Companies seek new network infrastructure, services to meet AI-related cloud, security requirements, ISG Provider Lens report says
SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A growing number of enterprises in Asia Pacific are adopting software-defined networking for fast, cost-effective network provisioning to support digital transformation, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
We expect digital transformation to keep accelerating in Asia Pacific as companies move workloads to public and private clouds. The shift to software-defined technologies continues, leading toward more automated — and eventually autonomous — networks.
The 2025 ISG Provider Lens Network — Software-Defined Solutions and Services report for Asia Pacific finds that companies across the region face challenges — including tight labor markets, persistent inflation and geopolitical tensions — that call for quick decision-making supported by on-demand connectivity. The need for SD-networking solutions is expected to remain strong, especially in emerging markets such as India and the ASEAN region. As enterprises in Asia Pacific continue to incur the high cost of multiprotocol label-switching (MPLS) links, some are adding fully managed or co-managed software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) to cloud migration and security strategies.
“We expect digital transformation to keep accelerating in Asia Pacific as organizations move more workloads to public and private clouds,” said Michael Gale, partner and regional leader, ISG Asia Pacific. “The shift to software-defined technologies continues across all areas of networking, leading toward more automated — and eventually autonomous — networks.”
Efforts by companies in Asia Pacific to improve operational efficiency are expected to increase investment in new networking hardware, software and cloud-based services, ISG says. Rapid AI adoption will influence these investments, as new network designs prioritize low latency and high bandwidth to meet the performance requirements of AI applications, and network monitoring and observability will be increasingly important to ensure application reliability. Within SD networks that use AI and ML, automated processes reduce the need for manual intervention, minimizing errors.
The growth of remote work and supply chain diversification also are generating new demand for SD networks in the region, ISG says. Low-latency networks enable smooth communication among teams and greater use of cloud-connected applications, which can improve employee performance and innovation. As trade tensions lead companies in India and Southeast Asia to extend their supply chains, there may be higher demand for infrastructure to link to new and expanding operations.
Companies operating in Asia Pacific remain deeply concerned about network security, the report says. An ISG networking survey found that network security was the top network infrastructure issue for three-quarters of global enterprises operating in the region in 2024. As a result, many large enterprises in Asia Pacific are adopting SD-WANs as part of secure access service edge (SASE), often as a fully managed service. SASE converges enterprise networking and security and is especially effective for securely provisioning cloud-based and hybrid networks.
“Companies need new strategies and tools to ensure both connectivity and security across diverse cloud environments,” said Yash Jethani, principal analyst at ISG and lead author of the report. “Partnerships with providers that offer expertise in AI, cloud and networking will be crucial.”
