Now that we’ve turned the page over to the new year, organizations will begin to set their sights on what technologies and services they should prioritize this year. Enterprises must deliver successful digital initiatives while navigating budget constraints.
According to Gartner’s 2025 CIO Agenda, CIOs should aim to “grow the digital vanguard by making it easier for others to lead and build digital solutions together with IT,” with actions including defining the right ratio of IT to business technologists and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation across the enterprise. About 67 percent of projected AI spending in 2025 will come from enterprises embedding AI into their core business operations, Gartner said.
Beyond AI, the technologies that leaders will desire most in 2025 are wide-ranging, from cybersecurity solutions to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to various cloud products. To prepare for the new year, Channel Insider spoke with IT leaders and experts to gain their perspectives on the future of opportunity and demand in the channel.
Cybersecurity solutions
Among the top essentials all CIOs will need going into 2025 and beyond are top-tier cybersecurity solutions for network security, data management, and threat detection. New advancements in technology have contributed to increasingly sophisticated threats. Going forward, a heavy focus will be placed on cybersecurity and data protection by both managed service providers (MSPs) and their clients. Further, an emphasis will be placed on integrating innovative solutions into existing technology ecosystems.
According to Jon Frances, CISO of ISC2, deepfakes will be prevalent in 2025. Deepfakes are artificial images, videos, or audio that are generated by deep learning, a unique kind of machine learning. Deepfakes create serious cybersecurity concerns as they can produce misinformation to the masses or be a significant tool in social engineering. Going into 2025, organizations that manage sensitive information will need services to defend against these tools being used in social engineering.
“In 2025, I predict we’ll see the use of deepfakes taken to the next level and used as a core tactic in financially-motivated cyber attacks on companies large and small,” Frances said. “While business email compromise (BEC) certainly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, we can expect to see the use of deepfakes to accomplish similar goals.”
ConnectWise CEO, Manny Rivelo, said that in 2025, the focus on cybersecurity and data protection from MSPs and small- and medium-sized business (SMB) clients will only intensify.
“Technologies like hyperautomation and AI will be key in transforming how services are delivered and managed,” Rivelo said. “These advancements will enable MSPs to automate routine tasks, enhance operational efficiency, and strengthen their cybersecurity posture. As businesses prepare for the future, their priorities will include product innovation, improving the partner experience, and helping partners succeed in an AI-driven market.”
ConnectWise CIO Todd Hale detailed similar sentiments in a conversation with Channel Insider– adding that increasing risks and regulatory requirements are key to understanding cybersecurity trends in 2025.
“All companies are facing a certain level of risk that is ever increasing. The complexity of the threat landscape and what we have to deal with on a day in, day out basis is getting more complex,” said Hale. “I would add that you really need strong data protection capabilities in terms of being able to ensure that if there is a ransomware attack or there is some sort of an issue where you’ve got data loss, that you’ve got the ability to back up and recover.”
Kimberly King, Hitachi Vantara’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Partners and Alliances, said that proper cybersecurity posture will not only help protect enterprise networks but also optimize operations and maintain competitiveness in 2025.
“Strong data protection and sovereignty strategies– like encryption, access controls and disaster recovery– are essential,” King said. “Cybersecurity will remain a primary focus as companies look to improve threat detection, incident response, and vulnerability management. Ultimately, all-encompassing managed IT services, such as network monitoring, endpoint security, and help desk assistance, will be crucial for organizations seeking to optimize operations and maintain competitiveness.”
According to Rakesh Shah, VP of Product Management at LevelBlue, AI is going to usher in a multi-year evolution of security products that might begin to emerge in 2025. Investments in cybersecurity will also be under the microscope in the mid-2020s.
“AI is really a longer-term play and this is going to see a multi-year, maybe multi-decade, kind of evolution of security products,” Shah told Channel Insider. “When you look specifically at 2025, I think there will be a focus on security outcomes and understanding the return on security investments that have been made in business investments in general.”
Shah added that in 2025, large enterprises to the smallest of organizations will invest in tools that reduce risk for an organization and make it more resilient. Just a little bit of proactivity on the security side can save yourself a lot of time on the reactive side, Shah said.
Additionally, Shah said that over the next year, he believes more organizations will begin to look at the line between network operations and security operations. Traditionally, the two have been very segmented, he said, but now enterprises will begin to consider solutions that cross that barrier.
Adopting and implementing AI
Going into 2025, AI is likely to be the biggest IT solution that enterprises of all sizes will seek to implement, including different types of AI, such as agentic AI and generative AI (GenAI). The emerging technology has made the leap from a tool understood in the IT industry to something you may be speaking to relatives about around the holidays this season.
