EY Reimagining Industry Futures 2025 | Emerging Technologies Guide

Emerging Technologies Investment Momentum in 2025

The EY Reimagining Industry Futures Study 2025 delivers a comprehensive assessment of how enterprises worldwide are navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging technologies. Based on a rigorous multi-sector, multi-geography survey of enterprise decision-makers, the study reveals that investment momentum in technologies like 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), and quantum computing remains remarkably strong heading into 2025. The findings paint a picture of an enterprise world committed to digital transformation but grappling with significant challenges around scalability, integration, and sustainability alignment.

One of the most striking developments tracked by the EY study is the broadening of technology decision-making beyond traditional IT departments. A full 49% of CEOs are now involved in decisions on emerging technology strategy, including the selection of ICT vendors. This represents a major shift from the days when technology purchasing was primarily the domain of CIOs and CTOs. The elevation of these decisions to the C-suite underscores the strategic importance that organizations place on emerging technologies as enablers of competitive advantage and sustainable growth.

European and Asia-Pacific organizations are actively closing the 5G investment gap with their counterparts in the Americas. Sectors such as government and manufacturing have shown particularly strong year-on-year increases in 5G investment exposure, reflecting the growing recognition that advanced connectivity infrastructure is foundational to broader digital transformation goals. For enterprises exploring how emerging technologies are transforming their industry, the Libertify Interactive Library provides interactive analyses of leading global research reports.

The Scalability Challenge Holding Back Enterprise Deployments

While the investment headlines are encouraging, the EY study uncovers a significant tension at the heart of enterprise technology adoption: the scalability gap. As businesses transition from pilot programs to full-scale deployments, they are encountering persistent barriers related to technology integration, data governance, and budget constraints. Live deployments of 5G and IoT continue to lag behind AI and automation, which have achieved relatively greater maturity in enterprise environments.

Perhaps the most telling statistic in this section of the report is that 60% of respondents believe their organization has too many point solutions. This proliferation of disconnected tools and platforms creates complexity that undermines the very efficiency gains that emerging technologies promise to deliver. Integration challenges are compounded by legacy systems that were never designed to interoperate with modern 5G or IoT architectures, creating technical debt that slows deployment timelines and inflates costs.

The study identifies upskilling and internal collaboration as critical catalysts for overcoming scalability barriers. Organizations that invest in workforce development alongside technology procurement are better positioned to achieve meaningful scale. Enterprises are also increasingly looking to their ICT suppliers for help navigating the transition from proof-of-concept to production deployment, expecting vendors to bring not just technology expertise but also industry-specific knowledge and change management capabilities.

Budget limitations remain a persistent concern, particularly for mid-market organizations that lack the resources of large enterprises. The study suggests that creative financing models, including as-a-service offerings and outcome-based pricing, could help bridge the gap between investment intentions and actual deployments.

Sustainability as a Driving Force for Emerging Technology Strategy

The relationship between sustainability and technology investment has undergone a dramatic transformation. According to the EY study, 87% of respondents now cite sustainability as a major consideration when making investments in emerging technologies, up significantly from 76% in 2023. This 11-percentage-point increase reflects a fundamental shift in how organizations evaluate the total impact of their technology choices, moving beyond pure performance and cost metrics to encompass environmental, social, and governance considerations.

Organizations are becoming increasingly sensitive to the potentially ambivalent role of new technologies in the decarbonization agenda. While technologies like AI and 5G can drive operational efficiencies that reduce emissions, they also introduce new energy demands — particularly in data centers, which the study identifies as an area of notably low ESG awareness for businesses. Three-quarters of enterprises recognize the need to harmonize their sustainability and technology strategies, a recognition that is beginning to influence vendor selection criteria and procurement decisions.

The sustainability imperative extends beyond environmental concerns to encompass broader questions about responsible technology deployment. As organizations adopt emerging technologies like GenAI, they must consider not only the carbon footprint of training large language models but also the ethical implications of automated decision-making and the social impact of workforce displacement. For a deeper dive into how leading research frames AI adoption and sustainability challenges, explore related analyses in our library.

GenAI in the Spotlight: Enterprise Adoption Trends and Priorities

Generative AI dominates the emerging technology conversation in 2025, and the EY study provides granular insight into how enterprise attitudes toward GenAI are evolving. The data reveals a significant maturation in outlook: the proportion of organizations describing themselves as “risk-conscious” about GenAI has dropped to just 11%, down from 17% in 2024. This decline is particularly pronounced outside highly regulated sectors, with Chinese organizations reporting the lowest risk-consciousness at just 3%, compared to Japanese enterprises at 37%.

