Thinking about AI transformation? Turns out, your network is the secret weapon! New research shows legacy systems simply can’t keep up with GenAI’s demands. Are businesses ready to revamp their infrastructure to unlock AI’s full potential, or will outdated networks hold them back?
The burgeoning integration of artificial intelligence across diverse enterprise applications is rapidly transforming the digital landscape, placing unprecedented demands on underlying network infrastructures. As businesses pivot towards advanced Generative AI capabilities, the very foundation of their digital operations—their networks—will undeniably determine the success or failure of their ambitious AI adoption strategies.
Recent industry research underscores this critical juncture, revealing that over 40% of enterprises already in advanced stages of GenAI adoption are planning to weave AI into 20 to 30 applications. This escalating reliance on AI, spanning sectors from manufacturing and healthcare to intricate financial services, highlights a significant disconnect: legacy network infrastructure is proving woefully inadequate to support the scale and complexity of current, let alone future, AI workloads.
The stakes involved in this technological evolution are immensely high, with projections indicating that AI could generate a staggering $19.9 trillion global economic impact by 2030, representing 3.5% of worldwide GDP. However, this transformative potential remains contingent upon enterprise networks’ ability to evolve at a commensurate pace, moving beyond outdated systems to robust, modernised solutions capable of handling intensive data flows and complex computations.
A recent study, commissioned by industry leaders NTT Data and Cisco, brought to light that while enterprises are eager to embrace AI, many are still operating with infrastructure built for a different era. The survey found that a substantial portion of businesses remain in the early stages of AI integration, planning to incorporate AI into 10-20 applications, contrasting sharply with the top 10% of advanced adopters who are targeting over 30 AI application integrations.
A pivotal insight from the research confirmed that networking capabilities are perceived as the indispensable bedrock empowering AI-driven growth. A commanding 78% of surveyed companies identified networking as either important or very important when selecting technology providers for their AI initiatives. This unequivocally emphasizes the urgent requirement for networks that can not only handle and secure ever-scaling AI workloads but also efficiently run complex AI training, inference, and storage clusters.
Beyond merely supporting AI, modernization efforts are actively infusing AI into network operations themselves. This includes advanced AI-driven configuration, sophisticated anomaly detection, self-healing mechanisms, and intelligent monitoring systems. These advancements are designed to dramatically accelerate issue resolution, optimize performance, and elevate the overall user experience, with sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services already leveraging AI in networking for enhanced operational efficiency, secure connectivity, and cost reduction.
The shift is also evident in how firms are utilizing AI to automate the integration of disparate systems, with 40% of global enterprises exploring the incorporation of agentic AI into network operations. This profound transformation is repositioning networking from a mere background utility to a strategic business driver, a critical determinant in whether significant AI investments will successfully scale and deliver anticipated returns or, conversely, falter due to foundational limitations.
Industry experts echo these findings, with Chris Barnard, vice-president of European telecoms and infrastructure at IDC, stating, “Your network will make or break your AI transformation. Overcoming the challenges of legacy networking technologies is essential.” Similarly, Dilip Kumar, global head of technology solutions at NTT Data, highlighted the network as a “catalyst for growth,” enabling organizations to unlock powerful new capabilities and achieve AI-driven business transformation at scale.
Brink Sanders of Cisco reinforced this perspective, noting that network modernization transcends simple hardware replacement; it’s about enabling enterprises to lead in an AI-driven world. The strategic partnership between NTT Data and Cisco aims to equip clients with the necessary technology and expertise to construct secure and interconnected networks, ensuring a resilient and future-proof digital infrastructure for the AI era.
