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The fossil was found at a cliff in Denmark. Fossilized vomit is called regurgitalite, and it's a type of trace fossil, which tells scientists about an organism's daily life.

(Image credit: Sten Lennart Jakobsen)

President Trump signed an executive order seeking to end gender-affirming medical treatments for children and teenagers under the age of 19.

(Image credit: Ben Curtis/AP)

The sooner you take advantage of great savings rates, the more money you can earn.

A thousand feet beneath the desert, the United States conducts experiments to verify that its weapons work. But some fear a live test could come soon.

The Department of Government Efficiency, a post-election promise brought to life by President Trump via executive order looks different than its original proposal to broadly cut federal spending.

(Image credit: Jim Watson)

Charley Crockett has come a long way from his days busking on the streets of New Orleans. Now, he performs at theaters in front of thousands of people. To cap it all off, he's up for his first Grammy.

(Image credit: Raymond Alva for NPR)

There's some good news in math, mostly bad news in reading and lots of questions about why students are still struggling.

(Image credit: Newsday LLC)

Generative AI (gen AI) isn’t just a tech trend; it’s reshaping industries at every level. From personalizing shopping experiences to enhancing fraud detection in finance, we’re beginning to see its transformative potential. But what’s next? Enter enterprise AI.

Enterprise AI is set to blend business strategy with advanced technology, driving continuous transformation across organizations. By combining AI tools like gen AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation (RPA) with orchestration, enterprise AI optimizes operations, boosts productivity, and upholds high standards of quality, security, and governance. This approach enables businesses to apply gen AI strategically across their operations, maximizing its potential impact.

As we look toward 2025, companies investing in enterprise AI will benefit not only from gen AI but from a comprehensive suite of AI tools purpose-built to reshape the workplace. With enterprise AI as a true vehicle for realizing the promise of gen AI, we anticipate three major trends that will define how industries leverage AI to meet future demands.

Welcome to workplace 5.0

Workplace 5.0 takes the era of automation further, emphasizing and strengthening the collaboration between humans and technology. Industry 5.0 is where humans, AI, robotics and digital-integrated activity combine.

Central to this is orchestration: with business process management (BPM) and other tools, organizations can integrate human and digital workflows end-to-end. The key to successful operations is no longer simply orchestrating human work but integrating work as a whole. This will bring together workflows, inputs, outputs and the resources that drive the work, humans, gen AI and enterprise agents to create a smarter, more collaborative, engaging and productive work environment.

Enterprise AI will allow us to move on from the individual efficiency gains we have seen through the likes of ChatGPT, to a grown-up implementation of gen AI where leaders have the opportunity to revolutionize the end-to-end processes on a large scale. This shift will lead to more human-centric work, making enterprises more creative, adaptive and customer-focused.

Human-centric collaboration with enterprise AI agents

The next evolution of gen AI’s integration with the enterprise is to make interactions feel more lifelike. This will be achieved through experiential interfaces, enabling humans to communicate with enterprise agents in natural language. We’ll see this manifest in the form of copilot-like interfaces, which are posed to dramatically enhance productivity, drive innovation and transform industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and financial services.

While AI agents are not new, 2025 will mark the rise in more advanced business agents with specialized knowledge on specific industries. These enterprise agents are not meant to replace human workers, but rather to function as coworkers that support and enhance performance. They will autonomously handle delegated tasks, continuously learning and improving through agentic AI.

Previously, these tools required coding and a structured approach to building applications. Now, gen AI has levelled the playing field, allowing people to turn their ideas into reality through natural language prompts.

Mitigating risks with enterprise AI governance

As generative AI tools advance quickly, there’s growing concern about their potential to create privacy and security risks. With the possible consequences of a rogue agent (rogue AI) such as business/supply chain disruption, reputational damages and customer loss, it’s worth considering these concerns.

To navigate this, organizations will need enterprise-grade guardrails, succinct integrations of gen AI into critical workflows and a robust AI governance model that prioritizes transparency, documentation, and bias prevention. This ensures AI solutions enhance, not jeopardize, the business.

