How tech leaders in Ireland drive value-led innovation amid budget concerns

Geopolitical turmoil, economic conditions and the inflationary pressures of recent years appear to be having an impact on IT spend with only 34% of technology leaders in Ireland foreseeing increases to the budget available to them over the next two years, down from 46% as recently as 2023. Moreover, limited budgets were cited by 19% of respondents as among the most significant challenges facing them this year, up from 11% in 2023.

This decrease reflects a growing sense of caution among leaders. The diminishing optimism regarding budget increases signals a broader trend of tightening financial resources that may have some implications for IT strategy and operations. As organisations grapple with budgetary constraints, it is essential for technology leaders to manage their financial limitations while seeking opportunities for investment that align with their overall business objectives.

Our survey, carried out against the backdrop of increased geopolitical tensions and ever-increasing uncertainty around global markets reveals that technology leaders are firmly focused on improving efficiency and reducing IT operating costs as they navigate tightening budgets.

The analysis of budget concerns reveals a change in sentiment and priorities. With a clear focus on improving efficiency and reducing operating costs, many organisations are deprioritising investments in emerging technologies as can be seen from our survey results.

This may also be driving a marked change in relation to the number of technology leaders planning or executing transformation programmes which now stands at 31%, down from 44% in 2023.

The decline can be attributed to the need for immediate cost control rather than long-term investment in transformation, which often requires substantial financial resources.

Investment in infrastructure and supporting technologies was also identified as a top priority for technology leaders. This increased investment priority given to infrastructure and supporting technologies is potentially also linked to the recent geo-political upheaval with cloud being seen as more secure and with more limited resources, organisations tend to focus on the most mission critical areas for investment.

Cloud enters new phase of maturity

The focus on infrastructure reflects the continuing rapid growth in cloud adoption. The number of organisations hosting all core systems in the cloud has grown exponentially over the past two years.

This reflects a marked change in opinion and growing confidence in cloud technology. Businesses are increasingly moving critical operations to the cloud, recognising its potential for better security and data privacy. Cloud technology has become the default hosting option due to its flexibility, scalability, and security over on-premise solutions. This reflects growing trust driven by advancements in security and compliance.

The intersection of cloud adoption and cybersecurity investment highlights the need for a strong digital infrastructure in today’s complex global landscape.

The sense of optimism is also evident in technology leaders’ intentions in relation to new technology investments. For the first time, survey participants were asked to what extent, if any, expenditure on non-AI technology was being postponed to facilitate AI investments. The vast majority said they were not delaying non-AI investments, but many indicated a willingness to adjust spending should the need arise.

Currently, 10% of organisations claim that AI is fundamental to their business, and they have already implemented numerous AI enabled use cases. While this percentage may seem modest, it marks a significant increase on the 2% who said so last year, indicating that the momentum is building. The second biggest priority for technology leaders over the next two years is adopting emerging technologies to digitise processes with investment in advanced AI and generative AI coming next.

At the other end of the spectrum, the number of organisations without an AI strategy has fallen to 56% from 62% last year, in line with the increase in the number who have implemented a strategy. This indicates that organisations are adopting a cautious yet proactive approach to AI, recognising its importance while taking time to make informed decisions before committing to a strategy. Current caution in AI investment is likely due to the unpredictable pace of technological development that causes unease about solidifying strategies. Those fully embracing AI are adopting dynamic strategies that are regularly updated to reflect the latest capabilities and value.

GenAI transitions to practical use cases

The findings in relation to the use cases deemed to deliver most value to organisations appear to reflect the growing understanding of the technology and its potential. For example, its application in creative areas such as marketing content generation has fallen down the list with just 16% of respondents identifying creativity and design support, and 14% pointing to content creation, both down noticeably from last year.

Customer service and support topped the list this year, followed by reporting and query support, and sales and marketing data analysis. This indicates a better understanding of the technology’s strengths. However, the high costs of deploying it for customer service highlight that the focus on transformative outcomes still outweighs the value of simpler implementations. In contrast, reporting and query support, along with sales and marketing data analysis, offer greater potential for value creation.

Another notable finding is related to software coding assistance. In last year’s survey, 17% of respondents identified this as a key value creator while just 6% said so this year. 

The finding is surprising given the widespread use of AI and GenAI in software development. It likely reflects the unease many developers feel about vibe coding and its associated risks. Significant work remains for teams to establish formal methods for integrating GenAI into their operations.

The perception of IoT as a standalone technology useful for monitoring and controlling industrial and other processes is changing and its value as a data harvester and collector is being recognised.

The shift is driven by the growing migration to the cloud, which simplifies data storage and access while enhancing security and management. This is crucial for technology leaders as augmented data analytics and governance tools are seen as valuable emerging technologies.

Data quality and governance were identified by 11% of respondents as an area of technology estate most in need of investment over the next two years, with 16% recognising them as key emerging technologies likely to attract investment. The number of technology leaders who cited data protection and managing data flows as a key challenge fell quite notably since last year (from 23% to 16%), reflecting the benefits of increased cloud adoption and security.

The survey findings suggest that considerable progress has been made in adapting IT systems to support sustainability objectives. Almost half of the respondents (49%) said that all sustainability initiatives are supported using existing systems not specifically designed for such purposes. This is broadly in line with last year’s findings where 52% said this was the case.

There is clearly some distance to travel yet in terms of such systems, however. The emerging technology that drew most interest from technology leaders was sustainability management and reporting tools. 

This decline may be attributed to growing economic pressures, shifting stakeholder demands, and a perceived softening of regulatory momentum, particularly following the EU Omnibus Package. However, the continued investment in sustainability-specific tools suggests that many organisations are embedding sustainability into core business processes - not just to meet compliance requirements, but to unlock operational efficiencies, manage risk, and build competitive advantage.

Summary

This year’s survey reveals a strong commitment to investing in cybersecurity, cloud solutions, and AI. Financial constraints are reshaping priorities and leading to an increased emphasis on immediate cost management rather than long-term transformation initiatives. Overall, there is a prevailing sense of optimism. While organisations maintain a positive outlook on existing systems, the urgency for sustainability has lessened, reflecting a shift in focus as they navigate the complexities of the current landscape.

About the survey

Research for the EY Ireland Tech Leaders Outlook Survey 2025 was carried out on behalf of EY by Empathy Research during March – April 2025. 150 people working in senior technology roles across a broad spectrum of organisations responded to the survey. The sectors covered for the survey were broadly consumer products, retail and agriculture; health advanced manufacturing; technology; government and public sector; infrastructure and real estate; power and utilities; telecommunications; media and entertainment; and life sciences.