The rise of AI, alongside the continued innovation of large language model (LLM) technologies such as DeepSeek, continues to redefine the boundaries of possibility within the technology industry, transforming what was once deemed impractical, into reality.
Simply put, AI is a productivity force that delivers increasing value to organizations, enabling them to work faster and smarter by extracting critical intelligence from customer data, documentation and other internal and external data sources, in moments.
Read More on CIO Influence: AI-Augmented Risk Scoring in Shared Data Ecosystems
For organizations of all sizes, the new reality paved by AI translates to opportunities to remove friction from critical processes, improve productivity, boost automation and deliver products and value faster and more predictably.
The promise is clear, but it also unveils challenges and barriers to entry that continue to persist in technology operating environments.
Whether it’s continually emerging cybersecurity threats or the explosion of locations, users, devices and apps that need to be managed, a complicated IT infrastructure and operating environment impacts everyone from IT and security operators to CIOs, CISOs and IT decision-makers.
Networking and security solutions required to manage these challenges are also growing in complexity. Disconnected workflows, unintegrated technology capabilities and complex and expensive licensing have merged to make IT professionals’ lives even more burdensome.
A recent research report confirms the strong demand to upend this trend, simplify user experiences and unify management to a common user interface. Rather staggeringly, 88% of CIO and IT leaders in the survey expressed preference for a single integrated platform that combines networking, AI and security.
In other words, there is a strong desire for deploying a platform, rather than a set of disparate tools, to ensure the most foundational IT capabilities are integrated, seamless and connected. This is referred to network platformization; an integrated approach that delivers consistent user experiences for operators and managers alike, streamlining purchasing, licensing, training and deployment so IT teams can operate more efficiently and deliver value more decisively.
When platformization is executed most effectively, AI, networking and security are seamless and interoperable right out of the box, ensuring that every workflow, interaction, query, report and deployment leverage a cohesive set of embedded capabilities.
Catch more CIO Insights: Ghost Security Releases Groundbreaking Research: AI-Driven Analysis Exposes Flaws in Static Application Security Testing
Platformization continues to emerge in conversations with some of the largest and most innovative IT organizations, teams and leaders, and this unified approach to deploying and using software underscores exactly what CIO’s need headed into 2025 and beyond: improved productivity and scalability, enhanced security, more intelligence and easier-to-manage networks.
A Cohesive Ecosystem: The Case for Unification
IT professionals continue to be overwhelmed by the complexity of managing multiple product points, and while AI hype likely won’t slow down in 2025 (DeepSeek proves that), the road to value creation hasn’t been without bumps. 32% of IT leaders feel that they haven’t seen a strong return on investment (ROI) from AI yet, nor have they experienced the expected improvements in efficiency after implementation.
For AI to succeed, organizations must invest in the right infrastructure, consider security and compliance implications, focus on the right use cases and ensure employees receive the proper training. Rushing into AI without addressing these foundational elements can lead to missed innovation and efficiency opportunities.
To streamline and rectify this challenge, CIOs are looking to platformization, data integration and more. This desire for unification is about more than reducing the number of tools; it’s about creating a cohesive ecosystem where everything works seamlessly together, which ultimately reduces costs and improves innovation.
Convergence of Networking, Security and AI
The convergence of networking, security and AI is not just a trend; it’s a necessity. According to the data, 34% of CIOs rank network security as their top priority, while 22% emphasized the integration of networking and security as part of their strategy. This convergence ensures that security is tightly coupled, providing comprehensive protection without added complexity.
AI plays a crucial role in this integrated approach. While 84% of respondents have started integrating AI into their tech stack, challenges such as network bandwidth and lack of training persist. A unified platform addresses these issues by providing seamless AI integration and automation, embedded across all interactions, scans and deployments. An AI-enabled platform also improves automation and ensures the platform is easier to deploy, secure and train as it becomes self-learning and self-enabling.
The Path Forward
Executive-level focus on networking, AI and security requires careful consideration and strategic planning, but the trend lines allude to a parallel path between the three technologies. CIOs will always desire technology that can be deployed at scale, especially across network and IT infrastructure. The emerging utility of embedding security and AI offers the promise of consistent and reliable IT workflows that deliver improved experiences and customer value.
The age of AI-inspired simplification is upon us, and unification, integration, and ultimately, platformization, could be the key to unlocking the full potential of technology in the future.
