2026年无线技术现状报告：释放乘数效应——AI时代战略无线投资如何推动企业增长

Unlocking the Multiplier Effect: How Strategic WirelessInvestments Drive Enterprise Growth in the AI Era Executive summary3 5 Investment momentum continues to 10 multiple areas 11 barriers limiting ROI realization Contents 11 14 16 20 Barrier 3: Wireless competition for24 26 Executive summary Wi-Fi is a strategic growth engine ― deliveringmeasurable returns across multiple businessdimensions simultaneously. This “multipliereffect” distinguishes wireless from other ITinvestments that typically optimize for a single simultaneously, AI is challenging their infrastructure, thenumber one security threat, and the biggest talent risk.Legacy infrastructure plus three key interconnected 1. Solving operational complexity. 98% of organizations report increased complexity, drivenby factors like organizational mergers and the proliferationof IoT workloads. Most IT teams remain trapped in reactive ticket management. While 81% of wireless leaders prefer The evidence is compelling: more than three-quarters oforganizations report operational efficiency gains (78%),see employee productivity improvements (75%), andreport enhanced customer engagement (75%), whilealmost 7 in 10 (68%) experience positive revenue impacts 2. Mitigating intensifying security threats. AI-generated attacks are the leading driver of increasedwireless security risk. Over half of organizations (58%)have experienced financial losses from wireless securityincidents, with 50% of them exceeding US$1 million However, this opportunity emerges alongside mountingcomplexity. Organizations must adapt to diverseconnectivity needs and support a growing spectrum ofusers and devices ― from employees and contractorsto autonomous robots, smart sensors, and AI-poweredapplications. New use cases appear daily, and IT teamsare challenged to keep pace. This inaugural Cisco report 3. Addressing talent shortages. A shortfall of qualified staff amplifies complexity and threatvectors. Nearly 9 in 10 (86%) wireless leaders struggleto hire professionals, driving 70% higher security incidentcosts and trapping teams in reactive operations. While These barriers are intertwined, compounding risk andmaking holistic action essential. Organizations that successfully address legacyinfrastructure and the three barriers together can unlocksignificant opportunities, becoming four times more likelyto achieve strong wireless ROI (4:1 or higher). Strategic Organizations investing holistically inAI, automation, modern security, andcertified expertise have an edge on Our research identifies four key recommendations to 1.Accelerate your Wi-Fi refresh timeline. 2.Get on the path to AI and automation. 3.Prioritize holistic security higher average ROI onwireless investments 4.Build and enhance wireless talent. Now is the time to drive competitive advantage.Organizations that act decisively and holistically― by addressing legacy infrastructure, simplifyingoperations, mitigating wireless security threats, and The opportunity:Wi-Fi as a strategic growth engine Investment momentum continues to The business case for Wi-Fi investment is now undeniable.Organizations are seeing measurable ROI and the riseof business-critical AI deployments amplify the need formore resilient, higher performing Wi-Fi. Wireless budgets This acceleration extends beyond aggregate spending.Three times as many organizations (32%) expect highreturns from wireless tech over the next two years Eight in 10 organizations increased wireless investmentover the past five years, with 29% implementing significantbudgetary increases of 50% or more. What’s more, 82%forecast that wireless budgets will continue to rise, with Capital expenditure typically accounts for 61% ofwireless budgets on average, with the remainder The composition of wireless budgets further revealsorganizational priorities. Organizations cite reducingoperational risk as their number one budget priority, This increased investment is directly enablingorganizations to deploy Wi-Fi to meet changing Expanding use cases drive newinfrastructure requirements The breadth and diversity of wireless use cases nowextend across entire organizations, further illustrating No longer relegated to employee connectivity usecases, Wi-Fi enables everything from critical AIworkloads to physical security, customer experience,and operational intelligence. This expansion of wireless More than a quarter of organizations (28%) havealready deployed AI workloads. This figure isestimated to climb to over three quarters (79%) by2027, with an additional 29% in pilot stage and 22% While core use cases such as wireless for physicalsecurity are already widely deployed, the next phaseof wireless growth is being driven by emergingapplications that depend on high-performing, resilient Wireless leaders cite five primary drivers of increasedwireless dependence for these use cases. Supporting thegrowth of the Internet of Things (“IoT”) ranks as the leadingdriver,