Virtual Roundtable
The Agent Story for the Future of Work: Trust, Security and Governance
November 5, 2026 | 1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT
AI agents have moved from experiment to operating reality. IDC research shows that 95.3% of enterprises run agents in production, and roughly 7 in 10 organizations have at least half of their agentic AI initiatives spanning multiple functions.
With active agents projected to grow from 31 million in 2025 to 2.5 billion by 2030, the imperative now is to build the governance and organizational structures to match that adoption. Security and compliance are a leading concern for 42% of organizations, and accountability for AI-enabled transformation is still being settled between IT and HR.
IDC, together with Google Cloud and Workday, is convening a select group of executives for a candid virtual roundtable on trust, security and governance in the agent-enabled future of work. The session is designed for HR and IT leaders who want to benchmark their approaches against peers and leave with a sharper view of the decisions ahead.
71%
of organizations run at least half of their agentic AI initiatives across multiple functions, putting security and data governance beyond any single team.
Active agents in the Americas are forecast to grow from 53 million in 2026 to 741 million in 2029, about 14 times higher. In-application agents lead, reaching 273 million by 2029.
Custom-configured agents show the steepest rise, from 11 million to 250 million, which widens the oversight question for HR and IT alike.
Source: IDC Worldwide Agentic AI Adoption Guide, June 2026 release (Library 376, Dataset 1113); Americas, active agents in millions. 2026 and later are forecast.
Discussion Themes
Four Conversations Every HR and IT Leader Should Be Having About Agents
The Agent-Enabled Future of Work
Agents are moving from pilots into daily workflows. What work looks like when agents sit alongside people, which tasks they take on first, and how leaders describe their own journey and timeline compared with peers.
Who Owns the Agents: HR, IT or Both
IT holds primary decision authority over AI-enabled workplace transformation more often than HR, and a large share of agent spend sits outside central IT. Where ownership lies today, and how the two functions partner.
Security and Data Governance for Agents
As agents work across functions, the question becomes whether the right agent can reach the right data, for the right purpose, with an audit trail. Where leaders see the biggest gaps in security and governance.
Trust, Oversight and Autonomy
35% of organizations use agents to support decisions with human approval, and 67% are considering more autonomy. How much freedom leaders will give agents, what builds trust, and what they look for next.
What To Expect
A live video meeting led by a skilled host/moderator
An intimate gathering of senior leaders from diverse industries, grappling with similar issues
A secure, private conversation open only to a carefully vetted group (no recording, no playback)
Your hosts
Amy Loomis, Ph.D.
Group Vice President, Workplace Solutions
IDC
Read bio
Amy Loomis, Ph.D.
Amy Loomis is Group Vice President for IDC’s worldwide Workplace Solutions. Amy leads a team of analysts focused on the evolving nature of human resources, skills development, collaboration, and leadership across the employee lifecycle. Her research into the Future of Work explores the influence of hardware and software technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, augmented and virtual reality and automation on the changing the nature of work. Her research also explores how technology and business strategy influence workers’ skills and behaviors, organizational culture and how the workplace itself is enabling the future enterprise.
BACKGROUND
Amy has been an industry analyst consulting with a range of clients from Fortune 100 organizations to start-ups on digital transformation, learning and employee engagement. She spent 15 years at IBM in various leadership roles across external, internal, and corporate communications and marketing. She was co-founder of IBM’s Think Academy, a global digital learning platform and program designed to engage employees and partners in learning about emerging technologies and digital transformation. Her client consulting, working with executive leadership teams, marketing and HR professionals, has focused on the intersection of technological and cultural change. Prior to IBM, Ms. Loomis worked for Rational Software conducting market research and building an analyst engagement practice.
Partners
Sponsored By
Google Cloud
Google Cloud offers a powerful, optimized AI stack—including AI infrastructure, leading models like Gemini, data management capabilities, multicloud security solutions, developer tools and platform, as well as agents and applications—that enables organizations to transform their business for the Agentic Era. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
Workday
Workday is the enterprise AI platform for managing people, money, and agents. Workday unifies HR and Finance on one intelligent platform with AI at the core to empower people at every level with the clarity, confidence, and insights they need to adapt quickly, make better decisions, and deliver outcomes that matter. Workday is used by more than 11,000 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 65% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit https://www.workday.com/en-sg/homepage.html.