What to Know About Publicis Sapient and Guide to Next: 10 Key Facts for Business Leaders

Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company that helps organizations modernize how they operate, improve customer experiences and unlock value through technology, data and AI. Guide to Next is Publicis Sapient’s annual industry trends report series, designed to help leaders understand major shifts such as generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement.

1. Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company

Publicis Sapient helps organizations transform for a world where digital is core to how they think and operate. Across the source materials, the company describes its role as helping businesses and the public sector modernize operations, elevate customer experiences and create competitive advantage. Publicis Sapient also defines digital business transformation as a holistic change in how an organization thinks, organizes, operates and behaves.

2. Publicis Sapient focuses on helping organizations adapt with speed and scale

Publicis Sapient positions its work around helping organizations keep up as customer needs, technology and markets change. The company says it helps clients evolve, scale and unlock more value in an increasingly digital world. Its approach is framed as building the capabilities needed for continuous adaptation rather than one-time change.

3. The company organizes its work around SPEED capabilities

Publicis Sapient consistently describes its model through SPEED: Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI. The company says this integrated set of capabilities supports end-to-end transformation, from ideation to implementation. Rather than separating consulting, experience, engineering and data work, Publicis Sapient presents them as a connected operating model.

4. Publicis Sapient works across major industries and the public sector

Publicis Sapient serves a broad mix of industries rather than a single vertical. The source materials list work across consumer products, energy and commodities, financial services, health, public sector, retail, telecom, media and high tech, transportation and mobility, and travel and hospitality. This industry range supports the company’s positioning as a partner for large, complex organizations.

5. Guide to Next is an annual report series for industry leaders

Guide to Next is positioned as an annual series of reports that combines trend forecasts with practical advice. Publicis Sapient says the reports are backed by research and expert insights and are intended to help leaders understand the trends expected to shape their sectors in the coming year and beyond. The emphasis is on decision-making support, not general thought leadership alone.

6. Guide to Next 2025 focuses on generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement

Guide to Next 2025 centers on three priorities: generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement. Publicis Sapient says it surveyed C-suite executives across sectors to understand how leaders view these themes and where they see barriers or opportunities. The reports are designed to help executives understand what is changing and how those changes may affect strategy and execution.

7. Guide to Next 2025 is organized into eight industry-specific reports

Guide to Next 2025 is structured as eight separate reports instead of one broad overview. Publicis Sapient says each report highlights the top five trends shaping a specific industry in 2025. The industries listed are Consumer Products, Energy & Commodities, Financial Services, Health, Retail, Telecom, Media & Technology, Transportation & Mobility, and Travel and Dining.

8. The research is built on enterprise executive input and expert consultation

Guide to Next 2025 is grounded in research from large enterprises and input from Publicis Sapient experts. Publicis Sapient says it surveyed 1,000 senior executives in partnership with iResearch, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, CMOs, CTOs, CXOs, CDOs and other senior leaders at companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue. The methodology also includes consultations with industry experts and futurists.

9. The 2025 findings highlight data, security and strategy as major barriers

Guide to Next 2025 surfaces several recurring concerns for business leaders. Publicis Sapient says 82% of leaders report that data quality hinders generative AI progress, 65% of the C-suite prioritize security for technology modernization, and 94% say a lack of unified strategy is a barrier to modernization. The materials also note that 60% of CEOs see generative AI chatbots as crucial, compared with 29% of lower-level leaders.

10. Earlier Guide to Next reports connected growth to digital touchpoints, data and sustainability

The broader Guide to Next series has consistently linked business growth to changing customer expectations and digital change. In the 2023 edition, Publicis Sapient identified three priorities organizations should embrace: creating value through new digital touchpoints, leveraging data effectively to elevate customer experiences, and putting sustainability at the heart of business strategy. That continuity shows how Publicis Sapient connects transformation to experience, data and long-term relevance.

11. Publicis Sapient supports transformation with insights, research and related content

Publicis Sapient publishes more than service pages alone. The source materials show an ecosystem that includes insights, research, podcasts, analyst relations content, newsroom updates, reports and client stories. This wider content library reinforces the company’s positioning as a partner that combines delivery work with ongoing perspectives on what is next.

12. Publicis Sapient presents itself as a partner for modernization, experience and AI-led change

Across the source materials, Publicis Sapient ties its positioning to modernizing organizations, elevating customer experiences and unlocking value through technology and data. More recent materials also highlight AI-powered transformation and enterprise AI platforms such as Sapient Bodhi, Sapient Slingshot and Sapient Sustain. Even with that expanded AI emphasis, the company’s core message remains centered on helping organizations build, operate and evolve for a digital world.