Rental’s future will be shaped by services, data and risk

Equipment rental companies are likely to move beyond supplying individual machines and increasingly provide integrated services, infrastructure and defined customer outcomes, according to discussions at the ERA Convention 2026.

A workshop led by Glyn Matthews, digital transformation manager at Sunbelt Rentals, examined four areas looking at a 10-year horizon: autonomous equipment and robotics, energy and temporary infrastructure, data and compliance, and outcome-based rental.

The discussions pointed to evolution rather than sudden disruption. Participants saw the industry gradually shifting from product provision towards service delivery, with rental companies becoming more involved in planning, integration and project performance.

Autonomous equipment is expected to appear first in repetitive tasks and predictable environments, including dumpers, loaders, surveying drones and robotic cleaning or painting. However, fully autonomous sites were considered unlikely in the near term. Human operators, remote operators and autonomous systems are more likely to work together.

This could create new roles for rental companies in site mapping, system configuration and maintenance. It also raises questions around cybersecurity, liability and responsibility for machine-generated decisions.

Energy-as-a-service

Energy-as-a-Service emerged as one of the strongest ideas. Instead of renting generators, batteries, solar systems and charging equipment separately, customers could buy an integrated energy solution. Rental companies would manage energy planning, optimisation and delivery, while assuming greater responsibility for performance.

Data was also seen as a potential commercial product rather than simply an operational tool. Rental businesses could provide utilisation intelligence, compliance reporting, benchmarking and project optimisation. Regulation may support this trend by increasing demand for reporting and assurance services.

Outcome-based rental could represent the biggest change. Rather than renting a machine, customers would buy a defined result or integrated solution. This may create higher-value business opportunities, but it would also transfer more risk to the rental provider.

The workshop concluded that many of these technologies and services already exist. The main challenge will be combining them, developing the right skills and creating business models that work alongside traditional rental.

The future of rental may therefore depend less on which machines companies own and more on how much responsibility they are prepared to take for the outcomes those machines deliver.

To read more, check this link where all the presentations from the ERA Convention are available.