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2025 AI in Networking

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2025 AI in Networking

Welcome to the NextGenInfra AI in Networking Showcase, our research guide for enterprise and carrier network executives navigating the complex landscape of AIOps for networking, revised for 2025 to address the rise of agentic workflows.

This year's report covers the evolution of the three waves of AI: predictive, generative, and agentic. We look at the state of the technology and the market, as well as the leading use cases in 2025. We also re-examine the path to autonomous networks. We hope our report provides useful guidance in your decision-making as you look at AI implementation for your network operations. Download the report by clicking the button on the right (ungated - no personal information required).

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Perspectives on AI in Networking from Industry Thought Leaders

Our video gallery below captures the views of industry leaders and practitioners involved in implementing predictive AI with machine learning (ML), generative AI (GenAI), and agentic AI in real-world network environments.

The highlights reel features the following industry leaders:Jean-Phillippe Goyet (Blue Planet, a division of Ciena), Wim Henderickx (Nokia), Archana Khetan (Ericsson), Kishan Ramaswamy (Arista Networks), Ram Ramanathan (Ribbon), Ben Hickey (IBM), Scott Robohn (Solutional), and Vijoy Pandey (Cisco Systems). Listen to their quick takes on the transformative impact of AI on network operations across enterprises and carriers.

Reader feedback on AI in Networking 2025 — Harnessing the AI Deluge: “well-written,” “tracks the cutting edge in AI,” “thoughtful.” Grab your copy now and give it a read today!

Content from Sponsors and Thought Leaders

Views expressed are those of the presenting individuals and companies and may not necessarily represent views of Converge Digest or AvidThink.

 Arista Networks

AI in Enterprise Networking with Arista VeloCloud

Kishan Ramaswamy, Director, Product Management at Arista Networks, discusses how their analysis of over 200 uncovered the impact of AI applications on enterprise WANs and how Arista’s VeloCloud solution can address these AI application requirements and capabilities effectively via AIOps.

 Blue Planet (a Ciena Company)

Digging into Agentic-AI Operations with Blue Planet

Jean-Phillippe Goyet, Sr. Director Product Management – AI at Blue Planet (a Ciena Company), outlines their two-pronged approach that provides out-of-the-box applications while enabling customer enrichment. He describes how they re-engineer and optimize existing processes to create new capabilities like instantiating dynamic network slices via natural language.

 Cisco Systems

Agency Project: Building the Internet of Agents for Enterprise AI Collaboration

Vijoy Pandey, SVP & GM, Outshift by Cisco at Cisco Systems, discusses the AGNTCY project, an open-source initiative backed by major technology companies that aims to build an “internet of agents” enabling autonomous AI agents to collaborate across different vendor environments. He explains that AGNTCY provides an architectural framework with four key capabilities – discovery, composition, secure communication, and performance evaluation.

 Ericsson

AI-Native Networks - From Predictive to Agentic AI in Enterprise Operations

Archana Khetan, SVP, Product Management and Technical Marketing at Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions, explains how AI is reshaping enterprise operations, with 84% of business leaders viewing AI as critical to organizational success within three years. She outlines their strategy to transform their NetCloud platform into an AI-native system.

 IBM

What's Next for AI-Driven Networking

Ben Hickey from IBM introduces IBM Network Intelligence, a new product designed to enable autonomous network operations that can identify and remediate issues before outages occur while optimizing capital expenditure and achieving cloud-like utilization rates of 90-95%. The solution combines analytical AI for handling network telemetry scale with generative AI capabilities to cut across siloed data and systems.

 Nokia

The Future of AI-Driven Operations with Nokia

Wim Henderickx, CTO IP Division at Nokia, discusses how Nokia implements a “divide and conquer” strategy for autonomous network operations by creating specialized expert systems for different network domains. He highlights the need for standardized interfaces and protocols like MCP to enable collaboration between different vendor systems.

 Ribbon

AI Automation for Real-Time, Multi-Vendor Networks

Ram Ramanathan, Senior Director of Product Management at Ribbon, discusses the company’s practical AI implementation strategy that moves beyond traditional siloed automation toward outcome-driven architecture addressing specific network problems. He outlines Ribbon’s investments on agentic AI development and enhanced network data analysis.

 Solutional

AI's Impact on Network Operations: Strategic Guidance for Real Results

Scott Robohn, CTO of Solutional, explains how AI is changing network operations and creating new opportunities for organizations to fundamentally alter their network management approaches. Robohn describes how Solutional helps customers navigate vendor claims and develop effective strategies for network automation.

Director's Cut

 Arista Networks

Arista's Vision for Agentic AI in Enterprise Networks - Director's Cut

Kishan Ramaswamy, Director, Product Management and Brendan Gibbs, Vice President, AI Routing & Switching Platforms at Arista Networks share their views on the impact of AI in the enterprise WAN and also touch on how Arista’s cloud platform integrates AI capabilities for network troubleshooting and application management while supporting enhanced operations across wired and wireless environments.

 Blue Planet (a Ciena Company)

Digging into Agentic-AI Operations with Blue Planet - Director's Cut

In this extended video, Jean-Phillippe Goyet, Sr. Director Product Management – AI at Blue Planet (a Ciena Company), describes how Blue Planet implements agentic AI through their AI Studio framework, which operates across three layers: agentic core, tooling, and applications. He describes how the Blue Planet platform spans inventory, orchestration, and assurance, bringing new capabilities to their service provider customers.

 Ericsson

AI-Native Networks - From Predictive to Agentic AI - Director's Cut

Archana Khetan, SVP, Product Management and Technical Marketing at Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions, in this extended cut, explains how AI is reshaping enterprise operations. She outlines their three-phase AI journey to transform their NetCloud Manager platform into a system that enables autonomous network operations, featuring their virtual assistant ANA.

 IBM

What's Next for AI-Driven Networking - Director's Cut

This extended edition video captures Director of Portfolio Management & M&A, Ben Hickey and Program Director, Sanil Nambiar, from IBM discussing how IBM Network Intelligence is bringing automation, predictive insights, and trust into next-generation network operations.

 Nokia

Nokia: The Future of AI-Driven Operations - Director's Cut

In this extended video, Wim Henderickx, CTO IP Division at Nokia, outlines Nokia’s AI for networking vision focused on achieving level four autonomy through a “divide and conquer” approach that breaks complex network domains into specialized expert systems. He emphasizes standardization for multi-vendor environments and describes Nokia’s three-pronged strategy to address skills shortages through accessible interfaces, consultative services, and Software-as-a-Service solutions.

 Ribbon

AI Automation for Real-Time, Multi-Vendor Networks - Director's Cut

Ram Ramanathan, Senior Director of Product Management at Ribbon, outlines the company’s focus on cloud-native technology and AI-driven automation through a three-layered architecture approach for carriers and enterprises. He describes how Ribbon provides deployment automation, cloud monitoring, and security management while maintaining a vendor-neutral strategy.