According to King, AI and machine learning will drive automation, predictive analytics, and enhanced security features over the next year, meeting the increasing demands for efficiency and insight.
“In 2025, services that support more intelligent infrastructures will dominate the priority list for MSPs,” King said. “Expect MSP clients to demand services that build on AI and machine learning, and transform data infrastructures to enable automation, predictive analytics, and augmented intelligence decision-making. Meanwhile, enterprises will look to their MSPs for direction in identifying and implementing such tools in a cost-effective, compliant, and sustainable manner.”
Hale agreed that AI will continue to be a common trend in the next year as more organizations determine use cases and include it in business strategy.
“I think one of the more common themes around 2025 is going to be: what am I going to do in this AI space?” Hale mentioned. “I think MSPs are getting ready and getting prepared to adopt AI because there’s all this hype and the increase in terms of awareness of this being an opportunity. It’s becoming reality now, not just something that people were talking about, and I think they’re going to look at the MSPs pretty heavily to be that trusted advisor.”
Further, Hale said that because of the anticipated increased interest in AI in 2025, MSPs will need to be prepared to answer client questions about AI and provide trusted advisory services. This applies to agentic AI and digital workers as they are emerging subcategories that MSP clients may request.
“If you think about what has happened since the generative AI boom, which was November of 2023, it really has taken off,” said Hale. “I think more and more communication from a marketing perspective and an awareness perspective has happened throughout 2024 and, as we’re moving into ‘25, more companies are asking the questions around: what do I do here?”
Gregor Blaj, Technical Director at Lancom Technology, predicted that GenAI in cybersecurity will be a critical trend going forward. According to Blaj, AI-powered threat defense will allow clients to enjoy enhanced protection through predictive analytics and automated incident response. This means faster detection and mitigation of threats to ensure data remains secure and compliant with stringent regulations.
“Generative AI is transforming the way businesses operate by enhancing innovation, creativity, and efficiency. By leveraging generative AI, MSPs can help their clients harness the full potential of AI, from summarizing information to generating complex content, ultimately driving business growth and competitive advantage,” said Blaj. “As an example, building on top of Microsoft 365 Copilot with SharePoint Agents and the upcoming Copilot Actions, will allow businesses to quickly realize benefits and streamline operations.”
Founder & CEO at 360insights, Jason Atkins, went a step further in saying that by late 2025, software companies without AI integration may become antiquated with AI becoming a survival imperative.
“By late 2025, software businesses without AI integration will face obsolescence. AI will be a baseline expectation for competitive software solutions, influencing purchasing decisions and market positioning,” Atkins said. “2025 will be a pivotal year, marked by both the emergence of dominant players in the AI ecosystem and a redefinition of how businesses harness the power of AI. Organizations that invest in AI and embrace its transformative potential will lead, while those that hesitate may be left behind.”
Hybrid, Private, Public & Multi-Cloud: When CIOs want it all
The new year will maintain cloud computing as a key technology that IT leaders will stay on top of, especially as data residency laws become more ubiquitous on a global level. Different kinds of cloud can cater to individual enterprises’ storage needs.
- Hybrid: offered to organizations that need to balance the flexibility and scalability of a public cloud with the security and control of a private cloud. The hybrid cloud keeps data on-premises to comply with data residency laws and leverages the public cloud for less sensitive workloads.
- Private: Offered to organizations when they want better security and control over data. Private clouds have a slightly reduced risk of security lapses and data breaches compared to other cloud architectures. Financial, healthcare, legal, and government services benefit from private clouds the most.
- Public: Utilized for when organizations need scalable computing power with flexible resource allocation. It can accommodate changing data volumes, which allows companies to scale up or down based on needs.
- Multi-Cloud: Offered to enterprises when an organization needs to leverage the best features and pricing from different cloud providers for specific workloads, avoid vendor lock-in, optimize performance based on geographic location, enhance disaster recovery capabilities, or comply with regional data residency regulations.
“As cloud computing becomes increasingly prevalent, managing cloud costs is crucial for businesses. In 2025, clients will benefit from strong FinOps practices that promote financial responsibility and ensure a strong return on investment,” said Blaj. “By implementing these practices, MSPs can help clients minimize unnecessary expenditures and optimize their cloud spending.”
“Additionally, MSPs can provide detailed cost analysis and forecasting, allowing clients to make informed decisions about their cloud usage. Effective cloud cost optimization not only improves financial planning, but also ensures that businesses can scale efficiently without compromising performance.”
According to Scale Computing CEO Jeff Ready, edge computing tools and services will also gain interest in 2025.
