The emergence of AI and other demanding technologies is leading more enterprises to adopt managed network services, according to a report by the Information Services Group (ISG).

The 2024 ISG Provider Lense Enterprise Managed Network Services report says that, in addition to the complexities of the technologies themselves, managed services are growing due to increasing regulation, security concerns, and the proliferation of remote and mobile work.

Managed network services offer enhanced security, network management, cloud connectivity, software-defined networking, and other functions, while reducing reliance on internal expertise. Managed network service providers are leveraging AI and automation to enhance network monitoring, troubleshoot and to optimize networks.

“The rapid evolution of digital technologies, including AI, has made networks more complex and placed IT organizations under increasing stress,” Dieter Thompson, an ISG partner and president of the firm’s Network and Software Advisory business said in a press release. “The shift toward outsourced networks reflects a growing need to manage today’s infrastructure while giving enterprises more freedom to evolve.”

The report says that the U.S. has a higher adoption rate than Europe or the Asia Pacific region.

The report assessed providers in three areas: managed network services evolution, managed enterprise connectivity solutions (DIA, VoIP, and VPN), and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) capabilities. It found that the leading providers are Accenture, AT&T, Comcast Business, GTT, Kyndryl, and Orange Business. Capgemini, Colt, and HCLTech were called “rising stars” due to their potential in one of the categories.

Though the technologies are new and increasingly complex in terms of both what is being managed and how the management is being accomplished, the value proposition behind managed services is well-established and rests on the simple idea that having outside specialists take over running telecom and IT services frees up the enterprise to focus on its main business.