ICT suppliers need to adapt their strategies to help businesses succeed in digital transformation

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Businesses are spending more on emerging technologies year-on-year but are struggling to expand pilot use cases
Enterprises lack awareness of the latest mobile technology capabilities and find it hard to make supplier choices
Suppliers can help customers overcome these challenges by emphasizing their ecosystem relationships and the business value of the new technologies

The momentum for enterprise investment in emerging technologies remains robust with nearly half (47%) of businesses investing in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), compared with 43% last year. Forty-three percent of survey respondents are investing in internet of things (IoT) and 33% is investing in 5G technology, reflecting an upward trend from 39% and 27% respectively in 2024. The latest EY Reimagining Industry Futures study emphasizes the need for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) suppliers to adapt their strategies to effectively support businesses in achieving successful digital transformation.

At the same time, decision-making inside enterprises is diffusing more widely across the C-suite, with 49% of CEO respondents now involved in emerging technology strategy, including choice of suppliers. The EY study finds that organizations where the CEO is a key decision-maker are further along the investment curve. Over half (51%) of responding businesses with CEOs involved in new technology decisions are investing in GenAI, compared with 44% of organizations where the CEO is less involved.

Businesses are struggling to convert technology trials into live deployments

Despite the encouraging upward trend in investment in emerging technologies, the research finds that too many organizations are still only in trialing mode. An example of this is investment in IoT, while this is rising year-on-year, the proportion of businesses with active IoT deployments is in decline, slipping to 16% this year compared with 19% in 2024. Active deployments of edge computing are also flat year-on-year at 22% - while only 1% of organization responding have active deployments of GenAI.

As well as posing a challenge to unlocking long-term value, a failure to progress beyond the trial phase means businesses risk missing out on the combined impact of different technologies deployed together, an area where almost four in five (79%) organizations are looking to achieve more. There could also be a danger that too many emerging technologies initiatives will be conducted in isolation, limiting the resulting business benefits.

Rob Atkinson

EY UK&I Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Market Leader

Awareness of suppliers is low, complicating vendor selection

Businesses are finding it challenging to make informed decisions about which ICT providers can best help them on their transformation journey. Seventy-three percent of survey respondents say they need a better understanding of the changing supplier landscape, reflecting an environment where collaborative ecosystems, featuring alliances between different technology providers are becoming the norm. More than half (56%) of survey respondents believe they lack awareness of their technology suppliers’ additional partners. In addition, less than a third of organizations have high awareness of new mobile technology capabilities such as network application programming interface (32%) and network slicing (26%),

In the context of accelerated digital transformation, it is imperative for ICT providers to review their strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of companies. A deep understanding of the business and the specific context in which clients operate is essential to provide relevant and effective solutions. Effective collaboration within ecosystems and adaptation to new technologies are also crucial to maximize the benefits of technology investments, thus facilitating a successful transition to a digital future.

Cătălina Dodu

Partner, EMEIA Cyber Managed Services Solutioning Leader, Technology Consulting Leader, Leader Cybersecurity South Cluster

Enterprises favor suppliers that deliver business outcomes

A third (33%) of survey respondents described their ideal vendor personas as having the ability to provide measurable business outcomes and ability to provide access to a robust partner ecosystem (33%). The ability to scale and integrate different technologies is also important to one in four (25%) of those surveyed. These attributes rank ahead of value-based pricing (10%), signaling that organizations are looking well beyond cost advantages when evaluating suppliers.

Appetite for supplier consolidation means improving customer mindshare is critical

Enterprises’ challenges around supplier awareness could ultimately feed into decisions to consolidate their vendor base. More than one-third (35%) of survey respondents across sectors are planning to reduce the number of ICT vendors they use in the coming 12 months, driven by efforts to improve security, lower overall expenditure and reduce technology complexity.

The intention to focus spending on a smaller number of key suppliers makes it even more important that ICT providers present themselves as effective ecosystem orchestrators, able to provide end-to-end solutions with the assistance of partners and intermediaries. As part of this, suppliers should take care to underline capabilities that extend beyond their core products. While enterprises remain committed to embracing leading-edge technologies like GenAI, IoT and 5G, they are facing challenges in translating their investments into real business value. Now is the time for IoT suppliers to reposition themselves as holistic partners to their business customers and help them realize the full benefits of their spending on digital transformation.

Rob Atkinson

EY UK&I Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Market Leader

About the research

The EY Reimagining Industry Futures Study 2025 is based on an online survey of 1,635 enterprises from 26 countries and eight industry sectors. Conducted in November 2024, it was the sixth wave of this annual survey. Only respondents who self-selected as “moderately knowledgeable” and above about their organizations’ emerging technology initiatives feature in the survey results. Split by business function, 33% of respondents were from IT departments, with operations (26%), product development (21%) and marketing (19%) also represented. The questionnaire consisted of multiple-choice questions and agreement statements. These explored areas including enterprises’ behaviors, attitudes and intentions toward emerging technologies, including AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G-based IoT; their perceptions of ICT suppliers’ capabilities; and their engagement with supplier ecosystems.