Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the biggest talking point for IT leaders in 2025 – both the emerging capabilities and opportunities from the technology, and the challenges of implementing it at scale and in a way that delivers measurable benefits.

For the digital, data and technology leaders that Computer Weekly is privileged to talk to every week, building AI into their wider strategies and managing often over-hyped expectations just adds to the difficulties of one of the most important roles in any modern organisation.

All of that is taking place while they need to keep a tight rein on costs in a still difficult economy, and juggle skills shortages, talent development and ensuring cyber security. So, how well are they doing?

Computer Weekly gets access to some of the top technology leaders in the world – and the details they share make fascinating reading for anyone looking to develop and implement an IT strategy to improve their business, support employees and enhance their careers.

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 interviews with IT leaders in 2025:

The BBC’s research and development (R&D) arm serves a public purpose, which, according to director Jatin Aythora, is to make some of the technologies and inventions it creates available for free or at a really low cost. Aythora sees his job as helping to achieve technical breakthroughs that the news and media industry can benefit from, which he says BBC R&D has done for many years. Computer Weekly talks to him about self-belief and learning from different industries

The UK mapping service has moved on a long way from paper maps as it now looks to use AI to understand, interpret and derive insights from geographical data. CTO Manish Jethwa has a career-long passion for turning geographical data into useful insight, and he’s leading the organisation’s development of next-generation geospatial technologies.

As a technologist who also runs corporate operations, Thomson Reuters’ CTO believes her tech background gives her a unique edge as the business information group looks to transform its products with AI. That’s why she’s on a mission to use digital systems to transform internal processes and customer services.

Richard Masters, vice-president of data and AI at Virgin Atlantic, is an expert in enterprise data, but his career began somewhere different – space. Before moving into analytics, Masters completed a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Oxford. He is now applying his expertise in astrophysics to the nitty-gritty details of using AI to improve customer experience.

The vehicle recovery specialist is looking to AI and connected vehicle technology to enhance customer experience and get motorists back on the road in the shortest possible time. Group CIO Antony Hausdoerfer is driving the plan for digital transformation.

Digital media is core to engaging nearly two billion fans of Premier League football around the world, with data analytics and AI playing an ever-more important role. For Alexandra Willis, director of digital media and audience development at the organisation that runs top-level club football in England, the priority is to establish data-enabled experiences that keep fans just as engaged and entertained off the pitch.

Among the questions a head of technology may ponder are: what does it mean to be innovative, and, perhaps, what technology can be used to drive an innovation strategy? Given the main way people tend to place bets with Bet365 is via its mobile app, Alan Reed, head of platform innovation at Bet365’s Hillside Technology platform, talks to Computer Weekly about how generative AI changes the way people interact with computers.

Kate Balingit has been leading the digital health initiative at Mars Pet Nutrition, reporting to the company’s pet care CIO, where she is focused on commercialising and deploying artificial intelligence through well-known pet food brands such as Pedigree, Iams, Sheba and Whiskas. She talks to Computer Weekly about making AI relevant across its brands to support pet health.

Dan Keyworth, director of business technology at McLaren Racing, says his role involves running the tech at the sharp end of Formula One, all the IT infrastructure that must be deployed to Grand Prix races, and the IT that keeps the business of McLaren Racing on track.

The world of performing arts is in a completely different universe compared to the bits, bytes and IT infrastructure that Keith Nolan and the IT team at Royal Ballet and Opera spend their work time in. He talks about how IT lowers costs and helps power stage innovations for world-class performances. 

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The biggest event of 2025 in the PC market has been the end of support for Windows 10. It was positioned as the last major release of the Windows operating system, which would be kept updated by over-the-air Windows updates. But when Windows 11 was launched in 2021, Microsoft set the date for the end of  support for Windows 10 – October 5, 2025.

It was not much of an industry shock that Microsoft decided to release a new version of Windows. A new operating system install allows IT departments to clean up their PC estates and ensure devices are running a core set of applications. Some may use the upgrade to purchase new PCs, but Windows is only certified to run on any PC with a TPM 2 (trusted platform module), that enables its Secure Boot functionality.

While the Windows OS offers backwards compatibility, Microsoft’s security stance means that as PCs get older, there comes a point when the device driver software needed to keep these PCs functional offers too large an attack surface to continue supporting them. 

Microsoft is unwilling to coordinate the effort required to support device drivers indefinitely, which means that perfectly good peripherals will lose support eventually; they may still run using the older (legacy) device driver, but there will not be any newer versions.

To prevent older PCs from running Windows, Microsoft enforces signed device-drivers, which means that only certified driver software is allowed to be installed on Windows when it boots up securely. There will always be workaround to get devices working, but these break the Microsoft security model and potentially expose corporate IT to cyber security attacks.

While the migration to Windows 11 eventually got going, many corporate IT departments have found it harder to migrate to the latest version of Windows, which is why there is an extended support option available. Home users have until October 26, after Microsoft recognised that there were plenty of consumers still on Windows 10. Consumers who register for extended support and back up their PCs in the Microsoft cloud will be able to get free security updates until October 2026. Corporate PCs and devices connected to Active Directory will only receive Windows 10 security updates if they are covered by an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. 

A potential enticement to migrate is new PCs with neural processing units (NPU), aimed at running artificial intelligence (AI) workloads locally, rather than relying on cloud-based AI acceleration. Among the interesting developments in AI PCs is that Microsoft initially only certified ARM-powered devices based on Qualcomm chips, but Intel and AMD -based PCs are now supported.

Running AI inference workloads locally offers application developers and hardware providers the ability to use the built-in NPU to provide smart capabilities in their products, with noise-cancelling webcam microphones among the early use cases. It can also help improve the rendering of backgrounds in video conference calls. However, these do not appear to offer a compelling enough reason to upgrade to an AI PC.

