When it comes to AI and bandwidth, you could say there’s a bit of a…disconnect.
That’s the concern about how AI is affecting network connectivity, according to new research from connectivity firm Expereo and polling company IDC. In its Enterprise Horizons 2025 survey, which polled IT leaders from the US, Europe, and Asia, the role of AI in connectivity was cited as often more a challenge than a benefit.
That’s because of how the technology can affect the infrastructure, Expereo CIO Jean-Philippe Avelange said.
“AI starts putting strain on the network because it’s much more data-intensive,” Avelange told IT Brew. “Each affects each other, because the increase of load affects the latency.”
Heavyweight. Further, many networks aren’t capable of managing the additional load necessitated by AI projects. Limitations include scaling, performance, bandwidth, and reach—and only single-digit percentages of those surveyed reported that their networks were ready for major AI projects.
But while that could indicate a lack of interest in AI, the reality is that respondents largely feel positive about the technology. A majority of respondents, between 66% and 76% by region, reported that AI implementation has met expectations, with a further 10% to 20% reporting it exceeded them. Majorities also said they believed AI would improve marketing and communications, save costs, and improve human interactions.
Obstacles to moving forward with AI, survey respondents said, have to do with a number of factors including regulation, employee concern, changes, and more. Taking the next step is where connectivity presents a problem.
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“By the time you realize that you want to roll out AI applications, then you realize that your network is on the dimension, then there is a lead time before your network will be up to speed,” Avelange said. “And that’s the problem.”
In real terms. AI expansion is part of an efficiency drive that SaaS provider GoTo detailed in research earlier in July. The promise of the technology hasn’t quite matched the reality just yet, leading to tension in the workplace, GoTo CEO Rich Veldran told IT Brew.
“In the moment, it’s a bit overhyped,” Veldran said. “If you go further, and talk to people, what you’ll find is most of them say that they believe that they’re not using it yet to its full extent, so they know there’s room for improvement.”
Going forward, Avelange believes that connectivity will become as important and expected as electric power. It’s something that “just needs to work,” he said, and that’s going to be the future for the industry.
“It is as fundamental as the push and the revolution around AI,” Avelange said. “But as connectivity becomes much more critical, there’s much stronger awareness of how critical it is.”