Enterprise AI: turning potential into impact

Enterprise AI will be the game-changer for organizations ready to get the most out of generative AI, applied strategically and effectively across their entire operations. As we look ahead to 2025, companies that embrace enterprise AI will gain unparalleled access to gen AI’s benefits—not just in isolated applications, but through integrated processes combining RPA, orchestration, machine learning, and more. This convergence will enable organisations to turn the potential of gen AI into tangible results, achieving the scale and impact that early AI applications only hinted at. The era of delivering on AI’s promise across the enterprise has arrived.

We've compiled a list of the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, faces Senate confirmation hearings today. What can we expect?

(Image credit: David L. Ryan)

New AI chatbot DeepSeek is taking the technology world by storm, and has even dethroned ChatGPT from top spot on the iOS App store.

There's certainly a lot of speculation about the potential DeepSeek holds, as well as what this could mean for some of the biggest players in tech right now. Plenty of both new and existing firms have invested billions of dollars into Large Language Models in the last few months alone - but DeepSeek has the opportunity to cause chaos in the venture capital world.

Having caused the biggest drop in the US stock market in history, the chatbot is understandably a huge talking point - but what are the experts’ predictions?

Will the hype last?

There’s no denying that DeepSeek arriving on the scene has been disruptive, and although the expert opinion isn’t unanimous, the significantly lower development cost is definitely turning heads.

If you're confused about what DeepSeek is, or why its causing so much of a stir, check out our article here explaining all you need to know,

The pressure is certainly on for US tech firms to respond, but it may not be as destructive as it seems.

We heard from 10 experts in the technology industry;

Steve Povonly, Senior Director of Security Research & Competitive Intelligence at Exabeam:

"The release of Chinese-developed DeepSeek has thrown US tech markets into turmoil; this is both justifiable and also perhaps, a bit overblown. The emergence of a technology that ultimately optimizes chip usage and efficiency is likely to apply pressure on existing large chip vendors, which is a very good thing. As the adage goes: "Pressure yields diamonds" and in this case, I believe competition in this market will drive global optimization, lower costs, and sustain the tailwinds AI needs to drive profitable solutions in the short and longer term."

Mike Follett, CEO and Founder of Lumen Research:

“Last week, Sam Altman and Elon Musk were AI monopolists. Now, it is clear that competition will reduce costs and loosen the grip hold of the biggest players. This represents an opportunity for marketers enabling them to build agents designed for specific problems, at a speed, scale and at a price that drives ROI.”

Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group:

“This is a wake-up call for markets. The assumption that tariffs could contain China’s technological ambitions is being dismantled in real time. DeepSeek’s breakthrough is proof that innovation will always find a way forward, regardless of economic barriers.”

“By restricting China’s access to high-end semiconductors, Washington sought to slow its progress in AI. Instead, it has fueled an acceleration in domestic innovation, forcing Chinese firms to find alternatives. DeepSeek’s achievement is a direct result of this shift.

“Rather than being crippled by US sanctions, Beijing has cultivated AI models that require significantly less computing power, diminishing its reliance on American technology and eroding US leverage over global supply chains.”

The value

Aleksandr Yampolskiy, CEO of SecurityScorecard:

“DeepSeek is trained on 14.8 trillion diverse tokens whereas OpenAI is trained only on 13 trillion. It also costs radically less to train DeepSeek at $6M while OpenAI costs allegedly $100M, making DeepSeek 16.6X more efficient.”

“We are living in fascinating times. While "constraints in capital" may seem like a challenge, history has shown us (and DeepSeek has demonstrated) that these constraints often spark innovation and creativity. Security for AI will only become more critical. In a world where the lines between deepfake and human-generated content blur, and where biased information can shape our opinions, the need for robust security and ethical practices will grow exponentially.”

Dr. Kjell Carlsson, Head of AI strategy at Domino Data Lab:

“Deepseek’s success serves as a powerful reminder that the value of AI lies not in the size of your infrastructure or the exclusivity of your models, but in how effectively they are leveraged to deliver impact. By developing cutting-edge generative AI models without relying on the latest, most expensive hardware, Deepseek has demonstrated that agility and strategy can outpace raw computational power. Their achievements also highlight the vulnerability of incumbents in the generative AI space—proving that open-source innovation continues to be a powerful equalizer, enabling challengers to match and even surpass established players years into the revolution.”

