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Discover strategies to quantify ROI, build buyer confidence, and drive growth in a competitive tech market.

In today’s technology landscape, having an innovative product is just the starting point. What truly sets successful tech vendors apart is their ability to demonstrate clear, measurable business value and return on investment (ROI) to their customers. This shift is driven by evolving buyer expectations, economic pressures, and the need for technology investments to deliver tangible outcomes aligned with broader business goals.

Why ROI and business value matter more than ever

The market environment has transformed significantly in recent years. Economic uncertainties and tighter IT budgets mean that decision-makers—from CFOs to CIOs—are monitoring investments with higher levels of scrutiny. Digital transformation must prove its worth through quantifiable results.

Three key forces are shaping this new reality:

  • Economic pressure: Organizations must justify every expenditure, making financial accountability paramount.
  • Rapid technological change: Businesses need to adopt solutions that not only innovate but provide competitive advantages.
  • Increased accountability: IT leaders are under growing pressure to demonstrate measurable impact to stakeholders.

In this context, ROI has become the deciding factor for investment decisions. It translates technology benefits into financial terms, aligns technology initiatives with strategic business objectives, and reduces risks by offering assurance through proven value.

Moving beyond features: how to prove business value

Tech buyers today demand more than product specs—they want evidence of how a solution will improve their operations, reduce costs, or increase revenue. To meet this demand, vendors must embrace a comprehensive, data-driven approach to showcase business value:

  • Use data-backed documentation: Whitepapers, case studies, and analyst reports grounded in credible research help tell a compelling story.
  • Offer tailored financial models: Interactive ROI calculators and TCO analyses customized to specific client scenarios provide clarity and confidence.
  • Highlight operational KPIs: Metrics like productivity gains, time savings, and efficiency improvements resonate alongside financial data.
  • Leverage customer insights: Real-world success stories and testimonials add authenticity and build trust.

A holistic approach to business value

Demonstrating business value requires more than just numbers—it demands a strategic, customer-centric mindset:

  • Validate with industry research: Third-party validation from trusted sources enhances credibility and trust.
  • Tailor to customer needs: Align your messaging with the unique challenges and goals of each prospect.
  • Present a multifaceted value proposition: Beyond cost savings, emphasize strategic benefits such as improved agility, innovation enablement, and enhanced customer experience.

Why IDC Is your ideal partner for business value success

At IDC, we specialize in supporting tech vendors quantify and communicate the real-world impact of their solutions. Our Business Value services combine rigorous research, tailored financial analysis, and compelling storytelling to empower your sales and marketing teams. We provide:

  • Detailed ROI and TCO models that resonate with CFOs and finance teams.
  • Strategic presentations and case studies that speak to CIOs and IT decision-makers.
  • Training and tools to equip your sales force to confidently address objections and demonstrate value.

By partnering with IDC, you gain access to trusted expertise and proven methodologies that accelerate buyer journeys, reduce sales cycles, and ultimately drive revenue growth.

Final thoughts

In a market where every investment must have a return, demonstrating ROI and business value is essential. Tech vendors who can clearly articulate the economic and operational benefits of their solutions will not only win more deals but build lasting partnerships grounded in trust and measurable success.

Are you ready to unlock the full potential of your technology offerings by proving their true business value? Connect with us to learn how IDC can help you transform your sales approach and drive impactful results.

Lynn-Kristin Thorenz - Associate Vice President, Research & Consulting - IDC

Analyst Profile
Lynn-Kristin Thorenz is Associate Vice President, Research & Consulting. In her role, Lynn manages IDC’s consulting and research business in Germany and Switzerland and is responsible for the successful delivery of IDC’s local portfolio which includes standard research products, Go-to-Market Solutions and individual client projects. She works closely with IDC's clients to understand their specific needs and requirements and to tailor solutions which support their business objectives. Lynn is also responsible for the strategic development of the complete range of IDC's local research and consulting activities around Digital Transformation and IDC’s 3rd Platform Technologies.

At the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague a few weeks ago, member states pledged to allocate 5% of their annual GDP to core defense requirements and defense- and security-related expenditures by 2035. This represents a significant departure from the alliance’s longstanding 2% benchmark, particularly given that the current average defense spending among NATO members only marginally meets the 2% target.

European nations constitute the majority of NATO’s members. And since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several Eastern European countries—such as Poland—have substantially increased their defense budgets. Nevertheless, many European allies remain below the alliance average, rendering the new 5% objective highly ambitious. The United States continues to lead in defense investment, with expenditures approaching $1 trillion in 2024— double the combined defense spending of Europe and Canada — and has been an advocate for heightened commitments among NATO.

The new target of 5% of GDP is structured to address both immediate military needs and broader security challenges, with an ideal split of spending among 2 categories:

3.5% of GDP: core defense requirements

  • Purpose: This portion is dedicated to traditional military expenditures.
  • Coverage: Includes funding for active personnel, acquisition and maintenance of weapons systems, military equipment, R&D, and operational readiness.

1.5% of GDP: defense and security-related investments

  • Purpose: This segment is allocated to areas that support and enhance national and alliance security beyond conventional military assets.
  • Coverage: Encompasses investments in critical infrastructure (such as energy grids, transportation networks, and communication systems), network defense, and resilience against hybrid threats.

Direct ICT Spending Impact

Core defense Spending: A larger budget is expected to drive more funding for defense organizations and spark a ripple effect in ICT spending. According to IDC Worldwide ICT Spending Guide Enterprise and SMB by Industry, aerospace and defense ICT investments in Europe will top $11 billion in 2025—about 1% of the region’s total ICT expenditure.

Military modernization efforts are focused on upgrading command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, strengthening cyber defenses, integrating artificial intelligence for battlefield operations, and enhancing encryption to secure communications and protect against cyber threats. However, this category will likely represent only a small portion of the overall 3.5% GDP allocation to core defense requirements.

Assuming the 3.5% target equates to approximately $665 billion, it is expected that initially less than $20 billion will be directed towards digital modernization and related technologies. This restrained allocation stems from several pressing priorities:

  • Many NATO members must rearm and modernize legacy military equipment, much of which is outdated or exceeded its operational life.
  • There is an urgent need to rebuild naval fleets and replenish armament supplies, particularly after significant stocks were transferred in support of Ukraine.
  • Substantial investment in unmanned aerial systems (drones), which are increasingly central to modern warfare, will also consume a major share of the available resources.

Therefore, while digital modernization is strategically important, the immediate proportion of defense spending dedicated to these initiatives will be modest in comparison to the broader requirements of re-equipping and reinforcing conventional military forces. Over time, this share may increase as foundational rearmament needs are addressed and digital technologies become further integrated into military operations.

Indirect ICT spending impact

Defense and security-related investments: Efforts are focused on securing critical infrastructure from both cyber and physical threats, enhancing national and international cybersecurity through advanced tools, investing in IoT and digital twin technologies for real-time monitoring, and promoting post-quantum cryptography and secure digital identities. However, the most significant portion of spending in this area will be dedicated to fundamental cybersecurity measures and the development of sovereign data and cloud capabilities. Much of this investment will address foundational requirements, such as fortifying existing networks, implementing robust data protection protocols, and ensuring compliance with national security standards.

While initiatives involving emerging technologies—such as post-quantum cryptography—are important for long-term resilience, these areas are likely to attract only limited funding initially. The focus will remain predominantly on basic cybersecurity infrastructure and sovereign data management until Europe further develops a robust innovation base in the defense technology sector. Heavy investment in more advanced and experimental digital solutions will depend on the establishment of this foundation and the maturation of European defense-driven technological ecosystems.

