INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY
NETWORKING
The road to self-driving networks
Jamil Ahmad, HPE Networking Country Manager for Saudi Arabia
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its digital transformation and AI ambitions, the networks underpinning that transformation are becoming increasingly intelligent. For HPE Networking, the next stage is a move towards infrastructure capable of predicting problems, correcting faults and optimising itself with minimal human intervention.
Jamil Ahmad, HPE Networking Country Manager for Saudi Arabia, says AI has moved firmly beyond the technology trend cycle and is now shaping the company’ s networking strategy.
“ In networking, our primary focus is AI. This is no longer a trend; it is a reality,” he said.“ Our strategy is to develop what we call the self-driving network, similar to the selfdriving cars that everyone is familiar with.”
The ambition is straightforward: networks that can heal, fix and improve themselves while reducing the operational burden on IT teams. Alongside autonomous networking, HPE is concentrating on cybersecurity and the infrastructure required to support increasingly demanding AI workloads in the data centre.
For Ahmad, the evolution towards autonomous networks mirrors the development of self-driving vehicles. Early capabilities provided visibility and assistance, before gradually progressing towards systems capable of making decisions and acting independently.
Data sits at the heart of that transition. Ahmad says access to large volumes of structured data, sufficient computing capacity and years of engineering expertise are enabling AI systems to predict network issues, identify errors and automate corrective action.
“ I would say we are around 70 to 80 % of the way through this journey. The final stage is a network that requires no operator or human intervention for routine operations,” he said.
Humans will not disappear entirely from the equation. Dashboards will continue to provide visibility across the environment and allow operators to intervene when necessary. The difference is that routine operations could increasingly be handled autonomously.
The potential benefits extend beyond automation. Ahmad expects selfdriving networks to improve uptime and performance, increase equipment utilisation and reduce operating costs.
Saudi Arabia represents an important market for that strategy. Ahmad says the Kingdom is among HPE’ s key growth markets, supported by the scale of its economy and the technology ambitions associated with Vision 2030.
The designation of 2026 as Saudi Arabia’ s Year of Artificial Intelligence is also changing customer conversations. Although organisations are at different stages of AI maturity, Ahmad says customers across sectors are considering how AI can improve operations and productivity.
“ We are seeing and hearing a great deal from our customers about their focus on AI. Their levels of maturity differ, but they are all planning for AI and looking at how it can improve the way they work and increase productivity.”
HPE sees networking as one component of a broader infrastructure proposition spanning compute and cloud. As government entities and enterprises pursue digital transformation, Ahmad argues that dependable underlying infrastructure remains essential.
“ Just as a building needs strong foundations, Digital Transformation requires reliable infrastructure,” he said.
That commitment is increasingly extending beyond technology deployments into local capabilities. HPE currently manufactures servers and storage in Saudi Arabia, with Ahmad saying the company hopes networking products could eventually be manufactured locally as well.
HPE has also established its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia and continues to invest in local people and resources.
For Ahmad, these investments demonstrate that HPE’ s relationship with the Kingdom extends beyond immediate technology opportunities. As Saudi Arabia builds its AI capabilities, the company is positioning autonomous networking, cybersecurity and resilient infrastructure as foundations for the next stage of the country’ s digital transformation. •
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