I know what you are thinking. Is the change that we are going to see in 2025, going to be that profound. Maybe. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think organisations must be ready and ready enough to move at pace and pivot with their businesses.

As you now know by everything that has happened over the last few years, that AI is no longer creeping into our world; it’s sprinting and at speed! If you look at the narrative that is coming out from the industry, the AgenticAI movement is picking up steam, with Benioff’s Salesforce’s AgentForce leading the charge and others amplifying the narrative. By 2025, the enterprise landscape will be unrecognisable for those clinging to the status quo. The businesses that succeed will be those that embrace not just the tools and technologies, but the fundamental shifts it demands in how we operate, make decisions, and ultimately deliver value.

Yes, I know I have mentioned the word technology, and the infrastructure to design, develop and deploy AI will be much needed.

So, what might 2025 look like? Let me paint a picture for you.

1. Decision-Making at Machine Speed I don’t know about you, but in just a few years, decisions that used to take weeks of meetings and multiple revisions are being made in minutes. I think the way we are going is that AI won’t just offer insights, it will simulate scenarios, weigh options, and recommend courses of action in real time. I spoke to my friend Mark Stouse about this and I think CausalAI as referred to by another friend John Thompson, is what we really need to think about, and not AGI.

For instance, a supply chain director facing a sudden disruption could have an AI agent analyse live data across global suppliers, predict delays, and suggest alternative routes. These simulations could be done while the director is sleeping!

But here’s the kicker: this speed won’t just highlight inefficiencies; it will expose an uncomfortable truth, many organisations are ill-equipped to act on decisions quickly, even when the answers are handed to them.

2. AI as a Teammate, not a Tool I use AI as a team member today, for strategy and marketing. It helps, of course, I need to add my own experience and knowledge too, but it has now become one of the team. I think we are entering an era where AI will no longer be a peripheral add-on to existing roles but a fully embedded partner in teams.

Imagine a marketing department where AI agents craft personalised campaigns for millions of customers simultaneously, while human marketers focus on strategy, creativity, and brand storytelling. Or legal teams where AI drafts contracts, flags risks, and ensures compliance in seconds, allowing lawyers to concentrate on negotiation and client relationships. This is already happening!

This shift will force organisations to rethink not just how work is done, but who or what is doing it. But fundamentally, this raises another question that is crucial to this new team member: Are your people ready to collaborate with AI, or will they see it as a threat?

3. The Death of Silos The data industry has talked about silos for the last 20 years, and how challenging they are within the context of our work. Even in my corporate career, it dogged me, but breaking through it actually created a number of friendships, trust and collaboration. I think as AI persists and starts to be embedded across a business, siloed departments will be a relic of the past. Maybe, I’m wrong.

If you look at the way AI and where it’s going with Agents, it needs to thrive on integration, and on data flowing freely across functions. Something that many have talked about for years with data but have been challenged to get there because of this little dirty word called: integration.

The businesses of 2025 will look less like rigid hierarchies and more like dynamic ecosystems, with AI acting as the connective tissue that binds them. But here’s the challenge: most enterprises today are tangled in what I call “Spaghetti Junctionitis,” with fragmented systems, overlapping processes, and messy integrations. AI can’t fix that; it will simply reveal the mess in sharper detail.

Despite the promise of this future, many organisations aren’t ready for it. Here’s why:

• Legacy Thinking: Too many leaders are stuck in the mindset of incremental change. They see AI as an enhancement to what they already do, rather than an opportunity to rethink how they do it altogether.
• Data Chaos: AI is only as good as the data it has, yet most enterprises are drowning in poor-quality, siloed data. Without a clear strategy for integration, governance, and accessibility, AI initiatives will fail before they start.
• Workforce Resistance: The workforce isn’t ready. Many employees fear AI will take their jobs, while leaders struggle to articulate how it will enhance, not replace human roles.
• Lack of Leadership: Who’s driving this transformation? Is it the CIO? The CTO? A CDO who may not even exist in your organisation in a year? Without clear ownership and accountability, AI adoption will stall.

To prepare for this future, businesses need to confront some uncomfortable truths, and here are a set of questions I think need to be asked:

• Are we solving the right problems? AI for the sake of AI is a recipe for wasted time and money. What’s the value we’re trying to unlock?
• Can we trust it? As AI takes on bigger decisions, how do we ensure those decisions are ethical, explainable, and aligned with our values?
• What’s our operating model? This isn’t about plugging AI into existing systems, it’s about redesigning systems to work in an AI world.
• Do we have the courage to lead? Navigating this shift requires bold leadership, not just technical know-how.

For those ready to act, here’s a framework to guide your journey:

1. Start Small, Scale Fast: Begin with high-value use cases that demonstrate quick wins. Learn from them, iterate, and expand.
2. Invest in Data Foundations: AI needs clean, accessible, and well-governed data. Fix your data based on the use cases, not, just because it needs to be fixed, and that could be a very expensive strategy.
3. Embed AI into Strategy, Not Operations: I think this is one that people aren’t really thinking about. AI isn’t just a tool for efficiency; it’s a strategic enabler. Align your AI initiatives with your broader business objectives.
4. Upskill Your Workforce: Your people need to see AI as a partner, not a competitor. Invest in training, communication, and change management.
5. Redesign, Don’t Retrofit: Don’t slap AI onto broken processes. Reimagine how your business operates with AI at its core.

My guess is that by the end of 2025, the gap between AI leaders and laggards won’t just be wide, it will be definitive. The leaders will have reimagined their organisations from the ground up, embracing AI as more than just a technological tool. They will have seen it for what it truly is: a driver of cultural transformation, an enabler of strategic reinvention, and an operational game-changer. These organisations will move faster, adapt quicker, and deliver value at a scale their competitors simply can’t match.

The laggards? They’ll still be circling the same questions: “Are we AI-ready? Do we have the right tools? Should we pilot this first?” By the time they’ve drafted another PowerPoint deck or sat through another workshop, the leaders will have redefined the markets, customers, and competitive landscape they thought they knew.

I’m not going to sugarcoat this, failure to act now will cost you, not just in market share, but in relevance. Customers won’t wait for your transformation. Neither will competitors. If you don’t adapt, you risk becoming the Blockbuster or Kodak that will end up in MBA programmes!

If you want to lead on this, it demands more than curiosity; it demands courage and the ability to look at the business, yourselves and ask:

• Are you prepared to ask the hard questions? Is your strategy built on clear business outcomes, or are you chasing AI because it’s trendy?
• Do you have the leadership to navigate this shift? Not just technical leadership, but bold, visionary leaders who see AI as a chance to rewrite how your organisation operates.
• Are you ready to challenge your culture? AI success won’t come from technology alone, it will come from creating an organisation that embraces collaboration, speed, and change.

The future isn’t a distant horizon. It’s here, unfolding at breakneck speed, and as Chaucer once said, “Time and tide wait for no man.” The companies that lead in 2025 will be the ones making the bold moves today.

So, I ask again where does your organisation stand? Are you shaping the future, or is it about to shape you?