In brief
- Just 34% of Irish tech leaders expect budget increases in the next two years, down from 46% in 2023, reflecting tightening financial conditions.
- 92% express satisfaction with enterprise systems, indicating that previous investments are delivering value despite constraints.
- AI is gaining ground, with 10% of organisations calling it fundamental—up from 2% in the prior year.
Technology leaders demonstrate resilience by championing purpose-driven innovation in the face of budget cuts and rising cyber threats.
Download the full EY Ireland Tech Leaders Outlook 2025
Based on a survey of 150 senior technology leaders in Ireland, this report explores how organisations are responding to financial pressure, cyber threats and emerging tech such as AI.
Read Report
Budgets and transformation programmes take a hit
Only 34% of tech leaders anticipate budget increases in the next two years. This is down from 46% in 2023, indicating growing caution. Transformation activity is also declining, with just 31% planning or executing programmes, down from 44%. Despite this, quality is a growing priority, cited as the key reason for transformation by 63% of respondents.
Pressure on budgets is shifting the focus to cost optimisation and efficiency. As Colin Reilly notes, there is now less scope to invest in large-scale transformation without a clear business case and path to ROI.
Cyber threats drive cloud and infrastructure investment
48% of technology leaders identified cybersecurity as their top priority over the next two years. This reflects heightened threat levels amid geopolitical instability and AI-driven attacks. Cloud investment is also growing rapidly, with leaders seeing it as a secure, scalable and cost-effective alternative to on-premise systems.
Puneet Kukreja notes the shift toward smart, risk-aligned cyber investments, with budgets stretched but awareness of threat severity increasing.
Confidence grows in tech readiness
92% of leaders are satisfied with their current enterprise systems. Additionally, 21% now report no tech barriers to their IT strategies, up from just 6% two years ago. High implementation cost remains the top concern, but it is dropping—down to 34% from 57%.
Cloud adoption is a key factor in this improvement, enabling faster, more flexible deployment of systems and better data integration capabilities.
AI gathers momentum across sectors
10% of organisations now describe AI as fundamental to their business. While 56% still lack a formal AI strategy, this is down from 62%. AI investment priorities are shifting towards customer service, query resolution and sales analysis. Meanwhile, enthusiasm for creative uses like marketing content has cooled.
Tim Cush notes two emerging approaches—those reshaping their businesses around AI and those adopting cautiously, waiting for proven use cases.
Data quality and governance underpin transformation
11% of respondents identify data governance as the top investment priority. The convergence of IoT and GenAI has turned data into a critical fuel for innovation. Bronagh Riordan highlights the growing value of IoT not just as a monitoring tool, but as a powerful data source that now benefits from better cloud storage, analytics, and security.
Sustainability tech matures as urgency fades
While sustainability remains a priority, its prominence in transformation planning is fading. 49% of respondents say existing systems now support their ESG goals. However, sustainability reporting tools remain the top emerging tech choice, ahead of GenAI. Dave O’Shaughnessy notes this reflects a maturing view—where ESG is embedded into core business processes, rather than a stand-alone transformation driver.
Summary
The 2025 EY Ireland Tech Leaders Outlook shows a sector balancing budget constraints with the need to transform. Investments are being made in cyber, cloud and AI. There is growing satisfaction with existing tech and a shift towards embedding sustainability and data governance in everyday operations. Despite fewer transformation programmes, there is a clear drive to build capability and resilience.
About the survey: Conducted in March–April 2025, it includes responses from 150 senior technology leaders across sectors including finance, public sector, retail, telecoms and life sciences.
Contact Us
If you would like more information on how EY's team of experts can help, please reach out today.