Executive Dinner
From Pilot to Production: The AI Infrastructure Decisions Defining the Next Decade
September 17, 2026 at 5:30 pm | The Metropolitan 66th Floor at Willis Tower | Chicago
AI Readiness Is No Longer About Models. It's About Infrastructure, Governance, and Resilience.
According to IDC research, 88% of organizations plan moderate to extensive use of agentic AI over the next two years, yet 59% say making internal data accessible to AI has been harder than expected.
This challenge is driving renewed focus on governance, resilience, and infrastructure. 44% of organizations cite cybersecurity and resiliency as key investment priorities, while 85% say AI workloads require a hybrid infrastructure strategy. Of those, 50% are prioritizing data sovereignty and privacy, making the way data is stored, governed, protected, and recovered more important than ever.
At the same time, more than half of organizations relying on SaaS providers report unexpected costs after deployment, elevating infrastructure decisions to a board-level priority. IDC, Dell & AMD will bring together a select group of IT executives to discuss how to close the pilot-to-production gap, strengthen resilience, and build an infrastructure strategy that supports long-term AI success.
2 in 3 organizations achieve payback on AI projects within 6 to 14 months
Organizations are realizing measurable returns from AI investments faster than many expected, making infrastructure, governance, and scalability decisions critical to sustaining long-term business value.
Factors having the greatest impact when developing AI infrastructure budgets over the next two years.
For IT leaders, cybersecurity and resiliency requirements come out on top as a factor moving their AI infrastructure budgets: 44%, ahead of even the pace of AI technology evolution itself (42%). Security and recovery concerns are driving spend faster than the technology’s own rate of change.
Growth in data and storage volumes (39%) and infrastructure complexity (35%) imply that every new AI workload adds more surface area to protect. Budgets are being built around the expectation that resilience requirements will keep growing as AI infrastructure scales.
Source: IDC’s Worldwide Digital Infrastructure Sentiment Survey, June 2026 (n = 1,015; data weighted based on country IT spend)
Discussion Themes
Four Conversations Every Senior IT Leader Should Be Having Right Now
AI Infrastructure Investment & Return
As AI infrastructure investment scales, own-versus-rent becomes a boardroom decision, with ROI at its center. How IT leaders are building the case for AI infrastructure spend to their own boards and CFOs, and what ROI frameworks are standing up to scrutiny.
Storage as the Intelligence Layer
Datacenter consolidation increasingly means a shift toward cloud storage, which IDC projects to keep climbing through the next five years. How consolidation and storage decisions are shaping the scope of AI infrastructure, and where the hybrid model fits.
Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI
Data privacy, compliance and sovereignty requirements are a leading challenge of exposing data to AI. What cybersecurity concerns are already shaping infrastructure budgets and how organizations are building resilience into AI data strategies.
What's Next in AI Infrastructure
Agentic AI is proving harder to deploy than most organizations expected. What the right infrastructure model looks like once ROI, storage, and security are taken into consideration, and how leaders are committing to investment based on peer proof points.
What To Expect
An executive dinner led by a skilled moderator
An intimate gathering of senior IT leaders from diverse industries, grappling with similar issues
A secure, private conversation open only to a carefully vetted group
Your host
Matthew Eastwood
Senior Vice President, Enterprise Infrastructure, Cloud, Telecom, Security, Developers, Channels and Enabling Technology
IDC
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Matthew Eastwood
Matthew Eastwood is Senior Vice President of IDC’s enterprise infrastructure, cloud, telecom, security, developers, channels and enabling technology research groups. Mr. Eastwood and his team research people, process and technology trends affecting the enterprise technology marketplace worldwide. Mr. Eastwood first joined IDC in 2000 as part of the server team and his responsibilities have evolved and expanded during his tenure. In his current role, he leads a team of more than 100 analysts providing insights and analysis to IT suppliers, buyers, investors, and distributors through more than 75 syndicated research programs. Mr. Eastwood also leads IDC’s BuyerView primary research programs which are focused on defining emerging trends in cloud, developers, service providers, edge, AI and security.
Mr. Eastwood joined IDC in 2000. He provides in-depth market analysis, research, and consulting on all aspects of the enterprise infrastructure marketplace to IT professionals, investors, resellers and technology suppliers. During his tenure at IDC, Mr. Eastwood has led IDC primary research focused on emerging trends in enterprise systems and data centers. This primary research allows IDC to make continuous assessments regarding how customers are deploying and using enterprise infrastructure power digital transformation. Recent topics covered in Mr. Eastwood’s research include: Software Defined Infrastructure, Integrated infrastructure, Convergence, Disaggregated Infrastructure, Virtualization & Automation, Cloud Computing, High Availability, Platform Migration and Datacenter Workloads. Mr. Eastwood also serves as IDC’s lead analyst covering Dell and VMware.
Prior to joining IDC, Mr. Eastwood worked for twelve years as a senior project manager and environmental consultant at CDM Smith in Boston. Mr. Eastwood was responsible for managing the planning and design of large environmental infrastructure projects including wastewater collection and treatment facilities. In addition, Mr. Eastwood served as Operations Manager of the firm’s New England practice.
Mr. Eastwood received a bachelor’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and earned his MS in Engineering Project Management from WPI in Worcester, MA. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Massachusetts.
Melissa Crichton
VP, AI Solutions
Dell Technologies
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Melissa Crichton
With over a decade of leadership at Dell Technologies, Melissa Crichton is dedicated to delivering advanced AI solutions to customers across North America. Her extensive experience in data center sales and enterprise technologies enables her to guide organizations in adopting innovative strategies to achieve their IT and business objectives. Melissa’s expertise spans disaster recovery, hybrid cloud, and AI-driven solutions, ensuring her clients are prepared to meet today’s challenges and future demands.
Sachin Dhingra
Sr. Director Business Development Enterprise AI
AMD
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Sachin Dhingra
Sachin Dhingra is Senior Director of Business Development for Enterprise AI at AMD. In this role, he engages with organizations exploring how to move AI from experimentation into production, with an emphasis on practical business outcomes, scalable infrastructure, and long-term deployment flexibility.
Agenda
IDC Executive Dinner in partnership with DXC & Dell, Chicago
One Day Event
Networking Reception
A private reception bringing together senior executives and industry analysts to connect, exchange perspectives, and set context for the evening’s discussion.
Dinner & Discussion
A moderated, off‑the‑record discussion over dinner focused on real‑world execution challenges, emerging industry priorities, and their implications for enterprise leaders.
Event Concludes
The evening concludes with brief closing remarks and informal follow‑up conversations, reinforcing key takeaways and ongoing peer engagement.
Partners
Sponsored By
Dell + AMD
Dell Technologies and AMD can help you redefine data center efficiency through advanced automation and cutting-edge storage solutions. Dell Private Cloud, delivered through Dell Automation Platform, gives organizations the ability to deploy, manage, and scale private cloud ecosystems on top of their open, modular infrastructure. Intelligent orchestration, bring-your-own third-party cloud OS licensing, and freedom from vendor lock-in all come together for an easy-to-use, appliance-like experience.