“For companies seeking to maximise value from AI, the lesson is clear: success hinges on flexibility and capability, not exclusive partnerships or infrastructure scale. Rather than locking into specific LLM providers or focusing solely on hardware access, organisations should prioritise building the end-to-end capabilities to source AI innovations, design solutions tailored to their unique needs, and operationalise them effectively. This approach ensures that businesses remain agile, competitive, and prepared to harness the next wave of AI advancements, wherever they emerge.”

Bradford Levy, Assistant Professor of Accounting, University of Chicago Booth School of Business:

“DeepSeek has sent shock waves through the tech industry – directly challenging tech giants like Meta, Microsoft and Open AI."

“Until now, it’s been assumed their expertise in designing and operating large-scale distributed systems are essential for training state of the art models. But the development of R1 suggests otherwise – if these models can be trained using 90% fewer chips, the implications for valuation models are massive."

“This opens the door for smaller, more agile players to compete, potentially driving more innovation. With limited resources, they proved that scrappy, innovative teams can shake up the industry, even on a shoestring budget."

“While impressive, we should remain skeptical of any claims made by those with a vested interest in their own success. Before jumping to conclusions about the broader AI landscape, we need more time to test these models and understand how they achieved these numbers.”

The revolution

Professor Geoff Webb, Department of Data Science & AI, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University:

“The emergence of DeepSeek is a significant moment in the AI revolution. Until now it has seemed that billion dollar investments and access to the latest generation of specialised NVIDIA processors were prerequisites for developing state-of-the-art systems.”

“This effectively limited control to a small number of leading US-based tech corporations. Due to US embargoes on exporting the latest generation of NVIDIA processors, it also locked out China.”

“DeepSeek claims to have developed a new Large Language Model, similar to Chat GPT or Llama, that rivals the state-of-the-art for a fraction of the cost using the less advanced NVIDIA processors that are currently available to China. If this is true, it means that the US tech sector no longer has exclusive control of the AI technologies, opening them to wider competition and reducing the prices they can charge for access to and use of their systems.”

“Looking beyond the implications for the stock market, current AI technologies are US-centric and embody US values and culture. This new development has the potential to create more diversity through the development of new AI systems.”

“It also has the potential to make AI more accessible for researchers around the world both for developing new technologies and for applying them in diverse areas including healthcare.”

The risks

Aditya Sood, VP of Security Engineering and AI Strategy at Aryaka:

"Open-source AI models like DeepSeek, while offering accessibility and innovation, are increasingly vulnerable to supply chain attacks triggered during large-scale cyberattacks. These attacks, where adversaries exploit the reliance on third-party dependencies, pre-trained models, or public repositories, can have severe consequences. Adversaries may tamper with pre-trained models by embedding malicious code, backdoors, or poisoned data, which can compromise downstream applications. Additionally, attackers may target the software supply chain by manipulating dependencies, libraries, or scripts used during model training or deployment. This can lead to systemic AI functionality corruption."

Renuka Nadkarni CPO at Aryaka:

"The sudden popularity of DeepSeek comes at a price. There are two dimensions of this. First, threat actors are likely to adopt this new tool now that it's widely available. Second, DeepSeek was a victim of a large-scale malicious attack. This means that their system could be compromised and subject to several of the known AI model attacks. Known AI model vulnerabilities, data risks, and infrastructure threats come into play here."

“While the unavailability of the service is an easy and visible attack on its infrastructure, the bigger concern lies in the undetected attacks on its model and data. These hidden threats could compromise benign users and enable other malicious activities."

The sceptics

Dan Goman, CEO, Ateliere Creative Technologies:

"The market’s reaction to the latest news surrounding DeepSeek is nothing short of an overcorrection. While the enthusiasm around breakthroughs in AI often drives headlines and market speculation, this feels like yet another case where excitement has outpaced evidence. Investors should be cautious about blindly jumping on the hype train without asking the tough questions."

