Beyond General-Purpose LLMs: The New Model Landscape Takes Shape

This IDC Perspective looks at the enterprise AI model landscape that is rapidly diversifying beyond general-purpose LLMs, with small, multimodal, domain-specific, and regionally optimized models filling critical gaps. This expansion introduces new complexities in model selection, sourcing, and governance, requiring enterprises to develop robust competencies in evaluation, architecture, and orchestration. Global competition is intensifying, and success hinges on aligning AI model strategies with business objectives, leveraging composite AI, and adopting flexible, AI-ready data architectures to optimize value and performance."As enterprises enter a multi-model, multimodal, multiagent era, the real question is: How will you navigate the expanding constellation of AI models to unlock business value?" - Tim Law, research director, AI and Automation, IDC