Sector voices on where the next 12 months takes tech.
Sanjay Poonen, CEO and President, Cohesity
2024’s going down in the history books as one of the most eventful years in cybersecurity to date. Cohesity’s intent to acquire Veritas’ data business is just one example of a year filled with industry-changing acquisitions, long-awaited IPOs, massive venture capital investments, and big takedown moments that had the everyday consumer talking about enterprise security. All of this occurred alongside economic ups and downs and market uncertainty.
As I look to 2025, I expect to see a couple of things:
- Profitability is the number one signifier of durability, and in 2025, those who prioritize profitability will be far better set up for long-term success. Selecting a security partner is far too important for customers to place their trust in a company that won’t be around in five years. They need a partner that’s reliable, responsible, and durable when things get difficult, and that means focusing on futureproofing and building a company to last. I acknowledge this is not an easy goal to achieve. It requires discipline and consistency among all parties from C-level executives to board members to investors. However, if achieved, customers will take notice.
- 2025 will be the year companies go beyond experimenting with AI and fully integrate it across core business functions, driving meaningful productivity gains and cost savings across the board. We’ll see AI-empowered cybersecurity processes proactively detect and respond to threats in real-time, minimizing downtime and protecting data more effectively than ever. This approach of embedding AI into every layer of operations will not just reduce operational costs, but will fundamentally transform how companies operate in today’s digital-first world.
Andrew Bud, CEO, iProov
2025 is poised to be a defining year for digital identity. iProov, a science-based biometric identity solutions provider, has unveiled its predictions on how individuals and businesses will navigate trust and security online. From emerging authentication methods to fraudsters’ evolving tactics, these predictions will offer crucial insights into the dynamic forces shaping the future of digital identity verification, authentication, and fraud prevention. Stay tuned for a glimpse into what lies ahead!
2025: The Year Deepfakes Breaks the News?
Deepfakes will pose a significant threat to the integrity of news and media. A major broadcaster will admit that a recent interview featured a deepfake, which will spark widespread concern about the impact of AI-generated media on journalism and information integrity. Such will be the shockwaves that we will see calls for new content attribution technologies and stronger media literacy initiatives. The incident will serve as a stark reminder of the challenges faced in the age of deepfakes and the need to safeguard information integrity.
Biometric Borders Go Global: Say Goodbye to Lines, Hello to Secure, Seamless Travel
The use of facial verification at border crossings will spread rapidly, speeding up passenger processing and enhancing security. Programs like Eurostar’s SmartCheck biometric system are already paving the way, allowing travelers to verify their identity with a simple glance or scan. Automated systems will optimize passenger flow, reduce congestion, and slash wait times while dramatically reducing the load on border officials. Privacy will be prioritized, with travelers opting in and data protected by decentralized identity technologies. This shift will usher in a new era of seamless and secure travel, making it easier for people to connect and explore the world with confidence.
The Deepfake CEO: Identity Verification Becomes Mission-Critical for Market Trust
A deepfake of a Fortune 500 CEO will cause significant disruption in the financial markets. The fabricated video, announcing a false merger, will trigger a temporary market dip and erode investor confidence before being exposed. This incident will highlight the growing need for robust identity verification solutions to ensure the authenticity of information and maintain trust in an increasingly digital world.
Companies and investors will respond by prioritizing biometric authentication, investing in deepfake digital injection protection tools, enhancing communication protocols, and putting a strong focus on digital identity verification in all online interactions to prevent impersonation and fraud.
This incident will serve as a catalyst, accelerating the adoption of advanced identity verification solutions in the financial industry.
The Great Deepfake Hiring Heist: Organizations Fall Prey to a Mass Synthetic Identity Attack
Remember earlier this year when KnowBe4 fell victim to a remote deepfake hiring scam using a synthetic identity? In 2025, a far larger synthetic identity operation will infiltrate organizations worldwide. A state adversary will combine deepfakes with fabricated credentials to create entirely new, convincing employee personas, bypassing security to gain access, steal data, and cause operational chaos with significant financial losses. This sophisticated scheme will exploit remote onboarding processes, manipulate employees, and even infiltrate payroll systems to divert funds and disrupt livelihoods. This incident will cause organizations to change how they approach identity verification and cybersecurity in the age of increasingly sophisticated synthetic identities.
