In the UAE, Business Leaders View Uncertainty as an Opportunity, IBM Report Finds
95% of UAE executives say fast decision-making is now critical, while 98% see AI resilience and sovereignty as essential to their 2026 strategy.
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A new report states that uncertainty, traditionally seen as an obstacle to decision-making, is now acting as a catalyst for rapid transformation, encouraging organizations to focus on speed, resilience, and data-driven insights.
IBM Institute for Business Value’s report, titled “Five Trends for 2026,” outlines the technological and strategic shifts expected to shape business competitiveness globally and in the UAE over the coming year.
Drawing on a survey of 1,028 C-suite executives across 20 industries, alongside responses from 8,500 full-time employed consumers worldwide, the report finds that volatility is no longer paralysing leaders. Instead, it is forcing them to act with greater conviction.
In the UAE, 95% of executives said they increasingly need to make rapid decisions, and all respondents believed the most high-stakes choices they made in 2025 were the right ones—four percentage points above the global average. Nearly two-thirds believe that economic and geopolitical uncertainty will create new opportunities in 2026, although 93% expressed concern about losing competitiveness if they fail to operate in real-time.
A second major shift is unfolding within the workforce. Contrary to fears of resistance, employees are becoming increasingly open to deeper integration of AI. Globally, 81% reported being confident in their ability to keep pace with new technologies, while 61% stated that AI was already making their work less repetitive and more strategic.
Across age groups, far more employees welcomed the expanded use of AI than opposed it, and 63% said they would be comfortable working directly with AI agents in the year ahead.
On the consumer side, optimism about AI is tempered by rising expectations around transparency and accountability. Nearly nine in ten consumers stated that they want to know when they are interacting with AI, and four in five indicated that they would trust a brand less if AI use were deliberately hidden. Two-thirds said they would switch brands to avoid undisclosed AI, underscoring why 95% of executives believe consumer trust in AI systems will determine the success of future products and services.
The report also highlights AI resilience and sovereignty as growing priorities. In the UAE, 98% of executives said these considerations must form part of their 2026 strategy, while 63% voiced concern about overreliance on compute resources.
Looking ahead, IBV points to quantum computing as the next major inflection point, noting that quantum-ready organisations are far more likely to collaborate across ecosystems. In the UAE, 80% of executives said partnerships accelerate technology adoption, with most agreeing they also reduce disruption and improve business outcomes.
