Flexera survey reveals AI reshaping IT leaders' priorities

Flexera has released its annual survey findings, indicating that artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly altering the focus of IT leaders.

The 2025 IT Priorities Report from Flexera surveyed 800 IT leaders across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia to investigate how their priorities have shifted within the last year and what they aim to concentrate on in the upcoming year.

According to the survey, nearly half of IT leaders (42%) believe that AI integration would make the most significant impact on their organisations. Conal Gallagher, Chief Information Officer at Flexera, stated, "While IT leaders are facing a myriad of challenges and opportunities, artificial intelligence seems to pose the biggest potential gains in the short- and long-term." He further remarked, "There's an extraordinary expense required of AI projects, creating an even greater sense of urgency to not only understand the impact of the investment but to quickly demonstrate returns that advance core business objectives."

AI's transformative nature has also influenced the ranking of technology vendors, with OpenAI debuting as fourth on the list, tied with Oracle, highlighting the increasing relevance of AI in the contemporary technology landscape. This marks OpenAI's first appearance in the top five, alongside industry giants Microsoft (63%), Google (49%), Amazon Web Services (38%), and Oracle (37%).

Despite the growing importance placed on AI, concerns around technological overspending are prevalent among IT leaders. The survey found that an average of 20-25% of spending across cloud, software, SaaS, and hardware is perceived as overutilised or wasted. Security tools are believed to be the most significant area of overspending, according to 31% of respondents, surpassing cloud infrastructure (28%) and hardware (27%).

This rise in expenditure aligns with an emerging focus on Financial Operations (FinOps), though it was cited as a priority by only 13% of IT leaders in the past year. Nevertheless, 71% acknowledged that cloud costs heavily burden IT budgets, and 68% were aware that business units frequently procure more SaaS and cloud solutions than anticipated. Gallagher suggested that AI funding would likely be subject to increased scrutiny owing to its substantial cost.

Innovation continues to be a strategic goal for most organisations, with 91% of IT leaders recognising it as a top priority. Furthermore, 93% stated that their organisation has become more innovative due to their IT and technology resources. However, 65% of respondents indicated that new technologies, such as AI, disrupt traditional structures, necessitating new teams or processes to manage these innovations effectively.

The survey reveals that although innovation is a clear intention, it is not always directed towards the most beneficial areas. Fifty-four per cent noted this discrepancy, indicating areas for improvement in aligning innovation efforts with strategic objectives.