What are the biggest business worries in 2025?

No matter their industry or profession, practically every business in the UK and around the world has concerns for the year ahead. Whether it’s employee retention, rising costs, or simply finding new customers, each and every business owner has to make crucial decisions around these fears in order to successfully lead their company forward.

However, with all that being said, it’s safe to say that some business concerns are pretty universal, especially when it comes to the sudden impact that new technologies, such as AI, can have in a given space.

How One AI-Driven Media Platform Cut EBS Costs for AWS ASGs by 48%

So, with this in mind, the team at GlobalDots wanted to find out exactly what the biggest business concerns were for two of Europe’s largest economies – Germany and the UK – in order to see just how similar business concerns were across Europe for the year ahead.

From increasing skill gaps to apprehension around cybersecurity and attacks, we’ve shared all of our insights below, as well as a few key tips you can bring on board to help your business handle these problems as 2025 gets underway.

What are the top concerns for UK businesses in 2025?

Turning our attention to the UK first, it would seem that the number one concern for UK businesses going into 2025 relates to rising running costs, with at least 44% of the businesses we reached out to noting that such cost escalations are of major concern for them.

Of course, rising costs like these are just one area causing business apprehension. A close second was the risk of cyberattacks and cybersecurity issues, which were on the radar for a further 33% of businesses – no surprise really given the increasingly online nature of the business world.

Perhaps more interestingly, however, at least 62% of UK businesses said they felt at least somewhat ready to handle a cyberattack should it occur, compared to only 16% stating they were not prepared to deal with the impact of a cyberattack on their business – implying that most companies are looking to enhance their current cyber security protocols in the near future.

Finally, and perhaps to be expected with recent tech developments, AI and data automation turned out to be the third most common business concern in the UK, flagged by 25% of businesses as a potential issue, with a further 50% stating it might cause more challenges for their business than it solves, going forward.

What are some of the external factors influencing changes in UK businesses?

External factors are often the main driving force behind the cause for many prominent business concerns, and there are very few companies out there that are not impacted by one external factor or another.

Case and point, in the UK, well over half of the businesses we spoke with (56%) highlighted economic uncertainty as the biggest external factor when it comes to making key business decisions, with recent fluctuations in economic trends already proving to be challenging for the UK economy to handle.

This was then followed closely by businesses having to either co-opt or overtake new industry trends and competition in their sector (47%), which only goes to highlight just how important adapting to new technology and staying at the forefront of innovation in your given industry continues to be.

What changes are UK businesses planning to make to overcome these challenges?

So, with all this in mind, what are UK businesses doing in order to overcome the challenges ahead of them, especially when it comes to the area of modernising their computing and cloud technology?

Well, speaking of updating old technology, 39% of businesses we spoke with noted that this was a priority for them, especially where Cloud Cost Optimization Solutions is concerned, with another 38% specifically putting investment into cyber and Cloud Security Solutions at the forefront of their solution planning.

Add to this a further 31% of businesses looking to enhance their overall digital presence and Web Performance Solutions, and 30% seeking to integrate AI-enhanced tools into their operations, and it’s clear that UK businesses are well on their way to overcoming the obstacles in their way.

Indeed, as many as 51% of the businesses we reached out to reported that the steps they were taking would help to improve their operational efficiency, with another 38% linking these steps to improved performance, while 33% also noted that it would help to improve employee engagement and retention in the future by facilitating a better workflow.

What are the top concerns for German businesses in 2025?

With our insights into UK businesses covered, let’s now turn to the continent to see whether or not German businesses share any of the same concerns. And as it turns out, far from the number one concern being a fear of rising costs, the real issue for German businesses is a rapidly increasing skill gap for both new and old workers alike.

Cited by 40% of German businesses, the rapid development of technology in AI sectors, and digital technology as a whole, clearly has many business owners concerned about how they’re going to address such skill shortages in a way that will allow their staff to keep up.

Naturally, with this aspect in mind, AI and tech developments cropped up as big concerns for German companies, and 28% of companies in our survey noted how the implementation of this sort of technology could pose challenges for their business going forward.

Finally, the third biggest area of concern for German businesses lies in cybersecurity and cyberattacks, being a sticking point for 25% of businesses and making it clear that the envisioned skills gap could be what results in the cyber-based problems becoming more prolific for businesses in the near future.

What are the top priorities for German companies in 2025?

Given the concerns we’ve just noted, you might be surprised to learn that the priority for most German companies in 2025 is not actually related to improving the skills of their employees.

Instead, most German companies we spoke to (37%) were more focused on reducing their overall business costs – perhaps flagging that rising costs are still a concern for many companies on the continent, and that lowering these may be required should German businesses want to implement new changes without impacting their bottom line.

And speaking of new developments, after reducing costs, most businesses in Germany appear to have innovation and development at the forefront of their business plan, with 31% seeking ways to integrate or improve on their use of cloud-based technologies and 66% of companies stating they were confident they could introduce new tech.

Lastly, similarly to businesses in the UK, at least 26% of German companies were looking to enhance their cyber security protocols, with 69% saying investing in cybersecurity was very important to them and would be at the front and centre of their plans going forward.

What do German companies see as the biggest challenge to the German economy in the next decade?

Although what we’ve discussed so far has focused exclusively on how businesses plan to handle potential challenges in 2025, how do German businesses see these problems changing over the course of the next 5-10 years?

Interestingly, and perhaps reinforcing fears that German business owners already have, skill gaps were again pointed out by 38% of companies as being the biggest potential issues for companies in the future.

Not only that, but another 30% of business owners who got back to us stated that further tech disruption could play a substantial role in impacting the German economy. Add to this a further 34% highlighting the continued risk of rising business costs and it’s clear German businesses may be bracing themselves for harder times in the next decade.

How can you prepare your business for the challenges ahead?

Based on our survey and the firm opinions of business owners in the UK and on the continent, it’s clear that businesses should already be preparing to handle whatever challenges are on the horizon now, rather than later.

So, with that in mind, the cloud technology experts here at GlobalDots wanted to share a few simple steps businesses can take today to help bolster their company’s defences for the future:

• Rising costs – nowadays, businesses in all industries have to think about online and digital costs as much as traditional overheads, and one way they can help monitor and cut back in this area is with FinOps technology, like GlobalDots Automated Kubernetes Optimization Solutions. All about reducing digital overheads through smart management, FinOps tech will help your business eliminate wasteful spending and enable you to make better, data-driven decisions.
• Cybersecurity – as online technology advances, so too will the potential for cyberattacks to impact your business, which makes investments in high-quality cybersecurity systems a must. For example, with GlobalDot’s Cloud Security Solutions systems behind you, you can be sure your business’s cyber defences continue to be ahead of the rest as you move into the future.
• AI technology – whether we like it or not, AI has already become an essential tool within many industries, and businesses who refuse to adopt its use may very well be rapidly left behind. However, GenAI security solutions can provide all the tools you need to make sure that your business can use AI-tech safely and securely, so you can keep your competitive edge over your nearest competition.

Perfect your cloud technology with GlobalDots

Whether you share some of the business worries we’ve just discussed, or you’ve gained insight into areas of concern that you hadn’t considered before, it’s never too late to start preparing your business to handle future challenges – and that’s exactly where GlobalDots can help!

From upgrading the security of your cloud systems to optimising your cloud cost spending, our team of cloud experts are ready and willing to help take your business to new heights.