Off the back of the many innovations showcased at CES 2025, the tech industry looks set to gear up for another transformative year, with Alex Coates, the newly appointed CEO of Interactive, bringing a fresh perspective on the trends that will shape the future. Taking the reins from January 2025, Alex is not only focused on navigating the company’s growth but also on addressing the broader challenges and opportunities within the tech sector. In a recent conversation, Alex shared her insights on what businesses and tech leaders can expect in 2025, along with the priorities she’s set for Interactive. Here are Alex’s top five tech predictions for 2025.
1. Translating AI into Tangibly Valuable Solutions
One of the most significant challenges facing the enterprise tech sector is translating the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) into something that delivers concrete, real-world value for businesses. As Alex points out, AI’s potential remains largely underutilized, and the sector still faces a reputational battle to show the public how transformative it can be.
“Although entering a new year is always exciting, I’m very conscious of our customers’ pain points, and our role at Interactive to alleviate them. Broadly, enterprise still has a reputational battle to fight for the public to realise, and feel empowered, by the importance of our sector, including translating AI’s function into something tangibly valuable,” Alex explains.
This effort will require not just innovation but also overcoming the hurdles of legacy systems and technical debt, all while balancing cost optimization with the need for growth and modernization. However, Alex remains optimistic that 2025 will be a year of progress.
“On a similar note, we are still working towards increasing digital skills to keep pace with change, and we are beginning on a backfoot. This has its complexities – legacy systems and technical debt still a shadow on our potential, and customers wanting to balance cost optimisation while driving growth and modernisation – but I know 2025 will be an exciting year for making steps to overcome these pain points.”
2. Keeping technology and business priorities in sync
As technology continues to play an increasingly pivotal role across industries, aligning tech strategies with business goals will be more crucial than ever. According to Alex, businesses that can synchronize these two areas will be better positioned to succeed in 2025 and beyond.
“Business leaders can stay ahead in 2025 by harnessing technology as the engine that will power businesses into the future. It is the best ticket for businesses to fundamentally transform their adaptability, collaboration and authenticity,” she says.
She also encourages business leaders to focus on the evolving workplace, noting that technology’s role extends far beyond just managing remote work. Companies must adopt forward-thinking approaches, especially when it comes to areas like ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), cybersecurity, and AI.
“Organisations can’t avoid conversations around ESG, cyber security, and AI. These are no longer mere tick boxes; these are categories your business can lean into in order to get to the next level. You don’t want to be seen as falling behind in sustainability commitments, protecting private data – particularly as we begin to adjust to the newly-passed Cyber Security Bill – and finding efficiencies.”
3. Customer-centric leadership
As we enter 2025, building customer-centric leadership will be a key driver of success for organizations. Alex emphasizes that companies must go beyond just offering products or services—they need to position themselves as strategic partners that can guide customers into the future.
“Building customer-centric leadership will be essential for organisations entering 2025 for a few reasons. Firstly, customers are looking for a strategic partner to guide customers’ future. Providers with their customers front of mind will be the ones that show up and fulfill their needs, encouraging them to engage time and time again,” Alex states.
She also points out that customer-centric leadership is equally important for internal team dynamics. When businesses prioritize their customers, they empower employees to contribute beyond infrastructure management, leading to greater employee loyalty and more impactful results.
“Customer-centric leadership is also important to the industry: empowering our teams by taking their roles beyond managing infrastructure to delivering impact. This has a fundamental impact to people’s sense of belonging and loyalty to the company, which can transform our industry from the inside out.”
4. Closing the digital skills gap
The ongoing digital skills shortage continues to be a significant challenge for the tech industry. Alex highlights Interactive’s commitment to addressing this gap, especially by engaging with the next generation of talent.
“At Interactive, we’re conscious of the digital skills shortage and are working towards changing that. One way we do that is engaging at the grassroots level; working in schools to increase the awareness and attraction of jobs in the tech industry and help educators prep students for what’s out there,” she shares. Additionally, the company is actively working with First Nations organizations to increase Indigenous participation in the tech sector and unlock untapped potential.
5. Finding a higher purpose to contribute to the economy
Looking beyond 2025, Alex believes that tech leaders must have a higher purpose that extends beyond profitability. For Interactive, that means continuing to contribute to the Australian economy and ensuring the workforce is equipped with the necessary skills for the future.
“Looking beyond 2025, it’s important to truly usher in our CIOs and tech leaders to catalyse our nation’s success. That means today’s tech leaders are the visionaries. To ensure that Interactive is not only meeting the needs of our customers now but also our customers future we need to ensure we have relevant, contemporary and evolving solutions and services which meet our customers ever-changing needs.”
As Alex puts it, “We are an Australian born and bred company, 36 years old, and we know how to, and intend to, embrace change. This period of change in our industry has never been more profound and we want to help our customers through it.”