European Telecom, Media Firms Accelerate AI, Cloud Adoption

Telecom and media and entertainment (M&E) organizations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are navigating increasingly interconnected digital environments as AI, cloud, 5G and edge computing reshape service delivery and operating models, according to two new research reports published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.

The 2025 ISG Provider Lens Telecom — Managed and Next-gen IT Services report for EMEA finds that telecom enterprises are pursuing operational modernization initiatives to address legacy complexity, regulatory requirements and revenue pressure. Similarly, the 2025 ISG Provider Lens Media and Entertainment — Managed and Next-gen IT Services report for EMEA finds that M&E enterprises are modernizing content supply chains through cloud-native platforms, automation and data-driven workflows to control operating costs and support multiplatform distribution.

“Telecom firms in EMEA are being pushed toward more open ecosystem operating models,” said Anthony Drake, partner and president, ISG EMEA. “Flat revenue and rising operational complexity are forcing them to rely more on partners and platforms to deliver enterprise services, even as they work to balance openness with control and avoid excessive dependence on hyperscalers.”

Telecom enterprises in EMEA are prioritizing the simplification of operations support systems (OSS) and business support systems (BSS), the report says. They increasingly seek automation through AI for IT operations (AIOps). These initiatives have delivered measurable results, including reductions of 30 percent to 70 percent in mean time to repair (MTTR) and up to 65 percent quicker onboarding.

The EMEA M&E landscape is shifting toward cloud-native AI-led supply chains and automated workflows to reduce time-to-air and operational cost, ISG says. Enterprises are transitioning from siloed broadcast and creative stacks to interoperable environments that support localization, remote production and hybrid distribution models. They increasingly embed AI-assisted quality control, metadata enrichment and automated workflow orchestration into content supply chains. These changes have shortened content delivery cycles and improved scalability across regional markets.