As we look ahead to 2025, it’s clear that IT decision-makers are navigating a rapidly shifting technological landscape, writes Alex Russell, regional sales manager: SADC at Nutanix.
The coming year will challenge organisations to rethink their priorities, redefine strategies, and embrace transformative technologies to stay competitive.
Here are the key trends that I believe will shape the enterprise IT narrative in 2025.
AI Will Reshape IT Budgets and Efficiency
AI is no longer a speculative investment—it’s a competitive necessity. Yet, deploying AI at scale is costly, which will force IT leaders to seek greater efficiencies in other areas.
An emerging strategy is to “fund AI with AI,” using the technology itself to automate labour-intensive tasks and identify inefficiencies. This dual approach will unlock budgets while maximising operational effectiveness. Additionally, legacy products and workflows that lack AI capabilities will see accelerated retirement as organisations standardise around AI-driven solutions.
At the same time, AI’s role in Kubernetes management will grow. As mission-critical applications increasingly adopt Kubernetes, enterprises will centralise their governance to bolster security and control costs. This shift will signal the maturity of Kubernetes from developer-led experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment.
Software Enters a New Era of Transformation
The evolution of software is about to accelerate with the emergence of “Software 2.0.” Unlike traditional software that remains static post-deployment, the next generation will adapt and improve through usage. By learning from user interactions, these applications will refine experiences without requiring active coding, laying the foundation for a decades-long transformation in enterprise software development.
Moreover, blockchain technology will re-enter the spotlight, not just for cryptocurrencies but as a critical tool for creating publicly verifiable systems of record. With regulatory endorsement, blockchain’s potential to enable transparency and trust across industries will drive its resurgence in enterprise adoption.
Managing AI’s Energy Demands
While the computational intensity of AI model training has garnered significant attention, the real challenge ahead lies in managing the energy consumption of AI inference at the edge. As enterprises deploy AI to edge environments, the growing energy demand will strain infrastructure and budgets.
To address this, organisations will need to prioritise energy-efficient architectures and optimisation strategies or risk compounding operational costs.
Reasoning Models and Multi-Agent AI Take the Stage
Advances in AI will bring us closer to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), particularly with reasoning models from leaders like OpenAI and Meta. These models will introduce unprecedented capabilities, enabling AI systems to engage in more sophisticated decision-making and problem-solving.
Additionally, the rise of multi-agent AI—where collections of AI agents work cooperatively – will redefine enterprise workflows. These agents will not only perform tasks autonomously but also negotiate and collaborate with one another, ushering in a new paradigm for AI-driven productivity.
However, this transformation will demand new processes, people, and infrastructure to harness its potential.
AI Goes Mainstream in the Enterprise
Generative AI applications, once a novelty, are set to become mainstream across enterprises. Early adopters are already seeing tangible benefits, such as improved developer productivity and enhanced decision-making.
According to our CEO, Rajiv Ramaswami, at Nutanix, we’ve targeted a 25% improvement in developer productivity through AI-driven initiatives like automated code generation and testing. These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg as generative AI integrates into a growing array of business functions.
Cloud Robotics and the Proliferation of Advanced Architectures
Cloud robotics will transition from concept to reality, driving shared services and infrastructure spending, particularly in manufacturing. This trend reflects a broader move toward collaborative enterprise models, where shared data and services enhance efficiency and scalability.
Supporting these advancements will be breakthroughs in hardware architecture. Technologies like in-memory compute and ARM-based designs will gain traction, addressing performance bottlenecks and enabling next-generation AI models. Meanwhile, Smart NICs capable of running entire storage controllers will further blur the lines between compute and storage, optimising workloads across the enterprise.
Looking Ahead
The year 2025 promises to be a tipping point for enterprise IT, where innovation collides with necessity. From AI-driven efficiencies to transformative software and architectures, organisations that embrace these trends will position themselves as leaders in the next wave of digital evolution.
For IT decision-makers, the time to act is now – rethinking budgets, adopting forward-looking technologies, and building resilient, scalable systems that stand ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.