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Gartner: 30% of Enterprises Will Automate More Than Half of Network Activities by 2026

Automation Is Key to I&O Delivering Greater Value, Efficiency and Agility

By 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities, an increase from under 10% in mid-2023, according to Gartner, Inc.

"Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders are increasingly looking to AI-based analytics and augmented decision making, including intelligent automation (IA), to improve operational resilience and responsiveness, address complexity and process increasingly large amounts of data through automation," said Chris Saunderson, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner.

IA for I&O is the application of AI techniques, including generative AI (GenAI) to automate decision making and execute actions for I&O initiatives. It is increasingly being used to empower business agility and is driving more advanced I&O service enablement.

IA is an emerging technology that is in the Trough of Disillusionment on the Gartner Hype Cycle for I&O Automation, 2024 and is expected to reach mainstream adoption in the next five to ten years.

The addition of GenAI capabilities has increased demand in the market for IA platforms. Through the use of analysis and automation, IA enables capabilities that deliver improved operations, efficiency and insight generation.

"Technology providers that offer best-of-breed tools for AI for IT operations (AIOps), application performance monitoring and GenAI will influence IA," said Saunderson. "AIOps and stand-alone automation technology providers may expand their offerings to IA, through acquisitions or organic development."

Hyperautomation Continues to Be Staple Discipline for 90% of Large Enterprises

"Along with IA, hyperautomation has seen a resurgence in interest and demand since the fervor of GenAI that launched in November 2022," said Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. "Hyperautomation involves the use of multiple technologies and tools including AI, machine learning, event-driven software architecture and robotic process automation, among others."

Less than 20% of organizations have mastered the measurement of hyperautomation initiatives. "Hyperautomation initiatives are often an integral part of a larger technology roadmap that includes systems of record on one end of the spectrum, and AI and GenAI on the other," said Karamouzis.

The demand for hyperautomation is driven by the mandate for operational excellence across processes and functions to support resilience. This demand only continues to increase the growth of offerings provided by hyperautomation.

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...

Gartner: 30% of Enterprises Will Automate More Than Half of Network Activities by 2026

Automation Is Key to I&O Delivering Greater Value, Efficiency and Agility

By 2026, 30% of enterprises will automate more than half of their network activities, an increase from under 10% in mid-2023, according to Gartner, Inc.

"Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders are increasingly looking to AI-based analytics and augmented decision making, including intelligent automation (IA), to improve operational resilience and responsiveness, address complexity and process increasingly large amounts of data through automation," said Chris Saunderson, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner.

IA for I&O is the application of AI techniques, including generative AI (GenAI) to automate decision making and execute actions for I&O initiatives. It is increasingly being used to empower business agility and is driving more advanced I&O service enablement.

IA is an emerging technology that is in the Trough of Disillusionment on the Gartner Hype Cycle for I&O Automation, 2024 and is expected to reach mainstream adoption in the next five to ten years.

The addition of GenAI capabilities has increased demand in the market for IA platforms. Through the use of analysis and automation, IA enables capabilities that deliver improved operations, efficiency and insight generation.

"Technology providers that offer best-of-breed tools for AI for IT operations (AIOps), application performance monitoring and GenAI will influence IA," said Saunderson. "AIOps and stand-alone automation technology providers may expand their offerings to IA, through acquisitions or organic development."

Hyperautomation Continues to Be Staple Discipline for 90% of Large Enterprises

"Along with IA, hyperautomation has seen a resurgence in interest and demand since the fervor of GenAI that launched in November 2022," said Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. "Hyperautomation involves the use of multiple technologies and tools including AI, machine learning, event-driven software architecture and robotic process automation, among others."

Less than 20% of organizations have mastered the measurement of hyperautomation initiatives. "Hyperautomation initiatives are often an integral part of a larger technology roadmap that includes systems of record on one end of the spectrum, and AI and GenAI on the other," said Karamouzis.

The demand for hyperautomation is driven by the mandate for operational excellence across processes and functions to support resilience. This demand only continues to increase the growth of offerings provided by hyperautomation.

Hot Topics

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...