The single largest group of organizations — 43% — now believe GenAI will be additive to their existing AI and machine learning initiatives over time. This incremental view contrasts with the 20% who expect GenAI to radically accelerate digital transformation and the 25% who favor an experimental approach outside their wider transformation programs. The diversity of perspectives suggests that there is no single “right” approach to GenAI adoption, and that organizations are finding their own paths based on industry context, risk tolerance, and existing technology maturity.

Looking at GenAI priorities, the study identifies data governance as the top concern, cited by 46% of businesses. The need to evaluate productivity gains ranks second, driven by growing C-suite pressure to demonstrate tangible returns from GenAI investments. Increasing internal collaboration and better engagement with external suppliers have converged at 34%, reflecting the reality that successful GenAI deployment requires both organizational readiness and ecosystem partnerships.

The most favored GenAI use cases across all sectors include software development and testing, customer sales and service support, and employee training and collaboration. However, there is considerable variation by industry: financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing respondents all rate predictive or real-time operations and supply chain management as top-five use cases, suggesting GenAI is poised to enter domains traditionally associated with IoT.

Cybersecurity Challenges for Emerging Technologies Across Industries

Despite the broadly optimistic outlook for GenAI adoption, cybersecurity and data protection remain the paramount concern. A full 50% of organizations rate these issues as the most critical challenge informing their view of GenAI, with government organizations (64%) most likely to flag cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The persistence of security concerns at the top of enterprise agendas reflects the reality that GenAI introduces novel attack vectors and data exposure risks that existing security frameworks may not adequately address.

Poor internal alignment of AI and GenAI with other emerging technologies ranks as the second major challenge at 45%, followed by the complexity of integration with existing systems at 44%. These findings suggest that the technical challenge of deploying GenAI is not primarily about the AI technology itself, but about how it fits within broader enterprise technology architectures. Organizations that treat GenAI as a standalone initiative rather than an integrated component of their digital strategy are likely to encounter the most significant deployment barriers.

ROI concerns (38%) and poor understanding of technology benefits and use cases (37%) also feature prominently. Limited awareness of the AI supplier ecosystem (34%) and technology immaturity (30%) rank lower, which is somewhat surprising given the nascent stage of the GenAI market. This ordering suggests that enterprises have moved past the initial hype cycle and are now focused on practical implementation challenges rather than fundamental questions about the technology’s viability.

The study highlights that ESG concerns related to GenAI, while ranking lower at 23%, represent an emerging area that is likely to grow in importance. As the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report notes, the intersection of AI governance and sustainability represents one of the defining challenges for enterprise leaders in the coming decade.

New Directions in Digital Connectivity and 5G-IoT Integration

The EY study explores the evolving landscape of enterprise connectivity, where the integration of 5G and IoT with legacy systems and other emerging technologies has become the dominant objective. Across all sectors, systems and process optimization leads as an IoT application at 40%, while remote working, training, and collaboration leads as a 5G-based use case at 38%. However, there is considerable variation between industries in their preferred 5G use cases.

For automotive and manufacturing respondents, critical infrastructure and control ranks as the top 5G use case, reflecting the sector’s focus on real-time operational technology. Energy and financial services organizations prioritize remote training and collaboration, while consumer and government respondents favor systems optimization. This diversity of use case preferences underscores the importance of sector-specific strategies for ICT providers, at a time when 25% of telcos are prioritizing cross-vertical IoT solutions.

AI is perceived as the most complementary technology to both 5G and IoT, creating a powerful convergence narrative. However, the study notes that enterprise awareness of edge computing — which serves as the critical enabler of low-latency AI — has actually declined compared to previous years. This awareness gap presents a risk: without edge computing infrastructure, many of the AI-powered 5G and IoT use cases that enterprises are most excited about will struggle to deliver the real-time performance they require.

Awareness of newer connectivity concepts varies significantly. While network-as-a-service has gained traction among IT functions, network slicing remains poorly understood: only 26% of businesses report high awareness while 29% have low or no awareness. This education gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity for ICT providers seeking to differentiate their offerings. Recent analyses of global connectivity trends from the ITU confirm that bridging this knowledge gap is essential for realizing the full potential of next-generation networks.

In-Demand ICT Vendor Attributes and Evolving Market Dynamics

The EY study provides valuable insight into what enterprises want from their ICT vendors. Security has emerged as a top-three vendor attribute across all sectors, reflecting the pervasive cybersecurity concerns identified earlier in the report. Sector understanding and professional service capabilities are also set to rise in importance, as enterprises demand vendors that can deliver not just technology but industry-specific solutions and advisory capabilities.

