UK companies are pouring cash into AI whereas failing to construct the community infrastructure wanted to assist it, in response to new analysis from IDC commissioned by managed Community-as-a-Service supplier Expereo.
The IDC InfoBrief, “Enterprise Horizons 2026: The place Innovation Meets Actuality,” discovered that simply 15 p.c of UK organisations say their AI implementations have exceeded expectations, with solely 3 p.c reporting they’ve considerably performed so.
Nearly 1 / 4 of companies particularly cited insufficient community or connectivity efficiency as a cause their AI deployments have fallen brief within the final yr.
The findings level to a widening hole between AI ambition and AI outcomes – one that’s being pushed partially by reactive funding selections. Two thirds (66 p.c) of UK organisations are investing in AI based mostly on its potential slightly than confirmed returns, whereas practically one in six (15 p.c) admit they’re spending aggressively with little analysis, pushed by concern of being left behind.
Demand Is About to Speed up
The stress on community infrastructure is about to accentuate. Some 55 p.c of UK organisations named AI or machine studying as their prime expertise precedence over the following 12 months – which means community demand isn’t just rising however approaching a step-change.
But the networks underpinning these deployments should not maintaining tempo. Some 54 p.c of UK organisations say they want extra versatile and scalable networks to thrive in an AI-driven atmosphere, whereas 57 p.c say they want better resilience and reliability to maximise uptime as AI workloads scale.
Probably the most generally cited causes for AI underperformance embody insufficient or poor-quality coaching knowledge (48 p.c), higher-than-expected prices or unachieved ROI (45 p.c), and AI not performing in addition to anticipated (42 p.c). However community readiness is more and more a part of that image.
A Direct Name to the Channel
Ben Elms, CEO of Expereo, stated the findings ought to immediate a shift in how community selections are framed at boardroom stage.
“Each UK organisation we converse to is investing in AI, but the info exhibits a transparent hole opening up between AI ambition and AI outcomes. Most of the time, that hole comes right down to the community beneath. AI solely delivers on its promise when the infrastructure carrying it’s constructed to assist it.
“With out resilient, scalable, cloud-optimised networks, even essentially the most well-funded AI programmes will wrestle to ship ROI. Getting the community proper is not an IT determination; it is likely one of the most necessary conversations occurring within the boardroom immediately to assist fulfil AI ambition.”
For channel companions, the analysis presents a concrete alternative. Companies unable to understand returns on AI funding will more and more look to companions who can diagnose and repair the underlying connectivity story – and the info now provides these companions the proof to guide that dialog.
Safety and Value Management Emerge as Rising Considerations
Past infrastructure, the analysis flags two additional stress factors.
Some 56 p.c of UK tech leaders cite the creation of recent safety dangers as a big potential future menace from AI adoption. In the meantime, 33 p.c are involved about dropping observe of AI-related prices and ROI as soon as the expertise turns into embedded throughout the enterprise.
Each findings recommend that governance is struggling to maintain up with the tempo of deployment – an space the place channel companions with managed companies capabilities are well-positioned so as to add worth.
Actuality Test
Taken collectively, the findings paint an image of a UK enterprise neighborhood that’s committing to AI at tempo however has but to construct the foundations to maintain it. Community readiness, governance, safety and price visibility should not afterthoughts – they’re the circumstances beneath which AI both delivers or stalls.
With 55 p.c of organisations doubling down on AI funding over the following yr, the window for companions to get forward of that dialog is narrowing quick.
