By Vimalraj Sampathkumar, ManageEngine
Digital architecture is the foundation on which modern business is built. Across industries and from SMEs to global corporations, the right IT systems make the difference between a business that’s equipped to succeed and one battling inefficiency and disruption. As the new year gets underway, IT leaders need to be proactive not only in considering the best investments to improve their architecture, but in demonstrating the real business value of those investments. IT’s days as a fringe cost centre are long gone – now, your digital software, storage, and security are the building blocks of your business.
Fortunately, 2025 will also be the year when AI moves from the test phase to widespread frontline deployment, so IT professionals have a real example to demonstrate the value this next-gen technology can bring. At the same time, there’s a real need to differentiate on the way that tech is deployed – ensuring sustainable practices are prioritised, particularly around energy usage. And all of this must remain in service of great user experiences, delivering an IT architecture that works for employees and customers alike, ultimately supporting increased business success.
Results speak loudest
IT may now have a place at the top of the management table, but some leaders retain their sense that IT architecture is capex to be controlled rather than a major driver of success. Despite the fact that a major outage can bring the whole enterprise to its knees, IT professionals often still need to make the case for their budget lines.
As a result, it’s important to be able to clearly demonstrate the value generated by IT investments – IT leaders who don’t risk budget cuts that could ultimately damage the business through poor IT. While dashboards can provide metrics on the operational performance of a technology, ITleaders don’t always present a clear case for the business benefits that performance has achieved. That clarity is only possible when IT is aligned with not only operational efficiency but also with business velocity and opportunity costs.
In 2025, that means CIOs need to closely focus on KPIs and metrics that provide a direct link to the business outcomes that depend on them. For instance, in the healthcare industry where there’s constant focus on data security and compliance management, it’s vital to collect and present metrics that track user behaviour and anomalies, ensure continuous availability of critical assets, and give visibility into critical and high-risk vulnerabilities and incidents. When senior leaders can see how quality IT has preserved crucial functions and enabled better execution of the organisation’s core mission, they’re much more likely to appreciate its true value.
Bringing AI to the fore
The coming year won’t just be business as usual, though – success will be redefined by AI. The past couple of years have seen a lot of enterprises running AI pilot schemes to determine how its capabilities could be of practical use. Now, more businesses will begin scaling up its usage in frontline operations and expect to start seeing a return on that R&D investment.
One key area where that’s true is in cybersecurity. Cybercriminals are already using AI to underpin more sophisticated attacks, which means traditional cybersecurity measures may not be enough to defend against them in the months ahead. This is where investing in AI for defence becomes crucial: fight fire with fire, as the old saying goes.
Investing in augmented AI is also becoming increasingly important when it comes to improving employee productivity. The idea of automating repetitive tasks has been a core tenet of IT investment for years, but with the rise of generative AI, a whole raft of new possibilities has opened up. We can expect to see more large language models (LLMs) being used in enterprises, equipped with agents that can make real-time API calls and augment their generative capabilities.
To realize all this, it’s crucial for companies to have a solid data strategy in place. This includes streamlining relevant processes and ensuring that they’re in sync with that strategy. CIOs must prioritize data sovereignty and data preparation, operating on encrypted data, to guarantee the success of AI implementation.
IT doesn’t have to cost the earth
AI does come with its physical costs, too. Investments into GPUs are skyrocketing as they play a critical role in training deep learning models and supporting faster computing. But their energy requirements are massive, generating huge carbon footprints. Intervention is needed: AI deployments can’t come at the cost of the environment.
Businesses must adopt a sustainable operating model, seeking to eliminate the environmental damage inflicted by such advanced technologies, adhering to compliance standards, and improving efficiency. While reduced carbon emissions are goal enough in themselves, this approach also meets the demands of environmentally conscious customers, making it a key competitive differentiator and a strategic priority for organisations in 2025.
Regardless of the challenges involved in incorporating sustainability into existing business operations, organisations can still embrace a greener way of working by conducting internal environmental audits, raising their investments to explore alternate energy sources, and gaining carbon credits.
Giving users what they want
Finally, with all this discussion of IT architecture, it’s crucial to remember that customers and employees are always the most valuable assets any organisation possesses. Every single interaction they have, be it with a human or a machine, is critical in shaping their overall experience, which in turn is crucial to the fate of an organisation.
With expectations evolving and technology advancing, optimising experiences for users is crucial to delivering success. Users expect ease of use, availability, consistency, proactive updates, contactless digital experiences, and easy feedback processes. These priorities can’t be ignored. Delivering them may mean redesigning an organisation’s existing architecture, particularly if it has scalability and compatibility issues. It also includes leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, generating actionable insights from data analytics platforms, customizing workflows, and enabling multi-modal interactions. This kind of root-and-branch re-engineering of user experience does come with challenges, not least maintaining cybersecurity while improving seamless use. However, reengineering ultimately fulfils the primary purpose of the business by enhancing employee engagement and customer satisfaction.
Taken together, these key areas of development can enable IT teams to demonstrate concrete business value in 2025 – and provide their organisations with the architecture they need to drive real success.