Induced ICT spending impact

This growth will create new opportunities for core defense solutions and benefit related industries, fueling wider momentum in the Defense Ecosystem. This momentum has therefore set off significant induced ICT spending, especially among major European defense contractors. As these companies prepare to deliver more advanced and diverse products and services, the demand for innovative IT solutions and digital transformation initiatives has surged. This effect spans not only traditional leaders such as Leonardo, Dassault, and Rheinmetall, but also extends to BAE Systems, SAAB, Indra, Thales, and Airbus, among others.

The current environment provides a strong opportunity for the European defense industry to enhance its position in the global market. By accelerating investments in areas such as digital platforms, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and advanced analytics, the sector can differentiate itself while building greater resilience and competitive strength. Examples of current IT and digital transformation-related initiatives include:

  • Development of secure, sovereign cloud platforms for defense applications and data management.
  • Deployment of AI-driven command and control systems to improve operational decision-making and mission effectiveness.
  • Launch of pan-European projects to promote interoperability, digital sovereignty, and cybersecurity across defense networks, often supported by the European Defence Fund and broader EU digital policy frameworks.

These initiatives foster a more interconnected and technologically advanced defense ecosystem, ensuring that European contractors can respond to evolving demands and capture new growth opportunities in a global context

NATO’s new 5% GDP spending target signals a major shift for Europe’s defense sector, promising record investment in military capabilities and key enabling technologies by 2035. However, long-term commitment is uncertain, as future governments may redefine priorities.

This shift opens the door for technology providers—whether established contractors or innovative startups—to play an essential role in shaping the continent’s security future.

For technology providers, the key imperatives are clear:

  • Make the defense market a top priority. With traditional defense budgets swelling and new funding streams available, tech vendors – especially those historically focused on enterprise or civil solutions – should prioritize defense within their broader industry strategies. Consider how your technology – especially AI-driven solutions for logistics, scheduling, or intelligent automation – could be adapted for military use. With rising defense investment and a growing need for innovation, now is the time to explore how your products can address emerging defense challenges and open new markets.
  • Embrace broader collaboration: Leverage increased funding and European Union support for joint ventures and R&D initiatives to accelerate adoption and scale innovation across national boundaries.
  • Drive dual-use innovation: Develop technologies that bridge defense and civilian markets, maximizing addressable opportunity while supporting national security objectives. In doing so, it is essential also to consider the spillover effects beyond pure core defense spending in adjacent sectors.

The path forward demands agility, innovation, and collaboration, but the rewards – in terms of both market opportunity and societal impact – are substantial.

To learn more about how ongoing geopolitical dynamics are shaping IT spending strategies, visit IDC’s Digital Economy Strategies page.

Lapo Fioretti - Senior Research Analyst - IDC

Analyst Profile
Lapo Fioretti is a Senior Research analyst in IDC Digital Business Research Group, leading the European Emerging Technologies Strategies research. In his role, he advises ICT players on how European organizations leverage new technologies to create business value and achieve growth and analyzes the development and impact of emerging trends on the markets. Fioretti also co-leads the IDC Worldwide MacroTech Research program, focused on the intertwined connection between the Economical and Digital worlds - analyzing the impact key MacroEconomic factors have on the digital landscape and viceversa, how technologies are impacting economies around the world.

Remember the good old days when “Shadow IT” was just about rogue Excel spreadsheets and unauthorized Dropbox accounts? But the times they are a-changing! Now we’re dealing with something far more insidious: Shadow AI. And no, it’s not just lurking in the corners of your or anyone’s organization anymore. Now, it’s driving productivity gains while simultaneously creating security nightmares that, hopefully, keep CISOs wide awake at night.

From private drives to GPT instances

Shadow IT has been the bane of enterprise administrators’ existence for decades. We’ve all seen it: marketing teams building up their own CRM systems, sales departments hoarding customer data in personal cloud drives, and finance teams creating elaborate Excel macros that, unnoticed, somehow have become mission-critical applications. But nowadays we have Shadow IT on AI steroids.

Because instead of innocent unauthorized OneDrive instances, we have unauthorized ChatGPT accounts, private Perplexity subscriptions, custom Copilots, and Excel automation scripts integrated with GPT APIs. And they ALL operate completely outside of IT oversight.

As many experts repeat: shadow IT hasn’t disappeared – it has evolved. And artificial intelligence has given it turbocharged engine.

The staggering scale of unauthorized AI adoption

IDC’s Global Employee Survey from April 2025 reveals that 39% of EMEA employees are using free AI tools at work, another 17% use AI tools they privately pay for. Only 23% of employees declare they use AI tools provided by their organization, and it still does not mean they are not using private tools simultaneously. Another survey I’ve come across shows that 52% of workers won’t admit to using AI in their jobs. And the percentage of sensitive corporate data being fed into AI tools has skyrocketed from a not insignificant 10% to over 25% in just one year.

Why are these numbers so high? The answer is frustratingly simple: on a basic level, AI can be ridiculously easy to use. You need a browser, a prompt, and you’re done. No coding, no server configuration, no IT tickets that sit in queues. Just pure, immediate productivity enhancement. Maybe with a bit of compliance catastrophe on the side, but who’s looking?

March or die

However, let’s be brutally honest about why else these numbers are so high. Employees aren’t just using AI tools to work smarter – they’re often using them to survive increasingly unreasonable workplace expectations. In an era where headlines scream about companies replacing entire departments with AI, workers are fighting hard to prove their relevance.

The pressure is palpable and justified. When employees read about firms cutting 30% of their workforce while boasting about AI-driven efficiency gains, the message is clear: march or die. Shadow AI adoption isn’t just about productivity enhancement, more than anything it can be about professional self-preservation.

This creates a weird dynamic where the very people organizations depend on feel compelled to hide the tools that make them valuable. Are they being rebellious or just rational? When your job security depends on meeting targets that seem designed for superhuman capabilities, you’ll probably use whatever tools necessary to achieve them, authorized or not.

Most AI tools don’t require dedicated client applications. They operate seamlessly through web browsers or as mobile apps, making them almost invisible to traditional IT monitoring systems. The vast majority of ChatGPT, Google Gemini or other tools usage at work happens through non-corporate accounts, meaning corporate data or IP is being processed by AI models that organizations have zero visibility into, zero control over, and zero ability to audit.

How pursuit of productivity kills strategic AI adoption

Many organizations, in their relentless pursuit of productivity metrics and efficiency gains, are creating an environment where employees feel compelled to hide their AI usage to meet impossible expectations. This creates a vicious circle where leadership demands productivity improvements while threatening job cuts, employees discover AI tools that help them meet unrealistic expectations, IT blocks access, so employees use unauthorized tools to avoid becoming the next layoff statistic.

The result? Organizations end up with lower overall AI adoption rates than they could achieve, precisely because they created a fear-based environment where survival instinct eats strategy for breakfast. Define irony: companies that publicly celebrate AI’s potential to replace human workers are simultaneously frustrated by their inability to achieve coordinated, strategic AI implementation.

The education paradox or one-time is here to fail you

And here’s where most organizations spectacularly miss the mark. They roll out a single “AI Awareness” training session, check the compliance box, and wonder why employees still go rogue.

Basic communication theory tells us that people need to hear a message seven times before it truly registers. Yet organizations treat AI education like a software update: deploy once, assume adoption. The learning curve for responsible AI usage isn’t a gentle slope. Or maybe gentle but the road will be long and winding. Employees need ongoing, contextual education that evolves with the changing AI landscape. They need to understand not just the “what” and “how,” but the “why” behind AI governance policies. (And you need AI governance, do we even need to say that?) When people understand the reasoning behind restrictions, compliance rates soar. When they don’t, Shadow Everything thrives.

