In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, enterprises are rethinking their network infrastructure strategies to stay ahead of the curve. With the rise of generative AI (GenAI), automation, and machine learning (ML), the demands on networking have shifted dramatically. In this blog, we explore how these innovations are reshaping enterprise networking, the challenges faced, and how Digital Realty is helping customers navigate this transformation, along with its partners.

The AI Revolution: Redefining IT Requirements

The emergence of GenAI has turbocharged digital transformation. Organizations are rapidly adopting data-centric, hybrid IT models to stay competitive. While the initial wave of AI focused on training models and building AI cloud infrastructure, the next wave is all about inference. As enterprises deploy GenAI applications to solve real-world IT challenges, data center and networking requirements are undergoing a fundamental shift.

Common enterprise challenges include:

Data Storage & Management: With data being created everywhere, organizations struggle to store, manage, and process it efficiently.
Application Portability: Enterprises want to avoid vendor lock-in and use best-in-class applications that can interoperate seamlessly.
Security: Protecting sensitive data from exposure to public AI models is a top concern.
Network Control: Organizations need granular control across devices and departments, especially in a remote-first world.
Cost Management: Managing multiple clouds, applications, and edge devices can escalate cost.
Regulatory Compliance: Navigating local and global regulations—such as data sovereignty and privacy laws—while avoiding breaches and penalties is increasingly complex.

How Digital Realty and Partners like BT Are Solving These Challenges

Digital Realty collaborates closely with managed service providers (MSPs) like BT to deliver comprehensive solutions:

High-Density Colocation: Secure environments for data storage and processing.
Global Footprint: Enables compliance with data sovereignty laws.
Service Fabric: Open platform offering cloud access, global, and local connectivity, service resiliency, and flexible contracting.
Managed Services: Partners like BT complement Digital Realty’s infrastructure with cybersecurity and network management solutions tailored for a global, remote workforce.

Real-World Impact: A Financial Services Success Story in APAC

One standout example of this partnership in action is a recent project with a leading global financial services provider in APAC. Together, BT and Digital Realty delivered an end-to-end solution that:

Migrated legacy infrastructure to BT’s global network
Leveraged Digital Realty’s secure colocation facilities
Met stringent regulatory requirements

This collaboration enabled the customer to modernize their IT infrastructure while ensuring compliance and performance.

What’s Next: Future-Proofing the Network

Digital Realty continues to invest in innovations that help customers stay ahead:

Higher Bandwidth: Upgrading Service Fabric to support 400G+ connections.
Private AI Exchange: Secure, private access to AI cloud services.
Expanded Ecosystem: Orchestration capabilities for services like GPUaaS, security-as-a-service, and more.
Global Reach: Nearly 300 cloud onramps and 600+ connected data centers, with new metro locations being added regularly.
New Geographies: Through continued market expansion

Want to learn more about how to future-proof your network?

Watch this on-demand webinar on “Unlocking the value of data for AI requires a robust network infrastructure and deep partnerships” to learn more on how Digital Realty and partners like BT are helping organizations build resilient, scalable, and future-ready infrastructure.

Future-Proofing Network Infrastructure in the Age of AI