TahawulTech.com’s latest podcast examines how AI-driven networking is moving beyond industry hype to deliver proactive, intelligent, and experience-led infrastructure for modern enterprises.
UAE-based enterprise leaders are beginning to view networking through a new lens, where AI is no longer simply an operational enhancement, but a core driver of intelligent, autonomous and experience-centric infrastructure.
In a recent TahawulTech.com podcast hosted by CPI Media Group, Karthikeyan Gunasekar, Business Development Lead & Evangelist AI for Networking | Worldwide, HPE, and Mohammed Abrar, Director – Cyber Security, Alpha Data, unpacked the realities behind self-driving networks, discussing whether the concept remains industry hype or has evolved into a practical enterprise capability.
The conversation explored how enterprises are increasingly relying on AI-powered networking architectures to reduce downtime, improve user experience, accelerate issue resolution and support complex digital environments across sectors such as hospitality, education and managed services.
Opening the discussion, Gunasekar highlighted how the term “self-driving network” is often misunderstood or dismissed as a marketing buzzword, despite the technology already delivering measurable operational outcomes for enterprises today. Abrar responded by emphasising that self-driving networking is not a “magic feature” enabled through a single click, but rather a journey built on intelligent data collection, actionable insights and AI-assisted operations.
According to Abrar, modern networks are becoming increasingly complex, placing pressure on IT teams that continue to rely on traditional troubleshooting methods.
Enterprises are demanding faster detection and resolution capabilities to maintain seamless digital experiences for employees and customers alike.
Gunasekar illustrated this challenge through a real-world education-sector deployment, where a school experienced recurring network slowdowns during online examinations. By leveraging intelligent telemetry and application-aware networking capabilities, the infrastructure was able to identify that increased user density was impacting bandwidth thresholds before users fully experienced service degradation.
The podcast also examined how self-driving architectures are evolving from merely identifying issues to proactively recommending or initiating corrective actions. Both speakers stressed that the true value lies in correlating high-quality telemetry, network intelligence and user behaviour data to deliver faster operational decisions and more resilient digital services.
From a customer perspective, Abrar noted that end users rarely focus on the underlying infrastructure itself. Instead, their expectations revolve around uninterrupted connectivity and seamless digital experiences, particularly during mission-critical applications such as video conferencing or cloud-based collaboration.
Drawing comparisons with autonomous vehicle technologies, Gunasekar observed that enterprises are still adapting psychologically to the idea of allowing networks to make intelligent decisions independently. Abrar added that while AI can automate low-risk and repetitive operational tasks, governance, security policies, and critical access decisions still require human oversight.
The discussion further explored how sectors operating around-the-clock, particularly hospitality and managed services environments, stand to benefit significantly from proactive networking models.
IT teams often struggle to isolate root causes quickly because traditional environments rely on multiple siloed management tools and dashboards.
Abrar acknowledged that many IT teams continue to face scenarios where networks behave unpredictably after deployment, forcing engineers into lengthy troubleshooting exercises. However, he pointed to intelligent HPE networking solutions as examples of how AI-powered platforms can dramatically shorten resolution cycles from days to hours by surfacing actionable operational insights.
A major theme throughout the podcast centred on the shift from traditional SLA-focused discussions towards experience-driven metrics such as Service Level Experience (SLE). Both speakers agreed that organisations are increasingly prioritising measurable user experience outcomes rather than simply infrastructure uptime.
The conversation also addressed concerns surrounding AI-driven automation and its potential impact on IT jobs. Abrar argued that AI will inevitably replace repetitive and redundant operational tasks, but stressed that the broader opportunity lies in enabling engineers to focus on more strategic and business-critical responsibilities.
Gunasekar reinforced this point by stating that self-driving networking is ultimately about empowering teams rather than reducing headcount. By eliminating time-consuming manual troubleshooting and repetitive operational workflows, organisations can redirect talent towards innovation, customer engagement, and business growth initiatives.
Concluding the podcast, both speakers agreed that self-driving networking has already moved beyond conceptual hype and is steadily becoming an operational reality for enterprises pursuing resilient, AI-driven infrastructure strategies. While fully autonomous networking may still require human oversight today, they noted that rapid advances in AI operations and intelligent networking architectures are accelerating the journey towards highly autonomous digital environments.
Source: Tahawul Tech