ZURICH & MUMBAI | 13 July 2026: ABB has announced a multi-year initiative to modernize its global communications infrastructure through an AI-enabled Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model designed to support the company’s next generation of industrial and digital operations.

The initiative forms the foundation of ABB’s Future Network Model – an enterprise-wide program aimed at standardizing, simplifying and modernizing network infrastructure across its global footprint. The transformation will be delivered in partnership with TCS, extending a two-decade relationship between the organizations across infrastructure, enterprise applications and cloud transformation initiatives.

Moving beyond conventional network operations, ABB’s new architecture is designed to create an intelligent, resilient and highly automated digital backbone capable of supporting industrial IoT, cloud applications, digital engineering platforms and future AI-driven manufacturing environments across the company’s worldwide operations.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Global Network Transformation: ABB is implementing an AI-enabled Network-as-a-Service model across its international operations to support the next generation of industrial and digital workloads.
  • Future Network Model: The initiative aims to standardize and simplify network infrastructure across ABB’s global footprint, replacing fragmented legacy environments with an integrated architecture.
  • Industrial AI Readiness: The modernized infrastructure is designed to support industrial IoT, edge computing, digital twins and automation platforms.
  • Resilience and Security: The new model introduces centralized visibility, automated operations and enhanced cybersecurity capabilities across global operations.
  • Long-Term Partnership: The deployment builds on more than two decades of collaboration between ABB and TCS across enterprise technology and infrastructure domains.

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, ABB is an industrial technology company operating across electrification, motion, process automation and robotics businesses. The company serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs approximately 110,000 people globally. Managing operations of this scale increasingly requires digital infrastructure that can securely connect factories, production assets, engineering teams, suppliers and customers across multiple geographies while maintaining high levels of resilience and operational continuity.

DECODING ABB’S FUTURE NETWORK MODEL

Commenting on the initiative, ABB Group CIO, Alec Joannou, described the program as a critical milestone in strengthening the company’s long-term digital foundation.

“

The Future Network Model represents an important milestone in reinforcing the digital foundation of ABB’s global operations. As our business evolves, it is critical to have an ecosystem that is resilient, secure and aligned with long-term transformation goals. Our association with TCS reflects a shared focus on delivery excellence, continuous enhancement and building capabilities that can support our strategic priorities.

– Alec Joannou, Group CIO, ABB

At its core, the initiative seeks to move enterprise networking beyond connectivity and toward intelligent infrastructure capable of continuously monitoring, optimizing and securing itself.

The architectural pillars of the transformation include:

  • Service Integration and Management (SIAM): A unified governance model designed to orchestrate ABB’s multi-vendor technology ecosystem and ensure standardized service delivery across geographies.
  • Global Network Operations Centre (GNOC): A centralized command environment providing real-time visibility, end-to-end monitoring and operational oversight across global network infrastructure.
  • AI-Enabled SD-WAN and Modernized LAN: Software-defined networking capabilities will allow traffic flows to be dynamically optimized based on application requirements, user demand and business priorities.
  • Integrated Cybersecurity Architecture: Security capabilities will be embedded directly into the network architecture to improve resilience and reduce exposure across industrial environments and enterprise applications.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE-TO-INTELLIGENCE SHIFT

The strategic philosophy underpinning the initiative was captured by Anupam Singhal, President – Manufacturing at TCS, who described the program as part of an “infrastructure to intelligence” journey.

“

With AI embedded into the network operations model, supported by secure digital infrastructure and deep domain expertise, we are building a resilient and intelligent network backbone that can sense, adapt and improve continuously while strengthening reliability, security, user experience and scalability.

– Anupam Singhal, President – Manufacturing at TCS

The ability of enterprise infrastructure to monitor network conditions, predict failures and optimize performance in real time represents a significant departure from traditional operating models. Historically, enterprise networks functioned primarily as passive transport layers requiring manual intervention to resolve congestion, outages or configuration issues. AI-enabled infrastructure introduces automation and predictive capabilities that can reduce downtime, improve user experience and strengthen operational resilience.

For industrial organizations such as ABB, where manufacturing operations, engineering systems and customer environments increasingly depend on real-time data flows, network intelligence is rapidly becoming a strategic business capability rather than an IT optimization exercise.

Industry Insights

The deployment of the IBM-Quintes framework aligns with several core market realities reshaping global IT strategy:

  1. Enterprise Networks Are Becoming Intelligent Platforms: Networks are evolving from passive transport layers into active operational systems capable of predicting failures, optimizing traffic flows and improving user experiences through automation and analytics.
  2. Industrial AI Requires Modern Infrastructure: Digital twins, industrial robotics, predictive maintenance and autonomous manufacturing all depend on resilient, secure and low-latency connectivity capable of moving operational data across locations in real time.
  3. Network-as-a-Service Is Moving Mainstream: Large enterprises are increasingly consuming network infrastructure as a managed service rather than maintaining fragmented environments internally, improving scalability and operational consistency.
  4. Cybersecurity Is Becoming a Native Network Function: Security capabilities are increasingly being embedded directly into network architecture rather than deployed as standalone control layers after implementation.
  5. Industrial Enterprises Are Becoming Software Companies: Manufacturers increasingly differentiate themselves through software, analytics, digital services and intelligent operations as much as through physical products and industrial assets.

WHY ENTERPRISE NETWORKS ARE BEING REBUILT

Enterprise networks were originally designed for a world where applications resided inside corporate data centres and employees worked primarily from centralized locations. The rapid growth of cloud computing, hybrid work models, industrial IoT and AI workloads has fundamentally altered those assumptions.

Industrial enterprises now manage thousands of connected devices, sensors, production systems and cloud applications across distributed environments. Industry analysts estimate that the number of connected IoT devices globally could exceed 40 billion by the end of the decade, significantly increasing network complexity, security requirements and data traffic volumes.

At the same time, industrial AI use cases such as predictive maintenance, autonomous operations, computer vision and digital twins require low-latency, highly resilient connectivity between factories, cloud environments and edge infrastructure.

As a result, enterprises are increasingly redesigning their networks to become software-defined, cloud-connected and AI-assisted platforms capable of adapting dynamically to changing business requirements.

THE BOTTOM LINE

ABB’s Future Network Model reflects a broader enterprise shift toward AI-native infrastructure where connectivity, cybersecurity and intelligence operate as an integrated system rather than as separate technology domains.

As industrial organizations accelerate investments in automation, AI and connected operations, the network itself is increasingly becoming a strategic platform rather than a supporting utility. The next phase of industrial transformation may not be defined solely by robots, sensors or AI models, but by the intelligent infrastructure that allows all three to operate together at scale.

Curated by SSF Global

Tracking the shifts shaping GCCs, enterprise ecosystems, and the future of global business.

Share on      

SSF Global is a Global Community for Enterprise Function Leaders and serves as a research & advisory platform focused on Global Business Services (GBS), Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and the evolution of enterprise innovation in India and beyond. We track, publish, and partner in narratives that shape how capability centres transform into hubs of trust, intelligence, and sustainable growth. We also evaluate, assess and benchmark the GCCs for their performance, maturity and other parameters using our proprietary tools built from the knowledge gained from direct interaction with our members (GCCs & GBS).