hoc experiments to applications
- Towards Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC)
- Hardware development acceleration
- Enhancing quantum computing robustness and potential
- Quantum sensing integration to other domains
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10. Wildcards
- Advances in brain-controlled technologies
- Cyber-physical technology calls for resilient minds
- Rise of the Humanoids
- Smart regenerative implants in trauma care
- A growing urge for chip sovereignty in Europe
Download this chapter 19 pages
Each chapter describes trends, signals and impact on education, research and daily practice.
For whom is this report intended?
The Tech Trends report is intended for administrators, policymakers, innovators, IT professionals, teachers and researchers within Dutch education and research. As a cooperative of education and research institutions, SURF helps its members look ahead to technological developments and the context in which they take place. This report provides insight into opportunities, risks and public values, enabling institutions to make well-considered choices about digitisation, collaboration and innovation. As such, it is both a source of inspiration and a strategic tool for everyone within the sector guiding the digital future.