Happy Friday! ‘This week in CX’ brings you the latest roundup of industry news.
This week, we’ve been exploring the impact of interactive apps, business growth plans, and employee appreciation levels in different regions.
We’re also discussing new updates from PwC, Gartner and more.
Key news
- Nearly 60% of CEOs are optimistic about global growth and 42% plan to increase headcount by 5%, according to PwC’s annual Global CEO Survey. The UK ranked second for global investment, behind the US, with 14% of CEOs choosing it for their next big investments. While CEOs in the UK and US are positive about growth, those in Germany and France are more worried about geopolitical and regulatory risks. Separately, a new Edelman survey reveals trust in CEOs, government leaders and the media is declining globally.
- New car registrations in the EU rose by 0.8% in 2024, according to latest industry data. Among major markets, Spain saw a 7.1% increase, while France (-3.2%), Germany (-1%), and Italy (-0.5%) experienced declines. Petrol cars remained the most popular, but hybrid sales overtook them for the fourth consecutive month in December, solidifying their second position. Electric cars ranked third after a 5.9% market drop. Some analysts project a surge in EV sales in 2025 in Western Europe, including the UK, as automakers will strive to meet CO2 targets.
- The EU has to rethink its “regulate first” approach if it wants to compete on a global level, European CEOs have said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. While Brussels is imposing rules “with good intentions”, according to Morten Wierod, CEO of Swiss electrical engineering company ABB, the current system is limiting growth. Simplifying rules would boost investment and productivity, said CEO of Dutch financial services firm ING, Steven van Rijswijk. While Börje Ekholm, CEO of Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, added that Europe gains nothing from being a frontrunner in regulation since “referees don’t win games”.
- The amount of money being invested into artificial intelligence by the US dwarfs the pledges that have been made by Europe and the UK. The US announced a $500bn (€478bn; £405bn) AI investment plan backed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank this week, which is significantly more than the EU’s €2bn AI factories initiative, Euractiv reports. In the UK, the private sector pledged to spend £14bn on AI projects last month.
CXM news stories
Here’s the full news stories that CXM have reported on in the past week. Learn all about the latest news around the role of mobile applications, government’s plan for business growth and employee appreciation.
Global IT spending to hit $5.61 trillion in 2025, fuelled by genAI and hardware growth
Global IT spending is projected to reach $5.61 trillion in 2025, reflecting a robust 9.8% increase from 2024, according to Gartner’s latest forecast. This significant growth is driven by rising investments in data centre systems, devices, and software, with generative AI hardware upgrades playing a pivotal role.
However, Gartner cautions that while CIO budgets are expanding, much of the increase will offset rising costs rather than translating to new, innovative projects. “In 2025, nominal IT spending will appear strong, but real spending growth will be skewed by inflation and price hikes,” said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. He added that escalating costs across all IT categories are forcing CIOs to adjust their expectations and scale back some initiatives.
“IT services companies and hyperscalers account for over 70% of spending in 2025,” said Lovelock. “By 2028, hyperscalers will operate $1 trillion dollars’ worth of AI optimized servers, but not within their traditional business model or IaaS Market. Hyperscalers are pivoting to be part of the oligopoly AI model market.”
The growing influence of GenAI is evident in hardware spending. In 2025, many expect that companies will spend $202 billion on AI-optimized servers, doubling their spending on traditional servers. Data center systems will see a 23.2% growth, while software spending will increase by 14.2%, bolstered by the demand for AI-ready solutions.
Gartner predicts that while genAI-related hardware investments will rise, the immediate impact on functionality and differentiation will remain limited. The focus in 2025 will be on foundational upgrades rather than transformative capabilities.