The advent of a new year brings challenges and opportunities galore in a world that is increasingly digitalised and disrupted by the day.
Jan. 15, 2025
Similar to previous years, 2025 is expected to be one of significant change and volatility. Despite the lingering geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties across the globe, revenue from the Information Technology (IT) services market is projected to grow from 1.512 trillion in 2025 to 1.879 trillion in 2029 – at a CAGR of 5.58%. As customer expectations, service models, and operational activities evolve at a breakneck pace, digital transformation and cutting-edge technology adoption are levelling the playing field for the underdogs to compete with the established players.
So, what does 2025 have in store for the world of IT? For starters, uncertainty is the new certainty. As organisations look to balance pragmatism and innovation, most of them are confronted with pressing challenges – digital transformation roadblocks, cyber risks, cost reduction, ever-changing regulations, and the ethical implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and other new-age technologies.
As we cut through the clutter, here are three of the biggest trends impacting the IT landscape this year.
1. Playtime is over – time to double down and maximise the full potential of Generative AI.
It has been over two years since Generative AI gained mainstream popularity with the much-hyped launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Since then, Copilot, DALL-E, Claude, and a myriad of other Generative AI tools have burst onto the scene, with wide-ranging use cases that are transforming the way organisations function on a day-to-day basis. Entering into 2025, CIOs and CTOs are looking to transcend beyond just pilot initiatives and proof-of-concepts – with a focus on maximising value creation and ROI.
While experimentation is likely to continue, most organisations are looking at leveraging more targeted, cost-effective, and value-adding Generative AI use cases to drive tangible returns. In addition, they are focusing on implementing the right safeguards, operating processes, and training mechanisms to address ethical concerns, biases, and data integrity issues. The message is loud and clear – it is time to be practical and develop a robust strategy to ensure smooth, scalable, and responsible Generative AI adoption across the board.
2. IT skillsets, jobs, and workforces are rapidly evolving – employers and employees need to keep pace
The proliferation of technology coupled with an increased focus on cost and resource optimisation have catalysed a paradigm shift in workforces – and the very nature of work itself. With organisations striving to do more with less and leverage the power of AI and automation, the personnel and skillsets required for completing different IT jobs are rapidly changing. Looking at 2025 and beyond, highly manual tasks and labour-intensive operational activities are likely to be altered or replaced by AI assistants and other cutting-edge tools. In fact, over 91.5% IT jobs are expected to experience high or moderate transformation due to advancements in AI.
With the increased adoption of AI, it is important to note that most employers are not planning on substantial job cuts. Instead, they are focusing on augmenting jobs and investing in AI tools to act as accelerators and companions for their employees – empowering them to be more productive, innovative, and value-adding at work. While employers are running AI training and upskilling programmes to enhance the performance and future-readiness of their workforce, employees need to take the initiative and prioritise their AI-enabled experiential learning. The benefits are clear – employees skilled at using AI tools at work are five times more likely to develop key soft skills and five times more likely to get promoted.
However, accelerated technology adoption cannot mask the glaring challenges that most organisations face when it comes to attracting, hiring, and retaining high-calibre talent in 2025. Amidst cut-throat competition and facing an acute shortage of skilled IT talent across in-demand skillsets like AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, CIOs and CTOs need to recalibrate their IT talent hiring and development strategies. Time is of the essence.
3. Bolstering cybersecurity is not an additional cost, it’s an essential investment for a stronger future.
From ransomware to phishing, data breaches to DDOS attacks, cybercrime is increasing at alarming rates while cybersecurity is still playing catch up. The proliferation of Generative AI tools was one of the major factors that culminated in phishing attacks increasing by 1,265% in 2024. Encrypted threats increased by 92%, DDOS attacks increased by 31%, and the average number of cyberattacks per organisation per year increased by 25%. With the alarm bells ringing more loudly than ever, could 2025 finally be the year wherein cybersecurity no longer plays second fiddle and becomes the main act
Drawing insights from recent debacles, most organisations have ramped up efforts and investment into bolstering their cybersecurity capabilities. Transcending beyond a minimalist approach centred around compliance checklists, they are focusing on integrating cybersecurity uplift initiatives with their overarching business goals and shaping a culture of collective ownership and accountability across the board. For example, segmenting networks, enforcing multi-factor authentication, and reviewing access privileges on a regular basis are good starting points for implementing a zero trust architecture.
Cybercrime, in some shape or form, is becoming inevitable and incidents are bound to happen. The priority is to improve resilience and have comprehensive risk mitigation, vulnerability assessment, threat detection and investigation, and incident resolution mechanisms in place. This is fundamental to minimising downtime, operational failures, financial penalties, and reputational damage. The buck stops with the senior leadership – they need to set the tone and adopt a no-nonsense approach towards cybersecurity.
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