Smart organizations recognize that AI literacy requires sustained and strategically planned education programs. They build comprehensive learning pathways that revisit core concepts with increasing depth over time, ensuring employees develop genuine understanding rather than superficial compliance. This investment isn’t just about risk mitigation – it’s about creating a workforce capable of strategic, responsible AI adoption.

Hope for the transparency solution? BYOAI!

The IEEE Computer Society proposes a solution that might make traditional IT nervous: BYOAI (Bring Your Own AI). This approach emphasizes transparency, risk assessment, and responsibility while allowing employees to work with their preferred AI tools.

The concept acknowledges a fundamental truth that many organizations refuse to face, although they should have learnt already: you can’t stop Shadow AI, or anything else for that matter, adoption through prohibition. Prohibition will only drive it deeper underground, where it becomes even more dangerous. Think about Chicago, Valentine’s Day, circa 1929, So if a ban is not the answer, then what? The easiest, yet most reliable, way to mitigate risk is good old, albeit boring, education…

Embrace reality, manage risk

Shadow AI isn’t going away. The productivity gains are too compelling, the tools are too accessible, and the competitive pressure too intense. Organizations have two choices: build frameworks for managing Shadow AI or watch it manage them.

What will smart companies do?

  • Invest heavily in ongoing employee AI education (not one-shot training)
  • Create transparent AI governance frameworks
  • Design security policies that enable rather than restrict innovation
  • Build trust through collaboration rather than control
  • Measure success by strategic AI adoption, not just productivity metrics

The question isn’t whether Shadow AI is a threat or an opportunity – it’s whether your organization will respond with wisdom or wishful thinking. Choose wisely!

Listen back to Ewa on the following webcast: AI in 2025: Deliver or Wither

To learn more about how International Data Corporation (IDC) can support your technology market data needs, please contact us.

Ewa Zborowska - Research Director, AI, Europe - IDC

Analyst Profile
Ewa Zborowska is an experienced technology professional with 25 years of expertise in the European IT industry. Since 2003, she has been a member of the IDC team, based in Warsaw, researching IT services markets. In 2018, she joined the European team with a specific emphasis on cloud and AI. Ewa is currently the lead analyst for IDC’s European Artificial Intelligence Innovations and Strategies CIS.

The technology landscape across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is changing rapidly in 2025, with innovations actively reshaping industries and creating new business opportunities.

The Emerging Tech Radar: Current Market Drivers 

The EMEA region’s technology environment encompasses a diverse range of emerging technologies at various maturity stages. Organizations demonstrate different levels of readiness and capability in adopting these technologies. Across EMEA, IDC observes technology gaps between industries and individual countries, highlighting variations in economic, financial and R&D power, and maturity.

These variations exist because countries and industries across EMEA differ in economic strength, investment levels, regulatory environments, and access to skilled talent, all of which impact their ability to adopt and develop new technologies. And as these technologies evolve, new trends are emerging.

Critical Topics Shaping EMEA’s Tech Conversation in 2025

1.     Quantum Computing’s Regional Applications

The state of quantum computing in EMEA reveals how this technology is moving from theoretical to practical applications across various sectors. Quantum computing in the region is rapidly advancing from theory to real-world use, with pilot quantum computers now integrated into supercomputing centers to tackle complex challenges in fields like drug design, supply chain management, and financial modeling.

2.     Tech Maturity Assessment

Organizations are evaluating adoption versus maturity, making critical assessments of emerging technologies and market readiness to guide implementation decisions. Structured maturity models and cross-functional assessments are essential to benchmark their current capabilities, identify gaps, and align technology adoption with business objectives and market readiness.

3.     Change Forecast: 2025–2030

The projected disruptions from emerging technologies over the next five years will reshape how businesses operate and compete in the EMEA region. From AI integration into virtual worlds, to European quantum computing centers, space initiatives, and next-generation batteries, the next five years are crucial for the region’s global competitiveness.

4.     GenAI as a Technology Catalyst 

GenAI is accelerating the development and adoption of other emerging technologies, creating and opening exciting new pathways to innovation for organizations. Its ability to rapidly generate code, simulate complex scenarios, and automate content creation is streamlining R&D processes and enabling faster prototyping across industries.

5.     Digital Natives Drive Innovation

Digital-first businesses, with their deep integration of technology and agile operating models, are often at the forefront of implementing emerging technologies and developing innovative use cases that set industry standards. Their ability to rapidly experiment, scale solutions, and leverage data-driven insights enables them to act as key partners and leaders in digital transformation initiatives across sectors.

6.     Investment Patterns Reveal Priorities

Current investment plans for 2025 and beyond highlight that emerging technologies are attracting capital and organizational focus across EMEA. Investments are supported by significant public and private funding initiatives, such as venture capital for deep tech and government-backed projects in clean energy, digital infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, all aimed at boosting competitiveness and technological leadership across sectors.

7.     Beyond AI: Work Transformation by 2030

Five specific emerging technologies beyond AI are positioned to reshape how work happens by the end of the decade, enabling new forms of collaboration, automation, and real-time data exchange. The focus will be on streamlining secure transactions and digital identity management, creating immersive training and remote work environments, automating logistics and manufacturing, and supporting seamless connectivity for smart workplaces and IoT-driven operations.

Driving Adoption Through Measurable Results

Organizations across EMEA are adopting these technologies for specific business outcomes. Successful implementations connect directly to KPI improvements, with clear links between technology adoption and business performance metrics. Adoption barriers include challenges that limit EMEA organizations’ ability to implement emerging technologies effectively.

Technology Integration Benefits

Companies that combine multiple emerging technologies report stronger results than those implementing isolated solutions. The combination approach generates meaningful synergies across business processes.

The technical foundation is crucial. Organizations need the right technology backbone to exploit emerging technologies and generate maximum value.

What This Means for Your Business 

These emerging technological trends and their practical applications will influence your organization’s market position in 2025 and beyond. Understanding the key applications and use cases driving technology demand can help position your organization to capitalize on these developments as they mature.

The question isn’t whether these technologies will transform business — it’s how prepared your organization is to adapt to them. 

Did You Know?

IDC analysts are continuously monitoring and identifying emerging technologies through our Continuous Information Services. This resource empowers organizations to make informed decisions by providing comprehensive analyses, forecasts, and strategic guidance at the global, regional, and country levels.

To learn more about how our experts can assist you, feel free to reach out!

Lapo Fioretti - Senior Research Analyst - IDC

Analyst Profile
Lapo Fioretti is a Senior Research analyst in IDC Digital Business Research Group, leading the European Emerging Technologies Strategies research. In his role, he advises ICT players on how European organizations leverage new technologies to create business value and achieve growth and analyzes the development and impact of emerging trends on the markets. Fioretti also co-leads the IDC Worldwide MacroTech Research program, focused on the intertwined connection between the Economical and Digital worlds - analyzing the impact key MacroEconomic factors have on the digital landscape and viceversa, how technologies are impacting economies around the world.

Rethinking CRM and Embracing Agentic AI: Towards a New Era of Customer Experience

According to IDC research, 77% of consumers currently prefer to buy products and services through a mix of digital channels, and customer expectations relating to personalization, immediacy and cross-channel consistency are only becoming more demanding. Customer journeys are not linear, and consumer engagement is expected to become increasingly contextual, not just at the initial stages of the journey but also in terms of customer support — from sales and marketing to customer service.  To meet these demands, organizations are reimagining traditional customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which involves actively implementing AI in multiple ways. As part of this, exploration of agentic AI is ramping up.

