From the server room to the board room, AI is becoming foundational to enterprise IT, and an indispensable ingredient in the design and delivery of new products and services. That said, a new report released by Deloitte reveals that organizations face an imperative to fully align strategy, talent, architecture and most importantly, data, before they can realize AI’s full potential. The 16th annual “Tech Trends” report — built on deep cross-industry experience and real-world stories — shines a light on the following trends poised to graduate from sensational to foundational over the next 18-24 months. 

According to the paper, leaders are adopting a “Best of Both Worlds” philosophy. An integrative approach that balances investments in both foundational and emerging technologies is proving essential to unlocking growth and realizing the totality of tech impact.

“Leaders from the boardroom on down are feeling pressure to innovate with technology and invest in modernizing their core tech, while managing flat budgets. This creates significant tension. One way to alleviate this is by building institutional resistance to the allure of ‘shiny object syndrome.’ Our research puts those advances in context with what it will take to make it real at scale. The future of technology is more knowable than it might feel — but it ultimately doesn’t matter unless you can translate tech potential to operational, market or mission advantage,” said Bill Briggs, chief technology officer at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

Six Tech Trends

Interaction: Spatial interaction for a world in three dimensions

Taking the visualization of ideas and objects off the 2D screen and adding voice and gesture to the ways people interact with machines is not just a growing technical capability — it’s a surging interest. The use of spatial computing is evolving, fueled by its ability to contextualize data and engage people. Scaling this technology to meet modern demands and use cases will require new hardware, software, skillsets and mindsets.

Information: Smaller models help AI get even bigger

Turning to hyperscalers for LLMs instead of building from scratch has helped many enterprises accelerate their AI adoption. Some organizations are turning to smaller, purpose-built models because of security, energy use, agent-to-agent communication, and other specific needs. 

Computation: In PCs and the IoT, AI gets physical

AI isn’t just software anymore. Manufacturers are pioneering a new generation of chips that embed AI models into PCs and edge devices for localized, offline use, not only supercharging user capabilities but future-proofing the tech infrastructure. Onboard AI can also make the Internet of Things (IoT) more robust in areas like medical devices and robotics.

The business of IT: Technician, heal thyself

New AI-based capabilities for writing code, testing software and augmenting human talent are beginning to transform the technology teams and functions within organizations. This may signal a shift away from the “thin IT” path and its reliance on “as-a-service” offerings as new capabilities come to reside inside the enterprise, and software engineering continues to evolve as a cross-industry strategic fulcrum.

Cyber: Today’s protections face an expiration date

Quantum computing’s march toward maturity represents an opportunity — and a deadline. NIST is making inroads on new encryption standards, and it will be up to every organization to reimagine its cyber mindset. What’s at stake? Identities, finances, communications — anything you entrust to computers today, or might tomorrow.

Core modernization: The complexity of simplicity

Integrating AI into core enterprise architecture drives deep change in systems and processes. The aim is to give users a more streamlined experience, but it takes complex orchestrated architectures to make that simplicity possible.

“Technology has been a force multiplier in every era, but especially in the coming era of AI everywhere, we will see human empowerment. As AI is being embedded in the core, suddenly there’s permission to scale-up, not just start-up, freeing leaders from the frenzy of discovery and letting them focus on deployment. Businesses and people will benefit as technologies converge to unlock new ways of working,” concluded Mike Bechtel, chief futurist at Deloitte Consulting LLP.

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Source: Tech Trends 2025 | Deloitte Insights