As AI assistants, agents, and data-driven workloads reshape how work gets done, they’re creating faster, more dynamic, more latency-sensitive and more complex network traffic in South Africa.
This is the headline finding from a Cisco study into the architectural shifts in enterprise networks.
Combined with the ubiquity of connected devices, 24/7 uptime demands, and intensifying security threats, these shifts are driving infrastructure to adapt and evolve. The result: IT leaders are changing how they think about the network: what it is, what it enables, and how it protects the organisation. The network they build today will decide the business they become tomorrow.
The study identifies six signals that an architectural shift is underway in South Africa:
- The network has become a strategic priority: 100% of IT leaders say a modernised network is critical to rolling out AI, IoT, and cloud, with 94% planning to increase the share of their overall IT budget allocated to networking.
- Secure networking is mission-critical: 99% say secure networking is important to their operations and growth, and 80% say it’s critical. 97% believe an improved network will enhance their cybersecurity posture.
- AI intensifies demand for resilient networks: 97% say a resilient network is critical, at a time when 94% faced major outages – driven largely by congestion, cyberattacks, and misconfigurations – adding up to $160B globally from just one severe disruption per business, per year.
- Leaders look to AI to grow revenue: 48% of IT leaders say a modernised network’s greatest impact on revenue will come from deploying AI tools that automate and tailor customer journeys, enabling faster, more personalised experiences that can strengthen loyalty and drive growth.
- AI is reshaping computing infrastructure: 69% say their data centres can’t yet meet today’s AI demands, and 85% plan to expand capacity – on-prem, in the cloud, or both.
- Leaders want to make networks smarter: 99% say autonomous, AI-powered networks are essential to future growth – yet only 50% have deployed the intelligent capabilities – like segmentation, visibility, and control – to make their network adaptive.
“AI is driving a fundamental shift across all sectors, with infrastructure playing a central role,” says Smangele Nkosi, GM of Cisco South Africa. “The network has been the backbone of every digital era, propelling the rise of IoT, cloud, and hybrid work, while also being foundational to countering growing security challenges.
“Today’s IT leaders recognise that the networks they establish today will become the digital nervous system of their organizations, shaping their businesses opportunities of tomorrow.”
IT leaders are already delivering financial value from today’s networks – largely by improving customer experiences (68%), boosting efficiency (62%), and enabling innovation (51%). But much of that value is at risk if it comes from infrastructure that hasn’t been designed for AI or real-time scale.
To unlock the full growth and savings they expect, leaders have identified critical gaps they must close: siloed or partially integrated systems (51%), incomplete deployments (60%), and reliance on manual oversight (57%). Smarter, more secure, and adaptive networks are the business case for investment, with nine in 10 (90%) saying improved networks will directly drive revenue, and almost all leaders (95%) expecting meaningful cost savings, driven by smarter operations, fewer outages, and lower energy use.