"In summary, while Deepseek’s story is intriguing, it’s imperative to separate fact from speculation. The market needs to temper its enthusiasm and demand more transparency before awarding DeepSeek the crown of AI innovation. Until then, skepticism remains a healthy and necessary stance."

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Extreme conditions helped fuel the fast-moving fires that destroyed thousands of homes. Scientists are working to figure out how climate change played a role in the disaster.

(Image credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

• Dyson has launched the Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum
• It has many of the same features as Dyson's full-sized stick vacuums
• Available in US and UK from 4 Feb, priced $279.99 / £249.99

I've been waiting for Dyson to release a handheld vacuum, and my patience has finally paid off: today, the brand unveiled the Dyson Car+Boat, and it looks set to outshine the rest of the best handheld vacuums currently on the market.

The Car+Boat looks like someone took a Dyson stick vacuum and shrunk it in the wash. You can't really tell from the press photos, but this thing is dinky. That pint-sized build packs a punch though – this handheld model has a lot in common with the best Dyson cordless vacuums from the wider range, including powerful suction, useful detail tools, advanced filtration and a long battery life. Unfortunately, the similarity also extends to the price – its list price is $279.99 / £249.99, which is cheaper than the cheapest Dyson stick vacuum, but much more expensive than your average car vacuum.

Before I get too far into it, I'll be clear that despite being called the Car+Boat, this is not a wet-dry vacuum. It's just a regular handheld vacuum, aimed at people who might own a boat. Dyson is nothing if not aware of its target market. Other things its designed to tackle include dirt, debris, allergens, pet hair, upholstery and bedding.

(Image credit: Dyson)

Let's start with battery life, which is the bit that I'm probably most excited about. Most cordless handheld vacuums offer you a maximum of 30 minutes of cleaning, but sometimes it's more like 15 minutes. Here you have a full 50 minutes, which is up there with the best full-sized cordless vacuums on the market – and, in fact, longer than you'll get with the Dyson V8 .

That accounts for the fact that cleaning cars, furniture and, uh, boats, is fiddly. It takes time to do it properly, and there's nothing more annoying than running out of juice once you've wedged yourself into a footwell. With nearly an hour of cleaning, you have time to get into every nook and cranny.

Dyson also promises top-notch suction. The proof will be in the testing (a full review is in the works) but the specs look promising – the motor spins at 110,000rpm, same as on the V8, which is the oldest Dyson stick vacuum in the current lineup. There's a fully sealed filtration system that can capture 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns (the same as all but the very newest and most expensive Dyson stick vacuum). That includes dust mites, pet dander and other allergens.

(Image credit: Dyson)

The Dyson vacuum attachments are similar to those you'll get with a full-sized stick vac, too. There's a Mini Motorized Tool for pulling up stubborn dirt and sticky hair, a 2-in-1 Combination Tool (pictured above) that combines a dusting brush and wide nozzle, and a Crevice Tool for edges and narrow gaps.

While this is the only dedicated handheld in the current Dyson lineup, its not the first handheld from the brand. Most recently, there was the Dyson Humdinger, which has just been discontinued in the US, and which left the UK lineup back in 2022. Of course, any of Dyson's cordless stick vacuums can be used in handheld mode by removing the floor wand and adding a detail tool, but the main vacuum unit tends to be too bulky and heavy to be an ideal choice as a car vacuum.

The Dyson Car+Boat will go on sale in the US and UK direct from Dyson from 4 February, at a list price of $279.99 / £249.99 [US release date and pricing has been updated from a previous version of this article]. It will also be available from various third-party retailers.

