KPMG Managed Services Outlook 2026

Companies are facing increasing complexity: operations should remain stable, costs should be predictable – and new technologies should be used reliably

For many companies, managed services are now an integral part of corporate management. They no longer only serve to relieve individual functions, but are also used to reduce complexity and make changes controllable.

Insights from over 1,200 companies worldwide

The KPMG Managed Services Outlook 2026 is based on an international survey of over 1,200 executives, including decision-makers from Germany. It examines how companies are using managed services to effectively drive technological transformation forward and anchor it in ongoing operations: Managed services are evolving from an operational support model to a structural instrument for management, scaling and governance. Decisions about their use are increasingly being made at top management level, where long-term objectives, risk assessment and operational reliability come together.

Almost all of the companies surveyed are planning to increase their spending on managed services over the next two years.

Ready to talk? Contact us.

KPMG Managed Services Outlook 2026

What priorities companies are setting for managed services in 2026 – from predictability and security to the use of AI

Download now

Key results of the survey

99 per cent of companies see managed services as strategically relevant, 87 per cent have already integrated them into their processes.

91 per cent consider the model to be necessary in order to implement AI. Pure cost targets are becoming less important, with growth and innovation taking centre stage.

In Germany, managed services are primarily used to strengthen cyber security.

Managed services as a prerequisite for scalable AI

The use of AI is a given for many companies. However, the decisive factor is whether it can be operated securely, scalably and in compliance with regulations. This is where managed services come in: They regulate responsibility, reduce operational risks and make the use of AI calculable.

Companies expect managed services providers to offer not only technological expertise, but also to assume clearly defined responsibility for the operation, monitoring and further development of AI systems. AI is therefore not introduced selectively, but organised on a permanent basis.

Managed services can act as a strategic control element in the AI transformation. They combine innovation with the operational stability that a sustainable transformation requires.

Sina Steidl-Küster

Divisional Director Consulting

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

Cyber security as the basis for scaling

Around two thirds of companies already use managed services for complete security functions. There is a clear logic behind this: without secure operations, neither AI nor other complex technologies can be scaled responsibly.

Managed services create the basis for stability, trust and controlled growth and therefore determine further digital development.

Read in the study,