What should businesses and tech leaders expect in 2025?

Dec 17, 2024 | min read

CI&T

CI&T’s Predictions for 2025

We’re wrapping up another landmark year of growth, transformation, and innovation. If there is one thing we know about working at the intersection of design, strategy and engineering, it’s that things never stop changing. As we look ahead to another year of fast-paced evolution across tech, AI, and data, we asked some members of our leadership team to share their predictions for 2025.

Working across AI, tech, retail, financial services, healthcare, and data, we have a unique window into both the challenges and opportunities leaders are likely to face in 2025. That’s why we were interested to see some common themes emerge in their responses. These are worth highlighting and keeping in mind as we begin to plan for the year ahead.

The economic landscape remains challenging: Inflation, uncertainty, and fluctuating markets mean lenders are risk averse and uncertainty is high. Agility and conservatism are key.

Generative AI is here to stay: No longer the next big thing, Gen AI is starting to slowly blend into every digital product and sector, with over half of enterprises already using the technology to speed up software development. Expect incremental enhancements in the next year as understanding grows.

AI ethics: The conversation about ethics in AI solutions — and the large swathes of data that come with it — will only become more important. The path to regulation is complex, but it’s essential to get this right. A collaborative approach is key to overcoming challenges and promoting a culture of responsible AI.

“The year 2025 will bring vast opportunities but also considerable obstacles,” Gabriel Marostegan, CI&T’s Head of Data & AI said. “Companies that anticipate these trends, investing in innovation, adaptability, and corporate analytical literacy, will gain a significant competitive advantage.”

Let’s take a closer look at what our team had to say about the year to come:

What are the biggest challenges business leaders will face in 2025?

"The year of loose experimentation is over, and the businesses that succeed in this space will leapfrog their competition."

Experimentation is over: "Organisations need to demonstrate the impact of Gen AI, create real, demonstrable value, and scale. The year of loose experimentation is over, and the businesses that succeed in this space will leapfrog their competition. Companies will need to invest in selecting the right tools, upskilling their workforce and establishing the right leadership and operating model to see results."

*Christian Buncher, Senior Director of Digital Product & CX Strategy*.

"The trend of ‘making the most of what we have’ is expected to persist, with major technology investments deferred to 2026 in the hope of an improved economic outlook.”

Making the most of what we have: "Consumer confidence remains low, the economic recovery has been slower than anticipated, and high interest rates combined with inflation continue to pressure people’s willingness to spend on non-essential items. Businesses closely tied to this value chain are likely to face revenue challenges, leading to tighter departmental budgets and reduced investment in innovation and new technology. The trend of ‘making the most of what we have’ is expected to persist, with major technology investments deferred to 2026 in the hope of an improved economic outlook."

*Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategy*

“Just as brands will have to be resourceful, they’ll have to leverage technology that allows their customers to be resourceful."

Making the most of what they have: "Just as brands will have to be resourceful, they’ll have to leverage technology that allows their customers to be resourceful. AI will play a key role in delivering the lowest possible prices without sacrificing margin, and new approaches to dynamic pricing will be crucially useful behind the scenes."

“Organisations will start to realise that their marketing efforts need to include optimising their relevance within LLM engines."

Keeping up with LLM engines: "As every traditional search engine incorporates LLMs into their products and customers also use more GenAI tools for search, discovery, and recommendation, organisations will start to realise that their marketing efforts need to include optimising their relevance within LLM engines."

*Gabriel Vieira, VP of Engineering, EMEA*

“Companies will need to focus on not just hiring but creating environments that attract and retain specialised talent."

The big talent gap: "A big challenge lies in the talent gap in advanced AI fields, particularly areas like XOps, AI Engineering, and Blockchain. These fields require expertise, and the demand is skyrocketing. Companies will need to focus on not just hiring but creating environments that attract and retain this specialised talent. Offering opportunities for growth, fostering innovation, and building clear paths for professional development will be critical."

Read more about nurturing a hyper-productive, AI-first workforce here.

“Measuring results will be vital to assess the effectiveness of AI implementations, while the evolution of large language model agents (LLMs) will enable more personalised and effective interactions."

The evolution of LLMs: "The demand for data as a platform — addressing issues of ingestion, governance, security, availability, and accuracy — will continue to be a challenge to overcome. Measuring results will be vital to assess the effectiveness of AI implementations, while the evolution of large language model agents (LLMs) will enable more personalised and effective interactions. In this context, addressing social bubbles and including different groups will become priorities, ensuring that AI solutions benefit society as a whole."