The annual Build 2025 conference was Microsoft’s chance to convince developers that creating AI functionality in their applications is the direction of travel for Windows software. Without compelling use cases, there is no reason for IT departments to pay the current premium being commanded for NPU-enabled PCs that offer local AI acceleration.

Microsoft offers an AI inference engine, Windows ML, in Windows 11, which can be accessed via an application programming interface (API), and, significantly, can be trained on custom data. It is unclear how this will evolve, but the capabilities are now built into Windows 11, which means it is highly likely more AI-infused PC applications will be coming online during 2026.

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 AI stories of 2025.

While the end of support has driven PC purchases, there also appears to have been an increase in PC refreshes in preparation for the new US tariffs. In April, analyst Canalys reported that PC shipments experienced a surge in first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), driven by manufacturers accelerating deliveries to the US in anticipation of initial tariff announcements.

Google Gemma, Meta Llama, Mistral and DeepSeek can all be downloaded free of charge for use on a personal machine without paying for online services or exposing your data to the cloud. In this article, we assess the technical feasibility of doing this on a personal machine and the quality of the output with the resources available. 

With Windows 10 no longer supported, IT leaders need to consider how to manage the devices that haven’t yet been upgraded to Windows 11. This is because stranded Windows 10 boxes and legacy applications will become a tempting target for hackers. This requires mitigations, such as uninstalling as much end-of-life software as possible or segregating devices that can’t be upgraded.

Before the web allowed businesses such as Facebook and Google to flourish, there was traditional computing. Until the late 1970s with the era of homebrew computer devices, computers were seen as complex, expensive machines that ran in specialised facilities. But on 4 April 1975, Paul Allen and Bill Gates formed Microsoft, a company that defined the PC era and opened up computing for all.

The traditional way of handling IT issues through helpdesk tickets generally delivers an unsatisfactory user experience – something Toyota is looking to rectify. Instead of waiting for IT issues to be manually triaged, Toyota’s 100,000 staff members now benefit from the IT department using Nexthink’s DEX technology to proactively detect, diagnose and remedy IT issues across endpoints, leading to an improvement in digital employee experience.

Widespread warranty fraud is not only costing companies billions but also creating a breeding ground for advanced hardware exploits, warned hardware hacker and researcher Bunnie Huang at Black Hat Asia 2025.

In Shenzhen, China, there is a bustling market of hardware tinkerers, repairing and repurposing old devices, enabling them to build a deep understanding of hardware vulnerabilities. According to Huang, these technicians are perfectly positioned to identify and exploit manufacturing defects.

When Windows 10 reaches end-of-life on 14 October, organisations will need to purchase an Extended Support (ESU) contract to receive Microsoft patches.

“There will be no more bug fixes or performance enhancements,” said Gartner analyst Ranjit Atwal.

Businesses can buy an ESU, but Atwal expects that only a small number of organisations will pay for this, to provide a “support” bridge enabling them to continue to receive support from Microsoft when they complete the migration away from Windows 10. 

A range of AMD, Intel and ARM-powered PCs with neural processing units are aiming to boost office productivity. DellLeading PC makers, HP and Lenovo all demoed their latest AI-enabled PC offerings. These devices pack vats amounts of memory for running local AI inference workloaads, along with powerful AI acceleration hardware. 

Gartner explains how IT leaders can manage their migration from Windows 10 to Windows 11 using the Microsoft ESU programme. However, customers experiencing technical issues with Windows 10 that are unrelated to the ESU updates are advised to upgrade to Windows 11 because ESU does not provide complete patching. Vulnerabilities rated as “moderate” or “low” will not be addressed.

Businesses and consumers alike may not feel the need to upgrade to Windows 11 as its predecessor approaches end-of-life, but they are putting their own security at risk, said the NCSC.

The NCSC released updated recommended configuration packs for Windows 10 – part of a set of recommended configurations it maintains for the main operating systems to help organisations rapidly deploy recommended baselines.

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Generally, reviews and analyses of the telecoms market have been very grounded and focused on gigabit fibre networks and 5G mobile. But any look at 2025 would not be complete if it didn’t show just how much service providers and the industry in general are now increasingly and literally reaching for the stars – to be more precise, the looking at the burgeoning satellite communications sector.

The upshot is that in 2025 non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and satellite connectivity moved very markedly from niche to mainstream, whether in rural broadband or direct-to-cell use cases. In terms of those driving the provider landscape, it was no surprise to see Starlink as having gained the highest orbit sealing with 44 partnerships, followed by AST SpaceMobile and Lynk.

Looking at use cases and geography, rural and enterprise broadband remained the dominant application, with the leading providers players enabling unmodified smartphones to connect in remote areas. Yet in-flight connectivity was perhaps one one of the most interesting applications.

In July 2025, Virgin Atlantic announced plans to introduce Starlink in-flight connectivity across its entire fleet by creating a digitally connected cabin. Months later, arch rival International Airlines Group (IAG) announced a partnership to implement Starlink connectivity for more than 500 aircraft across its fleet, which includes Aer Lingus, British Airways (BA), Iberia, Level and Vueling. Not to be outdone, Qatar and Emirates also inked deals with Starlink to equip widebody aircraft with connectivity.

After a previous year which marked its fifth birthday and the arrival of Advanced versions of the basic network, the 5G industry concentrated on deployment. And one of the most interesting developing market was in-stadium connectivity. Simply offering Wi-Fi in stadiums is not enough: providing an advanced connectivity experience is now what fans – both in music and sports – expect. Game-changing connectivity for stadiums includes integrating existing stadium infrastructure with 5G, cloud-based private telecom networks.

The year was rather quiet on the 6G front, but 2025 did end with research establishments in Europe, in particular Finland, setting out plans for what the next generation of mobile will look like.

For fixed broadband access in the UK, the year saw continued rapid pace of gigabit access. A report from regulator Ofcom in November revealed that 78% of UK homes (23.7 million) had full-fibre broadband access, up from 20.7 million (69%) a year ago. Yet Ofcom also noted that less than half of those with access sign up. Alternative providers were also facing increased business headwinds that are expected to continue into the new year.

