Thrive or Survive 2025: Insights from Global Tech Leaders - Part 1

In this two-part series, we summarise the perspectives of 15 C-suite leaders from North America, UK & Europe, and Asia-Pacific, gathering their insights on the future trajectory of the industry. 

In part one, we ask an essential question: What specific changes do you anticipate in your industry over the next year, that could either hinder or boost growth? 

Artificial Intelligence 

The most explored area during the discussion was the transformative potential of AI and its permeation into every business, resulting in a unique conundrum or significant value combined with still largely unknown risks. 

Jack Klinck, Advisor, Board Member and Investor, mentioned the increasing use of AI in risk analytics and cybersecurity: “From a Fintech perspective, unsurprisingly, it's all about AI. This is the year we will see more use cases of AI going into production - particularly relating to risk analytics and cyber security - as more AI tools with clear commercial value are deployed at a more rapid pace.” 

Don Grantham, former Microsoft & HP Executive and established Chair, emphasised that the speed and impact of AI development and deployment will become much clearer in 2025: 

This will, in my opinion, have the same level of impact as the adoption of the Internet in the early eighties.” 

Highlighting the advancement of AI, blockchain, and tokenisation technology to improve the customer journey, Michael Janiszewski, Chief Operating Officer, Alter Domus, said: “Given where I sit at the intersection of the alternative asset management and the technology sector, I see the continuing advancement of technology to not just deliver core efficiencies, but to enhance client experiences, by providing highly customised data-driven services.” 

The leaders discussed the opportunities presented by GenAI and the importance of optimising IT infrastructure costs. They explored various ways to utilise AI, noting that companies able to effectively achieve business value will benefit quickly. 

Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen, CEO, SUSE added: “The people who are selling the picks and shovels to the gold miners have a great opportunity. How do you marry your local data with real time business opportunities? There is an opportunity for a broad range of businesses to thrive in the world of AI - this ‘second wave’ of AI will boost growth. Rising IT infrastructure costs are a major concern for CIOs. They seek to optimise resource usage, ensure efficient cloud utilisation, and control costs, especially with expensive GPUs and GenAI. This poses both risks and opportunities for companies offering cost-effective solutions.” 

Economic, Geopolitical and Environmental Factors 

Raphaël Sanchez, President & CEO, Generix Group, added: “Following the last US elections and the overall geopolitical context, global order should evolve, raising doubts but also providing responses about economic growth and social development trends throughout the year. Uncertainties about inflation and global competition/protectionism may impact our customers’ industries, especially in retail.” 

A similar sentiment shared by Pavel Šiška, Consulting Market Leader, Deloitte Central Europe, highlighted macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, geopolitical influences, and regulations, which play a crucial role in the development of the IT consulting sector. He added: “The ability of companies to adapt to economic and technological changes while offering flexible, sustainable and cost-effective solutions will be essential for their success.” 

Raphaël Sanchez also emphasised the importance of sustainability and integrating renewable energy sources: “Providing SaaS solutions to drive customers’ mission-critical business processes in supply chain, finance and omnichannel commerce, we will continue to support our customers to automate themselves and reinvent their business models. In parallel, 2025 will be crucial for customers to comply and commit with new tax reforms (ViDA) and sustainability norms (CSRD) in most countries of EU.” 

Digital Transformation and Technological Advancements 

With the acceleration of digital transformation driven by AI, machine learning, and cloud technologies, Simone Wastl, Member of the Executive Board & Head of Corporate Communications, DATEV eG, believed this presents significant growth opportunities for IT service providers, particularly in automating workflows and enhancing customer experiences. She commented: “The increasing role of AI and automation in marketing and communications will likely be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance personalisation, optimise campaign efficiency, and provide real-time insights into customer behaviour, which could significantly boost growth. On the other hand, the rapid adoption of these technologies may challenge smaller teams or organisations unprepared for such shifts, potentially widening the digital divide in the sector.

Sharing a similar view, Nagendra Bandaru, President and Exec Board Member, WiPro, commented on the transformative impact of AI agents: “AI agents will autonomously make decisions and collaborate, optimising efficiency, customer experiences, and generating new revenue. This will redefine business processes, shifting human roles to managing and validating AI outputs. Autonomous machines and devices from industrial robots and medical equipment to self-healing networks—will minimise human intervention, enhance operational precision through predictive maintenance, and improve efficiency. Maturing industry clouds will offer tailored AI tools, data sources, and robust compliance measures, enabling secure and efficient operations within specific sectors.” 

Efficient market operations and customer deployment are crucial for reducing the time from deployment to productivity, as Ahmed Hadid, CEO at HyBird and Advisor, National Centre for Nuclear Robotics, added: “At the core of these processes are speed and agility. Companies must optimise their processes, many of which have remained largely unchanged for decades except for small updates. Now, they have the opportunity to redesign their business processes at a very high level.” 

Skills Shortages and Talent Management