Architecting the Data Superhighway Toward AI Ubiquity in SEA

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from a flashy buzzword to the next technological phenomenon expected to change how we live, work and play radically. It’s no surprise that we’re heralding a new wave of digital transformation thanks to AI. Asia Pacific (APAC) is a frontrunner in this digital revolution. AI adoption is expected to soar within the region by 2028, according to predictions provided at the IDC 2023 FutureScape regional event. In fact, AI is advancing faster than cloud technology: AI companies are expected to reach the USD1 billion annual recurring revenue milestone 50% faster than their cloud counterparts.

Since generative AI exploded into global consciousness in 2023, organizations across various industries have already been clamoring to leverage this emerging technology to create new value by moving from AI experimentation to practical AI integration. The APAC region is already leading in this area, with two-thirds of organizations exploring potential use cases or investing in generative AI technologies.

Take virtual reality, for instance, which has been gaining traction in the region for its lifelike and dynamic visual content within virtual environments. In the business landscape, 80% of professionals in Singapore are already ready for the metaverse. Meanwhile, voice AI assistants and AI avatars are poised to transform user interactions across various sectors, including media, entertainment, and customer service. OpenAI's GPT-4o and Google's Project Astra have marked a revolutionary shift toward multi-modal AI, opening new avenues for enriching user experiences and enhancing business operations and everyday life. GPT-4o can process and generate text, images, audio, and even code, enabling it to master complex tasks. Project Astra, on the other hand, leverages Google's vast data resources to provide real-time assistance and generate contextual responses while seamlessly integrating with the Google ecosystem.

With practical applications of AI, enterprises from industries like healthcare, finance, and logistics have been equally eager to integrate AI solutions into their operations. Generative AI applications have already begun to transform online experiences in Southeast Asia. For instance, in Indonesia, the government utilized HaloDoc. This AI-powered app combines Indonesia’s rich demographic and health data with AI’s analytical capabilities to aid doctors in diagnosing and treating patients more accurately. On the other hand, DBS Bank is exploring possible generative AI use cases that could help improve employee productivity.

Projects like these reflect the ever-growing AI ecosystem as the region seeks to turn AI potential into AI results. But its success hinges on a major factor — how ready and able our networks are to support the bandwidth demands of the AI age.

Meeting the AI frontier’s massive data demands

With AI's growing advancement and adoption, the volume of data generated globally is expected to increase steadily in the coming year. According to the Worldwide IDC Global DataSphere Forecast, 2024-2028, 393.9 zettabytes of data will be generated globally in 2028, with Southeast Asia being a moderate driver.

What does this mean for business networks in Southeast Asia?

Generative AI thrives on volumes of data. Now, more than ever, service providers are working to upgrade their infrastructure to accommodate surging data volumes. Networks must be ready to serve AI applications as they advance. And with more people than ever connected to the online world today, businesses must ramp up their digitalization efforts — or risk losing out.

As workload requirements intensify and data volumes escalate, connectivity requirements will inevitably shift to support high-volume data transfer. According to a recent Ciena survey on communication service providers’ (CSPs) outlook towards AI, almost all (99%) respondents anticipate the need for various network improvements and upgrades to support increased AI traffic. Globally, nearly half (49%) saw the need to upgrade traffic and network analysis software, along with switches and routers (43%) and investments in 800G technology (40%). Companies must also ensure that networks remain resilient and adaptable over time. This means moving beyond pure autonomous networking, which isn’t flexible enough to accommodate changing demands and can result in losing control over operations.

With that, the future of connectivity lies in the automated and adaptive network, consisting of a dynamic, programmable infrastructure built on analytics and automation. These systems gather information from different parts of the network and users and send it to a software layer, making it easier to review, analyze, and take action from the data without slowing down the network. This approach offers organizations more flexibility, agility, and intelligence to take advantage of opportunities in Southeast Asia's changing data landscape.

How AI supercharges network efficiency

While AI increases bandwidth demand, it can be a major piece of the puzzle regarding shoring up networks to support AI use. AI has been viewed as a top priority for network transformation, even in 2020, working on both sides: it is a huge traffic driver and a way to make networks run more efficiently. Many service providers are considering turning to AI and software-defined networks to meet the mobile population’s rising needs for connectivity. Ciena also found in its recent survey that CSPs across Southeast Asia expect a surge in AI traffic across networks from various verticals. For example, the entertainment and media sector is expected to drive the most demand in Singapore (54%) and the Philippines (49%). Meanwhile, Indonesia's CSPs expect the most traffic from the manufacturing sector (48%).

Looking ahead, AI is set to create new business opportunities for hyperscalers and service providers alike, providing the latter, especially, with the ability to move up the value chain and participate in the potential monetization of data. In fact, in Southeast Asian markets like Singapore and Indonesia, 95% of CSPs are confident they can monetize AI traffic over their networks. For instance, AI can optimize network capacity, enabling service providers to monitor and gather critical information in real time. AI-powered real-time link monitoring capabilities can empower operators to understand exactly how much margin is in the network and the optimal capacity they can deploy. Real-time measurement capabilities allow service providers to maximize the efficiency of the network at any stage of the network lifecycle. Service providers can also anticipate and mitigate potential outages by utilizing applications like predictive link failure and scheduling maintenance activities.

AI promises to transform every aspect of our lives and how we do business while empowering the foundations that make these transformations possible — networks. With AI's sheer potential, it’s encouraging to see communications service providers gearing up for this future and embracing these possibilities. As networks become more robust, adaptive and intelligent, we can’t wait to see what the next frontier will bring.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends. Image credit: iStockphoto/Jia Na