Smart Communications has unveiled its 2025 Trends Report, outlining five key developments set to reshape customer interactions in the coming year. The report highlights how businesses, particularly in highly regulated industries like healthcare, insurance, and financial services, must adapt to evolving technology, rising customer expectations, and stricter regulations.
As companies integrate AI, cloud services, and connected ecosystems into their customer communication strategies, there is an opportunity to enhance personalisation and resilience. However, many organisations still struggle with outdated systems, and balancing innovation with regulatory compliance remains a challenge.
Data quality, AI ethics, and modernisation lead 2025 trends
The 2025 Trends Report highlights five major trends that will influence customer communications:
1. AI success depends on better data quality
With businesses accelerating AI adoption, data quality and governance will be essential for ensuring AI tools work effectively. The report stresses that poor data quality can lead to inaccurate insights and failed personalisation efforts, making it a key barrier to AI-driven customer engagement.
“For customer experience management and effective customer communications management, it’s essential to have clean, consistent, and up-to-date data,” said Gautam Jit Kanwar, President at BelWo Inc.
To meet this challenge, businesses are leveraging real-time and third-party data sources to improve communication. Data management strategies will need to prioritise cleansing, validation, and compliance to ensure information remains accurate and reliable.
2. AI adoption will be slowed by regulatory and ethical concerns
While AI has the potential to transform customer interactions, regulatory challenges and ethical concerns around transparency, fairness, and data privacy could slow its widespread adoption.
The report highlights the growing influence of regulations such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in Europe and new operational resilience laws in the UK. Companies will need to implement strong governance frameworks to maintain compliance and avoid risks related to AI bias and data misuse.
“As AI and ML models become more sophisticated, there is an increasing emphasis on ethical AI practices and transparency,” said Kanwar. A recent Smart Communications survey revealed that 66% of consumers worry about security risks when businesses use AI, while 63% are concerned about ethical data usage.
3. Businesses must modernise to overcome technical debt
Many organisations still operate on legacy communication platforms, which increase costs and limit innovation. Smart Communications projects that global spending on digital transformation will reach US$3 trillion by 2027, with businesses focusing on cloud migration, automation, and modular architectures to stay competitive.
Companies in sectors like banking and insurance will need to prioritise digital modernisation to enable faster, more efficient customer interactions while also reducing compliance risks.
4. AI and data will drive personalisation in customer experience
As customer expectations continue to rise, businesses will increasingly rely on AI and data analytics to deliver more personalised experiences. AI-powered tools will help companies track customer interactions across multiple touchpoints and offer real-time recommendations.
“High-quality data combined with AI-driven automation are the building blocks for personalised communications — starting with creating a unified, 360-degree view of customers,” said Prashanth Kulkarni, Strategic Advisor at NTTDATA.
Industries such as insurance and financial services are expected to adopt AI-driven personalisation models that tailor services based on customer preferences and usage patterns.
5. Companies that focus on innovation will gain market leadership
The report underscores that businesses prioritising continuous innovation will have a competitive edge. Companies that regularly refine their processes, adopt emerging technologies, and collaborate with third-party providers will be better positioned for long-term success.
“Fostering a culture of continuous improvement will help combat complacency and encourage proactive technology upgrades,” said Jamie Smith, Managing Director for Insurance at Accenture.
Strategic partnerships will also play a significant role in helping businesses scale AI adoption, streamline processes, and modernise legacy infrastructure.
Smart Communications expands with Singapore data centre launch
In addition to publishing its 2025 Trends Report, Smart Communications is preparing to launch its first data centre in Singapore later this year. The new facility will allow customers across the Asia-Pacific region to access the company’s full SaaS capabilities, improving speed and regulatory compliance.
“The pace of transformation in highly regulated markets provides businesses with opportunities to build resilience, enhance customer relations and drive growth,” said Nick Smith, Vice President and General Manager for APAC at Smart Communications.
However, many organisations still face hurdles when it comes to modernising customer communication platforms. “Outdated, often disconnected customer communication systems are still holding many companies back, making it harder to adapt to regulatory changes quickly, driving up operational costs, and increasing the risk of non-compliance,” Smith explained.
For businesses in Singapore, the ability to engage with customers on their preferred channels and timelines is now more critical than ever. “Even in highly regulated environments, we have seen customers create, test and launch new member communications within 72 hours, a process that previously took weeks or even months,” Smith added.
The full 2025 Trends Report is now available, offering in-depth insights for businesses looking to enhance their customer engagement strategies and prepare for the future of AI-driven conversations.