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 telecoms stories of 2025.

GSA study shows Starlink leading the satellite landscape with 44 partnerships, followed by AST SpaceMobile and Lynk, while in spectrum Ka-band remains most widely used frequency range, supporting both feeder and service links.

The findings point to an evolving landscape where satellite services are moving from niche to mainstream, with strong growth expected in broadband and direct-to-cell offerings, and slower but steady expansion in IoT applications

Satellite communications firm launches its next-generation internet of things connectivity service, which it says is set to revolutionise global IoT capabilities with two-way messaging connectivity.

The IoT Nano service is designed to address a growing demand for cost-effective, low-data, low-power IOT services, enabling businesses across sectors such as agriculture, transport, utilities and mining to effectively monitor and control fixed and mobile assets with what is claimed as “ultra-reliable” satellite coverage.

As part of its mission to build the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones for commercial and government applications, AST SpaceMobile reveals plans to expand its satellite fleet by almost 10 times over the next 18 months.

Specifically, the space-based cellular broadband network provider as part of a programme to send 45 to 60 satellites into orbit by 2026 to support continuous service in the US, Europe, Japan and other strategic markets.

MENA airline accelerates programme to equip widebody aircraft with Starlink-based connectivity and now operates up to 200 daily such connected flights to key destinations.

Qatar Airways claims to be the operator of the largest number of Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft and the only carrier in the MENA region currently offering Starlink in-flight connectivity. It has described the expansion as “reaffirming its position as the world’s leading airline for innovation, reliability and unmatched passenger experience

Preliminary design review revealed for Astrum Mobile’s Neastar-1, said to be the first geostationary satellite-to-device mission in the region designed to change how mobile networks reach people across Asia Pacific.

Neastar-1 is being developed on Swissto12’s HummingSat new geostationary small satellites that are seen as offering new economics for the geostationary satellite market, being around five times smaller than traditional satellites and so unlocking faster builds, lower costs and ride-share launches. The range is also said to offer a telecoms-grade service backbone that plugs directly into the 3GPP non-terrestrial networks (NTN) standard, designed for mass-market adoption.

As the country’s mobile comms operators increase the reach and roll-out of 5G standalone networks, the UK has become a mobile data-hungry nation, with mobile users consuming nearly a fifth (18%) more mobile data than a year ago, according to research from communications regulator Ofcom.

The research found UK mobile data use climbs to over 1.2 billion gigabytes each month, as networks deliver 5G SA to 83% of the UK to meet rising demand.

The city of Oulu in Finland has received a further boost to its prestige in the field of mobile communications research, design and manufacturing, with Nokia’s opening of what it calls the new home of radio, in the form of a research and development hub for the entire lifecycle of 5G and 6G radio innovation that will design, test and deliver next-generation networks built for artificial intelligence (AI).

The new campus is claimed to contain some of the world’s most advanced radio network laboratory and manufacturing technology, and will provide both simulated and real-world field verification environments to accelerate network evolution, ensuring that secure 5G and 6G networks are designed, tested and built in Europe.

The UK’s broadband sector has quietly witnessed a tipping point as fibre-based connections direct to premises superseded kerb-side connectivity for the first time, according to analyst Point Topic, while two of the country’s leading independent broadband service providers (altnets) have geared up fibre offerings for businesses.

The Point Topic survey found that the UK broadband market overall regained momentum in the third quarter of 2025, adding 64,000 subscribers and returning to growth across a total base of 28.94 million lines. Most significantly, full-fibre (FTTP) adoption surged ahead at its fastest rate since nationwide roll-outs began, reaching 11.56 million connections and overtaking fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) for the first time, with the latter decreasing to 10.6 million.

Mobility Report shows 33 CSPs currently offer differentiated connectivity services based on network slicing, with a combined total of 65 offerings with around 1.4 billion people expected to be served by fixed wireless access.

Even though the footprint of the UK’s alternative broadband providers (altnets) has doubled in less than two years, the sector is now moving from expansion to survival, with several operators facing commercial pressure that could trigger an expected consolidation wave, a study from Intelligens Consulting has found.

The State of the UK fibre market 2025 report revealed that the UK broadband market is on the brink of its biggest shakeout yet, as the industry shifts from rapid expansion to targeted, commercially grounded fibre investment.

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“When [the bubble] breaks, it’s going to be really bad, and not just for people in AI,” entrepreneur and AI expert Jerry Kaplan said at a Silicon Valley panel recorded by the BBC. “It’s going to drag down the rest of the economy.” This warning comes at a time when economists, investors, business owners, and the public at large are questioning whether all the money being poured into artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be worth it. Will it all pay off in a speculative future where AI might lead to a better and thriving society, or will the bubble burst and impact the global economy with it?

A bubble forms when excitement drives valuations beyond what the technology or business fundamentals can justify. With AI, huge amounts of money are being funneled into companies, and investors are betting heavily on the promise of AI reshaping society. This boom, however, may not be sustainable.

OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, still hasn’t turned a profit despite massive investment. Nvidia has also seen a surge in money because of the demand for its computational products to meet AI needs –- and this AI-driven chip shortage could make the products you buy more expensive. However, much of that demand is driven by circular investments. Companies funded by Nvidia then spend that money to buy its products. As these patterns intensify, the question becomes that if we are in a bubble, and how bad it will be if it bursts?

Signs that the AI bubble is forming

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It seems we are currently seeing the rise in AI and the collapse of everything else. One of the strongest signs of a forming bubble is the imbalance between how much money is being poured into AI and how little financial return is being generated. Major AI companies continue to operate without substantial profits, yet investors keep putting more capital into them. This brings to mind the dot-com bubble, where companies with unproven business models received massive funding simply for being part of a trendy new technology. AI today appears to be following a similar path.