The EU Identity Wallet: Unanswered Questions and Looming Challenges
As the EU Identity Wallet progresses to its planned roll-out in 2026, expect heated debates around its business model and liability framework. Who will shoulder the development, maintenance, and service provision costs – governments, private companies, or users themselves? Imagine a scenario where a compromised process leads to fraud on a mass scale – who will be held responsible and how will victims be compensated? These questions are critical and must be addressed. Will wallet providers find ways to charge citizens, potentially excluding groups in the population? Will businesses face hefty fees for usage, stifling innovation? And if system failures disrupt essential services, who will bear the cost? The EU must strike a delicate balance: fostering a competitive market for wallet providers while ensuring accessibility, security, and a robust legal framework to address these complex issues. The answers will determine not only the wallet’s success but its impact on the digital economy and society as a whole.
LATAM
Oversharing Parents Render Security Questions Obsolete: ‘First Pet’ No Longer a Secret
By the end of 2025, the ubiquitous practice of “sharenting” – parents excessively sharing their children’s information online – will render traditional knowledge-based authentication security questions like “What is the name of your first pet?” utterly useless. With parents readily divulging these personal details on social media, fraudsters will have a field day exploiting this readily available information to bypass security measures and compromise accounts.
While seemingly innocuous, these details can be exploited by malicious actors, jeopardizing online security. This will force a shift towards more robust authentication methods, like facial biometrics with liveness combined with other forms of multi-factor authentication, to safeguard accounts from increasingly sophisticated social engineering attacks.
Big Tech Eclipses Governments: Meta, Mercado Libre, and Globant Become Digital Identity Gatekeepers
Tech giants like Meta, Mercado Libre, and Globant will begin to wield more influence over digital identity than many governments. Their massive user bases and advanced technologies will position them as de facto identity authorities, controlling access to online services. This could enhance convenience and security but also erode government control and raise privacy concerns, highlighting the growing power of Big Tech in shaping the future of digital identity.
APAC
Governments Race to Digital ID: 2025 – The Year of the National Identity App
Driven by security threats and the demand for seamless online services, 2025 will see a global surge in government-issued digital ID programs. Countries will accelerate efforts to deploy national digital ID systems, putting secure digital identities in citizens’ hands. This shift, fueled by the limitations of physical documents and the need for stronger cybersecurity, will pave the way for a more secure and inclusive digital future.
Data Privacy Takes Center Stage: Selective Disclosure Drives Verifiable Credentials Boom
The growing demand for data privacy and user control will fuel a surge in the adoption of decentralized identities. Empowered by the ability to selectively disclose only the necessary information, individuals will embrace this technology to seamlessly and securely prove their identity or attributes without revealing their entire personal profile. This rise in the use of decentralized digital credentials will empower individuals to confidently navigate the digital world while safeguarding their privacy. It will also create new opportunities for businesses and public bodies to build trust and offer personalized services without running the risk of compromising user data.
Deepfake Fraud Wave Forces Banks’ Hand: Regulators Mandate New Biometric Payment Authentication
As deepfake technology becomes increasingly weaponized by hostile state actors and criminals in 2025, a wave of account takeovers and fraudulent transactions will force banking regulators worldwide to take decisive action. Led by pioneers like Thailand and Vietnam, countries will mandate the implementation of biometric verification for payment authentication, adding an extra layer of security to protect customers and financial institutions.
This move towards mandated biometric payment authentication will significantly enhance the security of digital transactions, making it more difficult for fraudsters to exploit stolen identities or manipulate systems. It will also accelerate the adoption of biometrics in the financial sector, paving the way for more secure and trustworthy digital banking experiences.
Dinesh Varadharajan, Chief Product Officer, Kissflow
Unlocking the Future of Low-code/No-code: Trends and Predictions
The low-code/no-code (LCNC) revolution is reshaping the way organizations approach application development. With advancements like Generate AI (GenAI) deeply integrated into LCNC platforms, the stage is set for transformative possibilities that promise to democratize technology and accelerate digital innovation.
Here are key insights and predictions shaping the LCNC domain and the broader impact it will have on industries worldwide.
The Surge in LCNC Adoption
For a long time, low-code/no-code (LCNC) platforms were considered just one option among many in an organization’s tech stack. However, they are now evolving into a primary choice for new enterprise implementations.