“In 2025, the competitive landscape for virtualization solutions will expand dramatically, empowering service providers to explore a broader array of options while meeting customer demands for affordability and flexibility,” Ready said. “Service providers are increasingly seeking hypervisors and management platforms that are not only cost-effective, but also tailored to the unique challenges of distributed environments.”
Going green
Through regulations and a push for environmental responsibility, ecologically-friendly practices from IT companies will remain a popular trend in 2025. Sustainability in 2025 will mean minimizing the environmental impact of technology by utilizing energy-efficient hardware, renewable energy sources for data centers, developing AI models with low energy consumption and implementing robust carbon accounting measures for reducing and tracking emissions.
According to Sean Cheriton, Manufacturing Account Executive at 360insights, regulations from an environmental responsibility standpoint will lead to channel incentives playing a key role in directing distributor behavior. Manufacturers will use these incentives to move their channels to be more sustainable.
“Savvy manufacturers will use incentives to move their channels to more ecologically friendly choices so they hit their annual targets on environmentally friendly products and position themselves as global environmental leaders,” Cheriton said. “In 2025, manufacturers will continue to evolve their programs, particularly with rewards targeting installers, contractors, and dealer sales representatives, to provide increased flexibility and choice of rewards and more aspirational rewards that resonate emotionally with participants.”
In Gartner’s 2025 Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends report, the research company highlighted energy-efficient computing as a leading consideration for most IT organizations.
“Sustainability is now a board-level focus,” Gartner writes. “IT significantly contributes to environmental footprints, especially in industries like financial services and IT services, as energy intensive technologies like AI drive higher energy consumption.”
What else to expect in 2025
Beyond cybersecurity, AI, and cloud, other technologies in 2025 will also have their moments in the sun. Overall, companies want to grow and scale, while achieving cost optimization. To have all of this, enterprises will want MSPs focused on innovation, not just for the products and services they provide, but also for the MSPs themselves. Embracing innovation on both ends of the partnership allows companies to stay ahead of the curve.
Leveraging new technologies through innovation allows MSPs to give CIOs what they require, including: simplifying communication and collaboration, disaster recovery, increased productivity, and cost optimization.
Continuity & Data Recovery
In case cybersecurity tools and solutions become circumvented, being able to bounce back from network disruptions is another crucial priority for IT leaders in 2025.
The digital business landscape isn’t impervious to unforeseen disruptions and MSPs need to ensure their client’s businesses remain resilient in the face of those disruptions. Continuity and data recovery are critical to businesses’ ability to maintain essential operations during and after a disaster or an outage. It involves planning and preparation to ensure personnel, assets, and processes remain safe.
Among key continuity technologies executives will need include: backup and recovery tools, data protection, and compliance & regulatory solutions. Tools to consider include: virtualization technologies, replication technologies, cloud-based disaster recovery solutions, and automated failover and failback processes.
UCaaS
The growth in communications technologies will continue in 2025 as effective collaboration tools become more critical in a connected ecosystem.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) tools integrate communication services like voice, video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration tools, all delivered through a cloud platform. These services are just a few for IT leaders to consider in 2025.
UCaaS allows users to eliminate the need for expensive on-prem equipment, as communication is managed through internet-based infrastructure. Some of the UCaaS tools that are front of mind for the C-Suite include: VoIP phone, instant messaging, email, online meetings, conferencing, and calendars and scheduling.
Productivity tools
Productivity tools will also be important for companies in 2025 as they are key to simplifying and managing efficiency for work teams, both in the office and for remote work. They focus on simplifying routine tasks, collaboration, and project management, in addition to including essential management features.
Among productivity tools enterprises consider for their organizations include: project management tools, communication and collaboration tools, customer management tools, accounting and finance tools, data management and cybersecurity tools, and HR tools.
Bottom line: 2025 will feature all these opportunities and more
For CIOs and other senior IT leadership, anticipating and preparing for the future and the demands of the channel is a critical task to ensure growth, innovation, and value creation. Going into 2025, this is just a glimpse at the possibilities in the channel. Emerging technologies have created a shifting landscape that requires a true measure of leadership to navigate.
Not only will IT leaders need to prepare their own organizations for the trends of 2025, but they will have to ensure their clients are prepared for the upcoming challenges and trends as well.
Cybersecurity and AI will remain at the forefront of trends in the channel and will remain critical across industries such as energy and utilities, telecommunications, healthcare, and manufacturing. Traditional challenges will stay similar to those in 2024, but the solutions to those challenges will be backed by newer, more advanced innovations.
To help drive growth in 2025, cultivating new partnerships and nurturing current ones will be paramount. Read more about how one tech giant is approaching partner opportunities next year.