Research
Posted: 1 January 2025

Fill in the Blank 2025: Enterprise Technology Survey Report

Listening to the People and Building the Future

At Crane, we invest in the future of enterprise technology—by listening, learning, and helping founders build what enterprises truly need.

The Fill in the Blank™ Survey captures the voices of senior enterprise technology leaders to reveal the key trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping enterprise software in 2025.

What’s Inside the Report

AI Adoption — From Hype to Reality

Enterprises are moving beyond experimentation. While nearly every organization is testing AI and ML, most face integration, data-readiness, and security hurdles. Discover how startups can help enterprises turn pilots into production.

Security & Compliance — A Non-Negotiable Priority

C-suite leaders ranked trust, transparency, and regulatory alignment as top purchasing criteria. Learn how early-stage companies can design with compliance in mind — not as an afterthought.

The Growing Complexity of Data Stacks

Hybrid and multi-cloud environments are fragmenting data architectures. Read why unifying cloud and on-prem systems is now essential for analytics, AI, and governance —and how interoperability creates competitive advantage.

The New Enterprise Buying Process

Procurement is decentralizing fast: 70 percent of respondents say no single leader owns AI. Understand the new constellation of stakeholders influencing software adoption and how founders can navigate it.

How Startups Can Win in 2025

Enterprise buyers are demanding measurable ROI, faster deployment, and credible scalability. See what today’s decision-makers value most and how startups can align messaging, proof points, and pricing to meet that bar.

Who We Heard From

Senior executives across finance, healthcare, retail, media, and technology — together overseeing $3 – 4 billion in annual enterprise technology spend — shared how they’re allocating budgets, testing AI, and evaluating new vendors.

Why It Matters

Founders building for the enterprise succeed when they understand what the enterprise actually needs.
This year’s Fill in the Blank Report turns insight into action — helping innovators focus where adoption happens fastest and impact runs deepest.

Download the 2025 Report →
Explore the data, analysis, and recommendations shaping enterprise technology’s next wave.