Virtual Roundtable
Accelerating AI Adoption with an Integrated Connectivity Fabric
October 21st, 2026 | 1:00 pm ET / 10:00 am PT
According to IDC, 91% of enterprises will add 11%+ datacenter interconnect bandwidth in the next 12 months to support AI, with 36% adding over 51%, and 70% planning to double their GPU and switch environments. AI rack densities are pushing from 20-40kW today toward 60-100kW within two years, and 90% of organizations now run AI workloads across cloud and on-premises simultaneously, making the network the connective tissue of every AI strategy.
IDC and Spectrum will convene a curated group of senior IT and infrastructure leaders for a candid, peer-level virtual roundtable, sharing intelligence, challenging assumptions, and leaving with a clearer path forward.
The operative question is no longer whether you have enough compute,
but whether your network can move data fast enough, close enough, and reliably enough to keep AI workloads productive across a distributed, hybrid estate.
Register Now
The worldwide datacenter interconnection services market is forecast to grow from $3.26B in 2024 to $5.47B in 2029, a 10.9% CAGR, with the Americas alone reaching $2.44B by 2029. This growth is being driven entirely by AI: 91% of enterprises will add 11%+ DCI bandwidth in the next 12 months, with 39% of new AI-networking wavelengths running at 400G and 21% at 800G. The shift from generic DCI to AI-grade DCI is the most consequential network market reshape in a decade.
The signal for senior IT leaders is clear: connectivity is consolidating around AI-optimized, software-defined transport (high-capacity at the core, edge-adjacent at the perimeter, and automated end-to-end).
Discussion Themes
Four Conversations Every Senior IT Leader Should Be Having Right Now
AI is a network problem, not just a compute problem
Why the planning lens for AI has shifted from GPUs alone to the network connecting them. How leaders are aligning land, power, and bandwidth decisions.
High-capacity, deterministic transport
What 400G and 800G wavelength services actually require to keep AI training and inference productive. How leaders are designing for deterministic latency, lossless throughput, and multi-metro fabrics that move large datasets at the pace AI workloads now demand.
Distributed inference and edge adjacency
Why inference is moving toward users, data, and devices, and what that means for network design. How leaders are bringing AI closer to the edge to improve latency, responsiveness, and cost, while keeping training centralized where the economics still favor scale.
Operational automation and scale
How SLA-driven, API-driven, software-defined networks turn connectivity from a project into a platform. What it takes to provision, observe, and adapt AI-grade transport at the speed AI strategies actually move (across metros, providers, and clouds).
What To Expect
A live video meeting led by a skilled host/moderator
An intimate gathering of senior leaders from diverse industries, grappling with similar issues
A secure, private conversation open only to a carefully vetted group (no recording, no playback)
Your hosts
Brandon Butler
Senior Research Manager, Networking and Infrastructure Services, Enterprise Infrastructure
IDC
Read bio
Brandon Butler
Brandon Butler is a Senior Research Manager within IDC’s enterprise infrastructure global research domain and part of the networking infrastructure and services subdomain. His research covers market and technology trends, forecasts, and competitive analysis in enterprise campus, branch, and edge networks – including Ethernet switching, wireless LAN, routing/SD-WAN/Wireless WAN, and AI-powered and agentic network management systems. Brandon tracks market shares and forecasts, covers key trends shaping end-user and vendor technology strategy, and leads a variety of custom research projects for IDC.
BACKGROUND
Prior to joining IDC, Brandon spent more than a decade as an accomplished technology and business journalist. He spent six years at Network World as a Senior Editor covering emerging technologies, including software-defined networking (SDN) and the advent of the public cloud IaaS market. Brandon’s background also includes several media positions, including interning at the Washington Post, working for international newswire Agence France-Presse, and editing a quarterly business magazine.
Partners
Sponsored By
Spectrum Business
Spectrum Business delivers a full suite of reliable, secure connectivity solutions that support small and midsized businesses, while enabling the nation’s largest enterprises to scale with confidence. From high-performance fiber connectivity, security, and networking, to voice, collaboration, and TV services, we bring a relentless commitment to customer success and solutions designed specifically for them. Backed by our 100% US-built Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and 100% US-based workforce, we deliver a true partnership — built on the belief that reliability and customer service are everything to your business.
Spectrum is a suite of advanced communications services offered by Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), a leading broadband connectivity company available to nearly 59 million homes and small to large businesses across 41 states. Founded in 1993, Charter has evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100% U.S.-based employees, the Company offers Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products.
More information can be found at corporate.charter.com.