Ten years ago, tech leaders said that AI was on the horizon. As little as five years ago, business leaders and analysts announced AI was on the doorstep. Today, AI hasn’t simply arrived; it has impacted businesses at every level, department, and function. Not just at the enterprise/global level, but for businesses of all sizes. What’s that mean for business operations? A lot.
The seismic shifts of AI are impacting topics many have never considered, and some still struggle to realize. These are critical topics, starting with the business’s facility.
Failing to account for AI needs within a facility’s IT infrastructure is akin to overlooking WiFi or the type of broadband connection entering a building. Also, simply acknowledging the importance of AI implementation across a facility isn’t enough. Executive leadership and project managers must understand what AI implementation demands.
Unlike WiFi, adopting AI isn’t as simple as adding another router and signal extenders. Facilities must determine if they have the IT infrastructure in place to support the massive bandwidth demands of AI. Any company building or expanding a facility must determine its current and future total bandwidth requirements. This projection alone can save or lose massive amounts of money when it comes to redesigning networks and upgrading cables and equipment.
What makes planning for AI such a significant task? Going back to the WiFi comparison, adding it didn’t increase bandwidth stress on your network to the same degree that AI will. WiFi simply provided more opportunities for more devices to be easily connected. AI is quite different. Adopting AI significantly increases bandwidth demand. AI is not a networking option; it’s a resource-intensive business tool.
AI Demands Better Building Choices
Even the fastest adopters of AI make a crucial mistake when planning a new facility’s IT infrastructure. They don’t prioritize the needs of AI.
AI analyzes massive amounts of data, drives continuous workflow automation, and demands significant computational power. Therefore, it must live at the very top of any IT considerations pyramid. AI should be prioritized over WiFi coverage and static (non-real-time) operations. It should hold similar importance to security.
Prioritizing AI needs and goals creates a focused lens for evaluating all other IT aspects, from the type of cabling (fiber or Cat6) to servers, switches, routers, and other infrastructure components.
The Consequences of Not Prioritizing AI
- Expensive retrofits and corrections
- Fragmented/patched together systems
- Delayed and diminished ROI
Do not fall into the trap of creating a facility that is outdated on day one. That scenario has already happened countless times over the last five years. Businesses didn’t plan for or expect AI adoption to be so rapid. It means that facilities that are only a handful of years old are already planning significant IT infrastructure upgrades. They knew the future was coming, but didn’t take action to future-proof their project when it would be easiest and most affordable.
Building a Facility for AI Success
The success of AI doesn’t ride upon the software choices you make. It thrives or dies on a building’s infrastructure. That includes the choices you make from cable to endpoint.
What AI Needs Within a Facility
- Data (sensors, cameras, IoT, and other inputs)
- Throughput/bandwidth (more is always smarter)
- Low latency (for real-time automation and decision making)
- Integration (systems that talk with each other as a collective)
If your IT infrastructure fails to deliver on those needs, it will fall short of AI’s potential. At best, the AI efforts will come down to building and delivering dashboards, rather than being a real-time decision-making force that provides advantages across operations.
Considerations for an AI-Ready Facility
Network Density
The first goal is capacity, not coverage.
Edge and Core Architecture
- Robust speed for real-time edge computing
- Cloud for aggregation and learning
Power Over Ethernet (PoE)
- Opt for PoE cameras, access control, and sensors
- Faster and more affordable installation than 120V
- Built-in flexibility
Structured Cabaling
- Overbuild to future-proof
- Ensure scalability without tearing walls open
Convergence
- Treat physical and cyber security as one solution powered by AI
- De-silo vendors and risk protocols
Why Businesses Run Better Using AI and a Robust IT Infrastructure
To some, AI feels like magic. To others, AI is something to be feared. The reality rests somewhere in between. We’re not here to oversell AI. Yes, what it can and will do is amazing, but not magic. Too many people overhype AI’s potential. We do not. Instead, we lean into the importance of using AI. No serious business can remain competitive, innovative, and scalable without it.
Five AI Advantages Businesses Can Achieve Today
- Reduced downtime using predictive maintenance
- Enhanced security with smart access and controls
- Optimized space utilization based on occupancy analytics
- Cost savings based on energy optimization
- Reduced labor costs from automated workflows
Ready to Future-Proof Your Business With an IT Infrastructure Built for AI?
Building, implementing, and maintaining an AI-ready IT infrastructure that spans all your locations and staff is essential to future-proofing ongoing operations. Identifying and deploying the best approach to achieve it requires working with an expert. Matrix-NDI solves the challenges of your business operations by unlocking the full ROI of your technology investments. We design and install networks built for maximum speed and perfectly matched to bandwidth demands.
Why Work With Matrix-NDI?
We have on-staff Registered Communications Distribution Designers (RCDD), coast-to-coast service, and elite data networking partners, including Extreme Networks, Nile, and others. Ultimately, Matrix-NDI aligns your business with the devices, internet service, and software to achieve all technical objectives. We invite you to reach out with your needs and see how our expertise, partnerships, and national scale can be leveraged to solve them.
Contact Matrix-NDI to get started. Let’s build smarter, safer, more connected spaces — together.
