As CIOs gear up for 2025, the landscape is more uncertain than ever. While inflation has eased in many parts of the world, APAC’s unique economic dynamics—ranging from commodity price exposure to varying fiscal policies—will keep inflation higher compared to the U.S. or Europe. This uneven path to price stability, coupled with growing geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and evolving regulatory demands around digital and AI sovereignty, means that IT leaders must think strategically to protect their organizations and drive value.
There are reasons to be (cautiously) optimistic. CIOs across APAC are increasingly allocating resources toward building resilient infrastructures, adopting emerging tech, and navigating complex regulatory landscapes. According to the 2024 Budget Planning Survey, 95% of APAC technology decision-makers anticipate increased IT budgets next year, but macroeconomic uncertainty will force IT leaders to make tough decisions about where to invest, where to cut, and where to experiment. To help steer through these turbulent waters, tech leaders must plan to improve business results with technology. Forrester calls this outcome-driven model high-performance IT.
Invest in Your Pragmatic AI Future
AI may seem like the silver bullet for today’s business challenges, but many tech leaders are (rightfully) wary about rushing in without a clear plan for ROI. To make AI work for your organization, it’s essential to ground your AI strategy in the principles of high-performance IT: alignment, trust, and adaptability. This approach ensures that investments in AI aren’t wasted and provide measurable business value.
Where to prioritize investment for 2025? CIOs must focus on foundational elements, including high-quality, well-governed data and scalable architectures that can handle complex AI workloads. Prioritizing data governance frameworks ensures that AI initiatives are responsible, secure, and compliant. Equally important is aligning your workforce with these goals—investing in talent who can lead AI innovation is critical. But so is enabling workers from the front to back office.
Deliver Cuts Through Reduced Cloud Sprawl And Automate Manual Processes
While the 2024 Budget Planning Survey shows a rise in IT spending, inflationary pressures in APAC mean those increases may barely keep pace with rising costs. This demands a sharper focus on efficiency—IT organizations must be ruthless in cutting unproductive spend and rebalancing budgets to focus on strategic priorities.
So, where should you make the cuts? CIOs should focus on eliminating cloud sprawl by implementing tighter governance over cloud and SaaS spending. Automation also presents a major opportunity to cut costs by streamlining IT operations and reducing reliance on manual processes. Additionally, legacy systems and isolated tech stacks built over years of siloed development should be rationalized to reduce technical debt and increase capacity.
Experiment To Break Down Silos And Speed Time to Market
Innovation is key to remaining competitive, especially in uncertain times. The experiments you run today will become your differentiators tomorrow. Investing in strategic innovation will help break down silos, improve collaboration, and accelerate time to market. Innovation efforts can also yield operational and tactical outcomes which delivery results in weeks and months – not years.
Here’s where to experiment. Platform teams that support cross-functional collaboration can significantly reduce bottlenecks and improve delivery times. Investing in technologies like multimodal generative AI and synthetic data will help deliver more personalized experiences while mitigating data privacy risks. Meanwhile, platforms like AppGen will enable rapid application development, and post-quantum cryptography will offer long-term security solutions against emerging threats.
If You Want To Learn More
2025 will be a year of turbulence and opportunity in APCA. CIOs must make strategic decisions about where to invest, where to cut, and where to experiment in order to drive business value through high-performance IT.
If you want to learn more:
- Explore our Budget Planning Guides hub.
- Register to attend Forrester’s upcoming Budget Planning Guides 2025 webinar for technology and security leaders.
