High-stakes insights from the Gartner® Digital Workplace Summit 2025 

“When you have power, your job is to empower other people.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

“Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts and humanities that yields us the results that make our heart sing.” – Steve Jobs

These two quotes, featured in presentations at this year’s Gartner Digital Workplace Summit in Grapevine, Texas, set the tone for the conference. On March 12-13, workplace strategists and other organizational leaders met to explore how the digital employee experience (DEX) continues to evolve. 

The key takeaway? The conversation around workplace technology has shifted from “more is better” to “what’s in it for me?” Employees are no longer satisfied with a never-ending stream of new tools—they want meaningful solutions that make their work more user-friendly and productive.

Vice President Analysts Tori Paulman and Jason Wong kicked off the conference with their keynote: “Buy, Build and Blend Your Digital Workplace.” In their presentation, Paulman and Wong noted, two-thirds of executives regret not choosing technologies more carefully. The session then opened the door for discussions on how organizations can “tap the chaos” to create a workplace experience that genuinely meets employee needs.

The productivity paradox: More tech doesn’t always mean more output

Paulman’s session on “Key Trends in Digital Employee Experience” brought the productivity paradox into focus. Despite rapid advancements in IT, organizations aren’t always seeing a corresponding rise in economic growth.

One Gartner prediction stood out: By 2027, GenAI will augment 30% of all knowledge workers’ tasks, up from 0% in 2023. Yet, simply deploying AI isn’t enough. Organizations must actively engage employees in rethinking workflows to ensure technology delivers real productivity gains. CIOs, service providers, and technology vendors must shift their focus from implementation to empowerment—giving workers the autonomy to shape the tools they use.

The IKEA effect: Some assembly required for success

A digital workplace summit may not seem the most obvious place for an IKEA reference, but the analogy fits surprisingly well. In their presentation, Paulman highlighted the IKEA Effect—a cognitive bias where people place a disproportionately high value on things they help create. 

Gartner’s research suggests that when employees have a hand in shaping their digital tools, adoption and engagement skyrocket, reinforcing the importance of low-code/no-code solutions in the modern workplace.

Today’s workplace is entering an era of human success, where technology should enable employees rather than dictate their experience, Paulman added. The most forward-thinking leaders take a human-centric approach, ensuring that tech solutions serve employee needs rather than forcing workers to adapt to rigid systems.

Senior director analyst Max Goss asked us to imagine a workplace not so far, far away—where AI, quantum leaps, and robots reshape how we work. (Spoiler alert: This is more than robots that clean our offices.) His session on “Strategic Technology Trends for 2025” highlighted three key categories where technology is evolving:

1. AI imperatives and risks, including agentic AI, which is AI I: AI that can autonomously complete tasks and optimize workflows.

2. New frontiers of computing, including energy-efficient computing that creates sustainable digital workplace strategies and hybrid computing that combines cloud, edge, and quantum computing to improve performance and security.

3. Human-machine synergy, from spatial computing that enhances digital and physical workspaces through immersive experiences to polyfunctional robots that, much like Roombas in our homes, will soon become part of the workplace ecosystem.

Does this sound far off? Not really. Goss predicts polyfunctional robots designed to assist team members in various tasks at work will be more commonplace in 3-10 years. He compared this shift to the growing popularity of cleaning robots, like Roombas, in our personal lives. 

Appspace also emphasizes how workplace technology must continue to evolve to be as easy and seamless as the tech we use as consumers. 

How to improve DEX in 2025: Practical takeaways

Analyst Autumn Standish’s session outlined ways to enhance DEX, with a few key points standing out:

• Improve sustainability: Digital workplace strategies should align with broader ESG goals.
• Establish rhythm, not revolution: Technology adoption should be gradual and seamless, not disruptive.
• Combine DEX and business performance data: Measuring employee engagement and business outcomes together is essential.
• Don’t forget your frontline workers: Too often, digital workplace initiatives focus solely on knowledge workers, leaving frontline employees behind.

From tools to transformation

David Fletcher, Vice President of Employee Communications Strategy at Appspace, continued the theme of employee empowerment in his speaking session titled, “Rip omnichannel – Where workplace communication is going.” In his well-attended session, Fletcher acknowledged that forcing everyone onto a single platform simply isn’t realistic. 

Instead, omni-creation empowers employees to create content in the platforms they’re most comfortable with, whether it’s SharePoint, Viva, Teams, your intranet, digital signage, or even a simple email. 

With this approach, IT doesn’t have to answer as many questions,” Fletcher added. “They don’t have to train and retrain. People get the flexibility and the choice they want, employees get the info they need, and everyone is happy.”

According to Gartner, through 2028, more than half of digital workplace leaders who don’t prioritize DEX will risk being commoditized or replaced. The digital workplace is no longer about piling on more technology—it’s about thoughtful integration and human empowerment.

This year’s Gartner Digital Workplace Summit made clear: The question is no longer what tools do we have? But instead, how do these tools serve workplace teams?

And that’s the shift that will define the future of work.

Want more insights like these?

Check out our 2025 Workplace experience trends & insights report.