Mohannad Abuissa, Managing Director of Solutions Engineering and CTO at Cisco Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Romania and CIS, discusses the value of modernising digital network infrastructure for the AI era in this exclusive op-ed.
Across the region, AI is rapidly becoming the main driver of innovation for businesses. It has an undeniable potential to transform industries and create new value for society. This sentiment is already captured in national visions such as the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and many other initiatives.
While the drive for AI adoption is strong, many companies in the region are still navigating the path to full readiness. Cisco’s recent AI Readiness Index in the UAE indicates that only 14% of companies are completely prepared for AI. Despite ambitious plans, with 92% of organisations intending to deploy AI agents and 41% anticipating a significant increase in AI workloads within a year, a notable challenge remains: only 39% believe their current IT infrastructure can adequately support today’s AI technologies.
This gap in readiness has major consequences for businesses aiming to lead in the AI-driven economy. AI starts with a secure, intelligent network. We need a bold new approach to the network, reinventing the very foundation of our digital infrastructure.
We have seen three reasons why modernising the network is essential for success in the AI era, and how IT leaders can chart the path forward.
- Going Beyond Compute Power
AI is network-bound. To reap the full benefits of AI, organisations need the right infrastructure behind the scenes. Without this foundation, even the best AI investments will falter.
As always-on models demand up to 100 times more compute power, storage, and bandwidth, traditional networks risk becoming bottlenecks on capacity as well as latency. For AI tasks that happen instantly, like self-driving cars or automated stock trading, even tiny delays can cause problems.
Modern network infrastructure needs to be not only fast but also safe from cyberattacks and strong enough to handle more AI growth in the future. To realise AI’s full potential, businesses must implement purpose-built ‘AI superhighways’ – secure networks designed to scale seamlessly while handling distributed AI workloads across core, cloud, and edge environments.
- From IT Backbone to Business Engine
Enterprises in the region face increasing pressure to adopt and maximize their AI investments. Over the years, the network has been cast in a supporting role, as the backbone quietly enabling the flow of data. But in the AI era, this metaphor no longer stands up. The demand for real-time data from business operations to train AI models is increasing the need for more extensive networks. This accelerates the integration of IT and OT, as well as the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Because AI is only as good as the tech that connects and secures it, today’s network has become the operational engine of every business. It unifies management and troubleshooting, serves as the first line of defence for security, delivers end-to-end assurance and visibility, and orchestrates resources with predictive precision.
- A Resilient, Secure Foundation
AI is changing everything. It’s no surprise that the sensitivity of AI data flows is raising the bar for security and compliance, too.
The risks of sticking with outdated infrastructure are stark. According to Cisco’s global networking report for 2025, in the UAE, 99% of technology leaders say a resilient network is critical to their operations, and 78% have experienced major outages due to congestion, cyberattacks, or misconfigurations.
A secure network offers an architectural solution to these challenges. Since every packet traverses the network, it serves as the ideal point for detection and enforcement, capable of operating in a highly scalable and granular manner. When approached together, advanced networking, security, and observability solutions accelerate the deployment of next-generation AI compute clusters.
Ready for the path forward
To close the AI readiness gap and capitalise on AI opportunities, enterprises must prioritize strategic network modernisation.
Cisco addresses this by offering an AI-ready secure platform designed to help businesses connect, protect, and thrive in an AI-driven environment. This architecture unifies management, automates operations, and secures data flows, enabling proactive, self-healing defences through future AI agents. Cisco has also introduced AI Canvas, a generative user interface that redefines how teams and agents work together.
Overall, the region’s business leaders must remember that modernising networks is not just a technical upgrade; it’s a strategic necessity for unlocking the full potential of AI. It’s our collective responsibility to reimagine the secure network, ensuring it can support the next generation of local industries and contribute to socio-economic progress. Now is the time to invest, innovate, and build the digital foundations that future generations will rely on.
Image Credit: Cisco
