IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Cloud 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Cloud 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: By 2027, More than 60% of Businesses Will Have Modernized Up to 50% of Their Cloud Architecture to Encourage Infrastructure and Cost Efficiency and Enable Business and Technical Innovation

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: By 2028, Progress in Application Modernization and AI Tools Will Enable AI-Driven Movement to Optimal Environments for 60% of Enterprise Workloads, Which Will Be Utilized by at Least 45% of Organizations

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2026, as Part of Their Sovereign Cloud Strategies, 50% of Organizations Will Look for Network Infrastructure Providers That Offer Sovereign Controls

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2026, 75% of Organizations Will Leverage Specialized Accelerated Cloud Computing Services to Maximize the Speed of Deployment and Optimize the Scaling of Their AI and Other Accelerated Applications

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: By 2028, More Than 90% of Newly Developed Applications Will Be Multicloud Enabled, Having Been Architected to Leverage Platform-Delivered Capabilities and Deliver More Innovative Solutions

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2026, 40% of Multicloud Environments Will Leverage Generative AI to Streamline Security and Identity Access Management, Reducing Manual Efforts by 50%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: By 2025, 55% of the G2000 Will Adopt Multicloud Data Logistic Platforms to Enable Active Data Migration Between Hyperscalers to Optimize Costs, Reduce Vendor Dependencies, and Improve Governance

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2027, 90% of the G2000 Will Double Network Budgets Directed to Cloud Service Providers for IaaS Network Services, Driven by Network Modernization Efforts, Staff Pressures, and Service Enhancements

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2027, Faced with the Challenges of Scaling GenAI Inferencing, 80% of CIOs Will Rely on Edge Services from Cloud Providers to Satisfy Performance and Data Compliance Requirements

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2027, 40% of Organizations Will Use Custom Silicon, Including Arm Processors or AI/ML-Specific Chips, to Meet Rising Demands for Performance Optimization, Cost Efficiency, and Specialized Computing

• Associated Drivers

• IT 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

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• Related Research