AI reckoning and sustainability challenges drive consultants' predictions for 2025
After a year of uncertainty, many businesses are entering 2025 with an air of cautious optimism – amid slowing inflation and an end to some political uncertainties, in the UK at least. To help clients and consultants alike prepare for the future, experts from a range of different specialisms have offered their views on what the key to thriving in the 12 months may be – once again, with a particular emphasis on technology.
2024 was a mixed bag for consultants. In many regards, the industry enjoyed strong growth in the UK – with research from the Management Consultancies Association finding the last 12 months had seen its members boost their revenues by 11%. This continued a trend which has seen the British market double in size since 2018. But not everyone is enjoying themselves to the same degree.
While the largest consulting firms in the UK – the Big Four of PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY – saw explosive growth during the Covid-19 period, they have seen demand cool significantly over the last two years. With this trend continuing through 2024, they have been left struggling to justify the large numbers of professionals they had hired to cope with that earlier spike in demand. As a result, the Big Four and a number of other large consultancies have been downsizing their headcounts, in a bid to improve their bottom lines.
However, with a new year on the horizon, there will be fresh challenges and opportunities that could turn that picture on its head in 2025. With the UK election having delivered a decisive result, the economy has been offered a degree of political certainty that has been off the cards for several years – while inflation has slowed (though it lingers, along with supply chain disruptions, as a factor slowing wider economic growth in Britain). Amid this, many organisations are still looking to press ahead with projects involving artificial intelligence and machine learning, which they believe could help re-energise their operations.
Artificial intelligence in demand
In this environment, clients will in turn look to the consulting industry for guidance on best practices and transformation planning. As a result, it is not surprising that one of the key trends which remains at the top of consultants’ agenda (as was the case in 2024) is AI. One example of this comes from Airwalk Reply Partner Alex Hammond, who predicts that technology is set to continue to reshape how enterprises operate, innovate, and respond to global challenges in 2025.
“AI will shift from experimentation to large-scale deployment in 2025,” Hammond explains. “Organisations will leverage AI to automate processes, enhance decision-making, and achieve significant operational efficiencies. Robust enterprise AI solutions will address data governance, transparency, and security challenges, ensuring responsible adoption. AI integration will expand across entire value chains, including customer service, supply chain optimisation, and IT operations. Generative AI tools will become standard for enabling employees to analyse data, generate insights, and boost productivity. Investments in AI-driven automation will remain essential for competitiveness, with ethical AI frameworks ensuring trust and compliance.”
However, beyond AI, IT operations, cloud solutions, and service management will also drive transformative change, with operational resilience becoming a critical focus in a hyper-connected world. Hammond adds that enterprise IT functions are “shifting to agile, platform-driven models”, meaning modern operating models will “prioritise delivering services as products, leveraging DevOps principles, automation, and analytics to streamline operations.” Meanwhile, composable IT architectures will emerge as a key trend, “allowing businesses to assemble and adapt technology solutions to meet evolving needs rapidly” – elevating IT teams from cost centres to strategic enablers of business value.
He concludes, “As 2025 approaches, enterprises must embrace key trends in AI adoption, IT transformation, and cloud evolution. Platforms like ServiceNow will modernise service management, while operational resilience will underpin success in managing complex systems. Organisations that harness these trends will gain a competitive edge, enhancing efficiency, agility, and trust in an increasingly digital world.”
Similarly, Derek Ho, senior AI and cloud consultant at Cortex Reply – a spin-off from Airwalk Reply launching in January 2025 – anticipates major changes in the landscape of AI for the coming year. According to him, this will be the year businesses move from the proof-of-concept stage to “deep integration”.
“One of the key developments will be the attempt to create Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) using large language models and numerous agents,” he predicts. This aims to build systems that can perform general tasks with human-like understanding and adaptability.”
However, as exciting as this prospect might be, managing the large number of AI agents needed for this will be a major challenge. According to Ho, the rapid increase in agents can also “lead to inefficiencies and potential system failures”, meaning a new focus on agent security will be a must – to ensure agents operate securely and reliably will be crucial to prevent any vulnerabilities from being exploited.
Ho further notes, “The forecast for AI in 2025 highlights a pivotal moment of evolution. The drive to create AGI with LLMs and agents will push the boundaries of what is possible, but it will also require a focus on manageability and security. The industry will need to shift its focus from chatbots to user-centric design, ensuring AI serves the best interests of its users. Finally, the integration stage of GenAI will pave the way for more advanced and seamless AI applications, ushering in a new era of innovation and efficiency.”
Enhanced client relAItions
Looking to highlight what some of the potential perks of advancing AI might be, Christine Bourdon, head of design and creative at Designit, expects that first and foremost, it will enable companies to offer customers a super-personalised experience – with “apps that seem to know [people] inside and out”. Along with taking personalisation “up a notch, with smart suggestions, customised feeds, and interfaces that feel almost tailor-made to each user”, AI could also be used to boost convenience – with “food delivery to at-home services to instant booking for events and travel,” as users will expect apps to “instantly connect them with whatever they need – even across different devices.”
