2026 Applications Conference Sessions

The 2026 agenda dives deep into key topics for enterprise application and software engineering leaders around AI, leadership, modernization, cost optimization and more to help address your organization’s mission-critical challenges.

2026 Applications Conference Theme

Deliver the Future: Innovate, Lead, Act.

Applications and software engineering leaders are at a turning point where foresight must meet execution and business disruption is forcing dramatic changes. The 2026 conference empowers you to go beyond admiring the AI-enabled promising future — it's about actively building and delivering it. Learn how modern technology, visionary leadership and decisive action can transform your organization’s aspirations into reality. 

Explore our conference sessions below, all developed with this theme in mind. Join us to grow the skills and insights needed to deliver an adaptive and autonomous transformation journey.

Hear why senior leaders invest their time at #GartnerAPPS — plus why networking at this conference is a game changer!
Find Applications Conference Sessions

There are hundreds of sessions happening each day. Filter to see sessions that align with your role and interests. After registering for the conference, craft your agenda and book priority sessions — all through Gartner Conference Navigator.

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Tuesday, June 02, 2026

11:00 AM - 11:30 AM PDT

Secure AI Before AI Breaks Everything
Aaron Lord, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
AI systems are being deployed without due consideration for the threats that could impact them. Without understanding these threats, organizations will be exposed to excessive risk. This session will explore how to use threat modeling and adversarial thinking on AI systems before they wreak havoc. ... Show More Show Less

12:30 PM - 01:00 PM PDT

AI Agents Shift Workforce Skills and Roles: Guidance for Adaptation
Deepak Seth, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
AI agents’ deployment improves task-level automation by embedding GenAI-based reasoning frameworks and adaptive decision logic. However, the oversimplified narrative of AI agents as a direct substitute for human employees, fueled by marketing hype and early successes in limited tasks, often leads organizations to prematurely explore “hiring” AI agents for full-fledged roles. This rapid adoption trend is driving a fundamental shift in skill requirements and team structures. Join this session to learn more. ... Show More Show Less

02:30 PM - 03:00 PM PDT

Strategic Roadmap for Adopting Modern Application Architectures and Technologies
Annie Hodgkins, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
Legacy application systems based on outdated or degraded technology and application architectures carry significant technical debt that causes serious risks to agility and innovation. Application and software engineering leaders must develop a migration plan to reduce technical debt and adopt modern application architectures and technologies. ... Show More Show Less
Wednesday, June 03, 2026

09:00 AM - 09:30 AM PDT

How to Test AI-Based Systems
Joachim Herschmann, VP Analyst, Gartner
Evaluating and testing AI-infused software is a new challenge. Traditional software testing assumes a predictable system. AI systems are unpredictable, uncertain and unreliable, which creates risk for AI products. This session provides insights about challenges, best practices and focus areas to give AI teams confidence in the reliability of their AI and ML applications. ... Show More Show Less

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM PDT

Battle of the APIs 2026: What's Up With MCP, A2A, UTCP, REST... Did Someone Say SOAP?
Gary Olliffe, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
The battle is still on and back for it's third year - We'll look at the new developments across the API ecosystem, how they are faring in the maelstrom of AI and agentic use cases, and look at how API management and Agent governance are converging. ... Show More Show Less

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM PDT

How to Mitigate the Risks of Agent Sprawl in Enterprise Applications
Max Goss, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
Agent Sprawl — where too many agents are shared freely with little oversight — is becoming a significant challenge across enterprise applications. As major productivity platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace enable easier agent creation, organizations should act to keep their users and data safe. Join this session for a deep dive on how to establish the right governance and guardrails to mitigate risk, while allowing the organization to unlock value with safe use of AI agents. ... Show More Show Less

11:45 AM - 01:15 PM PDT

Workshop: Meet your Agentic AI. A Leadership Simulation
Alex Coqueiro, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
Most AI workshops talk about AI agents. This one puts you in the room when they act. Compete against agentic AI traders in a live simulation, then apply what you experienced to your own organization. Identify a real use case, stress-test it against business feasibility and strategic value, and close with a peer roundtable on your first deployment move. Come to compete. Leave with a plan. ... Show More Show Less

03:30 PM - 04:00 PM PDT

Legacy No More: Why Your Next Modernization Will Be AI-Driven or Dead on Arrival
Howard Dodd, VP Analyst, Gartner
Manual modernization is becoming obsolete. This session guides leaders to adopt AI-augmented modernization tools for code understanding, transformation, testing and automated documentation. Learn how AI code assistants and rule-based modernization tools are slashing costs, accelerating delivery and enabling continuous modernization. ... Show More Show Less

04:15 PM - 04:45 PM PDT

How to Evaluate Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini and Other Enterprise AI Assistants
Max Goss, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
An abundance of choice exists when it comes to enterprise AI assistants for supporting everyday AI needs. Enterprise cloud and SaaS providers offer their own versions that coexist with incumbent services, while emerging AI vendors compete with cutting-edge features. Learn about the key criteria that digital workplace leaders should consider in selecting their enterprise AI assistants. ... Show More Show Less

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“Very informative and insightful sessions with the current trends and where the industry is headed. The team was professional, attentive and truly cared about delivering the best possible experience for me. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for attending industry trends conferences.”

Aneez Zakaria
Product Manager, Blue Shield of California

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