The Evolution of CRM: from Systems of Record to Systems of Action

Customer relationship management has evolved beyond merely storing contact details and tracking interactions. CRM platforms need to be designed or re-designed following a omnichannel and cross-functional approach to customer data collection, enabling profile reconciliation through data integration from various sources such as online purchases, in-store transactions, social media interactions, and customer service incidents. This integration should ensure a comprehensive and unified view of customer data, allowing organizations to gain valuable insights and provide personalized experiences. By consistently providing personalized and meaningful interactions, companies can foster loyalty, resulting in increased customer retention and positive word-of-mouth referrals. Modern CRM systems must be dynamic, real-time, and deeply integrated across the entire customer journey, encompassing marketing, sales, service, and support. Key shifts in CRM thinking include:

  • Real-Time, Contextualized Data: Modern CRM platforms need to reflect customer data in real time, providing contextual and intent-driven insights that empower every function within the organization.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Effective CRM now requires multiple departments to work together, breaking down data silos to ensure a comprehensive view of the customer.
  • Automation and AI Integration: AI-enhanced automation is foundational, enhancing customer service, streamlining operations, and ensuring consistency across channels.

IDC Insight: Organizations are rethinking CRM through collaborative, AI-enhanced approaches that connect data across functions and eliminate silos.

Agentic AI: Bringing Intelligence to Unstructured Work

Organizations are already gaining experience in leveraging AI in multiple ways to serve customers — from proposing next-best actions to making sense of documents and knowledge articles, analyzing customer sentiment and more. Agentic AI represents a new frontier here, and pulls AI capabilities towards task and workflow automation. Unlike traditional rule-based systems, where workflows and processes are designed statically up-front, the emergence of AI agents is starting to show how organizations can bring more nuanced automation capabilities to less structured, unpredictable environments. AI agents are therefore conceptually a great fit for complex service scenarios that can come into play at critical moments in the customer journey. At IDC, we see three waves of AI agents playing out:

  1. Knowledge Agents: Enhance decision-making by integrating relevant information into workflows
  2. Action Agents: Execute tasks (including taking actions in external systems) and assist in decision-making processes
  3. Orchestration Agents: Coordinate entire workflows, based on goals and insights into patterns of past behavior and positive outcomes

IDC Research: 41% of organizations say they are already investing in AI agents, recognizing their value in case management and service operations where flexibility and responsiveness are critical.

The Role of Platforms in Enabling AI and CRM Synergy

CRM systems are increasingly pivotal in the integration of customer data and AI across organizational value chains, serving as a foundational element for collaboration between IT and business units. Agentic AI, in this context, acts as a transformative accelerator, converting insights into actionable strategies and enhancing decision-making processes at scale. Organizations wanting to implement AI quickly, safely, and securely into CRM practices and capabilities will benefit from platforms that provide:

  • Managed Access to Enterprise Data: Secure, broad access to corporate knowledge, documents, and data is essential for AI systems to function effectively.
  • Integrated Automation Tools: A unified platform combining AI with existing automation capabilities reduces complexity and accelerates time to value.
  • Scalability and Agility: Platforms can help organizations quickly adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs without extensive customization.

Trend: In the context of modern CRM strategies, AI is most effective when integrated into a platform that spans front-, middle-, and back-office functions, enabling seamless customer experiences and operational efficiency.

Measurable Impact: What Organizations Are Achieving

Organizations embracing AI and modern CRM strategies are witnessing significant results:

  • Escalations reduced by approximately 90%
  • Case resolution time decreased from 7 hours to 2 hours
  • Customer satisfaction increased from 80% to 99%
  • 17% reduction in staff needed to handle more cases
  • 7% increase in billable utilization

These outcomes highlight the transformative potential of combining CRM modernization with AI and point towards an exciting future powered by agentic AI.

The Bottom Line

Organizations that rethink CRM as a real-time, AI-powered system of action — and embrace agentic AI to handle complex, unpredictable work — are better positioned to deliver exceptional customer experiences. This approach not only enhances satisfaction and loyalty but also drives operational efficiency and business agility.

Neil Ward-Dutton - VP AI, Automation, Data & Analytics Europe - IDC

Analyst Profile LinkedIn
Neil Ward-Dutton is vice president, AI, Automation, Data & Analytics at IDC Europe. In this role he guides IDC’s research agendas, and helps enterprise and technology vendor clients alike make sense of the opportunities and challenges across these very fast-moving and complicated technology markets. In a 28-year career as a technology industry analyst, Neil has researched a wide range of enterprise software technologies, authored hundreds of reports and regularly appeared on TV and in print media.

Ornella Urso - Research Director, IDC Retail Insights - IDC

Analyst Profile
Ornella Urso is Head of IDC's Retail Insights team and leads the Customer Experience research group in Europe. Urso conducts market research, industry analysis, and proactively contributes to the definition of thought-leadership at the intersection of businesses priorities and technology innovation in B2C and D2C strategy companies. In her role, she is responsible for the delivery of research reports, custom projects and offers strategic direction and advice to both technology providers and IT and business executives of global brands.

AI is quickly changing the workplace, but not everyone is reaping the rewards. Office workers are seeing the perks of AI, while those on the front lines are lagging due to a lack of training and resources. This gap could lead to a two-tier workforce, where some people with AI skills excel while others find it tough.

Many frontline jobs involve a lot of manual and repetitive tasks. Automation and AI are great tools to help shift workers’ focus from boring tasks to more interesting ones. So, it’s no shock that found that 63% of frontline workers are using AI tools in their jobs. Unfortunately, just 18% of employees have access to AI from their companies, which has led 45% to seek out free or personal AI tools for their work. This creates serious security risks for companies.

While frontline workers generally view AI less favorably than office staff, nearly half believe it could enhance their work experience. Generational differences are notable though, with 55% of Gen Z frontline workers expressing excitement about AI, compared to just 27% of baby boomers.

Frontline workers frequently also feel more anxious about AI, mainly because they’re worried about job security, feeling powerless against new tech, and thinking that human input in decision-making is dwindling. IDC’s survey shows that just 48% of frontline workers think AI isn’t a threat to their jobs. On the flip side, 20% feel they are at serious risk, with the remainder unsure. Getting to know AI tools better can help ease these worries for frontline workers and turn skeptics into skilled AI users.

More than 2 billion frontline workers play a crucial role in keeping our planet running. Their jobs are tough and often risky, involving 10- to 12-hour shifts in different settings. AI is changing the game for these workers by automating tasks, offering real-time insights, and giving them more power. AI isn’t just for office work anymore; it’s now making waves in most industries, including those with large numbers of frontline workers.

To move forward, tech providers and tech buyers must rethink what expertise means in today’s AI era. They must help frontline workers understand how AI tools can enable them to handle complicated tasks even with little prior experience. Our research suggests that companies can — and ought to — expand their view on who can get involved in AI-driven initiatives. By doing so, they can leverage the complete potential of their workforce and make sure that everyone is part of the AI transformation, ultimately boosting the return on investment for current and future AI projects.

Listen to Meike on the latest webcast, “Important Workplace Insights to Drive AI Sales in Europe”

Meike Escherich - Associate Research Director, European Future of Work - IDC

Analyst Profile
Meike Escherich is an associate research director with IDC's European Future of Work practice, based in the UK. In this role, she provides coverage of key technology trends across the Future of Work, specializing in how to enable and foster teamwork in a flexible work environment. Her research looks at how technologies influence workers' skills and behaviors, organizational culture, worker experience and how the workspace itself is enabling the future enterprise.

I attended PwC’s Workday Tomorrow 2025 event, held in Frankfurt from March 25–27, as a speaker. The atmosphere crackled with knowledge-sharing and plans as the 50 attending HRIT leaders and professionals discussed how to leverage AI in terms of people processes.

