2025 key findings

In 2025, we interviewed more than 1,800 business and technology executives, of which over 80% were C-level. These strategic conversations provide a unique view into how trends affect organizational priorities and investment plans. Broadly, we see three key takeaways across industries:

Changes in value chains across industries are accelerating
Cost, structure, and talent constraints are hindering tangible ROI

While ROI from digitization is improving with 41% of executives citing that they are generating expected results from their digitization strategies compared to 34% last year, many say full value remains elusive. Cost pressures, legacy systems, and talent shortages continue to slow progress. Nearly half cite legacy systems as a top barrier to achieving digital success, while hiring skilled IT talent remains a widespread challenge. Many organizations are still working to realize the full potential of their digital strategies.

Executives are exploring digital transformation approaches

Industry leaders are more open than ever to new ideas to help them drive innovation and efficiency. They are relying more on managed services to balance transformation and stability. Growth spans IT and business functions, from applications and infrastructure to enterprise and industry-specific services. Modernization is gaining momentum, with leaders deepening cloud adoption across infrastructure, platforms, and software to enable more agile operations. AI adoption is also accelerating. Traditional AI is driving efficiency, while generative AI is emerging as a key lever for innovation—together helping organizations become smarter and more responsive.

Learn more about how our business consulting and managed services support balancing a dual business agenda: to balance strategic caution with operational urgency.

Consultants discussing business

Top trends and priorities

 

  • Top macro trend
    Digitization and the impact on business models

  • Top industry trend
    Technology innovation & digital transformation

 

  • Top business priority
    Enhancing operational efficiency through automation and process optimization

  • Top IT priority
    Modernize IT and transform digitally

 

Top 5 macro trends
Top 5 industry trends

The top industry trends this year show that executives are focused on technology and innovation, strengthening resilience and data sovereignty, and optimizing efficiency, driven by market volatility and risk management which enters the top 5 as a new trend.

(Ranked by impact. Year-over-year change denoted as new, up +, down -, no change =)

  1. Technology, innovation and digital transformation (+)
  2. Sustainability, climate change and energy transition (-)
  3. Operational efficiency and cost optimization amid economic uncertainty (+)
  4. Market volatility and risk management (new)
  5. Cybersecurity, data protection and risk management (-)
Top 5 business priorities

Operational efficiency and modernization are at the top of organizational agendas, with most industries seeing strong alignment between IT and business to support organizational strategy.

(Ranked by importance. Year-over-year change denoted as new, up +, down -, no change =)

  1. Enhance operational stability and efficiency through automation and process optimization (+)
  2. Drive strategic business growth through innovation, market expansion and partnerships (-)
  3. Enhance customer/citizen experience through digitalization, simplification and personalization (=)
  4. Achieve cost optimization and reduction (=)
  5. Enhance cybersecurity, data protection and regulatory risk management (new)

Geopolitical uncertainty is now a top 3 barrier to organizations’ ability to achieve their business priorities, with only budget constraints and organizational and change management ranking higher.

Top 5 IT priorities

Enhancing the customer/citizen experience through digitalization is new to the top 5 IT priorities, while modernization remains the number one focus area again this year.

(Ranked by importance. Year-over-year change denoted as new, up +, down -, no change =)

  1. Modernize IT and transform digitally (=)
  2. Enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs (+)
  3. Enhance customer/citizen experience through digitalization (new)
  4. Enhance cybersecurity and data protection (-)
  5. Leverage data, analytics and artificial intelligence (-)

View our insights by industry

 

Additional findings on digital progress, data, AI, modernization and managed services

 

Accelerated digitization is needed to keep pace

While almost all organizations have digital strategies, the gap between having a digitization strategy in place and producing expected results continues.

  • 75%
    cite high impacts of digitization on their business model

  • 94%
    have a defined digital strategy

  • 41%
    are producing expected results from digitization strategies, up 7pp from last year

  • 29%
    cite high business model agility to address digitization

 

AI and Gen AI implementation is maturing

AI remains a key lever for innovation and efficiency, and, along with automation, is supporting full-scale digital transformation to achieve results and create value. Most industries are also investigating Advanced AI.

  • 26%
    have a GenAI implementation done or in progress

  • 36%
    have implemented or are implementing traditional AI

  • +6pp
    digital leaders are ahead in maturity on GenAI implementation

Modernization and migration continue to rise

With nearly half of executives citing legacy systems as the top barrier to successful implementation of digital strategies, executives plan to increase application modernization and migration to cloud service providers. Though migration to the cloud is now more of a strategic imperative, adoption maturity still varies across industries.

  • 57% (+11pp)
    plan to modernize 20-80% of their core business applications in 2 years vs. today

  • 40% (+12pp)
    plan to migrate 20-80% of applications to the cloud in 2 years vs. today

 

Stronger reliance on managed services

Leaders are increasingly expecting to rely on managed IT and business services over the next three years and CXOs are showing stronger interest.

  • 15% (+2pp)
    anticipated reliance on full managed IT services for applications

  • +2pp from 2024
    of CXO interest in selective IT infrastructure services, and full horizontal and vertical (core) managed business services