Nvidia’s situation is another red flag. Its explosive growth is tied to demand for the hardware needed for AI, but much of that demand is circular. Nvidia invests in AI startups that then use those funds to buy Nvidia chips, inflating the company’s success without reflecting real market stability. This kind of investment loop artificially boosts valuations, creating the illusion of sustainable demand. If the loops break, though, the value it props up could collapse with it.

The large amounts of debt in the tech sector add even more pressure. Much like the 2008 housing crisis, where easy borrowing fueled an unstable boom, many AI companies are taking on massive loans to grow quickly. Billions of dollars in tech borrowing this year alone indicate an ecosystem dependent on constant investment rather than proven profitability.

What happens when the bubble pops?

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The boom in AI has created a demand to build more and more data centers. In fact, the energy needs of AI are so high that it might make your power bill go up even if you don’t use AI. These facilities have a limited lifespan and can’t be repurposed the way traditional infrastructure, like roads, can. If AI investments collapse, many of these data centers could quickly become abandoned industrial husks. As Kaplan told the BBC, “We’re creating a new man-made ecological disaster.”

The economic fallout could also be severe. Tech-related stocks make up roughly a third of the U.S. stock market, and Nvidia alone is valued higher than the entire country of Japan. A sudden collapse in the AI sector would therefore ripple through financial markets globally. Businesses dependent on AI-driven growth could struggle and the stock market could take a massive hit. Struggling businesses often lead to layoffs, and unemployed people spend less money, which impacts the economy, as well.

Finally, the interconnected borrowing among tech companies creates a dangerous level of shared financial risk. With no single company holding all the debt or responsibility, a collapse would be chaotic and difficult to contain. Similar to the dot-com bust or the end of the Gold Rush, the structures built to support the AI boom could be left behind as empty shells. Once the bubble pops, recovery may take years.

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Concluding a strong year for the Elon Musk-led satellite operator, recently authorised Starlink global reseller Sama X has secured licensing from Jordan’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) to resell the Space X firm’s satellite internet services across the Kingdom, in a bid to simplify access to high-speed internet.

Launched earlier in 2025 and backed by Kuwaiti conglomerate Alghanim, the reseller’s stated mission is to bring “innovative” satellite connectivity solutions to businesses “right where they are” across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The company said it specialises in delivering high-speed, low-latency satellite internet and connectivity services “designed to overcome digital barriers and ensure seamless connectivity” and that its partnership with Starlink enables it to take advantage of the latter’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, providing “world-class” connectivity to a diverse range of markets and enterprises.

Sama X also offers turnkey solutions – from customer consultation to rapid installation and activation – as well as local support, including a 24/7 call centre in English and Arabic.

The deal will see Sama X serve professionals, enterprises and public sector organisations across Jordan, addressing critical connectivity needs in remote regions of the Kingdom, from providing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with dependable internet in camps, to expanding digital government services to rural communities. The LEO satellite solutions will look to enable reliable primary or backup connectivity across the nation, allowing businesses and communities to operate more effectively and with confidence.

“Jordan, with its diverse economy and terrain, presents unique opportunities for latest-generation satellite broadband solutions that combine Starlink’s LEO constellation with our local market expertise and value-add. Whether it is a classroom in Tafileh, a logistics convoy near Ma’an, or a refugee clinic in Mafraq, everyone can benefit from the same high-speed internet enjoyed in the capital, Amman,” said Sama X CEO Amit Somani, commenting on the move.

“We are thankful to Jordan’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission for establishing a conducive environment that allows companies like Sama X to operate effectively. We look forward to collaborating with local stakeholders to advance the Kingdom’s Economic Modernisation Vision through ubiquitous and reliable connectivity.”

The Sama X deal comes just days after research found that Starlink connectivity doubled in 2025, including traffic from more than 20 new countries and regions. The study analysed aggregate request traffic volumes associated with Starlink’s primary autonomous system (AS14593) to track the growth in usage of the service throughout the past 12 months. The request volume shown in the study found traffic from Starlink continued to see consistent growth throughout 2025, with total request volume up 2.3 times across the year. The data also suggested Starlink tended to see rapid traffic growth when its service became available in a country or region, and that trend continued in 2025.

The satellite provider also enjoyed a range of contract wins in 2025 with airlines across the world to provide in-flight connectivity. These wins include Qatar Airways and Emirates. The former claims to be the operator of the largest number of Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft and the only carrier in the MENA region currently offering Starlink in-flight connectivity.

Not to be outdone, Emirates announced in November 2025 that it would deploy Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire in-service fleet, in a move that will bring fast connectivity to 232 Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft.

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Research from internet of things (IoT) analyst firm Berg Insight has calculated that the total number of aftermarket car telematics shipments worldwide reached 26.5 million in 2024 and projects that it will reach 39.3 million units in 2029, with the installed base of active aftermarket car telematics units growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% to reach 136.8 million worldwide at the end of 2029, up from 90.3 million at the end of 2024.

Berg Insight’s definition of an aftermarket car telematics solution in the report comprises cellular/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and RF-based solutions. It said there are currently many different form factors applicable for aftermarket car telematics, ranging from professionally installed hardwired black boxes to self-installed onboard diagnostics dongles and battery-powered devices.

The Aftermarket car telematics report pointed to such systems being useful in a number of application areas, including stolen vehicle tracking and recovery (SVT/SVR), vehicle diagnostics, Wi-Fi hotspots, convenience applications and usage-based insurance. It added that systems leveraging cellular technologies are most common across the industry, but RF-based solutions can be found in many geographical markets and are particularly used for SVT/SVR services.

Remote vehicle diagnostics allow service providers such as dealers and workshops to improve service offerings to car owners. “Dealers and finance companies can moreover leverage telematics for internal fleet management and manage the customer lifetime value,” noted Berg Insight senior analyst Martin Cederqvist. “The number of active aftermarket SVT units in use is forecasted to reach 103.4 million in 2029, up from 67.0 million at year end 2024.”

