The future is Zero-Touch and Zero-Ops: What enterprises expect from network infrastructure in 2026

By Shibu Paul, Vice President – International Sales at Array Networks

As organisations look ahead to 2026, expectations for network infrastructure are changing fast. Customers want digital services to function perfectly, employees operate remotely and new apps are introduced every week. Networks can no longer depend on costly manual work, extensive change cycles or antiquated command-line setups in this environment. Organisations want systems that are self-healing, self-managing and accessible.

Two concepts, Zero-Touch and Zero-Ops, are influencing the next phase of enterprise networking as 2026 approaches closer. Both have automation at their core, but their effects go far beyond productivity. They promise a more intelligent, predictable and fast-growing network ecosystem.

Zero-Touch: Automation that reduces human effort

Removing manual procedures from network setup and management is the key objective of Zero-Touch. In the beginning, engineers would work for hours installing servers, firewalls and internet routers often box by box. Zero-Touch ...