Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum: Central 2026

Forrester's Technology & Innovation Forum: Central 2026 runs 14-15 September 2026 in Austin, Texas, and is the North American central edition of Forrester's flagship technology-leadership event. The 2026 theme is "The IT Singularity": the argument that AI has become ubiquitous enough that using it is no longer a competitive advantage on its own, and that the advantage now comes from how it is embedded. The agenda is organised into four tracks — Tech Strategy; Architecture, Infrastructure and Operations; Data and AI; and People and Operating Models — and is aimed squarely at chief information officers, chief data officers, chief AI officers, and architecture, delivery and analytics leaders. Announced keynotes include The AI Voyage: From Experiments To Customer Outcomes, The Cognitive Operating Model, The Future Of Software: From Packaged Apps To Generated Business Capabilities, Build AI Context With Knowledge Graphs, and The Quantum And AI Opportunity. Srividya Sridharan, VP and group research director, keynotes on turning AI experiments into customer outcomes. A companion EMEA edition follows in London on 30 September - 1 October 2026.

Date

September 14–15, 2026

Location

Austin, TX

Format

In-Person

Event Type

Forum

Status

Completed

Pricing

Paid

Organizer

Forrester Research

Added

Jul 6, 2026

Updated

Aug 20, 2026

• ✓CIO
• ✓Chief Data Officer
• ✓Chief AI Officer
• ✓Enterprise architect
• ✓VP of Infrastructure and Operations
• ✓Head of Data and Analytics
• ✓Software delivery leader

Two days here buy a technology executive a defensible planning position rather than a vendor shortlist. Forrester's analysts arrive with the underlying research, so a CIO leaves with a written point of view on where agentic development actually displaces packaged software, what a governed data foundation for AI context has to contain, and how to restructure an operating model when AI is embedded in every workflow instead of sitting beside it. The four tracks map onto the four budget lines a technology leader defends — strategy, architecture and operations, data and AI, and people — and the analyst body is available for one-to-one conversations. At $999 for clients and $1,099 for non-clients, it is one of the cheapest ways to get analyst time in the room.

• ✓Tech Strategy track
• ✓Architecture, Infrastructure, and Operations track
• ✓Data and AI track
• ✓People and Operating Models track
• ✓Keynote: The AI Voyage — From Experiments To Customer Outcomes, with Srividya Sridharan, VP and group research director
• ✓Keynote: The Cognitive Operating Model, on redefining human-AI decision-making
• ✓Keynote: The Future Of Software — From Packaged Apps To Generated Business Capabilities, on agentic development
• ✓Keynote: Build AI Context With Knowledge Graphs, on governed data foundations
• ✓Keynote: The Quantum And AI Opportunity, on practical quantum applications

• ★Analyst-led rather than vendor-led: the agenda is Forrester's own research, so the sessions are advisory positions a CIO can cite internally, not product roadmaps
• ★The 2026 thesis is deliberately contrarian — "The IT Singularity" argues AI adoption has stopped being a differentiator, which reframes the planning question from whether to adopt to how to operate
• ★Pricing is unusually low for an analyst-firm event at $999 for Forrester clients and $1,099 for non-clients, against the four-figure norm for peer conferences
• ★Four tracks cover the full CIO remit in two days — strategy, architecture and operations, data and AI, and people and operating models — rather than specialising in one
• ★A quantum keynote (The Quantum And AI Opportunity) sits on the main agenda, which is rare for an enterprise IT forum still focused on AI

Individual pass: $999 USD / $1,299 CAD for Forrester clients, $1,099 USD / $1,399 CAD for non-clients. Team rate is five tickets for the price of four in a single transaction: $3,996 USD / $5,196 CAD for clients and $4,396 USD / $5,596 CAD for non-clients. No early-bird deadline is published.

When is Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum?

Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum takes place September 14–15, 2026 in Austin, TX.

Where is Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum held?

Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum is held in Austin, TX. The event format is in-person.

How much does Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum cost?

Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum is paid. Individual pass: $999 USD / $1,299 CAD for Forrester clients, $1,099 USD / $1,399 CAD for non-clients. Team rate is five tickets for the price of four in a single transaction: $3,996 USD / $5,196 CAD for clients and $4,396 USD / $5,596 CAD for non-clients. No early-bird deadline is published.

Who should attend Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum?

Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum is aimed at CIO, Chief Data Officer, Chief AI Officer, Enterprise architect, VP of Infrastructure and Operations, Head of Data and Analytics, Software delivery leader.

What topics does Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum cover?

Forrester Technology & Innovation Forum covers Enterprise AI strategy, AI operating models, Agentic software development, Data governance, Knowledge graphs, Infrastructure and operations modernization, Quantum computing, Technology investment planning.

This page was written from 3 sources, 2 on domains other than forrester.com.

1. 1.forrester.com — technology innovation centralvendor
2. 2.stocktitan.net — forrester unveils agendas for 2026 technology innovation for
3. 3.investor.forrester.com — forrester unveils agendas 2026 technology innovation forums