Full scale cloud adoption by Irish businesses needs to quicken to enable AI implementation and new growth – PwC survey

Cloud has become the foundation of digital business – powering transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), innovation and growth across industries. According to PwC’s Cloud Business Survey, based on responses from 1,400 business and technology leaders across 26 EMEA territories, including Ireland, the cloud landscape is evolving rapidly.  Organisations are striving towards full cloud adoption as they fine-tune capabilities while navigating new complexity from regulation, cost pressures and geopolitical change.  The new PwC survey explores how Irish organisations are adopting cloud to strengthen compliance, manage costs and unlock new growth.  Successful cloud transformation is of strategic importance to help deliver growth.

Cloud transformation gains momentum but full-scale cloud adoption in Ireland is limited

The survey highlights that every organisation surveyed is now using cloud in some capacity, however, full scale cloud adoption in Ireland is limited and behind EMEA counterparts.  Just 13% of Irish respondents reported to have fully scaled cloud right across their organisation, far behind EMEA counterparts (25%).  A further 72% have adopted cloud in many parts of their organisations (EMEA: 55%).  

Given geopolitical tensions and increasing regulation, organisations must weigh where their data resides, how it is protected and whether their infrastructure can withstand disruption. 88% of Irish organisations are refining their cloud strategy in response to geopolitical tensions and regulatory change (EMEA: 82%).  Multi-cloud will become the norm: 92% of EMEA respondents have adopted or are planning to adopt a multi-cloud strategy operating across multiple cloud providers to enhance flexibility, cost optimisation and leverage the best capabilities of each platform.  

Compliance and security dominate transformation priorities. Three-quarters (75%) of Irish organisations have already implemented cloud-based initiatives to ensure regulatory compliance measures in many parts of the organisation (EMEA: 49%). 69% have used cloud-based initiatives to strengthen cybersecurity and risk mitigation protocols across many parts of their organisation (EMEA; 52%). Security in the cloud is critical particularly as Ireland becomes an increasingly high value intelligence target. 

Over half (53%) of Irish respondents said that the key priority from their investment in cloud technology is cost savings (EMEA: 32%), followed by enabling AI implementation to improve decision making (Ireland: 38%; EMEA: 40%) and improve cyber posture (Ireland: 38%; EMEA: 32%).  

Despite progress, barriers to transformation remain

Despite progress, barriers remain to organisations achieving value from their cloud strategy. The survey points to skills shortages, integration complexity and security concerns slowing transformation.  There is a need for stronger governance, talent and execution.   Only 5% of Irish respondents reported no internal or external barriers to achieving benefits from their cloud strategy, similar to EMEA peers (5%).  72% cited data privacy and security as a key concern (EMEA: 50%) followed by regulatory compliance constraints (Ireland: 50%; EMEA: 42%) and complexity of integration (Ireland: 44%; EMEA: 35%). 

Agentic AI: the next frontier of cloud intelligence but Ireland behind EMEA peers on agentic AI adoption

AI is reshaping cloud strategy. Cloud is the enabler for agentic AI, having the compute, data and scale required for enterprise-wide intelligence.  Many organisations are moving data to the cloud not just for scalability but to enable generative AI and machine learning.  Nine out of ten (90%) Irish respondents reported that their organisation has increased cloud usage to meet AI and machine learning infrastructural requirements (EMEA: 90%).

Over eight out of ten (84%) Irish organisations say agentic AI capabilities are critical for cloud provider selection (EMEA 86%) – yet only 22% reported to be scaling Agentic AI right across their organisation  (EMEA: 29%).  At the same time, just 9% of Irish respondents said that they have already implemented cloud-based AI and machine learning tools in many parts of their organisation, significantly behind EMEA counterparts (31%).  

But the commitment to investment in the cloud as an AI enabler is clear:   56% of Irish respondents reported to be prioritising cloud investment in AI and machine learning over the next 12 months (EMEA: 43%).  

