Infrastructure's competitive advantage now comes from making better use of industrial data, rather than focusing on expanding the asset map. As resource-crunched utilities face resilience and demand issues – not least from data centers – those that share intelligence will finally be able to do more with less, reducing waste and avoiding redundant infrastructure spending.
We see three major trends:
1. Secure, AI-infused data platforms enable infrastructure operators to cooperate in radical new ways, across sectors
From power and water utilities to transport operators, industrial complexes and city governments, infrastructure operators now understand that resilience and efficiency at scale depend on breaking down sectoral silos. Networked infrastructure is here and sharing industrial intelligence insights is now a business imperative.
Researchers have identified how cross-industry data partnerships enable the collaboration and evidence-based decisions required to tackle issues around energy resilience and security, industrial competitiveness and environmental risks while enhancing the local value chain.
For infrastructure, such secure data highways – in the form of AI-infused cloud data platforms – can connect organizations to prevent cascading failures in an era of converging crises, such as climate stress, surging electricity demand and international cyber threats.
As more infrastructure projects are built, government requirements for cybersecurity and reporting will force utilities to modernize data practices. Within each sector, behind-the-meter technologies – solar, batteries, water reuse systems – require unified digital twins and AI-driven control for optimized performance.
Scaled up across the world, connecting data across institutional and geographic boundaries could deliver a $3-trillion annual economic dividend, according to previous McKinsey data.
2. Optimizing the water-energy nexus becomes critical
As radical collaboration across sectors becomes more common, we see an increasing number of infrastructure operators recognize the energy-water nexus as a joint optimization problem.
The two utility groups have operated independently for a century. We see that changing in 2026. The electricity grid’s biggest consumer is often the water board, while water systems leak billions of gallons and consume massive amounts of that same electricity.
Data center growth will precipitate the issue. By 2030, electricity demand from data centers worldwide is set to more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today. Each of those terawatt-hours requires water for cooling.
A system of systems approach can reduce consumption and improve sustainability, serving as a win-win for both. The water utility saves money by using less power through efficiency, thus lowering demand, while the power utility enjoys less strain on the grid.
3. AI moves from hype to hardware
The majority of companies (88%) report regularly using AI in at least one business function, according to a 2025 McKinsey survey. Companies are already seeing its real-world impact, with generative AI alone delivering up to 30% productivity improvements for early integrators.
Infrastructure has already seen great successes from AI, such as in the City of Salem, where the technology forecast harmful algae blooms in reservoirs. Those gains will extend to many more use cases in the year ahead as the adoption of AI-infused cloud data platforms grows, and data sharing is extended to regulators and partners.
With Gartner forecasting 40% of enterprise apps will feature task-specific AI agents by 2026, platforms for automation, data management and integration are more critical than ever. As AI becomes more accessible to operations teams – not just data scientists – business expertise will begin to drive outcomes on a daily basis.
For example, the use of Industrial Accelerators provide utilities with pre-configured templates and proven workflows to streamline deployment, enabling faster access to contextualized data, improved compliance and more resilient operations in a highly regulated and underinvested sector.
What the trends mean for each sector
As we enter 2026, critical infrastructure sectors are undergoing a profound transformation driven by surging demand, climate resilience imperatives and the rise of AI. Hybrid-cloud platforms, AI-powered analytics and connected data ecosystems are central to enabling this shift – empowering operators to modernize, decarbonize and optimize at scale.
Each infrastructure business sub-sector faces the same pressures but responds based on its unique assets, regulations and stakeholder demands.
Here’s how they break down:
Power & Utilities
Utilities face a twin transition: surging electricity demand driven by electric vehicles, heat pumps and AI data centers, alongside aggressive decarbonization mandates.
Global spending on electricity grids is currently around $400 billion annually but is significantly outpaced by the $1 trillion invested in generation assets, according to the IEA. Ensuring electricity security in this new landscape will require a rapid and sustained increase in grid modernization and resilience investment.
Smart grids, microgrids and digital twins are essential to balance renewables and load volatility, with the IEA reporting that up to 175 GW of additional transmission capacity could be unlocked in existing lines with the use of AI.
AI and analytics are increasingly used for predictive maintenance, resource adequacy and grid orchestration. A neutral operational data fabric and grid-scale cloud-connected intelligence serves as the key differentiator.
Water & Wastewater
Aging infrastructure, climate stress and rising cyber threats are pushing water utilities toward digital transformation. In 2026, expect increased adoption of SCADA modernization, IoT sensors and AI for leak detection, asset health and water quality monitoring.
With over 70% of U.S. water utilities failing basic cybersecurity standards, cloud-connected intelligence platforms are critical for secure data sharing with regulators and partners.
Buildings, Facilities & Smart Cities
Smart buildings and cities are becoming more integrated, data-driven and climate-resilient. AI-optimized HVAC and energy systems can cut energy use by up to 25%.
Cities are deploying digital twins to manage traffic, utilities and emergency response in real time. Facilities that unify operations across campuses and urban infrastructure clock net-zero energy gains and can slash critical response time by 60% on average.
Expect continued growth in hybrid-cloud platforms that unify building, energy and environmental data.
Connected Industrial Clusters and Connected Countries
In 2026, connected industrial clusters and national infrastructure ecosystems will emerge as strategic imperatives for resilience, efficiency and sustainability. Governments and industry leaders are increasingly investing in unified digital platforms – national or regional digital twins – that integrate data across sectors such as energy, water, transport and manufacturing.
These "connected country” frameworks and industrial parks are leveraging hybrid-cloud architectures to securely aggregate, contextualize and share operational data across organizations and geographies. By breaking down silos and enabling real-time collaboration, these ecosystems unlock co-optimization opportunities, improve situational awareness and accelerate decarbonization.
Success will depend on platforms that provide the secure data fabric and analytics backbone needed to orchestrate these multi-entity environments, turning distributed assets into coordinated, intelligent networks.
Data Centers (Industrial & Hyperscale)
Data centers are now critical infrastructure, but they are also a major power consumer. U.S. data center electricity use is projected to triple by 2028, and by 2030-35 could account for 20% of global electricity use.
Operators are shifting from siloed IT facilities to integrated, predictive and resilient operations. AI is central to this evolution, optimizing cooling, power and uptime. Intelligent data management and hybrid-cloud analytics are enabling leaders to unify IT/OT data, reduce outages and prepare for AI-driven workloads.
Sustainability and self-reliance (for example through on-site renewables, heat reuse) are rising priorities amid regulatory and community pressure.
Gary Wong, Global Segment Leader of Power, Utilities and Infrastructure, AVEVAAVEVA
