For IT decision-makers, much of the past year was consumed by pressing concerns like the end of support for Windows 10, often relegating planned infrastructure upgrades to the back seat. However, as we enter 2026, the focus is decisively shifting toward updating connectivity and ensuring systems are adequately protected and efficiently managed.
Supporting this accelerating trend towards expert, remote management, the global Managed Services Market is projected to achieve a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 15.0% between 2025 and 2032, according to an analysis by Fortune Business Insights.
The year ahead promises an acceleration of faster networking technologies, as businesses must upgrade their infrastructure to cope with the growing user demand for more bandwidth and the continued practical implementation of Artificial Intelligence. Industry experts project significant uptake across five key areas: faster connectivity, multi-gigabit infrastructure, elevated cybersecurity, AI-driven management, and managed services.
WiFi 7: Breaking the Wireless Bandwidth Ceiling
The adoption of WiFi 7 is expected to accelerate significantly in 2026. This technology is now seen as fully mature and is especially critical for Small and Medium-sized Businesses that postponed wireless investments last year. This drive for rapid deployment is underscored by market analysts, such as The Business Research Company, who project the Enterprise WLAN Market to achieve an exceptional Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 25.0% through 2029, driven by mobility, IoT, and the continuous need for high-quality connectivity.
Accelerating factors for adoption include:
- Bandwidth requirements: Increasingly sophisticated applications, rising cloud usage, and more stringent cybersecurity activities are collectively pushing the demand for bandwidth.
- Performance: All users on the network require faster, wider coverage, and more consistently reliable connection performance.
This shift is intrinsically linked to the underlying wired infrastructure. Upgrading to WiFi 7, which supports higher throughput and often requires higher PoE power, must be accompanied by the adoption of Multi-gig switches to avoid bottlenecks.
Although talks of WiFi 8 may commence in 2026, the standard (802.11bn) is still in the early stages and is not expected to be formally ratified until 2028. Nonetheless, investment in WiFi 7 delivers immediate benefits to sectors like hospitality, education, and retail, which require stable, reliable coverage for a large volume of devices.
Modern Infrastructure: The Shift to Universal Multi-gigabit Connectivity
In 2026, Multi-gigabit devices are expected to become the standard choice at every point of the infrastructure. Consequently, 2.5G is set to become the accepted minimum speed for nearly every connection across the business network.
The growth of high-power PoE devices is a major driver here. Beyond powering high-speed access points, organizations increasingly rely on IP cameras and smart IoT devices deployed at the edge. New generations of switches now provide essential support for high-power standards like PoE++ and feature much higher overall PoE budgets, making it straightforward to deploy power-hungry devices without impacting wider network performance.
The shift toward Multi-gigabit solutions capable of supporting multiple speeds will be essential for providing the necessary bandwidth capacity and structural flexibility needed to fully utilize modern edge devices.
The Convergence of Security and Connectivity
In the coming year, cybersecurity and networking will become even more intertwined and a higher priority for all organizations. With home and flexible working now standard practice, and the arrival of tighter governance rules, all organizations will be compelled to review their security posture and ensure that all network entry points are properly safeguarded.
This raising of the stakes highlights a crucial trend: SMBs are now in the crosshairs of cybercriminals as much as larger businesses. They require comprehensive, multi-layered security solutions that deliver enterprise-grade protection.
Modern security solutions must be monitored and controlled through a cloud management platform, allowing administrators or Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to keep a watch on the network and make necessary changes remotely, supported by in-depth reporting and analytics services.
Managed Services Become More Attractive
Despite the ease of deploying modern, cloud-controlled network and security equipment, managing an IT infrastructure remains a considerable challenge—especially for smaller businesses with limited in-house expertise. Compounding this, the demand for tech skills makes it harder to recruit and retain dedicated IT staff.
This explains why more organizations are turning to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to remotely monitor and control their networks and security.
- Growing Preference: The availability of robust, global cloud platforms makes it simple for MSP partners to offer a comprehensive management service, increasingly becoming the preferred option for businesses of all sizes.
- Security Factor: The heightened importance of cybersecurity is a major driving force; most businesses prefer to hand the complex, day-to-day job of managing security over to an expert provider. This trend is expected to fuel another year of healthy growth for the MSP sector.
AI in Action: Beyond the Hype to Operational Efficiency
While AI was a major theme in 2025, the coming year will see businesses looking to make practical use of AI to enhance and streamline processes. This exciting technology has an important role to play in enhancing network performance, making systems more resilient, and saving significant time for administrators and service providers.
AI and machine learning capabilities are being embedded within the functionality of networking and security offerings to identify and resolve potential issues earlier. In 2026, these benefits will become more visible to customers and service providers alike:
- AI will be used to enhance the functionality of management interfaces—such as natural language enquiry platforms—allowing users to instruct the system to take specific actions, which ultimately helps administrators and MSPs do more with fewer resources.
A Continuum of Advances
While major, sensational changes may not be expected, 2026 will see a continuum of advances that will make networking better, easier to manage, and more secure than ever.
By the end of the year, SMB networks are likely to be noticeably different: more consistent, reliable, faster, and more flexible to cope with much higher bandwidth. They will be inherently secure, and AI will be used to make every action and process easier and more streamlined, preparing businesses for the next wave of digital transformation.