Expanding on that, she adds, “Voice commands and conversational AI will create the speed and ease that people crave with actions using natural language, shortcuts or emojis. Imagine quickly asking your banking app for a transaction history or using voice commands in shopping apps to add items to your cart. Talking will be just as easy as tapping, and it’ll make multitasking even smoother.”
The consulting sector will be no exception, when it comes to implementing the benefits of AI. According to Aykut Cakir, senior partner and CEO at NMS Consulting, the technology is already transforming management consulting, in particular, how consultants approach problem-solving and deliver value to clients.
“By leveraging AI, consultants can operate with greater efficiency and provide more insightful recommendations,” Cakir explains. “AI excels at rapidly analysing vast amounts of data. Instead of dedicating extensive time to manual information review, consultants can rely on AI to uncover critical insights quickly. This capability allows them to identify patterns and detect issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.”
Pointing to how this might transpire, Cakir says that AI “enhances decision-making by enabling consultants to test scenarios and forecast potential outcomes”. Meanwhile, beyond analysis and forecasting, “AI automates routine tasks, freeing consultants to concentrate on strategic priorities. Tasks like generating reports and performing complex calculations, once time-intensive, are now streamlined through AI tools.”
He concludes, “Clients increasingly face complex challenges, and AI equips consultants with innovative solutions to address these issues… AI also supports tailored solutions, recognizing that every business has unique needs. By analysing specific circumstances, AI helps consultants craft personalised strategies that deliver meaningful results. The integration of AI into management consulting is a game-changer, enabling consultants to work more effectively, solve problems more precisely, and offer clients exceptional guidance to achieve their objectives.”
Consultants as co-creators
The picture isn’t entirely rosy for AI, though – and it also looks like consultants will not be able to treat it as a panacea anymore, as clients’ hope and hype of the last two years give way to expectation in 2025. Harriet Czernobay, principal strategist at The Upside goes as far as to suggest that this will be “AI’s reckoning moment”, as increased scrutiny and economic uncertainty mean its products “need to demonstrate they can move beyond industry playthings to valuable business tools.”
“It’s been two years since ChatGPT burst onto the scene, breaking records for the fastest-growing consumer app in history. Whilst consumers were dazzled and investor enthusiasm soared, many businesses remained sceptical and slow to implement. Those who tried have even been disappointed with early experiments; Gartner reports a 30% failure rate for AI proof-of-concept projects. [Looking ahead] there will be less focus on the race to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), and more on the proof of ROI.”
Czernobay further states that businesses will be looking for practical AI applications to solve real business problems. Pointing to a Deloitte study, she notes 25% of enterprises using GenAI are expected to deploy AI agents in 2025, embedding them in the business with specific use cases to solve.
“Those who will thrive are the ones able to turn AI’s potential into pragmatic progress, using the technology for real impact vs vanity projects,” she concludes. “This formalisation of applied AI will inevitably lead to a re-calibration of job functions, to help people work in harmony with these tools… Overall, 2025 will be a year of intentional technology. One in which consumers, businesses and investors alike push to see value and impact from AI - and consultants must help to bring about this change.”
Further emphasising the importance of consultants in getting the most from new business operations, Kyle Hauptfleisch, chief consulting officer at digital transformation firm Daemon, argues that consultancies will shift from advisors to co-creators. Stating that 2025 will see the role of the consultancy go beyond simply delivering expertise, Hauptfleisch explains this means “collaborating closely with clients to unlock new opportunities and solve challenges, with a greater emphasis on governance, stakeholder alignment, and technology strategy beyond pure execution”.
“In this co-creation model, relationships with clients are paramount. The ability to build deep, meaningful connections will allow consultancies to better understand the real problems businesses face and activate a business vision more effectively. At the same time, business acumen will become more important in technology delivery. Technology consultants will need to go beyond traditional technical expertise to advise on how to activate solutions within broader business landscapes. This will require mapping out insights, guiding clients through innovation, and ensuring projects align with long-term business goals.”
The rise of sustainability as a guiding principle will also play a pivotal role. According to Hauptfleisch, consultancies will increasingly be called upon to help clients not only optimise their tech but ensure it supports broader environmental goals, creating impact for both clients and their customers. This will demand “a shift in mindset and consultancies must balance strategic, technical, and sustainable solutions to stay relevant and continue to add value”.
Risk and reward
To that end, sustainability remains one of the top-level risks clients and consultants alike remain exposed to in 2025. According to Miguel Sabel, director for strategy and sustainability at Designit, as the climate crisis escalates in 2025 and beyond, conscious consumerism will be replaced by self-defence – and companies will need to plan their response carefully.
