Enrico Benedetti

The IT Sector in Italy: 2025 Highlights & What’s Coming in 2026

THE ICT MARKET IN ITALY 2025: +4.5% GROWTH WITH PERSISTENT DISPARITIES

Italy’s digital economy is growing 10 times faster than its GDP, but it’s not growing evenly.

Behind headlines of billions invested in cloud, cybersecurity and AI, there’s a country that is rapidly splitting in two: on one side, large enterprises racing ahead with automation and advanced analytics; on the other, a vast universe of SMEs still stuck between Excel sheets and legacy software.

📈 2025 Highlights: Key Growth Drivers in 2025

The Italian IT sector in 2025 confirms sustained growth, with companies continuing to invest in digitalization despite global uncertainties. However, significant gaps remain between large enterprises and SMEs, particularly in AI adoption.

According to Assintel and Gartner, the Information Technology segment in Italy led with 9.2% growth, driven by cloud computing, cybersecurity, and hybrid work solutions.

• Cloud and IaaS (+16-20%): multi-cloud, sovereign cloud, AI-ready workloads - accelerated migration to cloud-native architectures, with focus on multi-cloud and hybrid solutions

• Cybersecurity (+7.2%): increased attacks and new EU regulations (NIS2) drove significant security investments

• SaaS platforms (+9%): continued growth in cloud-based ERP, CRM, and collaboration tools

• IT Services (+8.1%): consulting, integration, managed services, - steady growth

• Hardware (-2.3%): decline continues as companies shift to as-a-service models

• AI (+35%):  still the fastest-growing digital segment.

🤖 2026 Expectations: AI Take Center Stage

In 2025, the broad Digital Economy in Italy is moving toward €84–85B (+3.8%) while the specific ICT Business market reached ~ €70.1 billion, recording 5.2% growth compared to 2024, exceeding initial forecasts.

In 2026, the broad Digital Economy in Italy is expected to reach approximately €88–90 billion (assuming a moderate growth rate of +4-6%), while the ICT Italian Market is projected to grow to around €73–75 billion, reflecting a similarly positive trend as in 2025 (+5-6%).

Concerning AI, IDC's “Worldwide AI and Generative AI Spending Guide” forecasts global AI spending will reach $632 billion by 2028 and forecasts for 2026 indicate further global acceleration for AI with ~ 25-30% growth.

In Italy, 37% of Italian companies plan significant AI and Machine Learning investments in 2026, up dramatically from just 7% in 2023 and 8.2% of 2025.

Key drivers for 2025 include generative AI at scale adoption, intelligent automation combining RPA with AI, edge computing and IoT integration, digital sustainability initiatives, and new European regulations (AI Act, Data Act).

⚠️ Two Critical Challenges Holding Back Italian Growth

THE WIDENING DIGITAL DIVIDE

Large enterprises (>500 employees) account for over 53% of total IT business spending in Italy, while 91% of large enterprises increased IT investments in 2025, the SME landscape tells a different story.

Only 42.3% of medium-sized companies invested significantly in IT, dropping to 23.1% for small businesses and just 11.2% for micro-enterprises.

More concerning: 180,000 Italian companies (3,6%%) remain in "digital poverty," lacking adequate management systems and relying on spreadsheets or obsolete software.

Main barriers: low awareness of benefits (38.7%), lack of internal skills (35.2%), perception of high costs (29.8%), and organizational resistance (24.5%).

This creates a two-speed market where large companies leverage AI and advanced analytics while SMEs – 99.9% of Italian businesses – risk falling further behind.

LAGGING AI ADOPTION

Despite global AI hype, for ISTAT only 8.2% of Italian companies have implemented AI solutions by end of 2024. This places Italy significantly behind Germany (28%), UK (31%), and France (23%).

Italy will contribute only 0.8% to global AI spending this year ($632 billion total), well below its ~2% share of global GDP.

Current AI applications focus mainly on customer service automation (38%), predictive analysis (27%), and fraud detection (19%). High-impact areas like supply chain optimization and predictive maintenance remain underutilized.

Key obstacles: lack of structured data (41%), shortage of AI specialists (38%), compliance concerns (32%), and unclear ROI (28%).

✨ Conclusion

The Italian IT sector closes 2025 with strong results and faces a potentially transformative 2026, especially in AI. However, success depends on bridging the gap between digitally mature large enterprises and lagging SMEs.

For IT sector operators in Italy, 2026 presents significant opportunities: double-digit market growth, surging demand for AI, automation and cloud solutions, and a large pool of SMEs yet to digitalize. Success will require combining technological excellence with consultative approaches to convey the real value of the newest IT solutions while choosing flexible delivery models that can suit the needs of the diversified Italian scene made of Large, Small and Micro enterprises.

