Reply Study: Agentic AI will become a strategic alternative to traditional sourcing models for 93% of tech leaders
TURIN, Italy, March 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- [EXM, STAR: REY] today announced the release of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting. The research surveyed 536 IT executives across Europe and the US, highlighting the transition from AI coding assistants to autonomous agents orchestrating the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
The marks a turning point for software development. As traditional offshoring models face hidden costs and regulatory challenges, 93% of organisations plan to adopt Agentic AI in the next two to three years as a strategic alternative to outsourced software development and traditional sourcing models.
According to the research, 81% of leaders believe Agentic AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making and workflow orchestration will become a competitive necessity within three to five years. The shift is also driven by declining outsourcing effectiveness: 78% of leaders say offshoring complicates compliance with regulations such as GDPR, while 76% report increased risks related to technical debt and code quality, including bugs and rework.
The study highlights a maturity gap. While 76% of organisations have introduced AI in parts of the software development lifecycle, only 20% have achieved broad integration across the entire lifecycle. This gap signals an opportunity for organisations able to scale AI beyond isolated use cases.
Forrester recommends that leaders implement a 90- to 120-day roadmap to restructure delivery models. Key steps include applying “Zero Trust” scrutiny to AI-generated code and shifting talent strategies toward architectural expertise rather than routine coding skills.
"The findings of Forrester study confirm what we are seeing in the market: AI is no longer just a productivity tool, but a useful disruptor that demands a new operating model," said Filippo Rizzante, CTO at Reply. "The limitations of traditional offshoring, specifically in quality and compliance, are driving a return to control. With our Silicon Shoring model, we are answering this need by combining the proximity of Reply industry-specific and AI experts with the infinite scalability of Agentic AI, ensuring that our clients can innovate faster without compromising on security or architectural integrity."
is Reply’s delivery model that leverages Agentic AI. The offers an alternative to traditional offshoring by combining human expertise with collaborative autonomous AI agents.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
Contact: Fabio Zappelli