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Every generation has what they'd consider to be the definitive Spider-Man animated series. From the 60s original and 90s-era Spider-Man to more recent fare like 2008-09's The Spectacular Spider-Man and the ongoing series Spidey and his Amazing Friends, few superheroes have starred in as many animated projects as Marvel's iconic web-slinger.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (YFNSM) is the latest contender for the wallcrawler's best TV show crown. As a big Spidey fan, the first of six Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) TV shows that'll arrive on Disney Plus in 2025 was always going to interest me, regardless of how good or bad it was. Marvel Studios' first animated Spider-Man offering, though, is far better than I expected it to be. It's not as spectacular as last year's universally adored X-Men 97 – and there's one major reason why, which I've dedicated an entire portion of this review to. Nevertheless, it's a largely pleasing reimagining of the legendary superhero's origin story, vast cast of supporting characters, and unmistakable corner of the Marvel universe that most Spider-Man fans will enjoy.

With great power...

Spider-Man's latest animated adventure puts a different spin on the superhero's origin story (Image credit: Marvel Animation/Disney Plus)

Story-wise, you know the drill by now: nerdy high-schooler Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, develops superpowers, and vows to protect New York City from criminals (superhuman or otherwise) while dealing with the trials and tribulations of being a teen.

YFNSM, though, puts a somewhat unique spin on Spider-Man's creation. This iteration of Peter Parker (Hudson Thames) gets bitten by an irradiated arachnid that appears to hail from another dimension. Indeed, it arrives in this universe – i.e. one of the MCU's many parallel timelines – via a sling ring portal made by Doctor Strange as he battles a Shathra-inspired symbiote (just two of an immeasurable amount of Marvel cameos and references in this show, FYI). The 'spider from another reality' plot device isn't dissimilar to Miles Morales' superhero origins in Sony's Spider-Verse movies. YFNSM doesn't copy that film series' take on Spider-Man's inception but, spoilers notwithstanding, we don't learn about the spider's origins until the season finale. Even then, it's a semi-original plot twist that some viewers might work out ahead of time.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man puts a somewhat unique spin on Spider-Man's creation

YFNSM's setting is vital for the other changes woven into its fabric. It was originally designed as a story that was canon in the MCU, and there are many signs that confirm this. Whether it's the subtle shades of Tom Holland's MCU-based web-slinger in Thames' take on Peter and his superhero alias, or sections of episode 9's climatic fight that mirror the final, fraught set-piece in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, YFNSM was clearly intended to be a Spider-Man: Homecoming prequel show.

For reasons outlined by Marvel's Head of TV and Streaming Brad Winderbaum, though, the decision to reshape it into an MCU-adjacent project means it's not beholden to the journey that Holland's Spidey has gone on so far. And, honestly, it's all the better for it. Unshackled by the MCU's often weighty history, YFNSM has the creative and narrative freedom to simultaneously pay homage to the silver age of Spider-Man comics, and reinvent the stories and characters that defined his early crimefighting years.

Long-time Spider-Man villain Norman Osborn (right) is actually Peter Parker's mentor in YFNSM (Image credit: Marvel Animation/Disney Plus)

Take the remodeled dynamic between Peter and one of his most iconic villains Norman Osborn (the excellent Colman Domingo), for example.

Just as Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark/Iron Man was to Holland's wallcrawler in the MCU, YFNSM positions Osborn as a role model for Peter to look up to and develop a compelling surrogate father relationship with. Heck, Peter and Norman's initial meeting is a near-perfect recreation of Holland's Peter's MCU introduction in Captain America: Civil War, which is another indicator that YFNSM was originally designed as an MCU TV show.

But back to Peter and Norman. Their dynamic not only becomes a central component of season 1's primary plot but also keeps you guessing about the seemingly duplicitous Osborn's true intentions. Is he using Peter to achieve his own goals, or does he actually want to mentor him? It's a question I constantly asked throughout this season and one I still struggled to fully answer as episode 10's end credits rolled. Nonetheless, it's a mentor-mentee relationship that I'm excited to see more of in YFNSM's already confirmed second and third seasons.

It's a dynamic that not only becomes a central component of the show's first season but also leaves you guessing over Osborn's true intentions

Creative deviations like this help to differentiate YFNSM from other Spider-Man animated shows. Before my fellow webheads start frothing at the mouth, though, I'm happy to report that it doesn't neglect the core essence of what makes Peter Parker such a relatable character.

