2025 Predictions As AI assistants become smarter, they will significantly impact


personal lives. Tey will evolve beyond task automation to perform more complex work and offer emotionally intelligent guidance. “Tese AI agents will become our first stop in starting new endeavours or brainstorming ideas,” she says. Rob Shaw of Fluent Commerce predicts that the focus on AI will


continue, particularly in retail, where AI delivers personalised and engaging customer experiences. However, many brands are still in the early stages, with AI projects limited to small-scale pilots or proofs of concept rather than large-scale revenue-generating solutions. “Te enthusiasm is there, but it’s clear that AI hasn’t fully scaled up to drive major revenue just yet,” Shaw says. Shaw is concerned about AI’s impact on the workforce, as it will


evolve jobs and drive adaptation. He emphasises the importance of not leaning too heavily on automation, as there is crucial creativity and human touch in content creation and customer service that AI cannot easily replicate. “It’s important that businesses don’t lean too heavily on automation,” Shaw says. Finally, Shaw underscores the need for stronger AI governance,


whether industry-wide or internal within organisations. “It’s important to define clear policies around what’s acceptable in terms of AI usage,” he states, to address concerns around its impact on departments and job roles.


A brief look at security Neil Langridge of e92plus anticipates that hackers will increasingly use legitimate infrastructure services for malware campaigns, leveraging platforms like Blogspot and Azure and employing tactics such as SEO and Google Ads poisoning to hide within regular business processes. He says there is an ongoing trend towards platform consolidation, which aids in risk quantification and mitigation across apps, devices, and clouds. “Trend Micro has highlighted attack surface risk management (ASRM) as a strong partner opportunity,” Langridge says. For SMBs, the threat landscape is particularly concerning due to the


lower cost of malware generation and deployment, oſten assisted by AI. “Mobile-specific threats are especially alarming,” Langridge warns, pointing out that small business staff usually lack training and support for common threats, especially when using personal devices for work. He concludes that cybersecurity growth is expected to continue above the IT market average, and partners must be prepared to support their customers and embed security within their go-to-market offering. Camellia Chan, CEO and co-founder of Flexxon, underscores


the necessity of new security standards in 2025. Traditional soſtware security methods, such as firewalls and VPNs, are insufficient against Zero Day attackers and human error. She warns of the dangers of relying exclusively on soſtware-based cybersecurity solutions, as illustrated by the CrowdStrike outage. “With a hardware layer in addition to soſtware, businesses can be confident that even if the soſtware layer malfunctions, their underlying security will remain operational,” Chan explains. Chan also addresses the double-edged sword of AI in cybersecurity.


“AI lowers the entry barriers for cybercriminals, enabling them to craſt more convincing phishing attacks, automate malware creation, and evolve their tactics at an accelerated pace,” she says. However, AI also plays a critical role in defending against cyberattacks. AI tools that secure the entire lifecycle of an attack, from incident detection to


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response and recovery, will be essential in 2025 and beyond. Steve Brodie, chief revenue officer at


Goldilock, believes that as geopolitical tensions escalate and security threats become more sophisticated, reliance on third- party vendors will grow. Te emergence of innovations like agentic AI, which can act independently without human oversight, may lead to autonomous cyberattacks, putting more organisations at risk and pushing them to reassess their security posture. “Channel partners will find themselves at the forefront of the cybersecurity battle,” Brodie says. Brodie believes that channel leaders need to start thinking


Steven Brodie of Goldilock


holistically about the security strategies they build for their customers. Tis may include offering layer-1 solutions like physical network segmentation, which helps contain or prevent cyberattacks by segmenting and disconnecting digital assets. He anticipates that more channel organisations will invest in training and certifications, developing specialised security practices to understand emerging threats better and advise their customers. By cutting through the noise and being transparent, partners can build longer-term customer relationships and empower them to navigate the complex cybersecurity landscape. “Tis will help protect their valuable assets in the year ahead,” Brodie concludes. Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, asserts


that zero trust will remain crucial for identity protection in 2025, evolving beyond the basic “never trust, always verify” principle. “Attackers’ growing sophistication demands deeper integration,” Guccione recommends Advanced Privileged Access Management (PAM) to restrict and monitor high-privilege account activities in real time to prevent unauthorised access. Guccione also underscores the critical need to strengthen


cybersecurity in education systems, which will remain a top target for cybercriminals in 2025 due to the wealth of sensitive personal and financial data they hold. “According to figures from Gov.uk, 52% of primary and 71% of secondary schools identified a breach or attack in the past year,” he states. Higher education institutions face additional risks from integrating complex research data, intellectual property, and open network environments. To address these risks, the education sector must integrate cybersecurity fundamentals into curricula, empowering students, teachers, and parents to recognise and combat digital threats. “Tis shiſt reflects the acknowledgement that cyber hygiene must be taught as early as possible and reinforced throughout a student’s academic journey,” Guccione explains. Darren James, senior product manager at Specops Soſtware, an


Outpost24 company, warns that AI will continue to be both a blessing and a curse in the coming year. “LLMs are being developed by threat actors that don’t have the safeguards seen in commercial AI platforms,” James says. Tese threat actors use AI to craſt more sophisticated social engineering attacks, improving the language and personalised data used in phishing, smishing, or vishing attacks. He stresses that organisations must implement stronger verification methods, moving towards zero trust architecture and phishing-resistant MFA for all users, not just admins. “Tis includes the login prompt of your devices and contact points such as the service desk,” James concludes.


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