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Geopolitics, AI disruption, cyber risk and evolving talent models are redefining the global TMT sector faster than most organisations expect.
In brief
- Physical infrastructure is the new battleground as sovereign AI shifts power from software to control of compute, data, energy and critical infrastructure.
- Platform consolidation and agentic AI are reshaping how content is found, delivered and monetised.
- Escalating threats and deep skill gaps force organisations to adopt autonomous security and new talent models.
Grit Young, Partner and Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Industry Leader at EY Ireland, predicts a decisive turning point for the TMT sector, driven by accelerating geopolitical, technological, and workforce shifts. These five forecasts outline how AI, infrastructure scarcity, platform consolidation, rising cyber risk, and new human–AI talent models will reshape global markets. They also highlight why Ireland will feel these changes earlier and more sharply than most.
Trend 1: Sovereign AI drives infrastructure‑first geopolitical shift
Sovereign AI is rapidly becoming a practical operating model for the technology and telecommunications sectors as countries push to achieve real self‑sufficiency across compute, data, networks, and energy. This shift is redefining not only how AI is built, but also where it can operate.
AI competition is shifting from software to control of physical assets such as data centres, power, chips, and critical minerals, driven by national security and privacy concerns. This is pushing technology companies and telcos into stricter localisation, tighter networks, and procurement that favours trusted domestic suppliers.
At the same time, it opens new commercial opportunities: global, one‑size‑fits‑all AI systems are giving way to locally grounded, multi‑cloud architectures designed to meet national data requirements while still supporting federated learning and compliant cross‑border collaboration.
Countries are beginning to treat sovereign AI as a strategic asset, and the advantage increasingly belongs to those who control power systems and critical minerals rather than those who simply build sophisticated algorithms.
In the most extreme version of this future, governments could treat data centres and AI clusters like public utilities, placing heavy regulation or even partial national control over infrastructure that was once the domain of private hyperscalers, fundamentally altering the balance of power in the cloud ecosystem.
What it means for Ireland: Ireland becomes the European test case for this emerging geopolitics of scarcity, caught between its climate commitments and its long‑standing dependence on a data‑centre‑powered economic model. We will see the rise of "physical AI" in the public sector. For example, the HSE is expected to deploy logistics robots and AI-powered drones to bridge geographic gaps in healthcare and critical infrastructure repair (like navigating power lines). The government has plans for a national data centre that will house its citizens’ data.
In the most radical outcome, Ireland could ration scarce grid capacity for AI projects that serve national interests such as Irish‑language or health models. This could spark a political clash with foreign investment priorities and fuel a broader debate over national autonomy versus global competitiveness.
Trend 2: Rise of the next ‘super bundle’
After years of fragmentation across streaming services and digital platforms, the media and entertainment sector, closely intertwined with the technology ecosystem, is entering an era where simplicity becomes the ultimate competitive advantage. Consumers are no longer chasing endless catalogues. They want a single, seamless entry point that brings together live TV, premium apps, identity, billing, and personalised recommendations.
In response, studios and broadcast groups are trimming sprawling portfolios and forming new alliances, while operating systems and device manufacturers quietly consolidate control by owning the authentication, payments, and discovery layers that sit above the content itself. This shift is reshaping power dynamics. Instead of searching across multiple services, users experience curated, coherent pathways through one interface and one bill, blending live, on‑demand, and niche offerings.
As networks and services consolidate, platform players from TV and mobile OS providers to ISP‑led super‑apps emerge as the primary gatekeepers of audience access. The mainstream trajectory points toward streaming services merging into unified, single‑app environments. Yet a growing counter current suggests “boutique over broad,” as hyper‑niche, premium communities peel away from oversized bundles.
What it means for Ireland: Ireland is poised to feel this transition earlier and more sharply than many markets. With ongoing inflation and household budget pressure, Irish consumers are consolidating their subscriptions and turning to simpler solutions. In this environment, Irish telecommunications providers could step into dominant roles as super bundle gatekeepers, packaging global streaming services alongside local Irish programming and sports.
At the same time, expect a rise in highly targeted micro bundles tailored to the Irish diaspora, delivered through tightly integrated apps. The more radical outlook is a future where traditional Irish linear channels fade entirely. Public broadcasters like RTÉ would shift from scheduled channels to pure content libraries. These libraries would plug directly into global operating systems and AI driven discovery engines. This would fundamentally change how Irish audiences find and consume media.
Trend 3: Growing gap in cyber and AI defence
AI is rapidly reshaping cybersecurity, and both the telecommunications and software technology sectors are feeling the pressure. While telcos rely on AI to run smarter, more efficient networks, attackers are using the same tools to move faster, automating reconnaissance, generating convincing deepfakes, and exploiting vulnerabilities at a scale that was not possible before.