“As a result of the growing direct impact of climate change on people's lives, many will go beyond the selective ethical consumerism defined by brand boycotting or buy-cotting,” Sabel contends. “As crises and disruptions approach, people will start to look for ways of more actively defending themselves. Some of those who ignored or even questioned the science and the activists' warnings will now be pulled into the frontline by their own reality.”
This means that even as legislators offset their own suitability-oriented regulations, it may still prove wiser not to abandon ESG efforts in the year ahead. Amid “the polarised context” that ushers in the year, “some legislators will backtrack on sustainability-oriented regulations and policies”, “mainstream respectability will change places, and some less sustainable investment decisions will be considered irrational and emotionally motivated.” In particular, renewables and the adoption of EVs have already become and will increasingly be “the investment decisions with the best financial return.”
At the same time there will be new opportunities amid new climate risks, which consultants may help their clients to make the most of. To that end, Sabel concludes that consumer decisions influenced by climate change and other man-made environmental emergencies will be “more visible trends”. This will see “those who can afford it will look towards more resilient locations and housing,” while “the existing gorp-core fashion trend will evolve towards climate adaptation, moving from performative towards necessary” – adding that “as the urgency of adaptation accelerates, readiness will become a new luxury.”
Elsewhere, risk will be abundant across digital platforms, thanks again to the aforementioned “polarisied context” which 2025 arrives in. Brian Lloyd, chief platform officer at Apply Digital, explains that as global geopolitics “become ever more fractious, businesses, governments and consumers will demand enhanced digital security”.
According to Lloyd, “Zero Trust frameworks” which offer continuous verification of all users and devices will become increasingly prevalent in 2025 in this context. But while that might sound like a pain for many consumers, the way that consultants help their clients to navigate the challenges could present major opportunities for enhanced customer experiences.
“This could finally signal the end of traditional password authentication,” enthuses Lloyd. “But at the very least we’ll see far greater support for passwordless authentication methods such as biometrics, cryptographic keys, and one-time codes. While we’re unlikely to see its mainstream adoption next year, decentralised identities leveraging blockchain technology will gain wider use. This will reduce the reliance on centralised databases and give users more control over their digital identities.”
Dom Sevlon, chief technology officer at Apply Digital, meanwhile adds that this will mean businesses – and consultants – need to find new ways to help keep their products up to date. To that end, pre-composed solutions will become “the default starting point for any composable digital transformation initiative, regardless of its complexity.”
Sevlon expands, “The most flexible accelerators that provide businesses with the speed and agility they require to remain competitive, whilst also realising a quick time to business value will ultimately emerge as the market leaders in 2025.”
Fighting fraud
Fraud remains a key challenge for the UK economy, but there are also a number of new measures being discussed, which will help fight that particular risk in the future. Ben Boorer, director at Secretariat, notes that the leadership of the Serious Fraud Office has “made repeated calls, increasingly loudly, for the UK to reconsider its approach towards whistle-blowers, in particular the incentivisation of individuals to report wrongdoing to the authorities”. These included reference to immunity for those involved in wrongdoing, as well as financial incentives for innocent individuals to report their concerns.
Secretariat serves a range of international clients, specialising in international arbitration and litigation; economic damages; valuations; forensic accounting; government contracting; and large-scale construction disputes with a focus on delay and quantum analysis. According to Boorer, both approaches mirror initiatives either in place or being trialled in the US at the time of publication – and bring benefits of increasing whistle-blower activity, such as investigation lead generation and the speeding up of SFO investigations – while also raising the perceived issue of the “brain drain”, which might usually see UK whistleblowers leave to overseas jurisdictions with incentivisation programmes.
“It was recently announced by the SFO that policy proposals are being drafted which may suggest these calls are more than just the SFO seeking to spark a conversation,” Boorer notes. “Beyond anything else, implementing a mechanism by which investigation leads land on the desk of the SFO will dramatically change the corporate compliance and governance landscape of British business, including their overseas interests given the extra territorial element of some of the white-collar legislation. Finding a way to generate credible investigation leads, potentially with supporting evidence, will super-charge the ability to uncover, investigate, and prosecute white collar crime of all kinds.”
Given the speed of change, it is highly unlikely that whistle-blower incentivisation schemes will be introduced in 2025, according to Boorer. However, the debate will intensify over the next 12 months, and should the arguments for incentivisation gain traction, British companies will need to contemplate the impact that incentive schemes might have on their businesses.
Boorer finally concludes, “Are they really confident that their compliance function is sufficiently supported to protect the company? Does the company have genuine routes by which staff can raise concerns? Does the culture of the company encourage concerns to be raised internally to be robustly addressed, or would historic inaction drive whistle-blowers to the authorities in the first instance? Can the company manage the fallout, criminally, commercially, and reputationally, from not ensuring that the risks faced by the company are properly considered and remediated? The result of super-charging investigations may be that businesses are required to super-charge their compliance functions.