IDC’s extensive interviews with HR leaders at the event revealed they are indeed keen to leverage AI for:

  • Recruitment: CV prioritization, interview scheduling, candidate communication
  • Performance Management: Summarization, feedback gathering, goal setting
  • HR Assistants: HR help desk, transactional assistance
  • Job Descriptions and Skills Management: Inference, automated skills surveys

As a Workday customer, you can gradually switch on the AI capabilities embedded in the functional areas to which you have subscribed. IDC, however, recommends that customers launch their AI journey with less complex use cases (e.g., “GenAI job description”) that can be switched on and tested for fit with your HRIT teams.

Each Workday client can turn on/off the AI functionality in their own tenants by way of configuration, including data contributions on a field level. Workday’s AI architecture allows customers to always retain control over their data within Workday.

To help customers adopt AI capabilities, Workday offers fact sheets for all available AI use cases in Workday Community. The vendor also offers a broad AI Masterclass to help organizations get started in adopting AI. The Masterclass aims to help HR and IT professionals deepen their understanding of AI technologies, including how to deploy and govern AI responsibly, and covers a range of concrete case studies.

The HR function is a business partner — but also a cost center. Some of the HR participants in Frankfurt discussed how HR can better establish its business value contribution to obtain resources and funding to work with AI. This requires HR to establish business cases with concrete financial ROI metrics to justify the investment. AI solutions that save significant time for employees and managers, for example, can have substantial benefits.

Comprehensive planning is required to execute such wide-ranging, transformational AI use cases. These are complex projects that demand organization, implementation, and funding. Successful project outcomes also require specialist skills to address legal topics, data security, change management, Workday configuration, and deep industry knowledge.

Workday Tomorrow 2025 offered attendees the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how consulting firms like PwC can support Workday customers to prepare, plan, and execute AI use cases within ongoing transformational programs.

How the AI Wave Will Impact the HR Function

Even if HR itself does nothing with AI, will HR be impacted by the AI deployed in the core business of organizations? (Hint: It will!)

A March 2025 IDC survey of 419 CEOs revealed that more than half (55%) believe AI will lead to fundamental business model changes in their organization in 3-5 years (IDC’s CEO Survey 2025; N = 419).

The survey showed that CEOs see a number of skills gaps impeding AI success in their organizations. Interestingly, the most important skills gap identified was teaching AI to regular business employees.

CEOs have turned or will turn to HR to help remedy this skills gap: IDC believes we will see extensive reskilling and upskilling efforts to create an AI-ready workforce. HR will also be tasked with recruiting, retaining, and developing scarce AI-related tech skills in security, AI governance, data management, development, and other areas.

Change management and communications skills will be much needed as organizations undergo difficult, tech-driven changes. Employees have a lot at stake: Some skills will lose value as AI agents take over certain tasks, and some job roles will change and result in new tasks. In Frankfurt, PwC expert Armin von Rohrscheidt talked about how – at least in a German context – involving workers’ councils early, fully, and transparently is the recommended approach.

Interesting HR Perspectives that Came to Light

  • How does an organization train its workforce to become “AI-ready”?
  • How can an organization prepare regular business users to work with conversational user interfaces, prompts, and agentic workflows?
  • Are new training methods needed?

IDC believes that traditional linear elearning approaches will not suffice to bring about such skills. Instead, collaborative, social, experimental, and hybrid approaches are called for (a mix of real-time interactions and individual learning). Furthermore, learner progress and proficiency levels must be monitored as opposed to simple pass/no-pass quizzes.

Another discussion concerned how AI will impact the career progression of junior employees. Organizations are in the process of implementing agentic workflows so that basic administrative processes, or even longer-running processes, can be automated, with humans supervising the process as opposed to just being in the loop.

These basic processes have typically been performed by junior employees to help them “get their hands dirty” and “learn the ropes” of the organization. But if these entry-level processes will be performed by AI agents, how will junior employees gain an understanding of the basic workings of an organization?

This has been a theme for IDC’s Future of Work team. One hypothesis is that AI will not only automate basic tasks but will also assume a mentor’s role, enabling junior employees to explore simulated, experimental workflows and use this as a path to insights into core business processes.

Reflecting on Workday’s Expanded Partnership with PwC

Workday’s partnership with a major partner like PwC goes far beyond the traditional applications vendor + global systems integrator setup. As a key partner, PwC has a large number of certified consultants in the various Workday solutions and cloud tools, co-sells the solutions with Workday, and markets services capabilities at Workday events.

Today, however, PwC sells its own branded solutions, certified by Workday and built natively on the Workday Extend platform. Furthermore, these PwC solutions are sold on the Workday Marketplace. PwC co-markets and co-brands events with Workday, and Workday involves PwC in its multiyear product road maps.

This implies that PwC’s customer relationships in the Workday ecosystem have become truly multifaceted, spanning strategic consulting, project services, managed services, as well as subscriptions to a range of software-based products.

Selling software products requires relatively long-term and in-depth collaboration between Workday and a partner like PwC. If PwC creates a new product — for example, Sickness and Recovery Management — it is important that Workday is not planning to add such capabilities to its own HCM solution (within the next 24 months at least). There is no perpetual guarantee of free play, of course, but a certain time window must be guaranteed.

Final Thoughts

AI is not just another wave of technology to manage and roll out. It has massive transformational potential. It will permeate the business world whether we like it or not.

Any AI initiative will receive serious scrutiny from employees, senior stakeholders, unions, and regulators. However, if HR and IT concentrate on the best practices outlined at the Frankfurt conference — especially related to internal communications and change management — now is the time to get started.

Think outside of the box. AI is not a traditional tool rollout. Knowledge must be shared internally and among peers in other organizations. Network and iterate often. The future of the HR function is — without a doubt — linked to AI and automation.

Bo Lykkegaard - Associate VP for Software Research Europe - IDC

Analyst Profile
Bo Lykkegaard is associate vice president for the enterprise-software-related expertise centers in Europe. His team focuses on the $172 billion European software market, specifically on business applications, customer experience, business analytics, and artificial intelligence. Specific research areas include market analysis, competitive analysis, end-user case studies and surveys, thought leadership, and custom market models.

Identity and access management (IAM), and by extension, identity security, is one of the most pervasive and impactful challenges facing all European organizations today, from an operational and risk management perspective.

The targeting of users and credentials has been well documented through year after year of the major global threat reports, such as Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). Phishing attacks continue unabated as threat actors steal more and more credentials. Verizon’s 2025 DBIR report highlights compromised credentials as the most common initial access vector among non-error breaches.

The challenge for many organizations is dealing with the sheer volume, velocity, and variety of IAM-related events. Take a workforce of a few thousand permanent employees that need access to an estate of a few hundred applications. Add in a few hundred temporary workers, partners, and contractors that need access to specific systems and applications on a constrained basis. Then add in a range of entitlement levels for what all of those users — permanent, temporary, and external — can do in each application. Remember also that the workforce is in constant flux, with new joiners, movers, and leavers. To prevent exposure, any changes to the access rights and entitlements of those users must be put into effect immediately when a transition takes place.

The outcome is a volume of IAM events and processes that simply cannot be managed without automation.

And that’s just the humans.

Organizations have become aware that there is an even bigger and faster-growing set of identities that they need to manage as a matter of increasing urgency: the non-humans.

The Rise of Non-Human Identities

Some non-human identity (NHI) types have been around for years, such as service accounts. These are already a concern, since many of them are entitled to execute privileged actions, which typically need a higher level of control to safeguard data and processes. Furthermore, nested privileges enabled by multiple overlapping or intersecting service accounts can obfuscate over-provisioning of access, which can be a major security risk.