The adoption of LCNC platforms has significantly increased in recent years. Analysts at Gartner project that by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by organizations will utilize LCNC technologies, a substantial rise from less than 25% in 2020.
Non-technical employees are also increasingly empowered to create applications using LCNC platforms. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 80% of users of low-code development tools will be outside traditional IT departments.
Industries Embracing LCNC
LCNC platforms are rapidly becoming the go-to choice for business operations applications due to their faster time-to-value compared to traditional methods. Growth opportunities include expanding industry-specific solutions and integrating emerging technologies like Gen AI. LCNC adoption among SMEs and enterprise-wide implementations with governance frameworks are driving large-scale digital transformation.
Furthermore, LCNC platforms will be widely used across various industries, with significant adoption in IT, BFSI, Retail, and E-commerce. Many business challenges remain unsolved because they lack the ROI to justify using traditional tech stacks or off-the-shelf products. However, these challenges are still critical for businesses, which drives the need for faster and more efficient ways to deploy tailored solutions.
Regional Trends and Learnings
Citizen development is gaining strong acceptance in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia due to advanced digital literacy, supportive organizational cultures, and a focus on innovation. However, adoption in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region lags owing to the preference for traditional development methods, and a shortage of citizen developer ecosystems.
Interestingly, the LCNC market thrives globally, including in MEA, as enterprises recognize its ability to drive efficiency and bridge IT gaps. The challenge lies in educating organizations in lagging regions about the broader potential of citizen development. Learnings from more mature geographies suggest that aligning training, creating a governance framework, and demonstrating clear ROI can accelerate adoption.
LCNC + AI: Unlocking Citizen Development
LCNC+AI will finally make citizen development a reality. While LCNC platforms have reduced the learning curve and cognitive load, business users still need to undergo a significant transformational journey to solve their own problems using these platforms. However, the addition of AI eliminates this barrier by enabling intuitive, natural language-based interactions, empowering users to build solutions with minimal effort and expertise.
With the advent of GenAI, citizen development is going to explode. GenAI democratizes application development and this will empower non-technical users to build complex solutions, reducing dependency on IT teams. Industries will see faster innovation, cost efficiency, and broader adoption of digital transformation.
Emerging Trends
Natural Language-Driven Interactions: Forms and traditional interfaces are being replaced by conversational chat, enabling users to interact through natural language. IT is embedding Gen AI-powered chat interfaces to deliver seamless conversational experiences.
Multi-Modal User Interactions: Interactions are moving beyond text to include audio, video, and images, offering more intuitive options. Products are adopting voice recognition, video inputs, and computer vision to support diverse inputs.
Composable UI for Personalization: Applications are embracing modular, composable UI components to create highly personalized experiences. IT is leveraging design systems and micro frontends to dynamically assemble UIs based on user preferences and context.
Shaping 2024 and Beyond: Kissflow’s Vision
2024 marks a transformative year for the software industry because of GenAI, where longstanding challenges are being invalidated, and the product landscape is undergoing rapid evolution. Incumbent players face growing pressure to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, while new-age product companies are leveraging GenAI to disrupt the market with new way of solving problems.
Looking ahead to 2025, GenAI adoption will accelerate across all business layers, driving a shift toward intuitive, adaptive, and highly personalized solutions. Organizations will prioritize speed, agility, and value creation, compelling product companies to embrace innovation and align with these changing dynamics to thrive in this competitive era.
With GenAI, Kissflow is at a transformative point, leveraging AI as a foundational element of our platform, not just an add-on. This shift aims to redefine application development and consumption by embedding intelligence into every aspect of the product. Our efforts will center on enhancing user experience through natural language interactions, enabling adaptive and predictive solutions, and fundamentally reimagining workflows to harness the full potential of AI-driven innovation.
LCNC platforms are an incremental evolution of the traditional programming, with Gen AI advancing them into App Generation platforms. This aligns well with Kissflow’s understanding of this paradigm and we are better placed to exploit the advantages of Gen AI in this new paradigm.
Low-code/no-code platforms, bolstered by AI and GenAI, are revolutionizing the way businesses approach application development. By empowering citizen developers and accelerating innovation, these platforms are not just addressing today’s challenges but shaping the future of technology adoption across industries and regions.
