Enterprises to prioritize infrastructure modernization in 2026
AI-powered applications are driving enterprises to upgrade legacy compute, storage and network resources as well as consider private cloud options for AI and HPC, according to new research from WWT.
by Michael Cooney, Network World
Readying enterprise infrastructure for AI and other resource-heavy applications is high on the to-do list for businesses looking to stay competitive 2026.
"A key aspect of any refresh initiative is gaining better visibility and control over the existing asset base. Too often, organizations don't have a clear understanding of what hardware and software they have deployed, which maintenance contracts are in place, or how all the pieces fit together. This lack of visibility makes it extremely difficult to plan meaningful modernization beyond reactive 'rip-and-replace' cycles," WWT stated in its report, IT infrastructure Modernization Priorities for 2026.
"When you look at the traditional data center or infrastructure modernization that's going on, I don't know that there are wildly new trends, but there are some things that are accelerating, like addressing of technical debt to keep the enterprise agile, efficient and capable of supporting cutting-edge innovations — particularly AI-powered applications," Neil Anderson, vice president and CTO of cloud, infrastructure and AI solutions for WWT, told Network World.