"Customizing security policies based on each organization’s risk profile will be crucial to protecting data and systems more effectively".

A new era of cyber defense: The future of cybersecurity is an ever-changing battlefield, where threats become increasingly sophisticated. The key to protecting against this scenario will be AI, automation and proactivity. Customizing security policies based on each organization’s risk profile will be crucial to protecting data and systems more effectively.

What are the biggest trends and opportunities to expect in 2025?

A big focus on Gen AI apps: "Next year, the adoption of generative AI is set to accelerate further, with an intensified focus on delivering measurable results. A key area of attention will be the rise of Gen AI Multi-Agent — or Agentic — applications as the race heats up among major cloud providers, foundation model developers, startups, and low-code platform vendors. Each will compete to stake their claim in the evolving landscape, offering distinct approaches to autonomous agent capabilities. "— Mark Rodseth, VP of Technology, EMEA

Meet customers where they are: “The financial services industry is on the brink of exciting transformations, with several innovations reshaping how we think about banking. One area I’m particularly excited about is Embedded Finance and Ecosystem Integration. Think about it: financial services are no longer confined to traditional banking apps or websites. Instead, they’re becoming part of everyday platforms. For example, ride-sharing apps could offer instant trip insurance, or e-commerce platforms might seamlessly provide buy-now-pay-later options integrated into the checkout process. This trend allows financial services to meet customers where they are, providing convenience and unlocking new revenue streams.” — Gabriel Vieira, VP of Engineering, EMEA

"The game will continue to shift from selling products to offering experiences"

Customers at the centre: "The most successful brands will be the customer-centric ones. Gen AI is rapidly changing customers’ behaviours, decision-making patterns and, most importantly, their expectations. The game will continue to shift from selling products to offering experiences, so leveraging Gen AI to learn more about customers and improve these interactions must be a core part of a business’s strategy."

Read more about how companies can keep up with consumers as Gen AI evolves here.

The "Excel-moment" of GenAI: “Similar to how Excel capabilities and ease-of-use allowed for entire departments to have their own home-grown solutions, Enterprises should prepare to support the desire and needs of the organisation in using Generative AI at scale without losing track and control of the ever-growing number of solutions created in the process.” — Lucas Persona, Chief Digital Officer

The AI-First revolution: Companies that embrace their transformation to an AI-first mindset will be at the forefront of a new era where people empowered by AI drive the reinvention of experiences and personalization, taking efficiency to a new level. -Leandro Angelo, EVP & Partner, LATAM

*Fernando Henrique Silva, SVP of Digital Solutions, EMEA*

“GenAI for customer service will get more space and will start to become a reality".

Customer service powered by Gen AI: "GenAI for customer service will get more space and will start to become a reality. 5G and IoT will also be more part of our lives, homes (smart home), and in the health and wellness space, especially focused on improving mental health."

Apps consumers actually want to download: “Our consumer insights research repeatedly shows that consumers find apps to be the easiest way to interact with brands. However, the number of branded apps downloaded and in regular use remains extremely low. It’s time retailers create compelling enough apps so that customers can be omnichannel users, and brands become unified commerce providers.” — Melissa Minkow, Global Director of Retail Strategy

Clean, unified datasets: “Another key opportunity lies in AI-Ready Data and how it enables scaling AI in the enterprise. Many organisations struggle with fragmented or siloed data, making it challenging to fully leverage AI’s potential. By investing in AI-ready data infrastructure — think clean, unified, and easily accessible datasets — banks can unlock more robust predictive analytics and personalised services. This foundational step is critical to scaling AI successfully across operations and ensuring consistent, impactful outcomes.” —Gabriel Vieira, VP of Engineering, EMEA

Read more from Henrique Souza on building a modern data warehouse in the AI era here.

“The more AI we become, the more human we need to be.”

In 2025, tech and human creativity will be a powerful duo. Companies that embrace innovation and ethical AI will lead the pack. By merging the latest tech, including Gen AI, businesses can shift from playing catch-up to shaping the future. Those who commit to this transformative journey will not only dominate their industries but also redefine what it means to do business in these fast-paced times. The future's bright, and it's full of possibilities for those ready to adapt.