David Lee, Chief Technology Officer, PwC Ireland, said: “AI needs the cloud to make it work effectively.  At the same time, agentic AI is no longer theoretical – it’s being embedded into cloud platforms that power national digital economies. Our clients are experimenting with AI agents to fine-tune operations, re-design workflows, personalise customer experiences and ultimately completely redefine business models to deliver new growth.  

“But AI and agentic AI relies on scalable, secure cloud environments to access data, integrate workflows and ultimately deliver growth. Progress depends on full scale cloud adoption, overcoming integration complexity and regulatory uncertainty.  The survey shows that the pace of cloud and AI adoption in Ireland needs to quicken.  Successful AI implementation can only happen in a cloud environment.  Organisations that align AI adoption with robust cloud strategies and governance frameworks will be best positioned for growth while managing risk.” 

Managing the cost of cloud innovation –  Financial Operations practices are low

Financial Operations (FinOps) is a process that allows organisations to manage cloud costs, optimising the space occupied in the cloud, while supporting innovation and effectively aligning cloud spending with business priorities.  It is an imperative for businesses to have FinOps when operating in the cloud in order to control costs.

While 88% of Irish respondents reported to be planning to increase cloud investment in the coming year (EMEA: 86%), costs are a growing concern.  The uptake of FinOps to achieve cost control in Ireland is low and is trailing EMEA peers: Just 28% of Irish respondents said that they have already established FinOps practices to improve cloud cost governance in many parts of their organisation (EMEA: 28%).  Just 19% of Irish companies have broadly adopted FinOps practices with consistent cost optimisation and governance across multiple cloud providers, lagging EMEA counterparts who have fully integrated and broadly adopted FinOps (43%). 

The survey highlights four imperatives for business leaders as they enter this new age of cloud:

1. Ensure cloud spending translates into business results
2. Move beyond experimentation with AI
3. Strengthen cybersecurity and compliance in the cloud
4. Get control of cloud costs, especially for AI  

Marc Hanlon, Director of Cloud Transformation Services, PwC Ireland, concluded: “The cloud was built for change and enable businesses digitise – enabling organisations to implement AI, innovate, adapt and grow in a disruptive environment.  As Irish businesses face geopolitical uncertainty, unabating cyber threats and regulatory complexity in a high cost environment, the success of cloud depends on aligning technology with governance and innovation to unlock growth. 

“The costs of operating in the cloud are front of mind.   This is where FinOps comes in. Companies are adopting FinOps because it delivers both cost efficiency and business agility, but the pace of FinOps adoption needs to quicken, especially in Ireland.  Effective FinOps practices deliver transparency and control, enabling business leaders to optimise costs, strengthen compliance, and make faster, data-driven decisions even in volatile conditions.  As AI and multi-cloud strategies expand, embedding advanced FinOps becomes essential for sustaining financial control and driving business growth.”

“The next phase of cloud will be defined not by migration, but by mastery – where AI and technology, finance and governance converge to deliver sustained business advantage with FinOps an integral part.” 

Ends

Notes to editors

Financial Operations (FinOps) is a practice and cultural approach that combines financial management, operational efficiency, and cloud computing. It focuses on optimising cloud spending and improving the collaboration between finance, operations, and engineering teams to ensure organisations get the best value from their cloud investments.  FinOps is the governance framework linking financial accountability to cloud operations. Companies that embed FinOps are better positioned to align spend with strategic outcomes and sustain innovation over time.

About the survey

The PwC Cloud Business Survey gathered insights from 1,415 business and technology leaders across 26 territories in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, including Ireland. The survey explores how Irish organisations are adopting cloud to gain growth, strengthen compliance, manage costs and unlock new value.  It explores how organisations are responding to geopolitical, regulatory and technological shifts while building trusted and intelligent cloud strategies. The goal is to understand how organisations are evolving cloud strategies to address AI adoption, cost governance while growing their businesses in a rapidly changing environment.