Indeed, the hallmarks of what makes a great Spider-Man story are not only here, but gratifyingly placed front and center of YFNSM's core narrative and various subplots. This universe's Peter is as wracked by self-doubt, guilt, and internal pressure as other iterations of the character have been, so Spider-Man devotees can rest easy that YFNSM retains the heart and soul of what makes its eponymous hero one of Marvel's most popular and enduring individuals.

YFNSM does a great job of exploring what it's like to be a teen – and all the problems that come along with it (Image credit: Marvel Animation/Disney Plus)

There's an abundance of teen-based melodrama where the series' supporting cast is concerned, too. Like X-Men 97, there's a real soap opera vibe to YFNSM, whose storylines play out across multiple episodes. It also tackles as many hard-hitting topics as its animated sibling and, surprisingly, even takes a page out of X-Men 97's playbook with the thematically dark places it occasionally goes to. Episode 7 is a particularly sinister chapter that suggests YFNSM isn't as family-friendly as it initially looks.

That said, YFNSM doesn't lose sight of being fun. Sure, some of its humor comes across as corny, but that's in keeping with Spidey's eye-rolling and/or smile-raising quips, and Peter's socially awkward demeanor, from the comics. Thames has a great time bringing both aspects to life, too; YFNSM's star imbues his take on Peter and his superpowered alter-ego with a charm and likeability that's not unlike Holland's.

If there's one area of plot-based improvement the Disney Plus show needs to make moving forward, it's exploring the various character dynamics in more detail. Season 1 spends too much time bouncing Peter off of a few too many characters, which doesn't leave room to examine his closest relationships. Indeed, it sacrifices its exploration of these dynamics to give equal billing to a Lonnie Lincoln (Eugene Byrd) led narrative. While it was important to season 1's overarching plot, it could've been trimmed down to accommodate, say, the gratifying odd-couple friendship between Peter and Nico Minoru (Grace Song).

Animation angst

Sections of Marvel's fanbase have reacted negatively to YFNSM's animation style (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

But now to address the elephant in the room: YFNSM's animation style. Responding to fierce fan criticism about its 3D cel-shaded approach, showrunner Jeff Trammell exclusively told me "I love our look – I think it grows on you" but, having watched the entire first season, that's something I can't fully agree with.

Before I get into that, I do want to say its delightfully retro art style, which is heavily inspired by legendary Marvel illustrators Steve Ditko and John Romita Jr, looks fantastic. It really makes certain scenes pop with its bright color palette, ink pen-based shadow gradient, clever use of comic paneling, and the iconic 'Kirby krackle' to evoke the feeling of a "moving comic book", as Trammell has previously claimed. The addition of comic book-style covers that make each episode feel like the next edition of a comic series, plus an ever-evolving intro sequence, are equally wonderful.

Try as I might, though I couldn't move past how visually jarring YFNSM's animation is

Try as I might, though I couldn't get over YFNSM's jarring animation. There's a sluggishness and clunkiness to character movements, such as lip-syncing the dialog to their mouths, that makes it feel like keyframes are missing or weren't factored into the animation process. A perfect example of how ungainly it can be is during a gang-based fight sequence in episode 5. Characters throw punches or duck and dive in such janky fashion that it distracts from what should be an entertaining and high-stakes set piece.

Occasionally, YFNSM's animation is as fluid as its eponymous hero swinging through New York (Image credit: Marvel Animation/Disney plus)

There are times when the animation feels fluid, especially in later episodes when more polish has been applied, but such instances are few and far between. The sad reality is that YFNSM just isn't visually appealing from an animation standpoint. Sony's Spider-Verse movies, including the series' most recent entry Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (one of the best Spider-Man movies, in my view), did an immeasurably better job of creating a "moving comic book" animation style with real panache and verve.

It's not the only issue I had with YFNSM's aesthetic. By design or not, a higher-than-expected number of scenes and sequences feel devoid of life. Whether that's down to static background characters or, in the worst cases, empty backdrops, YFNSM regularly feels uninhabited. Considering it's set in the bustling metropolis that is New York, there's no excuse for its depiction as a periodically abandoned cityscape.

