SD-WAN's Next Evolution: Enabling AI-Powered Operations
The network is undergoing a significant transformation as it evolves from carrying human-generated traffic to enabling AI-powered operations. SD-WAN, or software-defined wide-area networking, is at the forefront of this change.
A recent Cisco survey found that 73% of organizations expect capacity limits within the next 24 months due to increased AI-related traffic. This is not just a matter of consuming more bandwidth; it's about recognizing and prioritizing a new class of traffic generated by machines, which can be bursty, distributed, and business-critical.
AI workloads require different networking capabilities than human-initiated applications. They demand stronger capabilities in AI workload awareness, experience assurance, integrated security and governance, and operational visibility. SD-WAN can help bridge the readiness gap for these new requirements by providing policy, assurance, and visibility across diverse transport networks.