Regional market conditions, such as a high level of vehicle crime, influencing the demand for stolen vehicle tracking were found to have made SVT systems popular in countries such as Brazil, Israel, Russia and South Africa.

Even though an increasing number of new cars are sold with embedded connectivity, Berg believes that a varying degree of market success for current OEM telematics services enables aftermarket services to have a promising future, even in mature telematics markets. Aftermarket services targeting a specific customer group are seen as being able to offer an advantage in specialisation compared with telematics services that are mainly developed for a wide range of use cases.

The study noted that the market is characterised by a great diversity of players interacting in a complex value chain that spans multiple industries. The car telematics companies targeting the aftermarket car sector include specialists focusing on this application area only, as well as general telematics players that serve a broad range of applications including fleet management for commercial vehicles, stressed how aftermarket car telematics services are offered by a wide range of players.

That said, the research highlighted how distributing services and products through third parties is the most common go-to-market strategy for aftermarket car telematics solution suppliers. Important sales channels include insurance companies, dealers and importers, as well as direct-to-consumer channels such as mobile operators and online retailers.

Examples of leading telematics companies selling services via third parties or directly to consumers include OCTO Telematics, Procon Analytics, StarLine, Spireon, Targa Telematics, Vodafone Automotive, Ituran, PassTime GPS, Tracker Connect Maxtrack, Carsystem, SVR Tracking, Cognosos, Verizon Hum, Varroc Connect, Mojio, Tail Light (Bouncie) and Agnik (Vyncs).

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The UK government has reached a milestone in its programme to boost rural connectivity, announcing that more than 100 mobile network masts in traditionally underserved regions have been upgraded to deliver 4G coverage from all major mobile network operators.

Launched in 2020, the £1.3bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme is a joint initiative between the government and the UK’s four mobile network operators – EE, VMO2, Three and Vodafone – to extend 4G connectivity to 95% of the UK’s landmass by the end of 2025. The founding principle is that through both public and private investment, new and existing phone masts will be built or upgraded across the UK to close down so-called rural mobile notspots.

Under the scheme, the four operators committed to improving 4G coverage and levelling up connectivity across the UK, which has seen them invest in a shared network of new and existing phone masts, overseen by a jointly owned company called Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited (DMSL). The operators’ £532m investment has been complemented by more than £501m in government funding.

According to the latest Connected nations report from UK communications regulator Ofcom, 96% of the UK now has coverage from at least one mobile network operator, up from 91% when the programme started in March 2020. To date, the SRN programme has already delivered mobile coverage to an extra 9,500 premises and 1,400km of roads.

These improvements are said to be transforming connectivity in areas that were previously not served by all mobile network operators.

Across Wales, Scotland and England, 105 masts have been upgraded over the past year – 44 in Wales, 33 in Scotland and 28 in England – providing reliable coverage to over 400 businesses.

In addition, 4019km2 is the cumulative area of the UK predicted to be reached with an outdoor 4G signal from all mobile networks through the new masts. New coverage will also be available in 10 national parks across England, Scotland and Wales, including Eryri National Park and the Lake District.

Commenting on the upgrade, UK telecoms minister Liz Lloyd said: “More of Britain’s rural communities are finally getting the connection they’ve been waiting for as we deck the hills with 4G coverage. These 100 upgraded masts mean businesses can ring up sales, families can video call their loved ones this Christmas without buffering mid-conversation, and our beautiful rural areas can attract the investment, jobs and tourism they need to thrive … rural communities are finally getting the connections they deserve, boosting opportunity and growth as we drive forward plans for national renewal.”

Ben Roome, CEO of SRN delivery partner Mova, said Christmas is a time for connection, and this year, more rural communities than ever would be able to share that spirit.

“With the 100th site activated, in Llanfair on the border between England and Wales, these publicly funded masts can connect families, friends and businesses across a cumulative area of over 4,000km2, irrespective of mobile provider. This achievement is a testament to what can be accomplished when government and industry work together. Since the Shared Rural Network began, 4G coverage from all four operators has grown from 66% to over 81% of the UK, an increase equivalent to the size of Wales and Northern Ireland combined,” he added.

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The year kicked off with a breakthrough coming out of China with Deepseek, which seriously dented the US’ ambitions to dominate the market for large language models (LLMs). What Deepseek showed the world, beyond causing a big hiccup in the financial market valuation of the US AI tech giants, is that China, which the US had attempted to undermine by only allowing the export of less powerful AI acceleration hardware, was able to produce a model that could outperform US LLMs that benefited from the most powerful Nvidia chips.

Its significance goes beyond geopolitics: Deepseek’s R1 model demonstrated that it is certainly not necessary to throw vast amounts of computational resources and spend a huge amount of money on AI acceleration hardware to achieve good results. The financial results from the hyperscalers show that the trend is to invest heavily in gigawatt datacentres, which they anticipate will be needed to support the most powerful AI acceleration hardware.

But for everyone else, including corporate IT, such infrastructure is certainly overkill, especially as smaller AI models are able to combine the expertise of the public LLMs with more focused training to deliver outcomes that can outperform the major players when deployed within a business context.  

Agentic AI has become the most hyped technology trend of 2025. Corporate IT and business leaders are having to deal with the aftermath of a feeding frenzy among enterprise technology providers to sell AI-enabled products.

There are numerous reports showing that AI is delivering a low return on investment (ROI); most projects are failing to get past the pilot stage and yet more AI is embedded into corporate IT systems. This has meant that while a corporate AI strategy may have been based on standardising on a few AI engines, every piece of enterprise software is being sold with standalone AI capabilities.

Given the poor ROI being achieved by the majority of corporate AI projects, the industry has pivoted towards agentic AI to join the dots between the enterprise AI systems that have been bolted onto commercial enterprise software. The goal is to drive up efficiency by enabling disparate AI systems to act as specialist AI workers that have been tuned to handle specific parts of a business workflow.

