December 2024 - 2025 IT Management - Analysis, surveys, Reports

ITPro Today - State of IT Report 2025: Security and AI Drive Growth Despite Economic Pressures

AI emerged as a particular focus, with 74% of organizations reporting AI investments as worthwhile. However, specific applications received mixed reviews. Only 56% found ChatGPT valuable for information retrieval, while just 51% supported AI-powered internal chatbots.

IT Management

Computerworld - If you want security, start with secure products

“Organizations don’t need more security products; they need more secure products. That’s one of the key takeaways from our new global cyber security survey. The research reveals that incremental security fixes no longer work. In fact, the more security tools an organization throws at the problem, the worse it gets.”

Security

Dark Reading - What Talent Gap? Hiring Practices Are the Real Problem

Its cybersecurity career heat map compares certifications held and certifications requested. Some certs, like CompTIA+ and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), are overrepresented in the hiring pool, while others — such as Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) — do not have enough certification holders to meet employer demand.

Tech Jobs

Forbes - Why You Must Beware Of Dangerous New Scam-Yourself Cyber Attacks

This fake CAPTCHA prompt scam is becoming ridiculously fashionable within the criminal world, so much so that Norton reported telemetry showing that in quarter three of 2024 alone some 2 million people were targeted by it. As you might have already guessed, this scam-yourself cyber attack takes the form of tricking a victim into completing a CAPTCHA challenge that in reality copies malicious code onto the system clipboard to install malware content onto their device.

Security

Information Week - CISOs in 2025: Evolution of a High-Profile Role

He explains that creating clear legal distinction and delineating job responsibilities could provide CISOs with some protection against liability, such as indemnification clauses and expanded Director & Officer (D&O) insurance.

Security

Diginomica - diginomica digital careers report - CIO and CFO alignment improves

Alongside AI investments, Gartner's polling finds that 80% of European CIOs expect to increase their investments in cybersecurity, business intelligence, and data analytics in 2025. Censuswide finds that 88% of CIOs believe that historical data will help them get value from AI, and 93% say their data requires major or substantial cleanup if AI is to succeed. Investments in dealing with legacy technology is set to decrease, according to 43% of those CIOs surveyed by Gartner.

IT Spending

Forbes - 2024 Tech And IT Recap: Transformations, Trials, And Triumphs

Amid these challenges, compliance frameworks like CMMC 2.0 gained traction, becoming the de facto standard for organizations conducting business with the government starting in December 2024. This updated framework represents a shift from traditional checkbox compliance to proactive, threat-aligned defense strategies.

Tech Trends

Information Week - Clearing the Clouds Around the Shared Responsibility Model

The broad definition of the shared responsibility model means cloud service providers (CSPs) are in charge of securing the underlying infrastructure of the cloud. Data centers and physical networks are their responsibility. Customers are responsible for securing their environment and their data in the cloud.  

Cloud

TechRepublic - Top 5 Cyber Security Trends for 2025

“Third party risk management, supply chain risk management, and increased oversight and regulatory requirements will drive the need for companies to focus on and mature their governance, risk, and compliance programs.”

Security

Diginomica - The enterprise stories we need for 2025

In 2025, the problem will likely become critical and we’ll see some functions experience horrible issues. If customers have to scream and shout to get vendors to deal with this, it casts real doubt on the vision, strategy and value that vendors bring to the table. You can’t sprinkle bits of AI across old apps and think the job is complete. AI changes things for software buyers and outsiders. Will 2025 be the year that vendors wake up and smell the coffee re: citizen-AI and its effects?

AI Adoption

Information Week - The Cost of Cloud Misconfigurations: Preventing the Silent Threat

Automated configuration management: Manual configuration processes are prone to human error. Automation tools such as infrastructure as dode (IaC) solutions, like Terraform and Ansible, can help standardize and automate cloud configurations, minimizing the likelihood of mistakes.

Cloud

Forbes - CIO And CFO: The Yin And Yang Of Digital Transformation Success

One effective strategy is to adopt a product-line funding model that maps technology investments to specific products or services and their associated ROI potential. This approach highlights the business drivers behind tech spending and allows CIOs to frame their investments in terms that CFOs find compelling. It emphasizes the contribution of each technology initiative to the organization's overall success.

IT Management

Network Computing - Six Ways to Cut Your Multi-cloud Costs

"Enterprises should push back against overly extended contract durations and avoid being lured into accepting shiny concessions that aren't aligned with their long-term goals and risk tolerance," he explains via email. "Additionally, organizations should be open to creative solutions, such as co-marketing ventures or strategic partnerships that can lead to more favorable terms."

Cloud

SiliconANGLE - How to get a handle on generative AI governance

The risks inherent in gen AI, in fact, have stopped many enterprise gen AI initiatives dead in their tracks. The knee-jerk reaction for many executives is to shut gen AI down entirely – block access to public large language models at the firewall and implement “no gen AI” policies across the board.

AI Governance

CNBC - Workforce Wire The tech support desk at work is one of the first jobs on AI’s replacement ticket

It’s estimated that by 2027, generative AI will create more IT support and knowledge-based articles than humans, according to Chris Matchett, senior director analyst at consulting firm Gartner. That is part of a broader business consumer self-service strategy, within what’s referred to as “support case deflection,” he said, and being primarily driven by mundane methods such as automated password systems, a good knowledge base and an intuitive request portal. “AI can help with these,” Matchett said.

Tech Support

Information Week - Why Are Organizations Still Getting Hacked?

It’s been 30 years since the introduction of the World Wide Web to the public, and it’s evident that we don’t have 80 years to only create, but also embrace, technology to enforce internet security and safety. The threats are accelerating, and neither the US Government nor free credit monitoring alone can save us.

Security