Global business expanding, but connectivity lost while AI drains budgets

Wednesday 29 October 2025, Sydney, Australia. Expanding global operations is a growing priority for businesses. Yet with increasing investment in AI, leaders are blindsided when it comes to seamless connectivity across international borders, says the new Global Business Connectivity Outlook Report launched today.

The inaugural report by global Managed Services Provider (MSP), Coevolve, canvasses the views of global leaders in relation to their business outlook and technology strategies. The report reveals a striking paradox that while global expansion is high on the business agenda – with over 70% of leaders interviewed indicating that they plan to expand outside of their current location(s) in the year ahead – connectivity, the backbone of global operations, isn’t getting the investment it deserves. Further, for more than 1 in 2 leaders, new markets are driving their expansion plans, followed by new products (24%), and personnel requirements (10%).

However, globalisation doesn’t come without its challenges. Our report reveals that business leaders are most concerned by the growing complexities of compliance (18%), technology (17%), and security (17%). At the heart of these challenges lies connectivity, and while almost three-quarters of leaders interviewed (70%) report that enhancing global connectivity is essential, it is rarely spoken about at the board level, with AI, automation, and cyber resilience tending to dominate the conversation.

The report also found that AI is dominating business technology investment strategies. When asked about their tech priorities to enhance global connectivity, 1 in 3 leaders said that they are investing in AI, followed by cloud (24%), and network architecture (19%). Further, when it comes to the spending itself, AI makes up close to half of spending (45%), followed by Cloud (33%), with only 8% directed towards network architecture.

Ciaran Roche, Coevolve CTO and Co-Founder, says, “It’s staggering to see just how much network connectivity and security are being sidelined in favour of AI hype, leaving businesses exposed to risk, disruption, and digital fragility. AI is nearly absorbing half of the technology budgets, but the foundational infrastructure that enables it is being neglected. You can’t scale and grow on a broken foundation.”

Tim Sullivan, Coevolve CEO and Co-Founder, added, “It isn’t a surprise that so many businesses are expanding globally, however, the AI paradox that is emerging is. Companies are investing heavily in AI, yet we still haven’t seen the full impact of AI on telecommunication networks and traffic flows across regions and countries.

“A new era of connectivity is emerging. Enterprises must address changing requirements, including enhancing networks and ensuring adaptability to enable seamless connectivity for their global businesses. Data generation won’t slow down; it will only increase with AI, and reliable connectivity is essential to enable this. In 2026, business leaders must shift their focus and assess their digital foundation, giving global connectivity more attention and a higher budget in the year ahead”, he concluded.

The inaugural Global Business Connectivity Outlook Report canvasses the views of more than 50 global business leaders drawing on in-depth interviews. The report serves as an independent pulse-check of the global business connectivity outlook for enterprises worldwide. ~ENDS