Info-Tech's Best of 2025:
The Year AI Stopped Being a Project and Became the Strategy

IT leaders are embedding AI throughout the department, from core strategy to day-to-day operations.

IT leaders moved past the concept stage with AI and started building the foundations they need throughout their operations

We've compiled the most in-demand research, products, and services that our members used extensively in 2025. What CIOs and IT leaders consumed most shows that as AI became an essential part of strategy and day-to-day operations, strengthening the base on which AI can succeed remained equally important.

• IT is embedding intelligence across every layer of the enterprise, using focused guidance, roadmaps, and playbooks.
• Leaders are investing in data strategy, quality, and classification to fuel AI initiatives and strengthen decision-making.
• Enterprise architecture, operating models, and governance frameworks remain essential anchors amid accelerated change.
• IT teams are redefining delivery, service management, and risk planning through agentification and AI-enabled efficiency.

Top Research & Products in 2025

"Here is Info-Tech's most popular research in 2025."

Gord Harrison
Chief Research Officer
Info-Tech Research Group

01 Tech Trends 2026
Make the leap from now to next! Explore eight trends that reveal the path for organizations.

02 Build Your AI Strategy and Roadmap
Develop your AI strategy to maximize return and mitigate risks with your AI investments.

03 The AI Playbook
Follow our 12-step AI Playbook to systematically achieve better outcomes.

04 Build Your EA Practice Strategy
Craft the practice your organization needs to solve the problems your stakeholders care about the most.

05 Standardize the Service Desk
Use a data-driven strategy to standardize service desk processes for the benefit of both users and technicians.

06 Establish the Target Operating Model Needed to Execute Your Data Strategy
Engineer a data management model that is co-owned, co-designed, and strategically aligned.

Top Research & Products in 2025

"Empower your entire IT team with targeted research on a wide range of IT topics."

Jack Hakimian
Senior Vice President
Info-Tech Research Group

07 The Enterprise Architecture Playbook
Based on our 8 secrets and 4 key activities, Info-Tech's proven 12-step path results in sustainable EA excellence.

08 Build a Robust and Comprehensive Data Strategy
Build a data strategy that's organization first, not technology first.

09 Build Your AI Risk Management Roadmap
Develop your AI risk management framework to mitigate risk and drive value for your AI investments.

10 Microsoft Licensing Changes Are Coming in 2025
What to expect between now and Microsoft year-end. This brief will discuss the recent changes in Microsoft renewals.

11 AI-Assisted Code Generation Tools
Buyers guide and market trends. Accelerate development velocity with AI-assisted code generation tools.

12 Build an Effective IT Controls Register
Confidently counter IT risks that matter. A robust controls taxonomy enables better controls management.

Top Research & Products in 2025

"Beyond trends, Info-Tech provides deep-dive tools to help get you to action."

Carlene McCubbin
Associate Vice President
Info-Tech Research Group

13 CIO Priorities 2025
The CIO Priorities 2025 report investigates five initiatives CIOs should prioritize in the coming year.

14 Take Control of IT's Narrative
Use our step-by-step blueprint to take control of IT's narrative and transform your brand as strategic partner.

15 Implement an AI-Orchestrated Service Desk
Build a strategic approach to drive automation and efficiency. Build AI synchronicity with the ITSM ecosystem.

16 Build Your Agentic AI Prototype
Translate your vision into a working AI agent. Use this step-by-step approach to transform your agentic AI idea into reality.

17 Implement AI for Customer Experience
Use AI to supercharge your customer experience outcomes and propel your brand forward.

18 Security Priorities 2025
Safeguard your organization by preparing for growing cybersecurity challenges.

Top Research & Products in 2025

"Our best-practice research and advisory is designed to make your job easier."

Aaron Shum
Senior Vice President
Info-Tech Research Group

19 Visualize the Industry of the Future
Envision how digital can propel the transformation of your industry and your organization.

20 Build a Robust Security Architecture With Microsoft Technologies
Maximize your investment in Microsoft security tools and justify where supplements are required.

21 Infrastructure & Operations Priorities 2025
A data-driven report that reviews five priorities for Infrastructure & Operations in the year.

22 Develop an AI Compliance Strategy
Provide actionable steps for your teams to align with global AI standards.

23 Build Your Data Quality Program
Develop a data quality improvement plan that addresses the root causes, ensuring lasting and effective resolutions.

24 Discover and Classify Your Data
Avoid analysis paralysis. Classifying all your data at once may not be feasible.

Best of Diagnostics

1 SE IT Management & Governance Diagnostic
Optimize and elevate the performance of your core IT processes for high-impact results across your organization.

2 CIO Business Vision
The most important thing to do is understand the business' needs and actively measure that the business is satisfied.

3 IT Staffing Assessment
Make IT a corporate powerhouse by improving your ability to grow, deploy, and manage your team.

Best of Concierge Services

1 Request for Proposal (RFP) Review as a Service
Finalize your RFP to meet your timelines. Compare your RFP against widely accepted practices. Get the most out of the RFP process.

2 Exploit Your ITSM Ticket Data
Unleash the power of your ticket data to drive timeliness and effectiveness into your service desk processes.

3 IT Strategy Visualization Service
Design a boardroom-ready IT strategy presentation. Cut down on time and effort spent by your team to build an effective strategy.

Best of Vendor Quadrants by SoftwareReviews

These buyers guides are designed to help prospective purchasers make better decisions by leveraging the experiences of real users.

1 ERP Systems – Enterprise Data Quadrant

2 Human Capital Management – Enterprise Data Quadrant

3 IT Service Management – Enterprise Data Quadrant

Best of Training Programs

1 Management Fundamentals
The move from peer to manager is the hardest transition in IT.

2 AI Workforce Development Program
Future-proof your IT workforce with essential artificial intelligence competencies.

3 Cybersecurity Workforce Development
Upskill your IT team by going beyond certifying knowledge to assuring competence.

Best of Workshops

1 Build Your AI Strategy and Roadmap
Develop your AI strategy to maximize return and mitigate risks with your AI investments.

2 Establish Data Governance
Understand your current data governance capabilities and build out a future that is right-sized and relevant.

3 Achieve IT Spend & Staffing Transparency
Lay a foundation for meaningful conversations with the business.

Best of Industry Research

1 Improve Your API Processes to Secure Your Fintech Integrations
Lay a foundation for meaningful conversations with the business.

2 Modernize Your Manufacturing Operations Using Connected Technologies
Take the right actions to advance the smart factory agenda.

3 Navigating the ERP Landscape for the Construction Industry
From blueprints to bottom line: Narrow your ERP search, find a fit-for-purpose solution.

Best of Keynotes

1 Curb Your AI Enthusiasm
Prioritize value over hype. Select the right projects; prototype before you scale; remain focused on value.

2 The Exceptional IT Leadership Team
Exceptional IT leadership isn't about individual brilliance – it's about coordinated excellence.

3 Run IT by the Numbers
How to inject real meaning to the decisions you make. Budget with clarity and spend with purpose.

Best of AI Marketplace

1 Video AI Summary
How AI augments video editing and generation for marketing and learning & development.

2 Sales Automation AI Summary
AI has now reached a point where it can automate sales information from various data inputs.

3 Employee Experience AI Summary
For most clients in the employee experience portfolio, the focus is on adopting an off-the-shelf employee experience solution.