Australian firms warned legacy networks threaten digital growth

Australian businesses are being cautioned that their current networks may pose a barrier to capturing the growing digital revenue opportunity projected for the near future.

Research from ISG suggests that by 2028, 60 percent of an organisation's revenue will be attributed to digital channels. While this shift promises significant upside, there are concerns that legacy network infrastructure could limit Australia's ability to truly benefit from advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and Machine Learning (ML).

Changing digital landscape

Ankur Jain, Director, Infrastructure Solutions (AMEA) at BT International, highlighted the scale of the transformation underway. He said, "GenAI, automation and Machine Learning (ML) are driving generational change – reshaping the future of business and society as we know it. However, for these capabilities to accelerate innovation at an organisational level, Australian enterprises must overcome a critical hurdle first: getting their network fundamentals right to fully embrace the future. Truth is, businesses here in Australia can't make the most of the AI opportunity without a network that's scalable, secure, flexible and resilient."

Most existing enterprise networks in Australia were designed for an earlier era and, according to Jain, may not be fit for current demands. This situation presents a challenge for local organisations aiming to remain competitive in an economy that is moving rapidly towards digital-first business operations.

NaaS and digital readiness

The concept of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is gaining traction as a potential solution. However, Jain points out that the lack of a broadly accepted industry definition for NaaS is causing confusion. He explained, "The lack of a widely adopted industry definition for NaaS creates confusion. In many ways, it is customer-specific, and the NaaS your company requires is unique and evolving, just like your business. It's like having a virtual toolbox which allows you to adapt the network to suit your needs in real-time, whereas with previous technologies it could take weeks."

Jain further elaborated, "This enables you as a business to modernise traditional networks into highly scalable cloud-centric solutions and flexible architectures that adapt quickly to different organisation needs. A NaaS platform, rather than patching legacy networks together, makes it easier to securely and reliably interconnect employees, customers, suppliers and operational devices to apps and digital services — including AI — that are hosted across multiple clouds. Ultimately this gives you flexibility and scalability to meet the evolving needs of your business and the market."

Infrastructure priorities

Jain emphasised the importance of core infrastructure elements for Australian companies seeking to increase their share of digital revenue. He stated, "To realise the full potential of digital revenue, companies must first solidify foundational elements like seamless third-party connectivity, automation, and scalable architecture. Without this, organisations face unpredictable costs, slow application performance (especially for AI and cloud services), and vendor lock-in."

He warned, "This not only drives up operating expenses but also undermines the agility needed to seize new market opportunities and remain competitive."

Investment in robust NaaS platforms can help companies avoid issues such as technology sprawl and ongoing costly upgrades. Jain noted, "Investing in a robust NaaS platform allows you to spin services up or down based on demand. This 'build once, scale many' approach ensures you meet today's GenAI workloads while remaining ready for tomorrow's innovations. Failing to get these basics right often means costly technology sprawl, fragmented visibility, and endless forklift upgrades - a future resource drain."

Demands of GenAI

The growing use of Generative AI (GenAI) heightens the demand for network agility and performance. Jain said, "GenAI's appetite for data is unrelenting. Large language models (LLMs) ingest vast volumes from edge sites, data centers, cloud, and third-party sources, all with optimal latency. This distribution necessitates a network that balances low latency (processing at the edge) with high-speed and secure transport to LLMs in the cloud."

He described the limitations of traditional systems, stating, "Traditional legacy infrastructure with long lead times and manual configurations simply can't keep up with these demands. This is hindering GenAI adoption and blocking enterprise transformation; as adoption rates of this technology accelerates, your network will become quickly incapable of meeting demands."

Business flexibility and automation

Jain advocates for networks adopting a flexible, pay-as-you-use commercial model to avoid over-provisioning and unexpected fees. "Just as hyperscalers offer pay-as-you-go compute, modern networks must deliver commercial flexibility, too. Companies should review their fixed, multi-year contracts that force over-provisioning. With multi-cloud adoption, organisations also experience 'bill shock' from unexpected egress fees when moving data out of hyperscalers. NaaS platforms that simplify multi-cloud connectivity with usage-based autoscaling, is the way forward as you only pay for what you consume, while retaining enterprise-grade security and global reach," he explained.

Discussing automation, Jain noted, "Masking the intricate orchestration of network components and presenting it as a simple 'click to deploy' solution is key to simplifying and speeding infrastructure outcomes. To be truly future-proof, a NaaS platform must offer 100 percent automated capabilities – from bandwidth adjustments to dynamic network and service policies, driven by real-time telemetry – which eliminates manual intervention and delivers a rapid response from IT to changing business needs."

He also outlined the benefits of adopting an API-first design. "Similarly, an API-first architecture, instead of API as an add-on, ensures that network services integrate seamlessly into DevNetOps workflows. This gives organisations digital control over their connectivity fabric, and thus ability to leverage a NaaS platform to deliver a step change in their user experience," said Jain.

Adopting new foundations

"Getting the fundamentals right, which means defining clear service objectives, investing in a flexible platform, and adopting pay-as-you-use models, sets the stage for NaaS to become a true enabler of digital and AI transformation in your business. As GenAI accelerates innovation across industries, networks that deliver low latency, automated scalability, and financial predictability will be the differentiators between those organisations that merely adapt and those that lead. By solidifying these building blocks today, businesses can confidently scale to meet the demands of tomorrow."