As much as I praised the use of comic book page paneling to help tell the story, it's used less and less as season 1 progresses. Early episodes indicate it'll be a key creative component of the series but, bizarrely, YFNSM adopts an increasingly frugal approach to what could've been one of the show's artistic lynchpins.

My verdict

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a fun-filled, bold, and occasionally menacing reimagining that honors the superhero's 60-years-and-counting legacy. It riffs on classic and more recent moments from all corners of the superhero's multimedia library in a largely satisfying manner. However, I suspect some Spider-Man purists will be irked by what they consider unnecessary creative deviations from his source material.

If YFNSM's animation style wasn't such an eyesore, I would've rated it more highly than I did and, despite my other minor quibbles, strongly argued its case for a spot on our best Disney Plus shows list. I'd still recommend it as a pretty amazing series but, given the problems I've outlined, it's not as spectacular as it could've been.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's first two episodes are out today (January 29). Episodes 3 to 5 arrive on February 5, episodes 6 to 8 air on February 12, and episodes 9 and 10 launch on February 19.

The IT industry is undergoing seismic change as businesses adapt to a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Emerging trends such as generative AI, sustainable computing, and secure enterprise infrastructure are pushing organizations to rethink their approaches to scalability, energy efficiency, and innovation. These shifts are not merely incremental—they are transformative, reshaping the foundation of IT strategy for years to come.

Bold leaders are tasked with solving unprecedented challenges, including meeting increasing demand for compute power while maintaining operational sustainability. The rise of AI-driven workloads is placing new pressures on IT infrastructure, requiring companies to adopt architectures capable of delivering high performance at scale.

Simultaneously, the need for energy-efficient solutions is accelerating innovation in both hardware design and data center management, ensuring these systems remain cost-effective and environmentally responsible. Moreover, decision-makers must ensure their strategies align with growing concerns over data sovereignty, addressing regulatory demands while protecting sensitive assets.

From maximizing data center efficiency to adopting renewable energy solutions, companies face both challenges and opportunities as they prepare for the demands of tomorrow. The trends discussed here demand a holistic approach that balances innovation with responsibility, ensuring that technology not only meets current needs but also paves the way for a sustainable and secure future.

1. From Experimentation to Execution: Generative AI Inference Takes Center Stage

Generative AI is transitioning from merely experimental AI tools to fully integrated solutions that provide substantial business value. While the past year focused on chatbot use cases, largely using public data, the future lies in applying generative AI to private, secure datasets to create even more valuable tools. Enterprises in sectors like finance, insurance, and ecommerce are poised to adopt these technologies to extract meaningful insights from proprietary data.

Deployment flexibility will be critical. As AI workloads expand into diverse environments — on-premises, edge, and air- gapped hosting facilities — latency-sensitive applications will demand infrastructure closer to users, deployed in existing data centers and PoPs. Moreover, inference is no longer a standalone workload. Supporting tasks like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and app integration will require robust, general-purpose compute alongside AI-specialized resources, emphasizing efficiency and scalability.

2. Powering the Future: Renewable Energy Growth Plus Efficiency Gains

As compute demands surge, so does the need for power. However, overloaded grids and geographic power constraints are forcing industries to seek new solutions. Renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal are gaining traction as smaller, regionally distributed data centers emerge. These projects will take more time than is available to meet the immediate demands of IT infrastructure growth.

Efficiency, however, cannot wait. To avoid bringing new non-renewable energy sources online or prolonging their life in the short-term, hardware optimization will play a pivotal role in reducing power requirements. Replacing older, power- hungry systems with modern, efficient processors can dramatically cut energy use, making existing infrastructure more sustainable. This efficiency shift is critical to balancing the need for more energy with responsible environmental stewardship.

3. The Rise of Density: Maximizing Every Rack and Data Center’s Potential

Given the rapid increase in demand for AI compute, density at scale has become the new benchmark for efficiency in computing. Solutions are being built not at the node level, but at the rack and data center level. This means that organizations are moving toward maximizing workloads per rack by fully utilizing available hardware. Unlike legacy systems, where resources were often underutilized due to inefficiencies, modern architectures are designed to eliminate waste and improve average utilization at rack and data center scale without the negative side-effects of unpredictability.

