Is your network ready for 2027? Five questions worth asking

At the end of every year, we see the familiar ‘look back’ and ‘look ahead’ articles. It’s a tried and tested formula, but there’s a good reason for it. Taking stock is a useful habit.

And this year, we’re looking at the future of your network. Because while your network might be performing perfectly well, that doesn’t mean it’s still the best fit for where your business is heading.

Networks don’t tend to happen all at once. They develop over time. New sites are added, applications move to the cloud, and security requirements change. Each decision can chip away at the existing infrastructure, meaning a series of individually good choices can ultimately leave your network performing below its potential.

And in 2026, there’s AI to think about too. So here are five questions worth asking about your network as you prepare for 2027.

1. Does your network support the way your business works today?

Changes in the way you work don’t always prompt a rethink of how your network is designed.

Take cloud for example. Many networks were originally designed around applications hosted in a central data centre – most likely the right decision at the time. But when more and more services are accessed directly from the cloud, that type of design may no longer be optimal.

You may also be concentrating capacity on central connections, even when users are accessing applications hosted elsewhere.

As you look ahead, consider where your existing architecture is giving you the performance and flexibility you need, or whether some of those earlier decisions need another look.

2. Are networking and security working together?

They’ve traditionally been treated as separate disciplines, often with their own technologies, tools and priorities.

But as users and applications become more distributed, the separation between networking and security can become an inconvenience. Separate approaches can also make it harder to apply consistent security policies across different locations and users.

This is one reason why we’re seeing greater convergence between networking and security, with approaches like Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) bringing the two closer together.

When you’re planning for 2027, ask yourself some questions. Are security controls affecting application performance? Can policies be applied consistently across different locations and users? And could closer integration simplify management without compromising protection?

3. How might AI change what your network needs to support?

AI is becoming an integral part of many organisations’ plans, but its implications for network infrastructure aren’t always straightforward.

Using a cloud-based LLM might be relatively straightforward and have little impact on bandwidth. But what about applications that process large amounts of business data, connect multiple systems or rely on real-time responses?

There’s also the question of where that data sits, how it’s accessed, and what security controls are needed to protect it.

If you’re introducing AI into customer service, for example, you’ll need to think about how these applications securely access information held across different locations – like cloud platforms and internal systems.

For this check, consider how you intend to use AI in the year ahead and beyond. That will help establish whether your existing connectivity, network architecture and security are suitable.

4. Can you see what’s happening across your network?

Let’s picture an all-too-familiar problem: users are reporting that a business-critical cloud application is running slowly.

That’s a simple scenario, but working out the cause of the problem isn’t so straightforward. Is the issue with the application itself, your connectivity, your network configuration, or maybe the security controls you have in place?

The more distributed your network becomes, the more difficult it becomes to identify the origin of problems, especially when you have a range of different systems and platforms to deal with.

Visibility across networking and security can make a real difference. It helps you understand how traffic moves, investigate problems more effectively and identify where improvements might be needed.

5. Is your resilience still fit for purpose?

As more of your business moves to the cloud, a loss of connectivity can have serious consequences.

Even if you’ve already invested in resilient connectivity, it’s sensible to revisit your setup periodically.

For example, do your primary and backup connections follow diverse routes, or is there a shared point of failure? Have failover arrangements and plans been tested recently? And do those plans reflect the applications and services that your business now depends on?

Resilience measures that were appropriate a few years ago may still be absolutely right for your business. The important thing is knowing that they’re still suitable and giving yourself the opportunity to fix them if they’re not.

Let’s talk about your network

Reviewing your network doesn’t necessarily involve major changes. If it confirms that your infrastructure is doing its job, it was worth it. It might just reveal opportunities to improve how different technologies or approaches work together.

If you’re reviewing your network strategy for 2027, our specialists can help you look at how your connectivity, networking and security work together, and where changes might be worthwhile.

To discuss your plans, speak to your account manager or contact our team.

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