CEOs are eager to take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), but, at the same time, understand that creating networks capable of handling the new technology is a major area of concern, according to a survey and report from Cisco.
The survey found that 70% “fear losing ground due to gaps in IT knowledge or network infrastructure.” The response is near unanimous: 96% of respondents said they will rely on “trusted partners” to future-proof their networks.
According to the report, concern about networks was key in CEOs’ views on what is getting in the way of AI and what must be done to prepare for it. 35% and 34% of CEOs found that infrastructure limitations and security concerns, respectively, were obstacles. This only trailed skills and knowledge gaps, which was cited by 40% of respondents.
The to-do list for AI featured network-related issues includes expanding data capacity (second at 55%; trailing only improving AI education at 61%), upgrading the network (third at 53%), enhancing security (fifth at 49%), and investing in data centers (sixth at 47%). It’s interesting to note that only 2% of respondents said that they were good to go and ready for AI.
“In a dynamic landscape where competition is fierce, speed decides the winners. Leaders who act decisively today to build resilient, future-proofed networks will be the AI-forward leaders driving real value for their business,” Cisco’s Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel said in a press release about the network report.
“Eventually there will be only two kinds of companies: those that are AI companies, and those that are irrelevant.”
The study was conducted from December 24, 2024 to January 2 of this year. It was conducted by Opinion Matters, which surveyed 2,503 CEOs from companies with more than 250 employees.
The coming of AI is good news to the ecosystem supporting telecommunications.
Almost a year ago — in March, 2024 — Mike O’Day, Corning Optical Communications CTO, told Telecompetitor that his company was seeing a surge to support early AI adopters.
The basic assessment of O’Day’s comment and this week’s Cisco report was made last May, when a global study commissioned by Ciena and conducted by Censuswide found that virtually all respondents (99%) believe they will need to upgrade their fiber networks to support AI.
