Digital adoption across Africa has accelerated over the past two years. In 2026, IT service management will shift from a support function to a strategic driver of resilience and growth. Organisations are moving beyond pilots and embedding digital processes across every function. Automation and AI are now central to how IT teams scale.
Leith Collyer, Managing Director at Pink Elephant South Africa, says the change is apparent.
“ITSM is now a business engine. Companies investing in predictive operations, AI-driven service delivery and strong skills are earning customer trust and staying competitive. The gap between adopters and laggards is widening fast.”
1. Autonomous operations take over
AIOps platforms will drive a major shift towards autonomous operations. Systems will detect unusual behaviour, flag risks, predict outages and fix issues automatically.
This reduces downtime and frees IT teams to focus on strategic work instead of chasing alerts.
2. AI agents join the workforce
AI agents will work alongside IT teams each day. They will triage incidents, update knowledge bases, support change planning and assist with operations.
“They don’t replace people. They multiply their impact,” says Collyer.
For Southern African organisations with limited technical capacity, these agents will support more sites and services without adding headcount.
3. Predictive analytics becomes standard
Predictive analytics will become a core part of the service desk. Companies will use real-time insights to anticipate issues, plan capacity, and identify business risks long before they surface.
This will influence SLAs and inform board-level decisions. The benefits include fewer outages, better planning and lower support costs.
4. Mobile-first self-service grows fast
More customers now access services from their phones. They expect quick, consistent support across chat, apps, voice and social platforms.
Mobile-first self-service will reduce repetitive interactions and improve satisfaction.
This gives IT teams time to focus on higher-value tasks.
5. Local data centres increase trust and speed
New African data centres will remove major barriers to adopting modern ITSM. Local hosting brings better performance, lower costs and improved compliance.
This is important for industries with strict data rules such as finance, healthcare and government.
Cloud-native ITSM platforms will scale faster under these conditions.
6. Skills development becomes critical
Automation and AI will take over repetitive work. This increases the need for people who understand process design, AI governance and business alignment.
Digital skills programmes across the region will support this shift.
Companies that invest in accredited training and on-the-ground learning will build stronger teams and gain an advantage in 2026.
7. ITSM results will be measured by business impact
Ticket volumes will no longer judge ITSM. Leaders will want proof of business value.
Key measures will include improvements in uptime, incident prevention, customer experience, and the continuity of critical services.
As digital services expand, the link between strong ITSM and economic productivity will grow clearer.
The opportunity ahead
ITSM is becoming a strategic platform for competitiveness, customer trust and national digital progress.
For Southern African leaders, the priority is simple. Invest in AIOps, AI agents, predictive analytics, mobile-first support, local hosting and digital skills.
Early adopters will deliver faster, reduce risk and improve returns.
Challenges remain. Weak governance can undermine automation efforts, and connectivity gaps still need hybrid solutions. But with stronger infrastructure and growing public-private investment, 2026 presents an unmatched opportunity for ITSM to advance business performance across the continent.
