Deloitte recently released their Tech Trends 2025 report, and as always, it’s a mix of genuine insight, safe predictions, and consulting-speak that requires translation.

I’ve read through the full report so you don’t have to. Here’s what actually matters.

The Report’s Big Themes

Deloitte identifies six macro trends for 2025:

1. Spatial computing and the metaverse
2. Ambient intelligence (AI everywhere)
3. Exponential intelligence (AI scaling)
4. Quantum sensing
5. Trust and digital identity
6. Core modernisation

Let me give you my honest take on each.

Spatial Computing: Temper Your Expectations

Deloitte predicts continued growth in AR/VR for enterprise applications, particularly training, design, and remote collaboration.

The reality: Apple’s Vision Pro launch was underwhelming commercially. Meta’s enterprise pivot continues but adoption remains niche. Most organisations still can’t justify the hardware costs and integration complexity.

My take: Real but slow. There are legitimate use cases in manufacturing training, complex visualisation, and remote expert support. But 2025 won’t be the year spatial computing goes mainstream in enterprise. Budget accordingly – pilot if it’s clearly relevant to your industry, otherwise watch and wait.

Ambient Intelligence: Where We’re Actually Headed

This is Deloitte’s term for AI embedded in everything – devices, processes, environments. Think: AI that monitors, suggests, and acts across your operations without explicit invocation.

The reality: This is happening. AI is increasingly embedded in productivity tools (Copilot), business processes (intelligent automation), and operational systems (predictive maintenance). The question isn’t whether but how fast.

My take: This is the trend most likely to affect enterprises in 2025. The challenge is managing proliferation. When AI is embedded in twenty different systems, governance becomes complex. Start building your ambient AI governance framework now.

Exponential Intelligence: AI Getting Better and Cheaper

Deloitte predicts continued dramatic improvements in AI capability alongside cost reductions. They emphasise multi-modal models, improved reasoning, and broader task capability.

The reality: This trend is well-documented. GPT-4 to GPT-5, Claude improvements, Gemini evolution – the models keep getting more capable. Costs per token continue falling.

My take: Valid but obvious. The practical implication: don’t over-invest in specific model capabilities today. Build abstraction layers. Assume the models available in 18 months will be significantly better than today’s.

Quantum Sensing: Niche for Now

Deloitte highlights quantum sensing applications in healthcare, materials science, and navigation. This is different from quantum computing – it’s about using quantum effects for measurement.

The reality: Genuinely interesting technology with real scientific applications. Completely irrelevant for most enterprises in 2025.

My take: Unless you’re in pharmaceutical R&D, advanced materials, or defence, you can safely ignore this trend for now. Fascinating technology, limited near-term enterprise application.

Trust and Digital Identity: Increasingly Critical

With AI-generated content, deepfakes, and sophisticated fraud, Deloitte emphasises digital trust as a strategic concern. They predict increased investment in identity verification, content authentication, and security.

The reality: This is real and urgent. The proliferation of synthetic content creates genuine business risks – fraud, misinformation, reputation damage.

My take: Deloitte gets this right. If you’re not already thinking about how AI affects your trust architecture, start now. Practical steps: review fraud detection capabilities, assess deepfake risk for executive communications, and evaluate content authentication for high-stakes documents.

Core Modernisation: The Unsexy Necessity

Deloitte’s final theme: you can’t build AI capabilities on decades-old infrastructure. Legacy modernisation isn’t optional.

The reality: This has been true for years and remains true. AI amplifies existing technical debt. Organisations with clean data, modern APIs, and flexible architecture will out-execute those without.

My take: The most practically important theme in the report. AI ambitions without infrastructure readiness is a recipe for expensive failures. Audit your technical debt. Make modernisation an explicit part of your AI strategy.

What’s Missing From the Report

Every analyst report has blind spots. Here are mine:

Regulatory impact: The EU AI Act and other regulations will significantly affect 2025 planning. Deloitte mentions compliance but underweights how regulatory uncertainty affects investment decisions.

Talent constraints: The gap between AI ambition and available skilled talent is widening. Most organisations can’t hire or develop the people they need fast enough.

Vendor consolidation: The AI vendor landscape is chaotic. Expect significant consolidation in 2025 as weaker players fail or get acquired.

Sustainability costs: AI compute has real environmental impact. This is starting to matter for corporate sustainability commitments.

Practical Implications for 2025 Planning

Based on the trends that actually matter:

Budget for ubiquitous AI: Assume AI features will appear in most major software. Budget for additional licensing, training, and governance.

Invest in data foundations: Data quality and accessibility remain the primary constraint on AI value. Don’t underfund this.

Build flexibility: Specific vendors and technologies will change. Architectural decisions should preserve optionality.

Plan for regulation: EU AI Act comes into effect in stages starting 2025. Understand your obligations.

Address technical debt: That legacy system you’ve been ignoring? It will limit your AI options. Face it now.

How to Use Reports Like This

Analyst reports from firms like Deloitte are useful but should be read critically:

What they do well: Pattern recognition across many client conversations, early identification of emerging themes, credibility for business case support.

Where to be sceptical: Timelines (usually optimistic), revolutionary language (evolution is more common), and equal treatment of mature versus nascent trends.

How to use them: As input to strategy discussions, not as strategy itself. Validate against your specific context. Ignore what doesn’t apply to your industry and situation.

Final Thought

Deloitte’s Tech Trends 2025 is a reasonable overview of where technology is heading. The most actionable elements: pervasive AI, the trust/identity challenge, and the continued importance of modernising foundations.

The less actionable elements: quantum anything, metaverse timelines, and the general consulting suggestion that you should hire consultants to help navigate complexity.

Read it. Extract what’s relevant. Build your own perspective.

That’s what strategy actually requires.