Data security, observability and governance to rule the next stage of the AI transition: Softcat

Here’s what we learned from the reseller’s latest Business Tech report

Softcat’s latest Business Tech Report lands at a familiar crossroads for UK IT leaders: everyone wants AI-fuelled innovation, nobody wants chaos.

Based on 6,089 responses across 3,992 organisations, the picture is clear. Data, AI, cost control and security are colliding, and customers are asking partners to make it all feel manageable rather than manic.

Here are five takeaways that matter for the channel.

Data security is now the price of entry for AI

Cyber remains the non-negotiable. Data security sits at the top of the tech agenda, with 47 per cent of customers naming it as their primary focus, narrowly ahead of AI at 46 per cent.

Softcat is blunt about the order of operations.

“Data security is not just a technical concern, it’s a strategic enabler,” says cyber tower sales lead Ryan Birch, who argues that good AI “depends on good data”.

Without clear classification and governance, sensitive information is “exposed or mismanaged”, and regulators from GDPR to PCI DSS and DORA are never far from the conversation.

Cloud is no get out clause either.

“Cloud computing remains a platform for innovation, flexibility, and growth – but only with the right security approach,” warns head of networking and cyber, Trevor Highley.

A consistent model across on prem and cloud, backed by strong incident detection, is now baseline rather than best practice.

Agentic AI is coming fast, but GRC will make or break it

The report is very clear that the AI story in 2025 is about maturity, not novelty. “Agentic AI represents the biggest shift in cybersecurity over the next 12 months,” said chief technologist for cyber security, Kieron Newsham, pointing to new challenges around identity, authentication and authorisation as AI agents act across multiple platforms on a customer’s behalf.

Softcat’s own survey shows 46 per cent of customers now rank AI as a top priority, but leaders are worrying less about use cases and more about control.

“In an environment where the pace of change is only accelerating, it’s clear that Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) will make or break the next wave of AI deployments,” said data, automation and AI chief technologist, Andrew Hermsen.

The answer, in Softcat’s view, is people first.

“The organisations that succeed with AI are those that start with people,” Hermsen argued, coining the phrase “relentless enablement” and stressing that “we’re not at the point of human replacement – and likely won’t be for some time”.

Hybrid platforms and observability are becoming the real backbone

Across ransomware, AI and core infrastructure, the report doubles down on hybrid reality rather than cloud utopia.

“The integration of business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) with cyber resilience is a bare essential in the fight against ransomware,” said cloud and datacentre chief technologist, Gary Hawkins.

Unifying these disciplines means “you can reduce downtime, prevent costly errors, and streamline compliance, so your backups remain secure, verified, and instantly accessible”.

Hybrid IT is framed as a competitive weapon, not just a compromise. To be successful, Hawkins says, “you need a technical and organisational strategy purpose-built for hybrid environments”, supported by GRC tooling and what Softcat calls “unified control (observability) via hybrid operations platforms”.

Networking and visibility are part of that same spine. “

As our IT ecosystem becomes more integrated and complex, observability is key to ensuring that our core systems perform as expected and that our security is maintained,” said networking and connectivity sales manager, Ebow Barnes.

Productivity beats pure tech spend as the new differentiator

Cost control still dominates both technical and leadership priorities, but only as a means to a bigger end. “The differentiation enterprise organisations are striving for comes from internal talent having the time to do what competitors are not,” said enterprise sales director, Tim Jeans.

That shift is visible everywhere.

Over half of technical respondents and 63 per cent of CIOs name cost control as their top concern, yet many are focused on “maximising the impact of current technology” rather than endless refresh cycles.

Workspace chief technologist Jack Lewis noted that 53 per cent of customers want to do exactly that.

The operating model is changing too.

“The future of IT isn’t about managing services in silos – it’s about orchestrating them intelligently,” said solutions consultant Des King, pointing to the convergence of ITSM, ITAM, FinOps and SaaS optimisation.

On the buying side, procurement teams still rank price competitiveness at 83 per cent, but “customer service excellence” and “quality of advice and expertise” are now close behind.

“While AI can suggest the right product, only a trusted advisor can understand the bigger picture,” concludes sales operations director Mark Brazington.

Sustainability and social value are no longer nice to have. A Softcat follow up survey shows that “75 per cent of organisations that responded either already have an IT sustainability strategy or are working on one”.

Sustainability lead John Gladstone was clear that upstream thinking is required. “Sustainable procurement isn’t just good practice, it’s good business,” he wrote, arguing that customers should “turn off the tap” rather than just mop up the impact of constant new kit.

On operations, GreenOps is pitched as a practical framework where “optimising workloads, improving energy efficiency, and extending hardware lifecycles can all directly lower carbon emissions and e-waste”.

In the public sector, social value is being hard coded into procurement. “The Procurement Act 2023 now requires organisations to ‘have regard to the importance of maximising public benefit’ when awarding contracts,” noted head of commercial operations, Helen Molloy.

That is already changing buyer expectations of the channel, and Softcat’s conclusion is that customers want partners who can prove impact, not just promise it.

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