Full-scale cloud adoption key to agentic AI progress

Just 13% of Irish organisations have fully scaled cloud, versus 25% across the EMEA, PwC survey reports

David Lee, chief technology officer, PwC Ireland.

Resistance to full-scale cloud adoption in Ireland is impeding the nation’s progress within agentic AI, a new PwC survey has found.

Just 13% of Irish respondents have fully scaled cloud right across their organisation, far behind EMEA counterparts (25%), the PwC survey reports. Critically, full-scale cloud is critical to drive agentic AI, which is described as the next frontier of cloud intelligence.

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.”

Irish business leaders cite cost concerns as a key reason for their resistance to investing in full-scale cloud. The process of Financial Operations (FinOps) to manage cloud costs is critical, but FinOps adoption in Ireland is low and trails EMEA peers.

Marc Hanlon, director of cloud transformation services, PwC Ireland, said: “The cloud was built for change and to 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.”

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%).

David Lee notes: “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.” 

Key findings of PwC survey 

• 85% of Irish respondents have adopted cloud in many parts of their organisation, but of this, just 13% have full scale cloud adoption;
• Agentic AI emerges as the next frontier: 84% of Irish organisations say agentic AI capabilities are critical for cloud provider selection (EMEA 86%) – yet only 22% are implementing and scaling agentic AI (EMEA: 29%);
• The cost of operating in the cloud is front of mind: The process of Financial Operations (FinOps) to manage cloud costs is critical but FinOps adoption in Ireland is low and trails EMEA peers;
• Cloud strategies are evolving: 88% of Irish organisations are refining their cloud approach in response to geopolitical pressures and regulatory change (EMEA: 82%);
• Cost savings and AI implementation are top priorities from cloud technology investment.