Bi-weekly, ETR publishes data driven articles designed to help enterprise technology leaders make sense of fast moving market signals. These pieces, part of our ongoing effort to deliver timely insight, distill proprietary spending data, sentiment patterns, and practitioner feedback into clear snapshots of where the industry is heading. ETR articles have become a reliable pulse check for teams navigating an environment full of hype cycles, shifting budgets, and evolving priorities.
Across 2025, some articles stood out not only for the strength of their findings but for the attention they drew from practitioners. Based on total views and engagement, these were the stories that resonated most with technology leaders. They reveal what teams are watching closely, where uncertainty remains, and which trends are shaping real world decision making.
Below, we count down the five articles that captured the most interest in 2025 and why they mattered.
https://research.etr.ai/etr-data-drop/agentic-ai-use-cases-in-workday-illuminate
Workday’s early moves in agentic AI drew significant attention this year, and for good reason. In a landscape where vendors promise sweeping transformation, Workday’s emerging use cases revealed grounded progress. The article captured how AI agents are beginning to assist in workforce modeling, forecasting, and operational decision support, all anchored in Workday’s substantial data foundation.
Why it mattered
Enterprise leaders are eager to understand which AI capabilities are real versus experimental. This piece resonated because it demonstrated practical, directional applications of agentic AI inside a platform already central to HR and finance operations. For many IT teams, it offered a tangible preview of how intelligent automation may unfold across core business functions.
https://research.etr.ai/etr-data-drop/2025-enterprise-tech-trends
Why it mattered
With so many predictions circulating each year, leaders looked for data backed realism. This article provided it. It resonated because it reaffirmed what many IT executives were experiencing in their own organizations and helped teams validate their near term strategies against broader market patterns.
https://research.etr.ai/etr-data-drop/cloudflares-strengths-shine-but-perceived-gaps-persist
Cloudflare’s momentum has been one of the most discussed stories in enterprise infrastructure and security, and this article captured both sides of that momentum. Readers appreciated its balance: strong traction and positive sentiment in key categories, paired with open questions around where Cloudflare still needs to prove itself in the eyes of practitioners. It delivered a nuanced picture of a vendor in transition.
Why it mattered
IT teams are increasingly skeptical of one sided vendor narratives. This article stood out because it acknowledged Cloudflare’s strengths while spotlighting the areas customers still watch closely. For teams evaluating or expanding Cloudflare deployments, it offered a measured, data centric foundation for discussion.
https://research.etr.ai/etr-data-drop/inside-the-decline-what-leaders-reveal-about-2025-tech-spend
This article quickly became one of the most referenced pieces of the year. It broke down the dynamics behind anticipated spending declines for 2025, drawing from direct feedback from technology leaders. Rather than framing the story as contraction alone, it explained where spend was consolidating, which categories were stabilizing, and how organizations were prioritizing modernization even under constraint.
Why it mattered
Budget pressure is universal, and IT teams needed accurate signals to plan with confidence. This article resonated because it translated sentiment into strategy, helping leaders understand not only that spending was tightening but how that tightening was shaping category level decisions.
https://research.etr.ai/etr-data-drop/saas-growth-slows-as-ai-spend-rises-signal-or-head-fake
The most viewed ETR article of 2025 captured a moment of significant transition. SaaS indicators softened while AI related investment intensified, raising an important question: are organizations reallocating spend in a lasting way, or is this simply a temporary shift as teams reorient around new capabilities? Readers gravitated to the article’s framing, which challenged assumptions and encouraged practitioners to think critically about what the data truly suggests.
Why it mattered
Decision makers want to understand the implications of where budgets move next. This piece sparked conversation because it highlighted a real tension: enthusiasm for AI projects alongside cautious, measured SaaS investment. For many IT leaders, it served as both a pulse check and a reality check.
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