The challenge of optimizing density at the solutions level is not limited to AI-only workloads. Certain AI workloads, particularly inference, are driving infrastructure changes to accommodate mixed-use environments, where general purpose compute density matters as well. In software engineering organizations, more efficient virtualization and containerization technologies combined with more efficient containers and power aware coding practices will enable better partitioning of resources, allowing enterprises to achieve higher utilization rates without compromising performance.

4. Sovereignty and Security: Enterprise AI on the Rise

Data sovereignty and security will heavily influence AI deployment strategies in 2025. Enterprises are increasingly aware of the value of their proprietary datasets, treating them as competitive assets. This shift will mean that AI inference workloads run not only on public hyperscale clouds, but also in more secure environments like private clouds, on- premises data centers or privately hosted facilities.

The risk of data breaches and tampering with AI algorithms underscores the need for secure, isolated infrastructure. As enterprises compete on AI-driven innovation, the ability to safeguard intellectual property and sensitive information will become a cornerstone of success. Furthermore, this trend will expand the role of enterprise-owned compute resources, creating a more decentralized and secure AI ecosystem. This sovereignty and security requirement combined with the need to place computing resources closer to users will disperse computing resource and give rise to a more compute heavy edge architecture.

Summary

The trends outlined here reflect a fundamental shift in how businesses harness technology to drive efficiency, cybersecurity, and innovation. Generative AI is advancing from experimentation to execution, energy optimization is becoming non- negotiable, and maximizing data center density has emerged as the new benchmark for scalable infrastructure. At the same time, the emphasis on data sovereignty and security will ensure enterprises remain in control of their competitive assets.

Organizations that succeed in this rapidly evolving environment will prioritize agility, leveraging AI-driven insights to optimize operations while addressing pressing concerns such as resource constraints and regulatory compliance. These efforts will not only improve performance but also position companies as leaders in the drive toward a sustainable future.

Forward-thinking businesses will explore partnerships that enable them to expand capabilities while minimizing risks, ensuring sustained growth in the face of uncertainty. Investments in cutting-edge architectures, renewable energy integration, and secure AI deployments will form the backbone of IT strategies in 2025 and beyond. By aligning innovation with accountability, businesses can unlock lasting competitive advantages while fostering resilience in the face of constant change.

Organizations ready to embrace these shifts will not only overcome today’s challenges but also set the stage for sustained leadership in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

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• 200 UK companies have signed up for a 4 day work week
• The move follows successful trials across the globe
• It is expected to boost productivity and worker well-being

For 5,000 lucky workers, the four-day working week just got one step closer.

The 4 Day Week Campaign has revealed 200 companies have now signed up for a permanent four-day working week with no loss of pay for staff.

There’s representation from a few different sectors in this pledge, with 18 Arts and Design firms, alongside Engineering & Manufacturing (12) Recruitment & HR (12), Entertainment (9), Accountancy, Banking & Finance (8) and Property Development, Trades & Construction (6) all signing up.

Win-win

The trend amongst tech companies in 2024 was generally the opposite, with firms such as Amazon leading the charge in rolling back hybrid working to issue return to work orders.

But four-day work week campaigners hail the change as a ‘win-win’, with increased productivity for employers, and happier and better rested employees. In fact, South Cambridgeshire District Council mandated the policy, and still have over 600 staff working the split, and the council claims this has improved services all round.

It’s no secret that the UK is in the middle of a productivity crisis, and the Labour Government has so far turned to AI for a boost, but studies have shown that companies benefited from increased performance and productivity thanks to lower levels of burnout and stress amongst employees.

“British workers put in some of the longest fulltime working hours in Europe, but we still have one of the least productive economies”, says the campaign group.

“A four-day week also benefits society in general. Shifting the economy to a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay could shrink the UK’s carbon footprint by up to 127 million tonnes per year.”

Elsewhere in the world, Panasonic did trial a four day work week back in 2022 in a bid to reduce the strain on Japanese workers.

Considering the success and popularity of hybrid work, the four day work week could be the natural next step.

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