Research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has released its Tech Trends 2025 report highlighting six pivotal trends that are poised to transform the IT landscape in the coming year.
As the pace of technological innovation accelerates and organisations are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the firm’s report provides insights on how IT leaders can harness technologies including AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity while mitigating the risks they introduce.
Historically, CIOs have been tasked with preserving the integrity of an organisation’s past through meticulous record keeping. However, in 2025, the role of the CIO will evolve as the focus shifts from maintaining the past to forecasting the future.
With the rise of generative AI and the impending era of quantum computing, CIOs will need to increasingly adopt forward-thinking strategies to anticipate and simulate future business scenarios, according to the report.
The six key tech trends identified for 2025 are:
AI avatars and chatbots:
Generative AI is making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between human- and AI-generated interactions. AI avatars and chatbots, now integrated into many enterprise systems, are transforming user experiences and the way organisations handle customer service, software development, and marketing.
However, the rise of deepfakes presents new security threats, raising the need for robust AI detection and defence mechanisms.
Deepfake defence:
With the increasing sophistication of AI-generated digital humans, deepfakes are becoming a powerful tool for fraud and misinformation. IT leaders are prioritising AI-powered detection tools and content authentication methods, such as blockchain, to combat the rising threat of AI-powered cyberattacks and ensure the integrity of their data.
AI ranks as the second-most disruptive force to business operations, just behind talent shortages, with a disruption risk score of 3.55 out of 5, according to Info-Tech’s findings.
Quantum advantage:
Quantum computing has moved beyond theoretical exploration and is now accessible through cloud platforms, enabling real-world business experiments.
As organisations begin leveraging quantum hardware to solve complex problems, industries such as media, government, and financial services are leading the charge in quantum investments.
Post-quantum cryptography:
With the threat of quantum computers breaking current encryption methods looming on the horizon, organisations must prepare for ‘Q-day’.
33 per cent of organisations in the media, telecom and technology sectors are investing in quantum computing, followed by 27 per cent in the public sector and 20 per cent in financial services.
The adoption of post-quantum cryptography is now a critical priority, particularly for industries handling sensitive data, such as finance, healthcare and government.
Info-Tech reports that 31 per cent of advanced IT departments plan to invest in post-quantum cryptography before the end of 2025, compared to 16 per cent of average IT departments. This preparedness is critical as organisations face increasing risks from ‘Harvest now, decrypt later’ cyber-attacks.
Expert models:
As AI matures, organisations are increasingly developing custom AI models tailored to their specific industries. These expert models improve the accuracy and relevance of AI outputs, enabling businesses to derive exponential value from AI investments.
Info-Tech reports that 80 per cent of high-maturity IT departments or “Transformers” have already invested in AI or plan to do so by the end of 2025, compared to 72 per cent of average IT departments. Higher maturity firms are also twice as likely to expect exponential value from AI by 2025.
AI sovereignty:
While AI offers significant opportunities, it also poses risks to industries such as music, news, and customer service. The firm explains in the report that organisations are focusing on balancing AI adoption with governance and control to protect sensitive data, reduce costs, and ensure AI performance.
By 2026, more companies will run localised AI models to improve cost-effectiveness and maintain control over their AI initiatives.
Privacy and security concerns top the list of factors influencing AI investment decisions, with 65 per cent of respondents citing it as a key consideration.
From leveraging AI avatars and quantum computing to safeguarding data with post-quantum cryptography, the firm advises that IT leaders must act now to future-proof their operations in the coming months.
The Tech Trends 2025 report is informed by Info-Tech’s Future of IT 2025 survey, which gathered responses from nearly 1,000 IT decision makers globally between March and July 2024, with contributions from key regions such as APAC, the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., and representation from 17 industries, including financial services, healthcare, government, and manufacturing.