The next frontier is “self‑healing” security - AI systems that can spot threats, patch themselves, and isolate compromised components in real time.
This turns cybersecurity from a necessary cost into a market differentiator. To keep up, telcos will need to embed responsible AI practices across every layer of their risk lifecycle. This includes governance, red teaming, provenance and human oversight. Software providers will also begin to build autonomous remediation directly into their products.
While the mainstream expectation is that companies will simply need to invest much more to defend themselves, a growing counter‑trend suggests that some customers will deliberately seek out providers who keep humans in the loop, positioning themselves as “AI‑resistant” alternatives. The more extreme scenario is one where high‑quality deepfake audio and video make digital identity almost impossible to verify, pushing high‑value transactions back into physical, in‑person checks.
What it means for Ireland: Ireland faces these challenges with particular intensity. More than 60% of Irish SMEs have already experienced cyberattacks, and the average cost of a breach is expected to exceed €200,000, driven by deepfake enabled fraud and targeted phishing. To comply with NIS2 and stay ahead of automated threats, Irish organisations are now investing heavily in AI powered, self healing security tools, with around 41% expected to adopt them.
Trend 4: Agentic AI accelerates the end of traditional discovery
AI assistants are becoming active agents, not passive tools. They act on what people want, not on what they click. These agents move smoothly across content, services, and shopping. As they do this, the old discovery journey breaks down. Search boxes, menus, and funnels matter less. The media and marketing world feels this shift first, because the interface is no longer where decisions happen.
Brands now need to be understood by machines before they are understood by people. That means clear data, structured information, and offers that AI can read without effort. At the same time, the telecom sector starts to see a change in network patterns. AI agents generate many tiny bursts of traffic as they negotiate, compare, and transact on our behalf.
What it means for Ireland: More than 70% of senior Irish leaders are already using or planning to use AI agents1. Dublin’s creative and media shops begin to shift from content production to “agent optimisation” making sure brands can be discovered and recommended by bots. Irish cultural nuance matters even more, as predictive creative tools tune themselves to local festivals, sport, and humour. Brands also move toward machine readable offers and verified data feeds.
Ad tech could shrink if visual ads lose impact in an agent driven world. But Ireland can gain in new areas such as agent to agent commerce and compliance heavy AI operations. Its alignment with EU regulation becomes a strategic advantage here.
Trend 5: The ‘agentic AI workforce’ steps in as talent gaps deepen
The technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector is reaching a point where talent shortages pose an existential risk. Demand for specialised skills, especially in cybersecurity, AI/ML, and data science, is accelerating. Telco and technology organisations face heightened transformation risk when workforce capability lags technological change.
In the Media & Entertainment sector, a significant talent shift is underway as AI engineers migrate toward technology and telco employers, intensifying competition for scarce skills. Simultaneously, media companies are creating a Hybrid Human–AI Creative Class, where productivity is not measured by headcount but by "creative output per prompt," fundamentally changing how studios are staffed.
To keep pace, organisations must strengthen workforce mobility through internal marketplaces. Scaling AI engineering capacity is critical as is the shift away from fully remote models toward 90‑day rotations in global AI hubs. A contrasting scenario also emerges. As agentic AI assumes more coding tasks, liberal‑arts‑driven talent may rise in influence, guiding the socio‑technical decisions that shape responsible AI adoption.
What it means for Ireland: For Ireland, these shifts present both opportunity and structural transition. Around 40% of Irish technology employers plan to hire2, yet the roles they seek are evolving rapidly toward hybrid human–AI functions such as cyber data scientists. The domestic talent market is under mounting pressure, with the widening salary gap creating difficulties for 61% of firms trying to meet expectations amid rising living costs and limited supply of elite technical talent.
Against this backdrop, Ireland’s higher education institutions are accelerating the development of programmes in technical ethics and emerging disciplines such as Prompt Philosophy. As AI systems gain autonomy, a new category of high value professional is emerging: the Human–AI translator, responsible for ensuring that advanced AI systems operate in alignment with EU values, ethical frameworks, and societal expectations. This positions Ireland to play a leading role in shaping the ethical, cultural, and policy dimensions of the next wave of AI enabled transformation.
Summary
The TMT sector faces a transformative decade shaped by sovereign AI, infrastructure scarcity, and tighter digital geopolitics. Media shifts toward unified “super bundles,” while agentic AI upends discovery and reshapes platform power. Cyber threats escalate faster than defences and this pushes adoption of self‑healing security. Intensifying talent shortages accelerate reliance on a rising “silicon workforce.” In Ireland, these shifts converge sharply, reshaping infrastructure policy, media consumption, cybersecurity readiness, and future AI‑driven skills.
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