Technology and Science Drive Sustainable and Strategic Business Transformations in Brazil by 2026

Brazilian businesses are set to undergo significant strategic transformations by 2026, driven by emergent technological and scientific principles emphasizing sustainability, AI governance, and operational innovation. According to a recent report by ManageEngine, technology will be central to corporate strategies, particularly in cybersecurity, with the market expected to grow due to increasingly sophisticated AI-driven attacks — including automated fraud and biometric intrusions. Companies are already adopting new defensive models like Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) to bolster digital protection while managing costs.

Simultaneously, challenges in managing hybrid and multicloud environments will shift focus from simple cloud adoption to optimizing costs, mitigating risks, and enhancing sustainability. This is augmented by Brazil's emphasis on data repatriation and sovereignty, prompted by the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and government incentives fostering domestic data centers.

Complementing these technological shifts, biologist Átila Iamarino and biomimicry expert Gui Gennari advocate integrating natural principles into business innovations to promote sustainability. They critique the unsustainable model of infinite growth, likening it to cancer harming its host, and highlight the necessity of regenerative business practices and cooperative ecosystems for long-term resilience. They also warn of the environmental costs associated with AI, projecting that AI data centers might become the world's third-largest energy consumers by 2030, underscoring the need for responsible AI usage and human discernment in technology application.

ManageEngine further notes that Brazilian firms will move beyond AI hype towards tangible results prioritized by governance and return on investment metrics, with legal clarity needed to address risks of misuse of sensitive data. The country emerges as a ‘‘laboratory’’ for programmable finance innovations such as Pix and Open Finance, enabling new business models based on APIs and tokenization. Addressing the technology sector’s talent shortages through large-scale automation, generative AI, and low-code/no-code platforms will facilitate operational scale without sacrificing IT governance.

Flávia Amaral, a partner at Trench Rossi Watanabe, underscores that innovation and data protection can coexist, with appropriate safeguards ensuring large-scale data use aligns with regulatory frameworks. The experts also emphasize education and scientific literacy as vital to combating misinformation and fostering collaborative, informed decision-making.

In sum, Brazil's business landscape is poised for a substantive evolution by 2026, where synergizing advanced technologies with ecological wisdom and robust governance frameworks will define competitiveness and sustainability.