Service accounts are just one category of NHIs that merit attention, however. The growing list includes device identities, cloud workloads, bots, APIs, and, increasingly, AI agents. Some of these NHIs are relatively long-lived and fixed, others are fast moving and ephemeral. Visibility into the creation and provisioning of some NHIs can be extremely limited for the identity, IT, and security professionals tasked with managing them. So how should organizations address this growing challenge and contain the risk? Can existing IAM and identity security tools be co-opted to manage the NHI pool?

According to preliminary data from IDC’s EMEA Security Technologies and Strategies Survey, 2025, more than a third of EMEA organizations are already grappling with this challenge. The short answer to the questions above is that existing tools can probably address some of the requirements of NHI IAM and security (but to adequately manage the risk, a dedicated approach is going to be required).

AI Agents: A Complex Challenge

If we take AI agents as an example, these are probably one of the most complex and fastest-growing NHI categories. According to IDC’s March 2025 Future Enterprise Resiliency and Spending (FERS) Survey, 38% of European organizations are already investing in agentic AI, with a further 43% conducting initial testing and proofs of concept. IDC’s 2025 Worldwide Future of Work Predictions report projects that by 2027, agentic AI workflows will impact at least 40% of knowledge work in G2000 organizations.

Functionally, AI agents can act like service accounts in some aspects; at the same time, they share some behaviors with human identities. They can also be a force multiplier for risk. In an ordinary business process, a human user might conduct actions that call a handful of APIs (another at-risk NHI category, since API access is often unsecured). When we enable AI agents to act on our behalf, they may be calling hundreds of APIs, creating a flywheel effect that multiplies the risk.

This brings in a bigger topic of security by design, which is as relevant here as it is in any other sphere of security. As development teams build agentic AI services, it is critical that security is built in from the start. It’s far more complex and costly to add on once agents are live. This means building in seamless and secure authentication requirements before a user or an agent is able to do anything; ensuring secure and vaulted credentials for API tokens; and applying fine-grained and dynamically updated authorization for permissions that an agent needs to complete a task (and nothing more).

From an IAM perspective, these are some of the key building blocks to ensure that AI agents don’t become an NHI risk; however, further controls and guardrails will be needed. For other NHI categories, the requirements may be different, and organizations should conduct risk assessments for each category individually before taking the necessary measures to protect them.

Like all IAM challenges, the NHI issue is not insurmountable. However, organizations should avoid the historic IAM mistakes of siloed approaches and short-term fixes and make sure that appropriate security controls are built in, from the beginning, wherever NHIs are active within their systems. What’s required is a strategic, granular, and risk-based approach that addresses IAM for all NHIs before they become embedded in all our business processes.

Mark Child - Associate Research Director, European Security - IDC

Analyst Profile
Associate Research Director Mark Child of IDC’s European Security Group leads the group's Endpoint Security and Identity & Digital Trust (IDT) research for both Western Europe and Central & Eastern Europe. He monitors developments in security technologies and strategies as organizations address the challenges of evolving business models, IT infrastructure, and cyberthreats. Mark's coverage includes in-depth security market studies, end-user research, white papers, and custom consulting.

Technology partners help bridge ecosystems. IDC’s 2024 EMEA Partner Survey sheds light on some of the underlying dynamics. For instance, 2 in 5 partners surveyed (41%) said they have a relationship with AWS. Of those AWS partners, 84% said they also work with Microsoft, while 23% partner with Red Hat and 15% have a relationship with ServiceNow.

At a global level, IDC’s Channel Partner Ecosystem (CPE) Database shows how the ecosystems of major cloud and software providers overlap to differing degrees, highlighting the need for different approaches across players.

The chart below demonstrates partner network overlap. Each column represents the degree of overlap between the provider on the row and the provider on the column. The darker the color, the more the overlap. For example, the analysis of ServiceNow’s partner network (column 7) shows a greater overlap with Salesforce than with Workday.

Given the rise of connected ecosystems, insights like these aren’t just interesting stats but hold practical and increasingly strategic value in today’s tech landscape. Think about the potential of accessing the list of common partners across vendors in the map — and getting detailed information in seconds.

Links across technology portfolios and partner networks fuel opportunities for vendors and bring enhanced value to customers. The IT industry has seen a sustained rise of the “platform paradigm” that enables connectedness and modularity across infrastructure, applications, data, and more. This requires architectures that allow technologies to integrate with and layer on top of one another. This trend is fueling growth in alliances and ecosystem engagement.

Customers benefit by being able to run integrated tech stacks that match their needs and requirements. For example, an organization may choose to run SAP on Microsoft Cloud, or may leverage Red Hat OpenShift to manage hybrid environments. Approved partner solutions from SAP Store extend the functionality of the core application, while Microsoft Azure provides native integrations with data warehouse solutions like Snowflake and Databricks.

The value of an integrated technology stack based on customer choice will increase significantly with the growing adoption of AI, which depends on contextually relevant, high-quality data collected across different systems and workloads.

Vendors are supporting these increasingly connected, platform-based strategies through new technology alliances, by building out their own ecosystems, and by connecting to others. A key component in bringing these alliances and connected ecosystems to life is the integration of IT/technology partners such as systems integrators, managed service providers, and value-added resellers.

Understanding partner capabilities and relationships is key to managing the entire partner life cycle. IDC offers complementary support for partner engagement strategies, including:

• The IDC CPE Database consolidates information on more than 600,000 partners worldwide on their capabilities, business models, relationships with vendors, and more. The data-driven partner intelligence we provide enables companies to compress the time and effort needed to recruit new partners, evaluate their current ecosystem, and benchmark against competitors’ ecosystems.
• The syndicated and custom research of IDC’s Partnering Practice specializes in understanding the ecosystem of technology partners and their engagement with vendors and customers. Our team of dedicated analysts offers thought leadership and advice through quantitative and qualitative insights on the global and regional levels.

Andreas Storz - Senior Research Manager, EMEA Partnering Ecosystems - IDC

Analyst Profile
Andreas Storz is senior research manager for IDC’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Partnering Ecosystems program. Based in the US, Andreas focuses on the evolution of go-to-market models, new digital value chains and the wider impact on partner ecosystems, exploring how current and future trends will impact the vendor, distributor, and partner landscape.

Gabriele Roberti - Research Manager, European Industry Solutions, Customer Insights & Analysis - IDC

Analyst Profile
Gabriele Roberti is a director for IDC's European Data and Analytics team. In this role, he oversees IDC’s partner intelligence data. He manages all Channel Partner Ecosystem programs, providing an extensive view on partners’ and vendors’ capabilities and relationships. He joined IDC in 2012 with a focus on the Italian market, then moved into regional research coordinating the delivery of regional quantitative research on IT strategies for vertical markets.

Cutting Through the Noise with a Clear, Side-by-Side View of Performance

Starting with their 1Q25 results, IDC’s European Enterprise Communications Services program will publish a quarterly comparison and analysis of Europe’s top 5 telcos: BT, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone. A main goal of this initiative is to identify which telcos are most successful in transforming their monetization strategies.

Our analysis of telco performance will be based on new research by the IDC European analyst team. Other IDC products, including those from our colleagues in the Data & Analytics team, focus on telco revenue across individual product lines.

This blog post provides a high-level view of the operators’ 2024 global performance as a prelude to the quarterly analyses. Here, we compare the companies’ revenue performance, development of their geographical markets and strategic growth portfolios, and major announcements and events during the period.