We specialize in integrating AI and automations into existing business systems, helping Italian companies close the competitive gap. We start with prior assesment, concrete use cases and measurable ROI, then scale progressively.

📩 Reach out to us at info@itvaluepartner.eu or call +39 02 3826 5204 to discover how our approach fits your needs best.

by Enrico Benedetti

How to Evolve Legacy Systems Without “Breaking Everything”

HOW TO EVOLVE LEGACY SYSTEMS WITHOUT "BREAKING EVERYTHING".

In today’s fast-changing market, businesses need modern technologies to stay flexible, efficient, and focused on customers. Legacy systems, while once reliable, now slow down growth, create inefficiencies, and increase risks. Upgrading to modern platforms helps companies stay competitive, innovate faster, and quickly adapt to new market and customer demands.

Legacy systems have supported businesses for years, but they’ve become roadblocks. Modernizing may seem challenging, costly, or risky, but standing still is even riskier.

AI and new technologies require fast data processing, scalability, and real-time connections—things old systems can’t deliver. Moving forward unlocks AI automation, smart analytics, and better decision-making for the future.

So how do businesses modernize without disrupting everything that already works?

That’s the challenge - and the opportunity!

🔍 Why Moving Away from Legacy Is So Hard

LEGACY SYSTEMS ARE OFTEN:

• Stable and time-tested

• Deeply integrated into core business processes

• Aligned with complex regulatory frameworks

• Home to critical, customized data structures

BUT THEY'RE ALSO:

• Expensive to maintain

• Rigid and monolithic

• Inflexible to new demands

• At risk of technological obsolescence

• Outsiders to the huge opportunities offered by automation and AI

Here’s the paradox: You can’t innovate by ignoring the past, but you can’t build your future on outdated foundations either.

🛠️ Modernization Without Disruption: The "Incremental Approach"

Modernizing legacy systems is no longer an option—it is a necessity. Legacy infrastructures, while critical in the past, now create operational bottlenecks, limit scalability, and introduce security vulnerabilities. However, replacing them all at once can be risky, costly, and disruptive. A phased modernization approach offers a safer path forward, allowing businesses to gradually build modern architectural components that seamlessly support critical services. This approach not only ensures continuity but also lays the foundation for a resilient, scalable, and secure architecture that meets the demands of today’s digital landscape.

By progressively integrating new technologies and decoupling monolithic structures, organizations can transform at a manageable pace, achieving immediate benefits while preparing for long-term innovation. This strategy minimizes risks, controls costs, and enables the alignment of modernization efforts with business priorities.

The answer isn’t a full-blown revolution: it’s guided evolution.

Here are 4 KEY PRINCIPLES FOR SAFE, SUSTAINABLE MODERNIZATION:

1. Modular and Microservices Architecture
Breaking the monolithic system into modular microservices allows businesses to upgrade or replace individual components independently. This incremental approach reduces disruption and accelerates innovation by isolating services that can evolve at their own pace.

2. API-First and Interoperability
An API-first strategy creates a unified communication layer between legacy and modern systems. This ensures that existing data and functionalities remain accessible while enabling the smooth introduction of new digital services without disrupting operations.

3. Innovative Libraries and Frameworks
Leveraging cutting-edge libraries and frameworks speeds up development, improves performance, and supports modern application standards. This ensures that new services are built on future-ready foundations, maximizing flexibility and maintainability.

4. Hybrid Cloud and Containerization
Gradually moving workloads to public or private clouds, combined with containerization, ensures high scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency. This approach preserves data governance while providing the agility needed to adapt to evolving business demands.

⚡ Beware: What Can Go Wrong

Even the smartest transformation has its risks.

Here are 3 COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID:

• Underestimating the complexity of system dependencies between legacy and new components

• Failing to involve users in redesigning business workflows

• Believing technology alone is enough, without investing in governance, training, and change management

Modernization must be both technical and cultural. Vision is essential but so is pragmatism. That’s why it’s critical to lean on the right professionals, partners that have already done it many time before, and therefore able to understand both your legacy landscape and your future goals.

💬 Final Thought: Sustainable Change Is Achievable

Yes, it’s possible to evolve without breaking everything.

In IT Value Partner we apply our proved 3D Transformational Approach—Discover, Design, Deliver— to evolve legacy systems into future-ready architectures. First, during Discover, we assess existing processes, user needs, and business goals to understand current capabilities. Next, in Design, we co-create solutions using design thinking and agile frameworks, aligning IT with user-centered service challenges. Finally, in Deliver, we iteratively develop, validate, and deploy interfaces and workflows that modernize infrastructure and enhance digital experience—all while ensuring continuity, reducing risk, and maximizing value from legacy investments.

