Agentic AI to Fuel Public Sector Transformation, IDC Finds
Agentic AI is becoming the primary engine for digital transformation in the public sector.
According to a global study by IDC, commissioned by Dell Technologies and NVIDIA, 71% of government executives believe agentic systems will significantly accelerate AI adoption.
The report, titled Building a Sovereign AI Foundation for Government, highlights a critical inflection point.
As public sectors face a combination of workforce constraints, widening skills gaps and mounting pressure to modernise, leaders are looking toward autonomous agents as a solution.
Surveying more than 250 senior decision-makers across North America, EMEA, APJ and LATAM, the study reveals that 51% of leaders plan to invest in agentic AI within the next 12 to 18 months – marking a decisive shift from experimentation to full-scale implementation.
“Governments worldwide are no longer asking whether to adopt AI – they’re asking how to do it at scale, securely and on their own terms,” says Nicole Jefferson, Vice President of Global Government Affairs at Dell.
Security and Sovereignty: The Prerequisites for Scale
While the ambition is clear, the momentum is conditional.
Nearly half of leaders (44%) stated they will only accelerate adoption if robust safeguards – including data security, privacy and sovereignty protections – are firmly in place.
When evaluating technology investments, decision-makers are prioritising three pillars:
- Security Capabilities (28%)
- National Security and Sovereign Priorities (21%)
- Compliance with International and Local Regulations (17%)
This focus on Sovereign AI ensures that governments maintain control over their data and infrastructure while leveraging the efficiency of autonomous systems.
As Alan Webber, Program Vice President of National Security, Defence and Intelligence at IDC, notes: “Governments will only move at scale if they have confidence in the security and infrastructure foundations underpinning these systems.”
Bridging the skills gap through collaboration
The urgency for AI integration is driven by a widening expertise deficit.
The study found that 66% of public sector organisations feel technology is evolving faster than their workforce can keep up.
This skills gap has created an environment where agentic AI is viewed as a necessary workforce multiplier rather than just a luxury.
To navigate these complexities, the public sector is looking for help. Nearly 80% of respondents agree that public-private collaboration is essential for successful implementation.
By partnering with industry leaders like Dell and NVIDIA, government agencies aim to deploy seamless, scalable AI infrastructure that transforms operational pressure into actionable progress.