The question then becomes what happens to the parts of the workflow that need to be done by a human worker. It is this interface between workers and AI systems that is now receiving a lot of attention. If AI is being sold to improve efficiency, then at some point, people’s jobs will change and some may find they are surplus to requirements. Those who remain in employment will have AI agents as co-workers. 

Business leaders are pondering how to balance human work with tasks that can be achieved easily by AI agents. Rather than being mere digital tools, there are discussions being had that look at treating an AI agent as a resource that improves over time and gains experience through training aka machine learning. There will be societal ramifications as agentic AI moves beyond hype to something that can do useful work in an organisation.

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 AI stories of 2025.

If used correctly, large language models (LLMs) promise to revolutionise software development – but they do not easily fit some corporate IT use cases, with the vagaries of natural language raising some challenges. The majority of programs are written in English-like programming languages that are deterministic, which means the programmer effectively tells the computer exactly what it needs to do. However, using natural language in vibe coding can lead to problems when trying to describe something unambiguously.

The availability of the DeepSeek-R1 LLM shows it’s possible to deploy AI on modest hardware. Matthew Carrigan, a machine learning engineer at Hugging Face, suggested a system for running AI inference based on DeepSeek could be built using two AMD Epyc server processors and 768 Gbytes of fast memory. The system he demonstrated in a series of tweets could be put together for about $6,000.

The Ada Lovelace Institute examines how “market forces” can be used to drive the professionalisation of artificial intelligence assurance in the context of a wider political shift towards deregulation. It recommends that frameworks for AI regulation need to distinguish between AI systems generally and those used for narrower contexts, in terms of both the practical technical and legal competencies needed to assure each type of system, as well as the standards that should be applied to each.

The companies promoting AI fail to mention it’s often underpinned not by code but by humans tagging data and viewing unsavoury content – AI could not exist without cheap labour largely outsourced to the Global South. Then there is the  “cloud”, which has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry and is decidedly physical, as manifested in water-guzzling datacentres and extractive mining in environmentally challenging locations.

We speak to Chris Loake, group CIO at Hiscox, about the roll-out of Microsoft Copilot and how to succeed with AI projects. For Loake, an AI strategy is like the North Star, which broadly stipulates an AI-enabled business.

“We believe that AI is a generational technology which will underpin many, many things,” he says. 

The phrase “don’t believe the hype” has never been more apt – there are growing warnings of an AI investment bubble that could affect everyone if it bursts. For example, Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup, recently raised $2bn funding on a valuation of $10bn – the company has zero products, zero customers and zero revenues. The only thing it made public to its investors was the resume of its founder, Mira Murati, formerly chief technology officer at OpenAI.

We find out how organisations can take automation to the next level using agentic artificial intelligence. Analyst firm Forrester uses the term “process orchestration” to describe the next level of automating business processes, using agentic AI in workflow to handle ambiguities far more easily than the programming scripts used in RPA.

AI job disruption was among the hot topics at the Gartner Symposium in Barcelona. We speak to Gartner’s Helen Poitevin about AI job chaos, with Poitevin stating that employees will see that certain tasks they do will start to go away. She recommends IT and business leaders take a human-first approach to design AI systems that people want to use to do their jobs more effectively. 

We speak to security experts about how IT departments and security leaders can ensure they run artificial intelligence systems safely and securely. If you think of an AI model as a new employee who has just come into the company, do you give them access to everything? No, you don’t. You trust them gradually over time as they demonstrate the trust and capacity to do tasks.

Organisations are starting to look at where artificial intelligence fits into business workflows. IT leaders can get their organisations ready for workflows that may be split between internal staff, external contractors and AI agents by capturing the knowledge using structured data ontologies to make expertise machine readable. 

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Once again threat actors kept cyber pros on their toes in 2025 in a never-ending cat-and-mouse game.

But amid the noise, there were some notable stories and incidents affecting household names in the UK – the likes of Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover – meaning that 2025 will undoubtedly live long in the memory.

Here are Computer Weekly’s top cyber crime stories of 2025

Heralding a dominant narrative in 2025 – that of threat actors exploiting artificial intelligence (AI) models – at the start of the year, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) published new information revealing how nation-state-backed threat actors hailing from countries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Russia were attempting to abuse its Gemini AI tool.

GTIG said it observed threat actors using Gemini to support various phases of their attack chains, including procuring infrastructure and bulletproof hosting services, reconnoitering targets, researching vulnerabilities, developing payloads and assisting with malicious scripting and post-compromise evasion techniques.

At the end of March, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued a £3.07m fine to Advanced Computer Software Group, since renamed OneAdvanced, over a 2022 LockBit ransomware attack that crippled NHS services when the victim was forced to pull a key patient management platform offline.

In a warning to others, the regulator found that OneAdvanced’s health subsidiary lacked appropriate technical and organisational measures to guarantee to security of its systems, and highlighted gaps in multifactor authentication (MFA), vulnerability scanning and patch management.

In April, just before the Easter holiday weekend, one of the biggest cyber attacks of the year unfolded against high street stalwart Marks and Spencer (M&S). The initial incident saw the retailer forced to pull multiple public-facing services offline, including online shopping, click-and-collect, and contactless payments.

Days later, a second cyber attack affecting the Co-op Group drew more attention, and it soon emerged that the attacks were not the work of career Russian hackers, but an English-speaking hacking collective known as Scattered Spider.

By midsummer, Scattered Spider attacks were spreading fast, with the hacking gang’s members turning their attention to other industries – at first the insurance sector and then aviation.

Almost as soon as Mandiant threat researchers issued an alert on 27 June, multiple airlines reported cyber incidents, and more were to follow.

On 10 July, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced the arrests of four people in its investigation into the M&S and Co-op attacks.

The arrests of two men aged 19, a third aged 17 and a 20-year-old woman were made at their home addresses in London, Staffordshire and the West Midlands, with support from West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (Rocu) and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit.