With a modular strategy, modern tools, a clear vision and, most importantly, an experienced partner to make it all work. Taking the right steps, legacy systems can become enablers, not obstacle, of intelligent digital transformation.

The companies that succeed are those that balance innovation with respect for existing systems, achieving growth through continuity, security, and adaptability.

📞 Want to Talk About It?

At IT Value Partner, modernizing legacy systems is our passion! We combine modular architecture based on the best emerging technologies with robust governance accrued in countless successful projects.

📩 Reach out to us at info@itvaluepartner.eu to explore the future of your digital infrastructure.

by Enrico Benedetti

AI in Finance: The Virtual Agents' Revolution

AI IN FINANCE: THE VIRTUAL AGENTS REVOLUTION. In a time of regulatory pressure, rising operational costs, and increasing client expectations, the finance industry is undergoing a profound shift. What used to be a cautious curiosity around AI has now become a strategic imperative. This was especially evident during IT VALUE PARTNER participation in VivaTech Paris 2025.

Artificial intelligence is now at the core of a major digital transformation trend, enabling financial institutions to navigate complexity, enhance resilience, and improve efficiency. This is not just about huge, historical investment banks or Silicon Valley's ubiquitous fintechs. Even mid-sized players like SIMs and SGRs, as well as young, fast-growing fintech firms, are starting to see digital transformation technologies - particularly AI - as critical to staying relevant.

🧭 How AI in Finance Can Make A Real Difference

The financial industry has always been data-driven and receptive to innovation. But in recent years, the volume and complexity of data have exploded far beyond the capacity of traditional systems and teams. At the same time, financial firms face three converging pressures:

• Regulatory complexity (DORA, ESG, MiFID, AML)

• Operational cost containment

• Clients' demand for hyper-personalization

In this context, AI in finance becomes a key enabler, helping firms shift from reactive to proactive, from manual to intelligent, and from fragmented to integrated.

🧠 Virtual Agents: Streamlining Banking Operations and Client Interaction

In the context of digital workplace transformation, virtual agents powered by AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are becoming essential tools in modern banking environments. These intelligent systems go far beyond basic chatbots and studies show that they can dramatically enhance both internal efficiency and customer experience.

Here’s how virtual agents support financial institutions:

• Instant access to customer insights
  Virtual agents can instantly retrieve and summarize key customer information for bank employees - such as account status, transaction history, open requests, or credit score - directly within their internal dashboard. This means faster, more informed decisions during client interactions.

• Embedded Q&A support for customers
  Customers can receive accurate answers to routine questions (e.g., “What’s my available balance?”, “How do I update my contact details?”) directly from the bank’s online platforms or mobile app, without needing to speak to a human agent. The virtual agent handles the interaction but passes more complicated questions to a human operator when necessary.

• 24/7 Availability across channels
  These AI-driven assistants work round the clock across web, mobile, and even messaging platforms, ensuring clients can get help at any time, while reducing the burden on contact centers.

• Context-aware suggestions
  For bank staff, virtual agents can act like co-pilots, suggesting next best actions, notifying compliance issues, or prompting upselling opportunities based on customer profiles and behavior.

Ultimately, virtual agents help financial institutions save time, reduce operational costs, and deliver more responsive, personalized service: all while freeing up human teams to focus on value-added activities.

⚠️ Challenges: What AI in Finance Can't Solve Alone

Despite its potential, AI adoption isn’t plug-and-play. It brings challenges that must be acknowledged:

• Data quality: Poor or inconsistent data limits the value of even the best AI models.

• Interpretability: Financial decisions require trust. "Black box" AI is risky unless complemented with quality and explainability.

• Skill gaps: Many mid-sized firms lack the internal capabilities to deploy AI effectively.

In short: AI needs governance. It’s not just about the algorithm, but about aligning people, data, and strategy,  and companies should rely on experienced and trusted partners to help them integrate AI effectively into their existing systems.

💡 Final Thought: AI as a Technofinance Accelerator

The intersection of finance and tech - or technofinance - is one of the most exciting and transformative spaces in the digital economy. However, even the most sophisticated AI is not replacing professionals, but amplifying their capabilities.

Those who embrace artificial intelligence solutions the right way as part of their broader digital workplace transformation will:

• Work smarter.

• Comply faster.

• Compete stronger.

The firms that act now - with clarity, purpose and the right partner - will be those leading the next wave of financial innovation. 

📣 Want to Learn More?

At IT Value Partner, we help financial institutions integrate AI Virtual Agents within tailored digital transformation programs, combining strategic governance with technological innovation.

📩 Reach out to info@itvaluepartner.eu to explore how we can support your transformation journey.

by Enrico Benedetti