“The conversation for CIOs has shifted from ‘if’ to ‘how.’ In 2025, we see a strategic imperative to build an agent-based AI strategy. The focus is less on the novelty of a single agent performing a task and more on creating a cohesive fabric of specialized agents that can automate entire business functions. This is the year enterprise agentic AI moves from the lab to the core of strategic IT planning.”
By the end of 2025, the impact of agentic AI on enterprise software will be marked by strategic adoption rather than just widespread mediation. At least 15-20% of routine tasks within specific corporate functions–notably HR and customer service–will be initiated and managed by AI agents, with software firms leading the way in adoption. This will catalyze a significant evolution in software licensing, with a clear trend toward outcome-based and consumption-driven pricing models over traditional per-seat licenses.
The acceleration of this trend has become more nuanced and is now driven by three evolved factors:
Nick is Vice President & Practice Lead, AI Platforms. He is a thought leader on the development, deployment and adoption of AI — an area he has been researching for 25 years. Prior to Futurum, Nick was a Managing Analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence, with responsibility for 451 Research’s coverage of Data, AI, Analytics, Information Security and Risk. Nick became part of S&P Global through its 2019 acquisition of 451 Research, a pioneering analyst firm Nick co-founded in 1999. He is a sought-after speaker and advisor, known for his expertise in the drivers of AI adoption, industry use cases, and the infrastructure behind its development and deployment. Nick also spent three years as a product marketing lead at Recommind (now part of OpenText), a machine learning-driven eDiscovery software company. Nick is based in London.
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If any of this is useful, I would love to talk.
VP, Custom Research · The Futurum Group
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