Companies need to strengthen their data center infrastructure, cybersecurity, and internal capabilities to move artificial intelligence (AI) projects from pilot testing to large-scale deployment, according to technology firms Cisco and Trends & Technologies.
The companies raised the issue during a joint forum, “Thriving in the AI Era: Future-Proofing Your Data Center for What Comes Next,” which brought together technology and industry representatives from the public and private sectors.
They said adopting AI tools alone is insufficient to generate business value, as organizations also need reliable networks, sufficient computing capacity, scalable storage, and security systems to support increasingly complex AI workloads.
Trends Technology Management Group manager James Jimeno said companies often encounter difficulties when moving AI projects from successful trials to production environments.
He cited security risks involving sensitive data and AI models, network congestion caused by large volumes of data exchanged during AI training and inference, and the complexity of integrating different infrastructure components.
The companies identified six technology foundations for enterprise AI deployments: networking, computing, storage, security, observability, and software.
Networking connects graphics processing units (GPUs), storage systems, applications, and AI services, while computing resources provide the processing power needed to train and run AI models. Storage systems must also handle large volumes of structured and unstructured data without compromising performance.
Security must be integrated across the infrastructure to protect data and AI models, while observability tools allow organizations to monitor system performance, identify problems, and maintain operational stability. Software provides the tools for managing AI models, workloads, and applications.
Beyond infrastructure, the companies said organizations must assess their readiness in six areas: strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent, and organizational culture.
This includes identifying business problems that AI can address, determining whether existing systems can support deployment, establishing policies for responsible AI use, and developing the skills needed to manage AI initiatives.
Trends Group chief operations officer Christine Fard said the company works with Cisco to help organizations modernize data centers and strengthen their cloud and cybersecurity environments.
The two companies have maintained a partnership spanning more than two decades, Fard said.
The companies said organizations should establish clear business objectives and assess their existing systems and data requirements before selecting technologies for AI deployment.
