As we approach 2026, the enterprise networking landscape finds itself at the centre of extraordinary change. Market uncertainty, technological acceleration, and new regulatory demands are converging to reshape how organisations connect, secure, and manage their digital infrastructure.
These predictions reflect both consensus industry expectations and some hard-won pragmatic perspectives grounded in real operational challenges Damovo and its customers have faced across Europe and beyond.
1. AI driven, autonomous enterprise networks
By 2026, AI will move from assisting to actively orchestrating enterprise networks, with “agentic” AI using telemetry to predict incidents, optimise paths, and enforce policy in real time across multi-cloud and hybrid sites.
We predict that customers will expect intent-based networking, AI Ops, and closed-loop automation as standard in managed network services, not as premium add-ons.
2. Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 complement, not compete with private 5G
These standards bring multi-gigabit throughput, improved spectrum efficiency, and better performance in dense environments. Offices, campuses, and general-purpose IoT deployments will continue to rely heavily on Wi-Fi, while 5G serves high-mobility or high-reliability use cases.
Many enterprises will adopt a hybrid “Wi-Fi + private 5G” fabric to ensure the right technology for each application and invest in multi-access edge platforms that unify monitoring, control, and security.
3. SASE, SSE and NaaS becoming the enterprise norm
The SDWAN wave will give way to fully managed SASE and SSE architectures delivered as Network as a Service, where connectivity and security are procured as subscriptions with outcome-based SLAs.
A strong prediction is that by the end of 2026, a clear majority of Damovo’s enterprise network deals will be cloud managed, SASE anchored and consumption based, often spanning multiple vendors but delivered as a single managed service.
4. Cloud only networking will give way to ‘neo cloud’ and selective on prem resurgence
Predictions often assume an inexorable march toward hyperscaler-centred, cloud-only networking, yet 2026 forecasts already point to neocloud adoption for AI and a resurgence of on-prem and edge compute for performance, sovereignty, and cost-control reasons.
The most forward-looking network designs in 2026 will treat connectivity, security and compute as a portfolio across neocloud, regional providers, classic hyperscalers and on‑prem, with trusted partner roles shifting from “cloud enabler” to “sovereign, multi-cloud network broker” for enterprises.
5. Sustainable, observable and compliant networks
Boards will expect network programmes to evidence carbon impact, regulatory compliance and user experience, not just uptime and bandwidth.
We have already seen enterprise network RFPs start to include energy efficiency, embedded observability, and compliance reporting (for example, around data residency and NIS2-aligned visibility) as explicit evaluation criteria. This trend will only continue as organisations look to their ageing, power-hungry infrastructure for ways to cut energy waste and costs.
Conclusion
If these trends hold, successful enterprises will prioritise adaptability over hype, balancing ambition with lifecycle realities across AI, wireless, service architecture, and compliance. Networking leaders must look beyond technology alone: resilient, observable, and sustainable operations will increasingly define competitive advantage as much as technical innovation. In 2026, business outcomes, not hardware generations, will truly set enterprise networks apart.
Discuss with us how these 2026 networking developments affect your IT architecture. We help you identify practical next steps for your roadmap.