Saudi Arabia building infrastructure to meet demands of AI era
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its
Vision 2030 goals, Cisco has released new local findings from its global
networking study ahead of its “Cisco Connect – CXO Edition” event in Riyadh.
The research highlights a significant shift in enterprise infrastructure,
driven by artificial intelligence (AI), data-heavy workloads, and the need for
always-on, secure, and intelligent networks.
With the rapid adoption of AI
assistants, smart agents, and connected devices, networks are under increasing
pressure to deliver low-latency, resilient, and secure performance. Cisco’s
study shows that IT leaders across the Kingdom now view networking as a
strategic priority—essential to digital transformation, economic growth, and
national innovation efforts.
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playing a key role in transformation of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030
Salman Abdulghani Faqeeh, Managing
Director of Cisco Saudi Arabia, stated:
“Our research confirms that the
future of AI and digital innovation depends on modernized, secure networks.
Saudi Arabia is taking a leadership role by building infrastructure that meets
the demands of the AI era. Cisco is proud to support the Kingdom in realizing
its Vision 2030 ambitions through resilient, intelligent networking.”
Key
Findings from Cisco’s Networking Research – Saudi Arabia
1. Networks are now mission-critical
for AI and growth:
- 94% of IT leaders plan to increase networking budgets
to support AI, cloud, and IoT.
- 98% say secure networking is essential to business
operations; 65% say it’s critical for growth.
2. Resilience is in focus:
- 97% view a resilient network as vital, especially as 73%
experienced major outages in the past two years—mainly due to
cyberattacks, congestion, or misconfigurations.
3. AI demands outpace existing
infrastructure:
- 67% say their current data centers can’t fully meet AI
workloads.
- 90% plan to expand capacity—on-premises, in the cloud,
or both.
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4. Smarter networks are the
future—but not yet realized:
- 98% agree AI-powered, autonomous networks are
essential.
- However, only 40% have deployed advanced capabilities
like real-time visibility, segmentation, and adaptive control.
5. Business impact is real—but gaps
remain:
- IT leaders in KSA are seeing value from networks
through improved customer experience (61%), greater efficiency (62%), and
enhanced innovation (54%).
- Still, they cite key barriers:
- 62% struggle with siloed systems.
- 42% face challenges scaling deployments.
- 39% see a need for more automation and intelligent
oversight.
The
Value of Modern Infrastructure
Smarter networks not only improve
performance—they directly impact the bottom line:
- 92% say better networking will drive revenue.
- 97% expect meaningful cost savings from fewer outages,
lower energy use, and more efficient operations.
Source: Zawya
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