The competitive landscape among ICT vendors is notably fragmented. IT services companies, cloud vendors, and telcos each lead as perceived experts in different technology and advisory domains, but preferences are not strongly marked — indicating that no single vendor type has established dominant mindshare across the enterprise market. Telcos maintain a slight edge in private mobile network capabilities, with 28% of enterprises ranking them as preferred vendors in this domain, just ahead of IT services providers at 25%.

The ideal enterprise ICT supplier, according to the study, delivers a combination of business outcomes expertise, excellence in partner orchestration, and scalable solutions. This triad of requirements represents a significant evolution from the traditional vendor evaluation criteria focused primarily on technology capabilities and pricing. Enterprises increasingly want suppliers that can serve as strategic partners, helping them navigate the complexities of multi-technology environments and delivering measurable business impact rather than simply deploying infrastructure.

This shift in vendor expectations has profound implications for the ICT industry. Providers that can demonstrate deep sector knowledge, robust partner ecosystems, and outcome-based engagement models will be best positioned to win enterprise business. Those that remain focused on technology-first selling approaches risk being marginalized as enterprises consolidate their vendor portfolios. For further context on how technology trends are reshaping enterprise procurement, explore our interactive analysis library.

Evolving Vendor Relationships and the Ecosystem Imperative

Perhaps the most consequential finding in the EY study concerns the evolving nature of enterprise-vendor relationships. While organizations are increasingly participating in collaborative ecosystems, they lack awareness of their key suppliers’ partnerships. A remarkable 73% of organizations say they need a greater understanding of the changing supplier landscape, suggesting that the rapid evolution of technology partnerships and alliances is outpacing enterprises’ ability to evaluate and select the right providers.

This awareness gap is particularly acute in digital connectivity, where businesses also believe that 5G and IoT service portfolios are inadequate. The absence of AI capabilities within connectivity offerings is especially conspicuous, given the strong enterprise perception of AI as complementary to 5G and IoT. ICT providers that fail to integrate AI into their connectivity solutions risk losing relevance as enterprises seek more comprehensive, converged offerings.

The consolidation trend is accelerating: one in three businesses plan to consolidate their ICT suppliers, seeking providers that offer greater customer centricity and more integrated solution portfolios. This represents both a threat and an opportunity for service providers. For incumbents, the risk is being dropped from vendor shortlists during consolidation rounds. For ambitious challengers, the opportunity lies in positioning themselves as one-stop partners that can deliver across multiple technology domains while maintaining the specialization that enterprises value.

The study also highlights the growing importance of ecosystem orchestration as a vendor capability. As technology environments become more complex and multi-vendor, enterprises need suppliers that can manage integrations, coordinate partner contributions, and deliver cohesive outcomes across fragmented technology stacks. Vendors that master this orchestration role will command premium positioning in enterprise accounts.

Strategic Implications of Emerging Technologies for Enterprise Leaders

The EY Reimagining Industry Futures Study 2025 delivers a clear message to enterprise technology leaders: the era of piecemeal technology adoption is giving way to a more integrated, strategic approach that demands C-suite engagement, sustainability alignment, and ecosystem thinking. The data points identified throughout this report — from the 87% sustainability consideration rate to the 60% point-solution overload figure — collectively describe an enterprise landscape that is committed to transformation but requires better tools, frameworks, and partnerships to achieve it at scale.

For CIOs and CTOs, the imperative is clear: technology strategies must be developed in collaboration with the broader C-suite, aligned with sustainability objectives, and supported by vendor partnerships that go beyond transactional relationships. The 49% CEO involvement rate in technology decisions is not just a statistic — it reflects a fundamental change in how organizations view technology as a strategic asset rather than a cost center.

For ICT providers, the study’s implications are equally significant. The shift toward outcome-based expectations, the demand for sector-specific expertise, and the consolidation of vendor portfolios all point toward a market where differentiation will come from advisory capabilities and ecosystem orchestration rather than pure technology prowess. Providers that adapt to these evolving expectations will thrive; those that do not risk becoming commodity suppliers in an increasingly sophisticated enterprise market.

The GenAI opportunity remains substantial, but success will depend on addressing the practical challenges of cybersecurity, integration, and ROI measurement rather than simply promoting the technology’s transformative potential. As organizations move from experimentation to production deployment, they need partners who understand the specific implementation challenges within their industry and can deliver solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing technology architectures. The convergence of AI, 5G, IoT, and sustainability represents the defining technology narrative of 2025, and the EY study provides the data foundation for navigating this complex landscape.