State of enterprise technology

The technological landscape in 2025 is defined by two opposing forces: unprecedented promise and unrelenting pressure. AI and Generative AI (GenAI) have captured global attention, promising to transform how we work, communicate, and compete. Yet, beneath this wave of innovation lies an equally significant narrative – one of cost scrutiny, technical debt, and the hard realities of enterprise modernization, particularly with new challenges from tariffs and rising uncertainty.

In this report, we gather together insights from more than 20 AlixPartners Technology experts who work closely with clients across a wide range of technology domains and key industry verticals. Their perspectives provide an inside view on how companies are balancing ambitious transformation efforts with pragmatic decision-making. Encouragingly, most leaders see disruption as a catalyst for growth: business executives are four times more likely to view it as a significant revenue opportunity than a threat, according to our latest Digital Disruption Survey. But excitement and optimism for some spells unease for others. Sixty-eight percent of executives see GenAI as the biggest disruptive opportunity, but 63% of CEOs also worry that their companies can't keep pace with the change.

AI is the headline story, of course, but it is not the only one. We also see the vital role that technology continues to play in driving business performance – whether that’s in supporting growth, or in delivering productivity and efficiency gains through a wide range of technologies, from agentic AI and robotics to operational tech. And that means confronting slow-burning, long-term issues that can no longer be ignored. Business and technology leaders are grappling with the cost of cloud, compute, and storage. They are managing sprawling application stacks and planning ERP overhauls that will define their next decade, while in parallel juggling significant demand for a new breed of AI-enabled workloads.

And in the face of all this, they’re under pressure to do even more with less. Every tech dollar now comes with an ROI expectation, particularly as boards are increasingly interested in technology as a key factor in driving growth. Every initiative must show its value – fast.

The insights in this report present a clear-eyed view of the state of play in 2025: a time of profound change, grounded by practical decision-making. We hope this collection of expert perspectives can inform your own strategic thinking.