Half of global businesses have been forced to urgently re-evaluate their tech infrastructure following a wave of high-profile IT outages

Network instability is taking a serious toll on global businesses, with over a quarter (28%) reporting revenue losses of up to $5 million due to network outages or poor performance. Alarmingly, an additional 23% have experienced losses exceeding $5 million. These findings come from an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Expereo, titled “Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility.”

Following a series of high-profile IT disruptions over the past year, ranging from cybersecurity breaches to connectivity failures, nearly half (49%) of global businesses have been compelled to re-evaluate their technology infrastructure, and 40% of global tech leaders say it’s caused networking and connectivity to rise higher up the C-suite agenda.

Perhaps as a result, networking/connectivity now comes out on top in terms of the technologies global businesses will prioritise in terms of financial investment over the next 12 months (43%). This is followed by Cybersecurity (38%), and AI (37%). Last year, AI took the top spot (42%) followed by cybersecurity (37%) and networking/connectivity (35%). This highlights that AI is no longer the most urgent technology priority, beaten by networking and security.

The urgency is well-founded. More than one in four global organisations (27%) say that inadequate network and connectivity performance is actively threatening their growth plans for the coming year. At the same time, 45% report that network limitations are holding back their ability to support large-scale data and AI initiatives. Alarmingly, just 6% of businesses worldwide believe their networks are fully prepared to support AI without any barriers.

“To drive a sustainable competitive advantage, connectivity is no longer an IT concern – it’s a strategic business imperative, said Ben Elms, CEO of Expereo. “This research confirms what many technology leaders are already experiencing firsthand: connectivity is now the backbone of business. As organisations race to adopt new AI solutions, the C-suite must treat network performance with the same urgency as cybersecurity and AI itself, because without it, businesses simply cannot succeed."

Having the right talent in place is also critical for building and maintaining the robust network and connectivity infrastructure businesses need to thrive. However, the research suggests this may be easier said than done.

Cybersecurity continues to top the list of areas where organisations struggle to find or retain skilled professionals (41%), closely followed by networking (39%). As a result, 45% of businesses say they plan to increase their reliance on external partners, such as vendors or managed service providers, to help bridge the networking skills gap.

For the full *IDC InfoBrief, Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility, doc #EUR253271325​, March 2025, please visit: https://www.expereo.com/enterprise-horizons-2025

About Expereo

Expereo is a world-leading Managed Network as a Service provider that connects people, places, and things anywhere. Solutions include Global Internet, SD-WAN/SASE, and Enhanced Internet. With an extensive global reach, Expereo is the trusted partner of 60% of Fortune 500 companies. It powers enterprise and government sites in more than 190 countries, with the ability to connect to any location worldwide, working with over 2,300 partners to help customers improve productivity and empowering their networks and cloud services with the agility, flexibility, and value of the Internet, with optimal network performance.

Expereo was acquired in Feb 2021, by Vitruvian Partners which acquired a majority shareholding from Seven2.

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