As the world looks toward the next frontier of post-pandemic progress, many organisations have recognised the value of digital transformation and how it is intrinsically tied to the strength of their network infrastructure - an up-to-date, robust network that showcases an organisation’s ability to adapt to new digital demands and ultimately drive business growth.
However, the fact is that this journey is never smooth. NTT Ltd.’s Global Network Report finds that 91% of senior leadership teams identify their organisation’s most critical business and digital transformation challenges to be linked to and directly affected by the network.
Organisations are acutely aware that networks have moved away from being merely a hygiene factor to being true differentiators. There is a pressing need to keep up with the ever-shifting network landscape and the adoption of cutting-edge solutions to stay relevant - with more than 95% of C-suite leaders sharing that investing in leading technologies to modernise their networks has become a priority.
However, many are struggling with these emerging business demands, with technical debt and the lack of technical expertise as the main source of these challenges. This issue is further compounded by the insufficient collaboration between enterprises’ information technology (IT) and business functions, inhibiting the proper adoption of new technologies - a key step that is often essential in achieving their business outcomes.
As such, this misalignment paints a deep disconnect between the different functions in terms of how a network architecture can support an organisation in achieving the various business imperatives - including (i) meeting growing network demands from the exigencies for connectivity, (ii) realising the organisation’s sustainability commitments, and (iii) keeping pace with emerging technologies.
Matching network dependency with proficiency
Between the convergence of IT and OT, the adoption of decentralised workplace models, and growing security threats, the network has become the overarching link to enabling digitalisation, innovation, and the sustainable growth of an organisation. The robustness of a network has never been more imperative to an organisation's operations.
Enterprises’ network needs have therefore understandably shifted drastically, but most executives are still not content with their current network capabilities - only 48% of C-suites expressed satisfaction. For companies looking to take on the challenge in-house, the change in expectations has inevitably placed more pressure on the organisation’s own IT team, who may not possess the resources or expertise to take on such a mammoth task. Attracting talent and retaining them has become a huge problem for enterprises, especially so in the last 1-2 years.
To counteract this pain point, companies are coming around to the idea of enlisting the help of a dedicated, experienced single managed service provider for their growing network needs. A third-party vendor will not only be able to offer threat detection, managed cybersecurity services, and a full suite of network services, but also provide the firms with access to the latest industry innovations to ensure their network needs are met. This frees up valuable organisational resources that can ultimately be channelled towards other business-critical functions while staying ahead of the growing network demands.
Realising sustainability ambitions
In line with the global pursuit for net-zero by 2030, digital transformation has taken on a greener approach, with sustainability now becoming a top-four business objective for IT executives. As a result of the ongoing pursuit of innovation, the business network has proven to be an invaluable asset in this sustainability journey.
According to the network report, organisations that have aligned their network strategy with their business needs are three times more likely to reduce their environmental impact, and two times more likely to reduce their overall energy usage with their network technology over enterprises that have not done so.
For instance, organisations have begun investing in sustainable, smart buildings as part of their carbon-neutral goals. These buildings include IoT sensors that connect myriad sensors to manufacturing equipment and devices, which help to regulate heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and climate control systems to achieve improved energy and carbon efficiency.
However, the amount of data that will be generated will be immense, and processing them will require significantly more computing power, which would be detrimental to carbon-footprint goals. However, with the proper network infrastructure in place, it allows organisations to balance energy consumption against sustainability.
The improved data sourcing and collection can then allow an organisation to implement green corporate strategies using technology, people, and processes to measure emissions, find ways to support a circular economy, and decarbonise their operations.
In this regard, the top three ways that network technology benefits an organisation’s sustainability and ESG agenda are contributing to a sustainability policy that supports sales, contributing to the publication of a sustainability and ESG report to drive greater transparency for external stakeholders, and helping to drive new and ethical ways of doing business.
Empowered to stay ahead of shifting trends
In the evolving network landscape, many solutions that are now adopted by a minority of organisations will soon become mainstream and will have a significant impact on the way we build, manage, and operate networks in 2025 and beyond.
For instance, we are starting to see use cases where leading technologies are increasingly being adopted, such as blockchain and cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, the use of AR/VR/8K in the metaverse, photonic computing, and networking, as well as quantum networking.
For instance, blockchain will play a significant role in cybersecurity, IoT sensors, device authentication, and communications moving forward. However, organisations must first need to ascertain key considerations - for instance, how will their network layer be impacted by the power draw of the relevant machinery, as well as the latency required to facilitate blockchain-based transactions. As the technology permeates across functions, establishing the right network foundation to take advantage of its benefits will become essential.
The role of network amidst extreme digital transformation efforts
In the age of rapid digitalisation, the need for the network has become increasingly apparent - between driving factors, such as a rising need for connectivity across a multitude of devices, exponential growth of the cloud, proliferation of high-definition collaboration tools, and an increased focus on employee and client experience - enterprises no longer have the option of underinvesting in their networks.
Top-performing organisations are actively modernising their networks and increasing spending, sparking further transformation and growth that perpetuates the growing gulf between underperforming organisations and them.
For organisations to take the lead in digital transformation and make steadfast progress, business leaders should start looking towards the network-as-a-service model as the prime solution. Organisations would be able to derive the most mileage out of this model given the constraints of a limited budget and in-house resources.
These service providers will not only be able to advise enterprises on the evolution of an investment in their networks, but they will also manage the current state of the network while driving its transformation and improving its output to empower businesses to proactively secure any emerging opportunities moving forward.
