Improved connectivity has long been shown to increase innovation and productivity across an economy. Within the private sector, the multiple contexts of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and digital transformation, have driven the market for network connectivity to new heights. In the UK, the network infrastructure market is currently set to grow approximately 5.15 percent per annum to reach just under $13bn (or £10bn) by the end of 2029.

For context, the global enterprise network infrastructure market size was valued at $58.77bn in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9 percent until 2030. That would deliver a market worth approximately $82bn.

Amidst this array of driving forces, the attitudes amongst buyers in this market are clear and consistent. Recent research from 451 Group has found that, throughout this growth, the top concerns are the established issues of cost and complexity.

When asked what the biggest challenge is related to purchasing network services, 44.6 percent of respondents identified high costs. This was by far the largest concern and can be understood in the context of software as a service (SaaS) costs reaching record levels and inflation-busting increases in telecoms costs.

At present, businesses face a stark choice of either expensive connectivity options or exposure to multiple risks. Research suggests that nearly one in every two European businesses have faced greater operating costs as a result of poor connectivity, with a third citing lost revenue.

Complexity on top of cost

However, it is not just the size of investment that concerns these businesses. The 451 Group found that 29.8 percent said that the operational complexity of connecting applications to multiple silos of data, was a major challenge. Managing connectivity to multiple clouds was specified as a burden to 25.6 percent, and 22 percent cited difficulties or delays in creating, deactivating, or configuring that connectivity.

A great deal of the concern that arises from this complexity centers around security. Nearly one in five of those surveyed by the 451 Group said that the inconsistency of the different service providers' security was a major challenge. Given that, on average, companies rely on 2.2 public clouds, and the average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.5 million, this concern is well-founded.

Elsewhere, another 29.2 percent identified the commercial complexity of working with multiple service providers and 25.6 percent cited unpredictable capacity or bandwidth requirements – a core facet of connectivity contracts.

In light of these buy-side concerns, the question quickly becomes how can the industry enable businesses and organizations to purchase, use, and optimize network-based technologies without being killed by cost or drowned in complexity?

How can vendors drastically reduce the demands that the technology makes upon customers without removing the capabilities and sophistication needed to exploit opportunities such as AI?

Our approach has been to connect our estate of data centers with a private, high-speed, resilient network that connects our twelve colocation facilities to each other, then extends to the Internet, public clouds, global carriers, and Peering Exchanges for further national and international connection.

The objective is to deliver low-latency connectivity to all major metros in the UK, providing access to new markets and populations – and then extend that access over five hundred connectivity, ISP, and cloud providers across the UK and the world.

This ‘ecosystem at the Edge’ means that businesses capitalize on competition to cut costs, remain flexible as they grow, and avoid vendor lock-in. A greater diversity of supplier options equals less cost, without risking operational resilience.

Private, secure connections between applications and data centers eliminate the risks of public internet, maintain application performance, and reduce the impact of any outages. Bandwidth can be adjusted as needed, resulting in keenly aligned cost control and operational agility.

More services need not mean greater complexity. Businesses can reduce operational complexity through drastically easier management of connectivity to public clouds, peering exchanges, and carriers.

The demand for network services and advanced connectivity options will only continue to grow. Businesses will likely need to invest more in the early stages of exploring technologies such as AI or IoT, making it both important and urgent that they address how to invest optimally.

Smart strategies that enable not only access to a wide array of services but also simplify management of the network will form a key part of successful approaches.

To find out more about how Pulsant platformEDGE can help deliver all of these to your business, visit our site here.