IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Services 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Services 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: By 2027, Without Strategic and Organizational Pivots, Frustration with Low ROI Due to Poor Planning and Misallocated Spending Will Cause 30% of Organizations to Reduce GenAI Investments

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: With an Increase in Regulation Worldwide, by 2028, More than 70% of Organizations with Carbon Neutrality Goals Will Seek Help of Professional Services to Meet Them Due to a Lack of Internal Capabilities

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: Amid Widening Global IT Skills Gaps, by 2028, More than 60% of G2K Enterprises Will Rely on GenAI-Enabled Training Platforms to Automate, Accelerate, and Optimize IT Training and Skilling Outcomes

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2026, More than 75% of Organizations Will Require Professional Services Assistance in Implementing Data Literacy and Maturity Programs to Facilitate Scaling Their GenAI-Driven Workplace Transformations

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: By 2028, 40% of G2K Enterprises Will Outsource up to 30% of Their Engineering, AI, Cloud, and Other Complex Technology Functions to Global Capability Centers as They Deliver an Improved CX

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2026, to Move Beyond Proof of Concept for AI-Driven Business Models, 80% of Enterprises Will Require Professional Services for Readiness and Health Checks on Applications and Infrastructure

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: By 2028, Organizations' Drive to Automate Will Push 23% of Application SPs to Evolve Their Application Modernization Services to Embed GenAI and Conversational AI as Part of Services Delivery

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2027, 75% of All Digital Workplace Services Engagements Will Involve XLA-Based Commitments (e.g., NPS, User Sentiment, Log-On Speed) to Measure and Improve End-User Experience

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2027, AI-Driven Workforce Transformation Will Push 25% of Enterprises to Use AI/GenAI Business Benchmarking Methods That Match and Track AI Business Initiatives to Specific Needs, KPIs, and Contexts

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2027, AI-Driven Business Models Will Motivate 30% of Buyers of Digital Engineering and OT Services to Adopt Outcome-Based Pricing for About 30% of Their Contracts

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• AI-Driven Business Models — Moving from AI Experimentation to Monetization

• The Drive to Automate — Toward a Data-Driven Future

• Future Proofing Against Environmental Risks — ESG Operationalization and Risk Management

• AI-Driven Workplace Transformation — Building Tomorrow's Workforce Today

• Regulatory Flux — Navigating Compliance Challenges in a Shifting Policy Landscape

• Geoeconomic Reordering — Rethinking Globalization, Supply Chains, and Macroeconomic Challenges

• Customer Experience Squared — Consumer and Citizen Expectations for Digital Services

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• Related Research