Analyst Report

Forrester Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026

Infrastructure Is Shifting from Task Automation to Intent-Driven Execution.

Forrester’s Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026 maps the market for tech leaders evaluating how to automate the full infrastructure lifecycle – from provisioning and configuration to patching, compliance, and decommissioning – across on-premises, public cloud, and edge. Itential is named in the report as a notable vendor.

Download the report to understand where the market is heading, how vendors differ, and what separates platforms like Itential that are built for what’s next.

*Must be a Forrester customer to access.

Key Report Insights

- The market is shifting from task-based automation toward policy-governed execution, but most organizations stop at workflow automation, never reaching real self-service or adaptive operations.
- The top disruptor Forrester identifies: intent-driven execution platforms that translate goals into actions, combining policy guardrails with AI-driven decisioning for real-time, adaptive execution across environments.
- The primary challenge for tech leaders is maintaining governance, trust, and control as automation scales across hybrid environments – configuration drift, skill gaps, and lack of standardization compound the problem.
- Forrester identifies orchestration and IT process automation as a key extended use case, where vendors differentiate beyond core provisioning and patching.
- The 22 vendors named to the report. Itential is among them, recognized alongside vendors evaluated for their ability to automate the full infrastructure lifecycle with governance, policy enforcement, and federated toolchain integration across hybrid environments.

From Scripted Efficiency to Goal-Driven Operations

Infrastructure automation has evolved from shell scripts to IaC, and now to something more fundamental. Forrester frames the current inflection point clearly: the market is shifting from scripted efficiency to goal-driven, autonomous operations.

Their definition of where this market is heading:

“Disruption comes from systems that translate goals into actions, combining policy guardrails with AI-driven decisioning to enable real-time, adaptive execution across environments. These platforms move beyond predefined workflows to coordinate decisions dynamically, redefining automation from scripted efficiency to goal-driven, autonomous – but still governed – operations.”

— Forrester, Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026

The challenge Forrester identifies for most enterprises: they’ve automated tasks, but they haven’t built a platform. Governance slows adoption. Toolchains stay fragmented. Scaling consistently, and proving ROI remains out of reach.

*Must be a Forrester customer to access.

Get the Report

How Forrester Defines Infrastructure Automation Platforms

Forrester defines infrastructure automation platforms as tools that automate the full lifecycle – provisioning, configuration, patching, vulnerability remediation, and decommissioning – across on-premises, public cloud, and edge. The bar isn’t just execution: these platforms must operate within multiparty organizational models, enforce policy and governance across teams, and integrate into a federated toolchain spanning CMDBs, service management, development pipelines, and observability systems.

Forrester identifies two scenarios that matter most to tech leaders: delivering infrastructure services on demand to application developers, and automatically adjusting infrastructure in near real time to align with evolving business needs. Platforms that can’t do both at scale and with governance don’t make the cut.

Itential Is the Platform Built for Intent-Driven Infrastructure Operations

Forrester named Itential to this landscape because Itential has built exactly what Forrester says is next: a platform where AI agents take governed, deterministic action on real production infrastructure. Not a workflow tool, not a scripting layer, not a point integration. The platform where orchestration, agentic reasoning, and governance converge.

What Sets Itential Apart:

Governed by Default

Every action – human or AI – runs through one engine with RBAC, approval gates, rollback, and immutable audit evidence. No exceptions for AI.

Intent-Driven Execution

Deterministic workflows, agentic FlowAI reasoning, or hybrid combinations of both in one governed platform. Pick the execution mode the situation calls for.

Federated Toolchain Integration

Connect CMDBs, service management, cloud APIs, observability, and network devices into one orchestration fabric. 1,000+ open source integrations out-of-the-box.

Production-Ready on Day One

First FlowAgent in production within days. Workflows built from plain-language specs in minutes. Not months of integration work before you see value.

Zero Data Retention

Your infrastructure data never leaves your systems of record. Itential reasons over it and never copies or stores it.

Built for Hybrid Infrastructure

On-premises, public cloud, edge – the platform doesn’t care. One execution model across every environment you operate.

Vendors Named in the Forrester Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026

Forrester researched and named the following 22 vendors in this report:

BMC Helix

Broadcom

Canonical

Cisco

env0

Gluware

Harness

HCLSoftware

IBM

Itential

MetalSoft

Microsoft

NetBrain

OpenText

Perforce Software

Progress Software

Pulumi

Red Hat

Resolve

Spacelift

Spectro Cloud

System Initiative

Source: Forrester Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026

Get the Full Report

The Forrester Infrastructure Automation Platforms Landscape, Q2 2026 covers market definition, the vendor landscape, core and extended use cases, and a functionality matrix across 15 evaluated capabilities. Built for tech leaders making platform decisions right now. Forrester customers can access the full report.*

Get the Report

Keep Learning