The International Data Corporation (IDC) has unveiled its much-anticipated IDC FutureScape report, spotlighting the top ten trends that will redefine the global IT landscape through 2025 and beyond. The report underscores a transformative pivot toward AI-driven business models, advocating for strategic, long-term investments in advanced AI capabilities to establish resilient, AI-enabled enterprises.
According to IDC’s predictions, the next 18 months will see organizations across all sectors transition from early AI experimentation to deep-rooted transformation, catalyzed by new developments in AI, infrastructure, and data frameworks. With AI adoption rising rapidly, worldwide spending on AI-supporting technologies is expected to exceed $749 billion by 2028, with a significant portion of this investment embedded directly into core enterprise operations.
IDC’s top 10 predictions for the IT industry in 2025
- AI Economics: As AI moves from experimentation to monetization, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) will focus on measuring and optimizing AI-enabled applications. Establishing a solid foundation to support AI’s integration into business operations will be crucial for overcoming IT modernization challenges.
- AI Pivot Barriers: Despite AI’s potential, organizations may face challenges in implementing Generative AI (GenAI) solutions. Issues such as developer shortages, high costs, inadequate infrastructure, and poor coordination between IT teams and business leaders could hinder success. IDC warns that up to 30% of companies may reconsider their GenAI investments if these barriers are not addressed.
- Cyber-Resiliency: The ongoing rise of ransomware attacks has made cyber-recovery and resiliency top priorities for IT teams. Organizations that fail to adapt to evolving threats and the increasing reliance on AI may struggle to meet business expectations for AI-driven outcomes.
- Cloud Modernization: Organizations that successfully modernize their cloud architectures will see improved ROI, better operational efficiency, cost savings, and enhanced workload performance. The push for cloud modernization will continue to be a key priority for businesses seeking long-term sustainability.
- Data as Product: The adoption of data-as-a-product architectures will help enterprises break down data silos, improving efficiency and making data-driven outcomes more consistent and reliable. This approach will reshape how businesses produce, manage, and consume data.
- App Metamorphosis: AI agents are expected to replace traditional software copilots. These fully automated software components will use AI to assess situations and take action with minimal to no human intervention, further streamlining business operations.
- Inferencing Delivery: As organizations adopt GenAI and agent-driven workflows, inferencing workloads will increase. IDC advises that businesses should avoid becoming locked into a single inferencing option and instead develop a multi-inferencing strategy to ensure flexibility and scalability.
- Decarbonizing AI Infrastructure: With the growth of AI adoption, the environmental impact of increased e-waste is a growing concern. IDC predicts that enterprises will turn to sustainable AI frameworks, focusing on energy efficiency, resource optimization, and e-waste reduction to mitigate the environmental footprint of AI technologies.
- Unified Platforms for Composite AI: Enterprises will find that focusing solely on basic AI applications will deliver limited business impact. The key to success will be integrating AI solutions into cohesive platforms that scale across organizations, ensuring that AI investments generate significant business value.
- New Work Roles: The increasing use of AI will drive a transformation in the workplace, changing how organizations manage talent and workflows. IDC found that 47% of IT and line-of-business (LOB) leaders have already adapted their work practices and policies to meet the demands of a digital-first workplace.
Read the full report here.
Source: IDC
