By Ivan Jennings, Senior Solution Architect, Red Hat
Ireland’s cloud and AI ambitions are gaining momentum. Across industries, businesses recognise the potential of these interconnected technologies to support innovation, drive scale and deliver tangible value. Yet, while the opportunities are clear, the path forward isn’t always as simple.
Cloud has long been a driver of transformation, and the rise of AI has only accelerated this shift. AI increasingly stands out as the ultimate hybrid cloud workload, taking advantage of the scalability and flexibility of hybrid cloud infrastructure to enable advanced analytics and real-time decision-making.
Generative AI, in particular, is reshaping how businesses in Ireland approach their digital strategies. Its rapid adoption is pushing organisations to rethink not only their technology stacks but also the skills and processes needed to support them. Success isn’t just about investing in the latest technology; it’s about making the right strategic long-term decisions.
Red Hat recently ran a survey to explore the cloud and AI strategies of businesses in Ireland in 2025. The findings reveal ambitious intentions: 93% of IT managers surveyed plan to increase cloud technology investment, while 95% plan to up AI investment. Progress, however, is tempered by longstanding challenges, like fragmented processes and siloed teams.
This piece will explore how, against the backdrop of Ireland’s growing role as a global technology hub, businesses can break through these barriers and unlock the potential of cloud and AI.
Breaking down silos, driving alignment
Nearly every IT manager we surveyed (96%) reported that siloed teams pose challenges when adopting cloud technologies, with more than half (51%) experiencing silos frequently. These challenges often stem from legacy organisational structures, where departments operate in isolation with little visibility of broader goals. A cautious stance from the C-suite on long-term investment often adds to the strain, as leaders face the tension between immediate pressures and the need to invest in future capabilities, including team integration and collaboration.
As cloud and AI technologies become more embedded in operations, this fragmentation is becoming unsustainable. Among the IT managers surveyed experiencing silos, the most common impacts on cloud strategy are increased costs (32%), limited control and visibility over cloud resources (32%), and operational inefficiencies such as duplicated efforts across teams (30%). Overcoming these challenges means bridging the gaps, so every team member understands the bigger picture and how their work drives the organisation forward.
Adopting an “automation-first” mindset is key to finding efficiencies and maintaining consistency, particularly when working across diverse tools, vendors and clouds. An enterprise-wide automation strategy that prioritises collaboration across teams – rather than isolated silos of automation – can help IT leaders establish centralised standards and guidelines for the use of cloud and AI. This approach fosters alignment, enabling organisations to maximise the value of their technology investments.
Breaking down silos, however, must extend beyond the technical level to the human level. A mix of top-down direction from leadership and bottom-up feedback from frontline employees helps build trust and alignment around shared goals. To support this cultural shift, organisations can implement modern corporate design principles, rethinking structures to promote open collaboration and dismantle traditional hierarchies that hinder innovation. For example, cross-functional teams with clear accountability can be established to ensure ongoing alignment between departments. Regular feedback loops, such as retrospectives or team-wide reviews, can help surface issues early and create a sense of shared purpose.
Modernising processes, increasing open collaboration
Many organisations in Ireland are working with processes and controls that were built for a different time, when stability and predictability were the primary focus. While these remain vital, in a rapidly changing environment shaped by cloud-native workflows and AI-driven decision-making, they are no longer enough on their own.
The challenge for leaders is twofold: they must modernise how their organisations operate through new technology and process adoption, while ensuring their people have the skills and confidence to drive this change. Interestingly, the most cited skills gap among IT managers in Ireland was not in technical proficiency, but in strategic thinking and the ability to tackle business-level issues, mentioned by 44% of respondents. This highlights the need for upskilling and retraining workforces not only to navigate a cloud-based and AI-centric environment but also to approach these shifts with a strategic, business-first mindset.
Part of the solution lies in making advanced technologies more accessible. Traditionally, implementing cloud and AI required the specialised expertise of highly trained data scientists – an expensive and scarce resource for many organisations. There are platforms and tools emerging that address this challenge, like the open source project InstructLab, which enables individuals with business expertise (i.e. not just data scientists) to contribute to model training and application development. Leaders can also take advantage of open source communities to enhance skills through shared resources, best practices and collaborative learning.
This spirit of collaboration is equally vital for modernising workflows. To move beyond rigid controls, organisations need systems built for transparency, interoperability and shared accountability – across teams, departments and entire ecosystems. Open source has these principles at its core.Modernising processes, empowering people and embracing collaboration form the framework for change. This is increasingly being recognised and acted upon, with two-thirds of IT managers surveyed (66%) prioritising adapting people, processes and controls in their cloud strategy over the next 18 months.
Smaller AI, bigger impact
When it comes to generative AI, the focus is shifting. Businesses in Ireland are looking beyond generalised large language models (LLMs) to smaller, specialised LLMs designed to solve real-world problems with precision: 84% of IT leaders surveyed are moving toward domain-specific models over one-size-fits-all approaches.
This shift is both practical and strategic. Smaller models are easier to customise, require less computing power and can be trained with specific data and fine-tuned for specific purposes. In manufacturing, targeted AI models can predict machinery failures before they happen, while in finance, dedicated models can catch fraud in real-time without slowing legitimate transactions.
At the same time, transparency is coming to the forefront. 85% of IT leaders surveyed prioritise transparent, modifiable AI models with explainable sources. Open source plays a critical role in meeting these needs by enabling greater collaboration and visibility across platforms and models and supporting contributions from more people. This approach increases accessibility to evolving technologies and can improve consistency of compliance and security across the AI application lifecycle – key considerations for highly regulated industries.
For businesses in Ireland, this shift shows AI doesn’t need to be ‘big’ to make an impact. Smaller, purpose-built models can be more specialised, adaptable and practical – focusing on solving real, day-to-day challenges rather than tackling broad, theoretical tasks like writing Greek poetry or explaining weather patterns in Southeast Asia in the 1400s. These models bring AI into the tangible realities of business operations, where they deliver meaningful results.
Simplifying complexity, driving future progress
Ireland has the vision and infrastructure to drive cloud and AI innovation. But progress will come down to execution – breaking down silos, modernising processes and fostering collaboration both internally and with partners, ecosystems and communities. Leadership must identify what AI can do for their business specifically, make the most of hybrid cloud flexibility and scalability, and look at purpose-built AI solutions to address challenges in ways they can measure, trust and influence. What will set organisations apart will be their ability to turn complexity into simplicity, and ideas into action.