IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Business and AI Transformation 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Business and AI Transformation 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: As Digital Transformation Becomes Core to Strategy, Half of IT Leaders Will Rise as Business Leaders by 2026, Aligning People, Operations, and Business Models with Digital Technologies

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: AI Spending Will Grow at 3x the Rate of Overall Digital Technology Spending in the Next Three Years, Generating a Global Economic Impact of over $6.4 Trillion by the End of 2027

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2026, 50% of Organizations Will Excel at Measuring ROI of Their Digital Tech Investments, Adopting a Unified, Data-Driven Approach to Assess Key Financial, Operational, Customer, and Ecosystem Metrics

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2026, Organizations with an Integrated Digital Business Architecture Will See a 3x Increase in the Value Generated from Their Data and Will Be Able to Improve Time to Outcomes by 20%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: By 2027, 70% of Organizations Will Experience Digital Skills Shortages That Cause Project Delays, Slowing AI Technology Implementations into the Following Year

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2026, 75% of AI Digital Natives, Start-Ups, and Scale-Ups Will Implement a Responsible AI Policy to Address Trust Concerns Raised by IT and Business Leaders

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: By 2027, Business Executives Will Demand a Minimum 80% Success Rate on Their GenAI Initiatives to Achieve Operational Efficiencies and Drive New Revenue Growth

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2026, 40% of Enterprises Will Partner with Technology Companies to Codevelop AI Solutions, Harnessing Shared Data, to Accelerate AI Development and Create Additional Monetization Opportunities

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2025, 80% of Enterprises Will Fail to Treat Data as a Product and Put in Place the Discipline to Unlock the Value of Data for All Stakeholders, Delaying Their AI-Fueled Business Models Further

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2028, 75% of Enterprises That Establish an AI Platform Strategy Built on a Foundation of Connecting Processes to Broader Business Functions Will Achieve Enhanced Value from Their Investments

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business 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

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

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

• Expanding Digital Security Frontiers — Fortification Against Multiplying Threats

• Responsible and Human-Centric Technology — Ethics in the Enterprise

• Battling Against Technical Debt — Overcoming Hurdles to IT Modernization

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• Related Research