In August, a string of attacks by the ShinyHunters hacking collective orchestrated via Salesforce products caught the world’s attention, with Adidas; LVMH brands Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co; jewellery company Pandora; insurance companies such as Allianz; and airlines such as Qantas and Air France-KLM all implicated.

Researchers working the problem turned up evidence suggesting a deliberate partnership between ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider, both of which had previously been linked to the wider cyber crime network known as The Com.

At the start of September, UK carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) became the latest organisation to fall victim to a major cyber attack, and once again, it was hackers linked to alleged to be responsible for the incident, which hit production at the company.

In the following days and weeks, the scope of the cyber attack began to widen to include many of JLR’s suppliers, as the firm was forced to repeatedly delay restarting its production lines.

From summer onwards, multiple organisations, including many prominent universities and media organisations in the US, and possibly some NHS bodies, were targeted by the Cl0p cyber extortion gang after its members successfully weaponised a vulnerability in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS).

In October, Oracle responded with an out-of-band patch for the remote code execution (RCE) flaw in the widespread EBS ecosystem – the product is deeply embedded in enterprise financial and operational systems, meaning Cl0p may have had access to a large number of extremely high-value targets.

As disruption from the JLR incident rolled on through the autumn, and the economic effects widened to include a contraction in the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP), the Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), a cyber security non-profit, declared the incident a Category 3 Systemic Event on its ‘hurricane’ scale.

Accounting for various factors, the CMC said the financial cost of the incident would likely hit about £1.9bn, and could potentially run higher, and described it as the single most damaging cyber attack ever to hit the UK.

There was, however, good news for (some) hackers at the close of 2025, as the long-running battle to reform the outdated Computer Misuse Act (CMA) of 1990 took a step forward when it was announced that the government planned to make changes that would protect ethical hackers from prosecution by giving them a statutory defence in law.

The CMA, while it has successfully been used to prosecute cyber criminals, also risked criminalising ethical hackers and security researchers for doing their job through the specific offence of ‘unauthorised access to a computer’. Campaigners say changing the law will boost Britain’s security industry.

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Fitbit is one of the most popular brands in the world for fitness trackers, now also making smartwatches like the Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2. Fitbit’s current lineup of fitness trackers is made up of the Fitbit Inspire 3 for $99.95, and the Fitbit Charge 6 for $159.95. Both devices are capable of collecting data such as heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), and sleeping patterns, and they also automatically detect and track specific exercises. The Fitbit Charge 6 adds built-in GPS for more accurate running and biking metrics, extra sensors to enable electrocardiogram (ECG) readings or electrodermal activity (EDA) scans, plus wider support for apps such as Google Maps and Google Wallet.

To make the most out of the Fitbit Inspire 3 and the Fitbit Charge 6, Fitbit Premium is necessary. While every purchase of these devices comes with a six-month subscription for free, it eventually becomes $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Fitbit Premium provides personalized insights on your health metrics, as well as a library of workout and mindfulness sessions.

However, if you’re checking out what else is out there — either due to cost, style, specific features, or a preference for another tech ecosystem — take a look at these eight Fitbit alternatives that we’ve carefully selected. More information on our reasons for selection can be found at the end of this article.

Samsung Galaxy Fit 3

The Samsung Galaxy brand is usually linked to flagship smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, so it may come as a surprise that a fitness tracker from this manufacturer leads this roundup of Fitbit alternatives as a budget-friendly option. This isn’t a mistake though, as the Samsung Galaxy Fit 3, which has a 4.3 rating on Amazon with nearly 1,400 reviews, will only cost you $54.95.

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 is a great choice for a basic fitness tracker, with support for more than 100 workout modes, and advanced health tracking that includes SpO2 and snore detection. It also has a 1.6-inch AMOLED display, and the ability to go with you on a swim with 5ATM and IP68 water resistance. If you care about counting your daily steps, it’s very accurate at that, according to Redditor u/ajitjadhav-28, who also said that its user interface is fast and feels premium. According to this user, the fitness tracker doesn’t reach its advertised 14-day battery life though — an experience echoed by u/Humble_Collar3574. Still, the device is a no-brainer for its price and the brand that it carries. 

Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 10

Xiaomi is a Chinese consumer electronics company with a presence in the mobile, smart home, and wearables spaces. The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 10 is an impressive version of its fitness tracker. Selling for a relatively affordable $56.99, the device has already amassed over 3,500 reviews on Amazon with an impressive average rating of 4.5 stars, despite only being on the market for six months at the time of writing. 

The 1.72-inch AMOLED display with ultra-thin bezels makes the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 10 stand out, especially if you favor large screens. Plus, its battery life of up to 21 days on a single charge is exceptional for a fitness tracker at this price. The device offers enhanced accuracy with its precise electric compass, and comprehensive sleep monitoring. However, Redditor u/Icy-Cause-8806 flagged that the “the software experience on iOS is rough” for the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 10, so you may want to look elsewhere if you’re planning to pair your fitness tracker with an iPhone. It “works super fine” with Android smartphones, particularly Xiaomi devices, according to Redditor u/BRSProZ. 

Amazfit Bip 6

The Amazfit Bip 6 is another more affordable alternative to Fitbit’s fitness trackers at $79.99. The brand is not as popular as Samsung or even Xiaomi but that shouldn’t be a concern, especially with this wearable device scoring an average of 4.4 stars after more than 3,500 reviews. In fact, Amazon user Moon Hrafn-Úlfur doesn’t hold back in describing it as “better than a Fitbit” after leaving a 5-star rating.

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 and the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 10, the design of the Amazfit Bip 6 looks more like a smartwatch with its 1.97-inch AMOLED squarer screen. The fitness focus is still there though, with support for more than 140 workout modes, 24/7 monitoring for health metrics such as heart rate and stress, and 5ATM water resistance so that you can wear it whenever you’re swimming. The device also comes with built-in GPS for navigation, downloadable maps, and a 14-day battery life. In a thorough review, Redditor u/gamefan5 flagged an inconsistent software experience with the Amazfit Bip 6’s ZeppOS, and its extremely low storage, but still praised its “unbeatable price and value.”