The financial data has been adjusted for consistency and comparability:

  • Figures have been converted to USD on a constant currency basis at IDC’s published 2024 rate (EUR/USD 0.92420; GBP/USD 0.78269).
  • Reporting periods have been aligned to the calendar year (CY). For Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telefónica, this aligns to their financial year (FY). For BT and Vodafone, we have summed their quarterly results within each CY (e.g., CY 1Q24 to CY 4Q24, corresponding to their published FY 4Q24 to FY 3Q25 reports).

Group Revenue Performance

Figure 1 shows total group revenue and YoY growth for BT, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone from CY20 to CY24.

Converting all results to USD and aligning BT and Vodafone to CYs highlights the relative size differences between Deutsche Telekom (due to T-Mobile US) and BT, and the similarity between Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone.

It also shows that CY24, like CY23, was relatively flat for Europe’s leading telcos, with top line growth between -2.2% and 3.4%. The exception is Vodafone, which posted a large decline in CY23 due to the disposal of two major country operations during 2024 (Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain). Vodafone’s restated historical financials omit Italy and Spain going back to CY 1Q23.  As the figures presented in this blog post are based on the restated numbers, the drop in revenue resulting from those disposals appears to occur in CY23.

Notes:

  • BT and Vodafone figures are for the CY, based on quarterly reports.
  • Growth rates reflect operators’ reported figures and include conversion from local currency to reporting currency (EUR for Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone, and GBP for BT).
  • Vodafone’s negative growth in CY23 is due to the disposal of Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain in CY24 and subsequent revenue restatements.
  • BT remains the smallest of the top five telcos by revenue and in growth terms has been a mid-pack performer in recent years, although it was the only company in the group to post negative top-line growth in CY24, of -2.2%. In addition to several country operation disposals over the last few years, BT has signalled its clear intent through CY24 under CEO Allison Kirkby to focus on the domestic U.K. market and is exploring options for its underperforming international business.
  • Deutsche Telekom is far ahead of its European peers in total revenue due to the contribution of T-Mobile US, with group revenue between $114B and $125B. However, revenue from Europe totaled €41.2B in CY24, placing it in line with Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone (see figure 5 for side -by -side view for the 4 operators). Deutsche Telekom posted the highest YoY growth rate in CY24 at 3.4%, largely driven by the strong performance of its mobile and broadband services. Notably, this growth is primarily attributed to T-Mobile US, fueled by rising postpaid and prepaid revenues and a slight increase in terminal equipment sales. The contribution of approximately 65% of group revenue from T-Mobile US clearly sets Deutsche Telekom apart.
  • Orange’s YoY revenue growth in CY24 was limited to 1.5%, mainly due to the deconsolidation of Orange Spain after the creation of the MásOrange joint venture, and a decline in Orange Business’ revenue of -1.9%, primarily from fixed services. However, strong growth from the META region of 7.4% stabilized Orange’s overall business.
  • Telefónica, which ranks second in group revenue, reported modest YoY growth of 1.6% in CY24. This was due to growth in service revenues (up 2.5%) driven by a stronger B2B performance (up 4.8%) but offset in part by the depreciation of various Latin American currencies (in particular the Brazilian real) against the euro.
  • Vodafone, from CY20 to CY22 Vodafone was ahead of, and accelerating away from, Orange and Telefónica. However, the disposal of its Italy and Spain operations meant a loss of over $8 billion annual revenue, effective in its restated financials from 2023. This resizes Vodafone below Orange and Telefonica but, as of CY2024, it remains on a higher growth trajectory. Vodafone completed the sale of its Spain operation (to Zegona Communications) in May 2024 for €5 billion and its Italy operation in January 2025 (to Swisscom) for €8 billion. Around the same time it received regulatory approval for its merger with Three in the U.K.

Figure 2 positions the operators based on their CY24 group revenue and growth rate over CY23, with bubble sizes representing the absolute EBITDA or EBITDAaL (EBITDA after leases) values for CY24. It brings out the similarity of Orange and Telefónica’s businesses in terms of all three metrics (size, growth, and EBITDA). Deutsche Telekom and BT, while differing significantly in both revenue and growth, show nearly identical EBITDA margins—43% and 40% respectively—indicating comparable efficiency in generating operating profit.

Notes:

  • Size of bubble refers to the value of CY24 EBITDA (BT, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefónica) or EBITDAaL (Orange and Vodafone).
  • The percentages next to operator’s name plotted on the chart represent the EBITDA margin for (BT, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefónica) or EBITDAaL margin (Orange and Vodafone).

Figure 3 rebases each operator’s group revenue to a value of 100 in CY20 and plots relative development from that point. This clearly shows Deutsche Telekom’s outperformance over the others, the similar relative performance of BT, Orange, and Telefónica over the last three years, and again the temporary drop in Vodafone’s revenue due to major disposals.

Notes:

  • Revenue is plotted relative to a baseline of 100 for all operators in CY20.
  • Vodafone’s negative growth in CY2023 is due to the disposal of Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Spain in CY2024 and subsequent revenue restatements.

Geographical Markets

Figure 4 shows how operators’ total CY24 revenue breaks down geographically. Each operator’s domestic operations are labeled as its home market on the chart. For Vodafone, we assigned its largest country market of Germany as, not being an ex-incumbent, the concept of home market is less clearly defined.

The chart highlights how international businesses, primarily opcos, gained via historical acquisitions, are a sizeable fraction of each operator’s total business. The exception is BT. Following a series of divestments in recent years, BT is now very heavily concentrated on the U.K., contributing 89% of group revenue in FY24 (the year ending March 2024, BT’s most recent geographical reporting). BT CEO Allison Kirkby’s decision to focus on the U.K. still further is an extension of a trend already well established.

Notes:

  • Vodafone’s home market is assigned as Germany, its largest revenue-contributing market.
  • BT does not publish geographical splits on a quarterly basis, so CY splits are unavailable. We applied the latest published breakdown (year ending March 2024) to CY24 revenue for illustration.
  • The chart is organized in descending order of group revenue, progressing from the highest to the lowest value along the horizontal axis.
  • The percentage shows each region’s share of the overall group revenue, and the number shows the total revenue that region produced in CY24.

B2B Revenue Performance

Figure 5 shows how operators’ CY24 revenue from business customers compares with total group revenue. We aimed to capture all B2B revenue, including dedicated enterprise units (BT Business, Deutsche Telekom’s System Solutions/T-Systems, Orange Business, Telefónica Tech, and Vodafone Business), as well as other reported business revenue generated by the group organization. In practice, some very small business customers buy consumer products and are served by the consumer division of an operator. We don’t attempt to break out this revenue.

Notes:

  • Growth rates shown in red (decline) and green (growth) refer to CY24 B2B revenue growth.
  • Figures represent overall B2B revenue, including enterprise business units and services sold to business customers by the parent organization.
  • The chart is organized in descending order of CY24 group revenue, with operators arranged left to right from highest to lowest.
  • Deutsche Telekom (DT) is placed first as it recorded the highest total revenue in CY24. However, in this graph T-Mobile US has been excluded from DT’s revenue in this analysis, as the company does not report a segmented B2B vs B2C revenue breakdown for the U.S. market. This exclusion ensures a more accurate and consistent comparison of DT’s European B2B revenue contribution.

Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom’s B2B revenue comes from the summation of two segments: German Business Customers and Systems Solutions (T-Systems). Deutsche Telekom serves enterprise clients globally, but only these two components are reported in the operator’s annual statements. German Business Customers, part of Deutsche Telekom’s Germany segment, generated €8.7B in CY24, down 5.7% YoY (mainly due to reclassification of some revenue as wholesale since January 2024).

