At this year’s Red, White and You conference, our market intelligence team detailed the ins and outs of what we’re seeing across the public sector. Throughout the sessions, one theme became clear: while success in the public sector market used to rely heavily on institutional knowledge and long-standing relationships, agency buying cycles, and slower opportunity development, the market this year looks different. It’s faster, calling for more efficiency, innovation and cost-optimization.

In 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-12-23, directing state government institutions to utilize AI. These state entities are now beginning to move from the theoretical planning phase into the deployment phase with concrete plans.

This year’s Beyond the Beltway conference highlighted key strategic findings from IT leaders that signal where 2026 technology investments will be made and where to focus efforts for success. In 2026, state and local governments are at an inflection point: with rising expectations evolving alongside tightening budgets, staffing and timelines, success will depend on alignment of solutions to modernization requirements, workforce challenges and measurable ROI-driven outcomes.

The 2026 FETC Conference took place in Orlando, Florida this year, where K-12 education leaders highlighted how budgets, technology trends, requirements and opportunities are intersecting and how alignment is key to success.

This year, higher education is undergoing a transformative shift and education institutions must now keep pace with the expectations of the modern world. Emerging and innovative technology is at the forefront of this transformation, with a focus on boosting flexibility, expanding access to student services and enhancing the individualized student experience with more personalized learning options.  

This year’s annual EDUCAUSE Conference took place in San Antonio, Texas, where higher education leaders shared key insights into top edtech trends, priorities and challenges shaping the higher education landscape. 

The 2025 Educause Top 10 priorities list addresses how higher education technology and data leaders can work together to restore trust within the education sector by building competent and caring institutions through collaboration, consistent results and shifting from monolithic systems and processes to more flexible and unified solutions.

With the increasing prominence of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), numerous state governments are creating taskforces on AI to help determine their state’s AI strategy.

According to data contained in a recent study from Pediatrics, the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of school shootings in the United States has increased dramatically every year since the 2017-2018 school year. At the same time, school mass shootings have become increasingly deadly. Given this trend and the risk posed by security threats to students and faculty, school districts are desperate to find solutions to improve school security.

The annual EDUCAUSE conference highlighted higher education technology trends, goals, challenges, and how to identify a way ahead for higher education institutions to be successful in today’s modern world.

Over the last few months, there have been several recent cybersecurity initiatives at the federal level, aimed at bridging gaps in K-12 cybersecurity policy and strategy.