Garmin Forerunner 55

If you’re planning to buy a fitness tracker primarily for your running sessions, you should check out the Garmin Forerunner 55. It’s the brand’s most affordable running smartwatch at $199.99, so you can expect only the basics from it, but with an average rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon after more than 5,200 reviews, the device should definitely be considered as a Fitbit alternative. Runner’s World recommends the Garmin Forerunner 55 for beginner runners as an entry-level watch, despite its lower-quality screen compared to the brand’s newer models.

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is more expensive than Fitbit’s fitness trackers, but can be worth the extra cost to some because of its running-focused features. With its built-in GPS, the device also offers the brand’s PacePro technology, which provides pace guidance for your chosen course, and other training tools such as estimators for your race time and finish time. You’ll be able to access all the health metrics that the Garmin Forerunner 55 tracks through the Garmin Connect app, and its battery can last up to 20 hours in GPS mode, or up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode. Some runners may prefer the slimmer profiles of dedicated fitness trackers though.

Apple Watch SE 3

The Apple Watch SE 3 is the highest-rated product on Amazon in this roundup, with an average score of 4.7 stars, though it only has just over 500 reviews as Apple’s new smartwatches were just released in September, 2025. It’s Apple’s latest entry-level wearable device with a price of $249 for its GPS, 40mm version, but it keeps a lot of the health-related features from the brand’s more expensive models. According to reviews from TechRadar, The Guardian, and CNET, the Apple Watch SE 3 keeps up with the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, with TechRadar even claiming that it’s “the best Apple Watch for most people.”

With the Apple Watch SE 3 on your wrist, the Vitals app will keep track of important metrics such as your heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep duration. You’ll be missing out on blood oxygen monitoring, the ECG app, and hypertension notifications, which are available on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. However, for its price, the Apple Watch SE 3 is a comprehensive fitness device that slots into your Apple ecosystem if you’ve already invested in an iPhone. That’s actually a requirement, as Apple’s smartwatches will not work with Android smartphones.

Whoop 5.0

Part of the appeal of fitness trackers over smartwatches is that they attract less attention and don’t cause as many distractions. The Whoop 5.0 takes these benefits up a notch by eliminating the screen altogether. Some might think that paying $199 for a wearable device without a display is too much, but those who have purchased the Whoop 5.0 appear to be impressed, as it has an average score of 4.2 stars on Amazon from more than 1,500 reviews. Amazon user Robin Winiarczyk said it’s “an absolute game changer” after wearing Fitbit devices for more than a decade.

Instead of displaying the data that it collects through a built-in screen, you’ll be able to access the information through the Whoop app. Using the Whoop 5.0’s accurate tracking of your heart rate, VO2 Max, and other important metrics, you’ll receive daily recommendations and insights on how to further improve your health. It’s also very comfortable to wear, which makes it ideal for sleep tracking, according to Redditor u/BusyMathematician854. The fitness tracker requires a subscription though, and while your purchase comes with 12 months free, you’ll need to pay at least $199 per year, or $25 per month afterwards as an additional cost.

Oura Ring 4

For those who don’t like wearing anything on their wrists, or if you’re reserving that area for your favorite traditional watches, you can still monitor important health metrics through fitness-tracking rings. One of the best smart rings in the market is the Oura Ring 4, which has more than 6,800 reviews on Amazon and a 4.2 average rating. It’s the most expensive device in this roundup though, at $349.

For some people, it will be more comfortable to wear the Oura Ring 4 on their finger over a Fitbit fitness tracker on their wrist. It’s water resistant with an eight-day battery life, and with no screens or vibrations, it will not cause any distractions. The Oura Ring 4 works silently to provide you with daily sleep and readiness scores, with Redditor u/SpaceAgePanda claiming that it showed how waking up very early was affecting his health so he decided to change jobs. However, to unlock advanced tracking features for more than 50 health metrics, such as heart rate and blood oxygen, as well as more detailed analysis and deeper personalization, an Oura membership is required. You’ll only get one month for free, and it will cost $5.99 per month or $69.99 per year afterwards. It’s up to you to decide whether all of these benefits are worth the total cost.

Google Pixel Watch 3

With Google’s acquisition, the Fitbit app was integrated into the Google Pixel Watch. As the Google Pixel Watch 4 is the latest release, it has less than 300 reviews on Amazon, so we’re going with the Google Pixel Watch 3 as our recommendation. With over 1,600 reviews and an average rating of 4.4 stars, this wearable device is a great alternative if you want Fitbit technology in a modern Android smartwatch package that costs $249.99.

In our Google Pixel Watch 3 review, we highlighted its well-designed software with Wear OS 5 — though you can upgrade to Wear OS 6 as soon as you receive the device — and its very responsive performance. You’ll have better control over your fitness with the ability to build custom runs, plus audio and haptic cues for when to change your pace. It has support for more than 40 workout modes, and the Morning Brief feature that starts your day with a summary of insights based on the data that the smartwatch collected. Unlike Fitbit fitness trackers, Google removed the need for Fitbit Premium to access a lot of the Google Pixel Watch 3’s health-related features, but it still comes with six free months of the subscription.

How we selected the best Fitbit alternatives

PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

In selecting Fitbit alternatives, our priorities were product quality and customer satisfaction. All of our recommendations have an average score of at least 4.2 stars from Amazon, following at least 500 user reviews.

The devices range from budget-friendly fitness bands to feature-packed smartwatches with health components, to provide you with a wide range of choices. If you’re looking for alternatives to Fitbit fitness trackers to save on costs, make sure that your device will be supported in the future. If you just want to see if there’s something more appropriate for you, at least one of our recommendations should meet your needs.

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