Irish organisations are combining strong confidence in technology-led growth with a heightened focus on cybersecurity, governance and risk-aware innovation, according to the latest KPMG Global Tech Report.
The research highlights that Irish leaders are more likely than their global peers to see clear value from technology investment, with 89% agreeing that technology improves the value generated from their investments, well ahead of the global figure of 79%.
This confidence is supported by robust business fundamentals, as 94% of Irish respondents report revenue growth over the past five years, compared with 88% globally.
Despite this optimism, Irish organisations remain acutely aware of the pace of change. Two-thirds (66%) of Irish leaders say their technology plans quickly become outdated due to rapid technological advances, underlining the pressure on leadership teams to continually reassess strategy.
AI investment continues, with governance front of mind
AI and automation remain a major investment priority, with 70% of Irish organisations planning to invest in AI over the next 12 months, slightly below the global average of 76%. However, Irish organisations show stronger strategic alignment, with 86% reporting a clearly defined, enterprise-wide AI strategy, compared with 76% globally.
At the same time, 67% of Irish respondents say they struggle to demonstrate and communicate the value of AI to stakeholders (versus 55% globally), highlighting the ongoing challenge of translating secure and responsible AI adoption into measurable business outcomes.
Rory Timlin, Data and AI Practice Lead, KPMG in Ireland, highlighted the maturing approach to AI investment, outlined in the report. “Organisations are clear on the strategic importance of AI and are putting enterprise‑wide frameworks in place, but the next challenge is execution - embedding strong governance while clearly demonstrating business value.
Cybersecurity is front of mind
Cybersecurity emerges as one of the most significant areas where Irish organisations diverge from global trends, particularly in the context of AI adoption.
Irish leaders are more concerned than their global peers about cyberattacks as the leading AI-related risk today (44% vs. 37%), and this concern is expected to intensify over the next two years, rising to 47%. Irish respondents also express concern around AI errors, data reliability and emerging threats such as deepfakes and synthetic content.
This risk awareness is reflected in practice. Almost all (97%) of Irish organisations say their IT, security and risk teams are actively collaborating to ensure AI systems are deployed securely and continuously monitored, higher than the global average of 89%.
In addition, more Irish organisations plan to apply increased scrutiny in the coming months to the geographic location of cybersecurity partners in response to geopolitical risk.
Looking ahead: Your 2026 agenda
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