Artificial intelligence is completely redefining the priorities of IT managers in companies. This is the result of the IT Priorities Report 2025 from Flexera, a pioneer in hybrid IT asset management (ITAM). The use of AI solutions is also shaking up the list of top technology providers in German companies. The survey of 800 IT executives in four countries – including Germany – takes a look at the key IT plans of the past and next twelve months. The complete one Flexera IT Priorities 2025 Report is available to download free of charge from the Flexera website.
(Bild: JLStock/Shutterstock)
The topic of AI was of great concern to IT this year. Almost half (42%) of the IT executives surveyed assume that AI technologies – provided they are successfully integrated – will have a massive impact on business success. This means that AI is seen as more promising than eliminating security risks (26%) and reducing IT costs (25%). In addition, 74.03% of respondents expect AI use to continue to increase in the next two to three years. The IT roadmap for 2025 seems clear. According to 46%, artificial intelligence will even make it to number 1 on the priority list next year.
AI optimism continues, cost management is required
Overall, IT leaders are confident in their ability to manage their company’s AI future. The majority (85%) are convinced that they are well prepared for the use of generative AI (GenAI). In the previous year the proportion was already 82%.
The IT experts are by no means blind to the challenges that still need to be overcome. 90% believe that employees’ AI skills need to be further developed. Another 65% are aware that new technologies do not fit into conventional categories but require new teams and processes to manage.
There is equal concern around the world about IT budgets getting out of hand and costs being too high. On average, additional IT spending – including cloud, software, SaaS and hardware – amounts to around 20-25% per year. Just 15% of the IT managers surveyed described their IT spending as good. The rest are struggling with continually rising costs, with security tools (31%) and cloud infrastructure / IaaS (28%) in particular putting a strain on their IT wallets.
In general, the cloud makes a significant dent in the budget of 71% of those surveyed. Perhaps also because more SaaS and cloud solutions are being purchased in the respective business areas than 68% of IT managers even realize. It is all the more astonishing that despite rising cloud costs, just 13% list cloud cost optimization or FinOps as a priority on their agenda. There still seems to be a lot of room for improvement here. Especially since the expected AI investments in the next few months require holistic cost management.
“IT leaders face countless challenges but also opportunities. “AI promises the greatest opportunities for profit in both the short and long term,” explains Conal Gallagher, CIO at Flexera. “AI projects require high costs. This makes it all the more urgent for companies to achieve results and demonstrate an ROI that contributes to core business goals. AI is currently shaking up more than just IT. Technology is setting out to completely transform the way we work. As a department, IT is at the forefront here: Its job is to recognize and initiate this change – and to position itself as a driving force in the company.”
(Image: Flexera 2025 IT Priorities Report (n = 800))
OpenAI in the top 5 for the first time
Companies’ IT portfolios already reflect the AI transition. Microsoft has invested aggressively in the market in recent years. With the partnership with OpenAI and the integration of the technology into existing products (keyword: Copilot), the group was able to consolidate its position at the top of the AI industry. It is therefore hardly surprising that the company is the technology provider with the largest share of corporate IT budgets for the fourth time in a row (63%).
What has changed in the AI year 2024: Google is in second place on the provider list for the first time with 49%. This is followed by Amazon Web Services with 38%. The “debutant” OpenAI can also hold its own against established industry giants and climbs from zero to fourth place. With a share of 37% of the IT budget, the software company is even on par with the long-standing technology leader Oracle.
AI is and remains the top topic in German companies too. However, IT managers are more reluctant to use AI solutions. At least that’s what a look at the most important tech providers suggests: OpenAI makes it to third place in German companies with 31%, but is used less in a global comparison (37%). In Great Britain and the USA, IT decision-makers rate Google and Oracle among their top providers more often than their colleagues in Germany. AWS (29%) and Salesforce (22%) are also nowhere near as strong in Germany as in the rest of the world (38% and 36% respectively). SAP, on the other hand, seems to have a home advantage. With a 41% share of the IT budget, it is significantly more present in German tech portfolios than in others (34%).
(Image: Flexera 2025 IT Priorities Report (n = 800))
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