The rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming environments from manufacturing floors to executive offices—and not least in IT. As autonomous, reasoning, and adaptive AI agents become the norm, networks originally designed for human response times will no longer suffice. While agentic AI promises trillions in economic value, organizations must rethink their network infrastructure to benefit fully. Interconnection as a Service offers a key part of the answer.
The Rising Influence of AI
AI agents are already influencing how organizations operate. They can identify fraud or security threats in a fraction of a second, develop strategies overnight, and oversee automated production workflows 24/7. Across offices, labs, and industrial sites, they collaborate with humans as virtual assistants, copilots, or even autonomous decision-makers. By handling repetitive tasks, learning from context, and coordinating amongst themselves, they are evolving into the backbone of an increasingly interconnected digital economy.
With projections pointing to billions of such agents—capable of executing complex tasks independently and interacting seamlessly with the world, people, and each other—by the end of the decade, businesses are approaching a fundamental shift in how they function. The integration of advanced agent architectures with generative AI—particularly Large Language Models (LLMs)—enables these systems to reason, adapt, and act without requiring human intervention. Estimates from McKinsey suggest that this technology could generate an additional 4.4 trillion USD in economic value. Yet none of this potential can be realized without infrastructure that is fit for purpose.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ivo Ivanov is Chief Executive Officer of DE-CIX and Chairman of the Board of the DE-CIX Group AG. Prior to these positions, Ivanov was Chief Operating Officer of
DE-CIX and Chief Executive Officer of DE-CIX International, where he was responsible for the global business activities of the world’s leading Internet Exchange operator. Ivanov has more than 20 years of experience in the regulatory, legal, and commercial Internet environment. Having joined DE-CIX in 2007, he has in recent years been deeply involved in the establishment of DE-CIX sites in North and South America, Southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, as well as several DE-CIX consultancy projects in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
