Why Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) could be the key to AI performance gains

While storage infrastructure has been a key focus amidst surging AI adoption rates over the last three years, areas such as connectivity and networking are increasingly crucial.

Microsoft recently identified network bottlenecks as one of the key challenges limiting AI performance, which the company claims is “ultimately preventing infrastructure from reaching its full potential despite enormous investments”.

A major contributing factor is the sheer volume of traffic that enterprise infrastructure now contends with. Figures from Omdia, for example, show that AI network traffic has surged since late 2023 and is expected to continue growing rapidly over the next five years.

For businesses looking to harness the benefits of AI, this presents a challenge. While broadband connectivity continues to improve across the UK, increasing user numbers and growing traffic volumes can still lead to performance that falls short of expectations.

One answer to this could be Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) services, which has become a key focus for enterprises, offering private, high-speed internet access to supercharge enterprise network infrastructure.

But how does DIA work, and what are the potential long-term benefits?

What is Dedicated Internet Access?

DIA has been growing in popularity among enterprise users in recent years, and research from Gartner shows it’s a booming industry. Analysis from the consultancy suggests this represents an “11.9 billion dollar opportunity in 2025”, with services expected to increase at a 6.9% compound growth rate through 2029.

A recent whitepaper from Sky Business, in association with ITPro, specifically highlighted several key advantages of DIA for enterprise applications. First and foremost, this offers enterprises access to their own exclusive internet connection, giving them access to the entire available bandwidth, rather than having to share with other users.

This allows them to capitalise on a range of benefits, including more reliable speeds, lower latency, and more consistent performance. These are all big advantages for those working with cloud-based tools and services, for example.

“At its core, DIA delivers symmetrical upload and download speeds,” the whitepaper reads. “For enterprises that rely heavily on cloud-hosted applications, remote collaboration tools, and real-time data transfers, the ability to send and receive data at an equal rate is non-negotiable.”

“A step forward from shared networks such as FTTP, DIA gives your business the connection it needs for the AI operations powering the modern world of work, providing a reliable, symmetrical, and fast network,” it adds.

So what does this mean in the context of AI?

Reliable, consistent performance

Research shows that nearly three-quarters (73%) of UK businesses have integrated some form of generative AI tool within their daily operations. This AI influx in the enterprise brings with it both new infrastructure and connectivity requirements.

Given AI is now powering customer-facing services and applications that are “always on”, enterprises must ensure connectivity is robust and consistent. This is where DIA can offer distinct benefits for businesses, according to the whitepaper.

“DIA provides not just symmetrical speeds and low latency, but also critically dedicated, uncontended bandwidth, which helps keep network performance consistent, even when dealing with the heavy data loads needed for AI applications,” it reads.

“And with such applications and processes increasingly becoming an integral part of everyday business for firms of all sizes, having the level of connectivity offered by technology such as DIA isn’t just ‘nice to have’ – it’s vital for thriving in the future as the opportunities provided by AI technology continue to increase.”

DIA and security considerations

In addition to connectivity-related advantages, DIA does provide enterprises with security-related benefits.Figures from Nokia's 11th annual Threat Intelligence Report show Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have skyrocketed in recent years. Notably, telecoms and network operators are among the top targets for threat actors, underlining the potential risks faced by enterprises. As DIA services run separately from public internet options, however, they are typically shielded from an array of network-based cyber threats including DDoS.

As noted in the Sky Business whitepaper, these elements of DIA can be built upon by enterprises to further shore up defences against cyber attacks.

“This baseline security can also be further boosted with managed firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and virtual private networks (VPNs), creating a layered defence strategy without imposing additional management burden on already-overworked internal IT teams,” the whitepaper reads.

Scalability and flexibility

Flexibility and scalability are two key requirements in a cloud-related context when discussing AI, allowing enterprises to scale infrastructure based on changing requirements.

These same demands are present in networking and connectivity, which is why DIA proves valuable for businesses during growth phases and even peak trading periods.

“As businesses grow or pivot toward new digital initiatives, bandwidth demands can surge unpredictably, and DIA services can allow customers to scale and adjust their capacity on relatively short notice,” the Sky Business whitepaper notes.

Crucially, this scaling can be implemented in a far more streamlined manner than traditional fixed-capacity contracts, it adds, proving advantageous for businesses of all sizes.

“This flexibility can allow smaller firms to effectively compete against larger incumbents, helping them stand out in a crowded marketplace, but can also provide established or larger firms with the elasticity and scalability needed to orchestrate large-scale roll-outs.”

A full copy of the Sky Business whitepaper in association with ITPro can be found here. For more information on Dedicated Internet Access and Sky Business’s offerings in this enterprise domain, please click here.