Systems Solutions, operating under the T-Systems brand, focuses on ICT services in the DACH region, spanning cloud, digital, security, and advisory services as well as road toll systems. Revenue rose to €4.0B in CY24, up 2.8% YoY, reflecting steady strategic growth.

System Solutions’ growth was driven by:
• Expanding demand for digital, cloud, and road charging services
• Strong momentum in public sector IT contracts, a key vertical for T-Systems
• Ongoing customer migration from legacy infrastructure to digital platforms

Despite ongoing pressure in traditional services, the gains in high-growth areas allowed Systems Solutions to post a 3.7% increase in external revenue and a 2.3% rise in service revenue, signaling healthy market traction and improved portfolio relevance.

The overall YoY revenue decline of -1.2% shown in figure 5 for Deutsche Telekom is the result of growth in its System Solutions segment being offset by a decline in revenue from its German business segment. Together they represent 31% of DT total revenue of $44,063063M excluding the U.S. region.

Telefónica

Telefónica Tech (TTech) is the digital services arm within Telefónica’s broader B2B segment. It focuses on services such as cloud, cybersecurity, IoT and Big Data, and AI and automation, while the B2B segment overall includes traditional connectivity and managed services. In CY24, TTech generated €2,065M in revenue, growing 10% YoY and contributing to total B2B revenue of €8,957M, up 4.8% YoY.

Main B2B growth drivers included:
• Bookings and commercial funnel growing at 30% YoY and 15% respectively in CY24
• Enhanced business sustainability and larger, higher-value projects in the backlog

TTech’s cybersecurity and cloud revenue amounted to €1,821M (up 12.3% YoY), and its IoT and data revenue totaled €246M (down 4.8% YoY) in CY24.

Orange

Orange Business contributed 19% of Orange’s total revenue in CY24, at €7.8B, down 1.9% YoY due to the decline in fixed service revenues. Although declining modestly, the segment demonstrated strategic resilience and a relative shift toward higher-value digital services.

B2B growth was driven by:
• IT and integration services, up slightly (by 2.7% comparable growth, or €102M) in a complex IT market
• Orange Cyberdefense (part of IT services), up 11.2% or €120M

Despite ongoing pressure on legacy product lines and equipment sales, positive momentum in IT and mobile segments demonstrates good portfolio realignment and robust underlying market traction.

Vodafone

Enterprise customers of all sizes are handled through Vodafone Business. The unit reports service (as opposed to total) revenue, which amounted to €7.9 billion in CY24, 21% of (total) group revenue. This was up 3.2% on CY23 (based on restated figures that exclude Italy and Spain), making Vodafone one of only two telcos in the group to be growing its B2B business.

Vodafone’s B2B growth drivers include:
• Strong demand for digital services (cloud, security, and IoT), particularly in the MEA region. Cloud revenue grew 25% YoY on average per quarter, and digital services grew from 17% of total business service revenue at the start of CY24 to 20% by the end.
• Demand for fixed connectivity, again particularly in MEA.
• Project work, often in the public sector, in some markets including the U.K.

Against the growth in digital services and fixed connectivity, Vodafone’s B2B mobile business was challenged during the year, from falling inflation-linked price increases as well as ARPU erosion during large contract renewals, notably in Germany.

BT

BT Business, the merger of the former U.K.-focused BT Enterprise with BT Global, accounted for 38% of BT’s total revenue in CY24. While this is a higher relative contribution than the other operators, and in absolute terms is larger than Telefonica, Orange, and Vodafone, the unit has underperformed for several years, being 23% smaller at the end of CY24 compared with the start of CY20.

There are few positive growth drivers to report, with most B2B segments in decline. U.K. SMB was a relatively strong performer up to CY24 but growth has since flattened and turned negative. The U.K. CPS (corporate and public sector) business, conversely, has turned from strongly negative to broadly stable in CY24.

In terms of service offerings, security is a consistent growth area, and BT is betting on its global NaaS platform, Global Fabric, to revitalize its B2B portfolio and boost its international business over the next few years. The first customer went live on Global Fabric in March 2025 and the roadmap sees many of BT’s network services being offered via the platform over the next two years.

Major Announcements and Events

These are some of the main revenue-impacting developments by operator during CY24:

BT

  • December 2024: BT Group signed a new £1.29B contract with the U.K. Home Office to deliver mobile services for the government’s Emergency Services Network, aiming to enhance communication capabilities for emergency responders.
  • November 2024: Reports, later confirmed by BT, suggested that the company was looking at options for its international business following a long period of underperformance globally and a strategic focus on the U.K. market.
  • August 2024: Indian Bharti Enterprises agreed to purchase a 24.5% stake in BT Group from Altice, making Bharti the largest shareholder in BT.
  • February 2024: BT Group welcomed Allison Kirkby as its CEO, the first woman to lead the U.K. telecom giant.

Deutsche Telekom

  • November 2024: Deutsche Telekom awarded Nokia a contract to roll out a large-scale commercial Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) across more than 3,000 sites in Germany, supporting the operator’s strategy to diversify its supplier base and enhance network efficiency.
  • July 2024: Deutsche Telekom’s U.S. subsidiary T-Mobile US announced a joint venture with KKR to acquire fiber ISP Metronet. T-Mobile is investing about $4.9 billion for a 50% stake in the JV, which will absorb Metronet’s two million FTTH customers across 17 states.

Orange

  • May 2024: Orange announced the completion of the merger between Orange Romania SA and Orange Romania Communications SA as of June 1, 2024.
  • March 2024: Orange and MásMóvil completed the creation of a 50:50 JV valued at €18.6 billion in Spain, combining their operations to form a leading operator in terms of customers.
  • February 2024, Orange SA exited the retail banking business, after years of losses, by transferring its Orange Bank customers to BNP Paribas.

Telefónica

  • November 2024: The Spanish government approved Saudi Arabian STC Group’s acquisition of a 9.9% stake in Telefónica, allowing STC to appoint a board member, with conditions to safeguard national interests.
  • July 2024: Telefónica and Vodafone Spain (now owned by Zegona) agreed to form a joint fiber venture in Spain. The non-binding MOU outlines plans to combine and expand FTTH networks to cover ~3.5 million premises.
  • February 2024: Telefónica finalized an agreement to sell its Telefónica Argentina unit for about $1.245B to Telecom Argentina.

Vodafone

  • December 2024: Vodafone Group’s merger with Three U.K. received conditional approval from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), forming the largest mobile operator in Britain.
  • December 2024: Vodafone, in partnership with AST SpaceMobile, achieved a world-first: a direct-to-mobile satellite video call using a standard smartphone.
  • May 2024: Vodafone sold its Spanish operations to Zegona Communications for €5B, as part of its strategy to simplify its portfolio and focus on core markets.
  • March 2024: Swisscom agreed to acquire 100% of Vodafone Italia for €8B, aiming to merge it with its subsidiary Fastweb to create a leading converged operator in Italy.
  • January 2024: The U.K. government raised national security concerns over the 14.6% stake in Vodafone Group acquired by Emirates telecom e& (formerly Etisalat).

Conclusion

This post has provided comparisons over a limited selection of metrics. Starting with CY 25Q1 results, we will publish more detailed comparisons and analyses in IDC’s European Enterprise Communications Services program, initially across the five operators presented here.

Masarra Mohamad - Senior Research Analyst, European 5G Enterprise Strategies - IDC

Analyst Profile
Masarra Mohamed is a senior research analyst specializing in analysing the connectivity and communications services markets, focusing on the changing networking requirements, trends, and competitive dynamics that support enterprises in their digital transformation. She explores how enterprise network strategies evolve to enable cloud, AI, and security.