IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Infrastructure 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Digital Infrastructure 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: By 2026, 70% of G2000 C-Suite Executives Will Require Technology and Business Outcome Alignment Paired with ROI and Value Analysis to Justify New AI-Enabling Infrastructure Spending

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: By 2028, 75% of Enterprise AI Workloads Will Be Deployed on Hybrid Fit-for-Purpose Infrastructure to Turbocharge Time to Value While Optimizing Performance, Cost, and Compliance

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2027, After Suffering Multiple AI Project Failures, 70% of IT Teams Will Return to Basics and Focus on AI-Ready Data Infrastructure Platforms for Data Logistics, Quality, Governance, and Trust

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2028, in Response to Growth of GenAI Inferencing Workloads, 60% of G2000 Will Supersize Edge IT by Doubling Spend on Remote Compute, Storage, and Networking Resources

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: In 2026, GenAI and Analytics Deployments for IT Operations Use Cases Will Increase Team/Individual Productivity by 10%, Leading to $5 Billion of Economic and New Business Value

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2027, 75% of Large-Scale Datacenters Will Have Implemented Advanced Energy Management Systems, Incorporating AI and Machine Learning to Optimize Power Usage and Reduce Carbon Footprints

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: By 2027, Resilience, AI, and Privacy Regulations Will Drive 70% of the G5000 to Reengineer the Majority of Core Business Workloads to Be Portable Across Multiple Private and Public Cloud Infrastructures

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2028, 100% of the G3000 Will Mandate Hardware-Enabled Zero Trust Security in the Infrastructure Stack as a First Line of Defense Against Cyberattacks, Increasing IT Staff Productivity 4x

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2029, 50% of the G2000 Will Suffer Combined Annual Losses Totaling Over $100 Billion Because of Tech Debt and Lack of Modernization as They Struggle to Protect Older Infrastructure and Meet Demand for AI

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2029, the Compute Power Needed to Train LLMs Will Be Reduced by 65% as New Qubit Technology Enables Portions of These Models to Be Offloaded and Solved Using Quantum-Centric Supercomputers

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Business Impact

• Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• AI-Driven Business Models — Moving from AI Experimentation to Monetization

• The Drive to Automate — Toward a Data-Driven Future

• Regulatory Flux — Navigating Compliance Challenges in a Shifting Policy Landscape

• Expanding Digital Security Frontiers — Fortification Against Multiplying Threats

• Battling Against Technical Debt — Overcoming Hurdles to IT Modernization

• Customer Experience Squared — Consumer and Citizen Expectations for Digital Services

Learn More

• Related Research