In early 2026, the world of IT fleet management is undergoing its most radical transformation since the 2020 remote work pivot. The original intent of device management solutions was to make managing multiple computers that required the same configuration easier. Today, it has become the frontline of corporate survival.
Data from a recent EMA survey (Q3 2025 – 356 qualified respondents for orgs with 750 or more employees) and qualitative feedback from hundreds of IT leaders reveals a sector grappling with "digital cat-herding" while simultaneously being propelled into an autonomous, AI-native future.
In 2025, the primary theme was fragmentation. IT departments managed a diverse ecosystem of laptops, servers, and mobile platforms across multiple operating systems, yet often lacked a unified platform to manage them.
If 2025 was about trying to see the fleet, 2026 is about the fleet managing itself. We are moving from an AI-assisted era to an AI-native, autonomous economy.
In 2026, the focus shifts from "manually update as fast as possible" to intelligent orchestration. High-maturity teams are no longer chasing every operating system or software release on day one; instead, they are using autonomous device management platforms to identify and rectify issues autonomously. These automation capabilities reduce downtime by fixing broken software before a user even opens a support ticket, and 73% of organizations are looking to extend this capability beyond device management into the realm of patch management and software deployment.
Apple’s push toward declarative device management (DDM) has reached a tipping point. Unlike legacy polling (in which the server asks the device for its status), DDM allows devices to asynchronously report their own state and apply settings autonomously. For the 356 organizations surveyed, adopting DDM is no longer a choice: it’s the only way to scale management for the "always-on" remote workforce, with only 12% of organizations with Apple devices not planning on implementation.
By the end of 2026, it will be widely accepted that the network perimeter is no longer the only means of protecting enterprise resources. Security is now focused at the device level, integrating with zero trust posture enforcement and posture-based access to ensure that only healthy, compliant devices can touch sensitive data. Attackers no longer need to breach your corporate network…they just need to access a remote endpoint and log in.
A significant trend in 2026 is the renewed emphasis on self-hosting and full data ownership within device management strategies. Organizations are prioritizing deployment methods that allow them to host critical data on-premises or in private environments to maintain strict control over their security posture. A need to avoid external breaches and ensure that sensitive corporate information remains entirely within the organization's jurisdictional control drives this shift.
The data is clear: organizations have come to the realization that the "cat-herding" of the past must give way to a unified, intelligent system, and many are evaluating their options to replace their device management solutions in order to enable this shift. We are witnessing an evolution in which management is shifting from a fragmented era of manual patching and VPN-centric security toward an AI-native era defined by autonomous compliance, self-healing orchestration, and identity-centric zero trust models. This transition marks a change from simply maintaining asset visibility to ensuring that devices are not only secure, but are actively contributing to the organization’s productivity through seamless, integrated technology.
To navigate this shift, IT leaders must prioritize vendor consolidation and the adoption of "single-pane-of-glass" solutions. There currently exists a massive appetite for unified dashboards that can bridge the gaps between disparate software platforms and operating systems for true unified device management, especially when it comes to full management parity for Linux devices and pushing toward declarative device management. By reducing the complexity of the management stack, teams can finally address the "blind spots" that plagued them for years, allowing them to focus on high-value tasks like AI integration rather than manual troubleshooting.
Finally, organizations must rethink their budgeting and hardware lifecycle strategies to account for a mounting "technical debt" in their fleets. Survey respondents have expressed a fear that falling short of upgrade quotas in previous years will catch up to them in 2026 and 2027, necessitating a massive influx of capital to replace obsolete technology. Those who treat device management as a strategic investment—prioritizing preventative care and consistent hardware refreshes—will be better positioned to handle the evolving threat landscape and the rapid technological changes that lie ahead.
To navigate the complexities of 2026, organizations need a management layer that is as open and agile as the modern workforce. Fleet Device Management, who sponsored this research, is uniquely positioned to address these shifts by providing a unified platform that eliminates the digital cat-herding of the past. By offering a unified management platform for macOS and Windows, and specifically addressing the rising demand for Linux feature parity, Fleet enables IT teams to gain the real-time visibility they currently lack. Its architecture supports the move toward self-hosting and data sovereignty, ensuring that sensitive device metadata stays within your own infrastructure while powering the zero trust posture enforcement required to defend the identity perimeter. Whether you are transitioning to Apple’s declarative device management or seeking to automate the remediation of "stale" and vulnerable endpoints, Fleet Device Management provides the transparency and cross-platform consistency needed to turn device management from a chaotic headache into a strategic advantage for 2026 and beyond. Learn more about Fleet Device Management at their website.