Network instability has emerged as a significant challenge for UK businesses, with a third (33%) reporting revenue losses of up to £4 million due to outages or poor performance. Alarmingly, another 18% have experienced losses exceeding £4 million, according to a study by IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo.
The report, titled “Enterprise Horizons 2025: Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility,” highlights the pervasive impact of recent IT disruptions. Following cybersecurity breaches and connectivity failures, half of UK businesses have reconsidered their technology infrastructure, with 35% noting an increase in the importance of networking and connectivity in executive discussions.
Networking/connectivity now leads in terms of financial investment priorities for UK businesses over the next year (40%), surpassing cybersecurity (39%) and AI (35%). This marks a shift from last year when AI topped the list and networking/connectivity came third, showcasing a recalibration of priorities to address immediate networking concerns.
The urgency is palpable. Over 27% of UK organizations claim inadequate network performance threatens growth plans, while almost half (49%) acknowledge network limitations impede their data and AI initiatives. Notably, a mere 5% of businesses are confident their networks can fully support AI endeavors without obstacles.
“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. "...As businesses race to adopt new AI solutions, the C-suite must treat network performance with the same urgency as cybersecurity and AI itself..."
Beyond infrastructure, talent acquisition remains a critical challenge. Cybersecurity tops the list of areas where finding skilled professionals is difficult (44%), closely followed by networking (40%). Consequently, 40% of UK businesses are increasing reliance on external partners, such as vendors or managed service providers, to address networking skill shortages.
