Data Trends for 2025: What Businesses Need to Know

As we move into 2025, the dynamics of data continue to evolve at a rapid pace. With businesses increasingly relying on data-driven insights to power decision-making, the need to address emerging trends and challenges in data has never been more critical. Here is a closer look at the major trends for the year and what businesses can do to stay ahead.

Reflecting on 2024: Key Shifts That Shaped the Landscape

2024 marked a pivotal shift in the data landscape and its surrounding ecosystem. Generative AI saw unprecedented integration across industries, revolutionising how organisations processed and acted on data. At the same time, cybersecurity remained a top priority, with prominent attacks such as the MOVEit breach exposing vulnerabilities in traditional systems and highlighting the urgency for Zero Trust Architecture. Moreover, the democratisation of data continued to grow, driven by tools that made analytics accessible to a broader range of users. These developments have set the stage for the key trends of 2025.

1. Generative AI Fuels the Data Insights Boom

The integration of generative AI into data analytics platforms is transforming how businesses process, interpret, and act on data. AI models are enabling companies to uncover patterns and insights that were previously impossible to detect. Now, regardless of a person's data literacy levels, greater insights are made  accessible to a broader audience than ever before - in a controlled and secure environment.

By 2025, the global generative AI market is expected to reach $110 billion, with its adoption in data analytics accounting for a significant portion of this growth, and while generative AI unlocks unparalleled potential, businesses must address the security risks associated with AI-generated outputs, such as data manipulation and intellectual property breaches.

With AI features on the roadmap of most, if not all, businesses, the security risks that come with it are still relatively unknown. While employees might use LLM’s to aid insight, the risks that come with the uncontrolled sharing of company IP are vast and unregulated. The advancement of inbuilt AI tools, such as Configur’s soon-to-launch Abi functionality, negates this risk altogether. Insight can be gained within the safe confines of a pre-approved platform using AI's mighty power.

2. Data Security Takes Center Stage

With any data usage comes the growing risk of breaches. High-profile data breaches, such as the MOVEit attack that exposed sensitive information from multiple organisations in 2023, have emphasised the need for robust security protocols, this is compounded when it is predicted that global cybercrime costs will hit $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

For businesses, ISO certifications (such as ISO 27001 for information security management) are quickly becoming the minimum benchmark. These accreditations demonstrate a commitment to rigorous data protection measures, including risk management and secure data handling processes.

By aligning with best practices and building security into the foundation of their operations, businesses can maintain trust with stakeholders and safeguard their competitive advantage in an increasingly risky digital environment.

3. Democratisation of Data Access

The push to democratise data within organisations is driving the development of tools that make data accessible to non-technical users. AI-powered conversational interfaces, such as Configur’s soon-to-launch Abi, enable users to interact with data in plain language, empowering teams across all functions.

A survey by Accenture reveals that 73% of employees say better access to data insights would help them perform their jobs more effectively. Additionally, organisations that have embraced data-driven cultures report substantial benefits. For instance, companies that effectively leverage data and technology, while centering their strategies around people, achieve a productivity premium of 11%, driving profitability and revenue growth.

Furthermore, Accenture research claims that businesses that utilise data analytics at scale are more than ten times as likely to generate actionable insights and inform decision-making compared to their peers. This capability enables them to anticipate changes and challenges more effectively, leading to improved operational efficiency and innovation.

To foster a culture of data-driven decision-making with confidence, and cross-team collaboration, organisations can invest in user-friendly data platforms that bridge the gap between technical and non-technical teams. The benefits of this approach are multi-faceted. Not only are you giving a more intuitive tool to the workforce to improve their data literacy levels, but those who have been previously overly relied upon for insight are freed to do what they have been hired to actually do.

4. Regulation-Driven Data Practices

Global regulations around data privacy and security are becoming increasingly stringent. From GDPR in Europe to the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in the U.S., businesses must adapt to a complex regulatory landscape. Statista anticipated that by 2024, the share of the global population covered under modern privacy regulations would reach 75%, showing that this is becoming even more important. As a result, AI’s role in compliance is expanding. Automated compliance tools are helping organisations stay ahead of changing laws while minimising manual oversight.

5. Real-Time Analytics to Enable Agility

Real-time analytics capabilities are shifting from being a competitive advantage to a business necessity. Organisations are prioritising investments in technology that provides instant insights to make timely, data-driven decisions. A study by Forrester states that businesses using real-time analytics see a 30% improvement in decision-making speed compared to their peers. What this suggests is that a key consideration will be that real-time data pipelines must be secured to prevent vulnerabilities in high-speed data environments.

The ability to do all of this in a singular platform holds greater significance to make this as efficient as possible and ensure the highest security measures are still met. Configur’s unifying solution offers 360-degree insight into an organisation without having to toggle between systems means that the analytics are as accurate as possible by considering all aspects of the business.

6. Ethical AI and Data Use

As AI adoption accelerates, businesses face growing pressure to address ethical concerns around data usage. Transparency in how AI models process data and ensure fairness will be critical in building trust with stakeholders. PwC's 2024 US Responsible AI Survey highlights that 46% of organisations cite competitive differentiation as a top objective for investing in responsible AI practices and according to EY's CEO Outlook Pulse survey, 67% of CEOs believe that the business community needs to focus on the ethical implications of AI, and 88% are integrating AI into their capital allocation, recognising its potential to drive productivity and future competitive advantage.

Conclusion: Preparing for the Future

Big data and data security trends for 2025 reflect a landscape marked by immense opportunities and significant challenges. Businesses prioritising real-time insights, data democratisation, and robust security practices will be better positioned to thrive in the evolving digital economy. By adopting solutions like Configur's, which empower teams with AI-driven insights while ensuring enterprise-level security, organisations can address today’s data challenges and future-proof their operations against what’s to come.

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Sources

Markets andMarkets: The global Generative AI market is projected to grow from USD 20.9 billion in 2024 to USD 136.7 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 36.7%.https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/generative-ai.asp

Cybersecurity Ventures: Prediction that global cybercrime costs will grow by 15% per year, reaching $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.
Cybercrime Magazine

Accenture: A survey revealing that 73% of global companies are prioritizing AI over all other digital investments to enhance operational resilience.
Newsroom | Accenture

Accenture Research: Findings indicating that future-ready organizations are more than ten times as likely as other organizations to use analytics at scale to generate actionable insights and inform decision-making.
Newsroom | Accenture

Statista: Anticipation that by 2024, 75% of the global population will be covered under modern privacy regulations.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1175672/population-personal-data-regulations-worldwide/

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