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AI is no longer just changing applications. It’s changing the infrastructure that powers them. Across networks, cloud, data centers, cybersecurity, and enterprise environments, organizations are rethinking how digital services are built, delivered, and operated. Distributed AI workloads, AI exchanges, edge computing, and increasingly autonomous operations are creating demands that traditional infrastructure wasn’t designed to support.
They’re also changing how the industry works. No single organization can deliver AI-ready digital infrastructure alone. The next generation of digital services will rely on networks, cloud providers, data centers, internet exchanges, cybersecurity companies, technology vendors, and enterprises working together in ways that weren’t required just a few years ago.
That was one of the clearest messages to emerge from the Mplify Member Summit – EMEA in Lisbon.
Three themes defined the conversation
Across keynote presentations, research findings, executive discussions, and member work sessions, three themes surfaced again and again.
AI is redefining digital infrastructure
Distributed AI, AI exchanges, sovereign AI, and edge computing are creating new requirements across networks, cloud, data centers, and compute environments. As AI workloads become more distributed, networking is becoming a strategic component of AI infrastructure, enabling organizations to connect the resources that power AI-ready services.
Ecosystem coordination is becoming essential
As AI workloads move across providers and technology domains, coordination matters just as much as connectivity. Organizations are investing in common operational frameworks, standardized APIs, lifecycle orchestration, and federation so they can work together more efficiently while continuing to innovate and compete. Success increasingly depends on how well independent organizations connect their capabilities, not simply on what each organization can do individually.
The industry is moving from experimentation to execution
The Mplify Member Summit – EMEA wasn’t a conference filled with “what if” discussions. The focus was on customer deployments, operational lessons, commercialization, and the practical work of scaling AI-ready services. Members shared what they’re building today, what they’ve learned along the way, and where they’re already seeing measurable results.
The work is already happening
The priorities discussed in Lisbon aren’t aspirational. They’re showing up in products, platforms, partnerships, and customer deployments across the industry.
Some organizations are developing AI-ready connectivity to support distributed AI workloads. Others are simplifying multi-provider service delivery through orchestration and standardized APIs. Many are improving interoperability, strengthening security, or finding new ways to deliver digital services across increasingly interconnected environments.
While the approaches differ, they share something in common: they’re solving real customer challenges while helping move the industry forward. Those are exactly the kinds of achievements the Mplify NaaS Excellence Awards were created to recognize.
Recognition should reflect where the industry is headed
The Mplify 2026 NaaS Excellence Awards were designed with that in mind.
This year’s expanded categories reflect the priorities shaping the market today, recognizing leadership in areas such as AI-ready infrastructure, AI-driven orchestration, high-performance interconnection, secure Network-as-a-Service (NaaS), ecosystem collaboration, and professional leadership.
The goal isn’t simply to celebrate innovation. It’s to recognize organizations that are delivering meaningful results and helping define how AI-ready services will be built, operated, and scaled in the years ahead.
What makes a strong submission?
The best entries tell a clear story.
They explain the challenge being addressed, the approach that was taken, and the outcomes that followed. Whether the achievement is a customer deployment, a new platform, an automation initiative, or a collaborative project spanning multiple organizations, the strongest submissions demonstrate measurable impact and explain why that work matters.
Technical innovation is important, but so are customer outcomes, operational improvements, ecosystem collaboration, and real-world implementation.
Is your organization one of them?
If your organization has launched AI-ready services, automated multi-provider operations, improved interoperability, strengthened customer experiences, or introduced new approaches to delivering NaaS, we encourage you to share that work. The Mplify NaaS Excellence Awards recognize the organizations turning industry priorities into real-world results while helping shape the future of AI-ready digital infrastructure.
Award submissions close on 7 July. Finalists will be announced on 25 August, and winners will be recognized during the 2026 Mplify NaaS Excellence Awards Gala at the Member Summit – Americas in Boston on 23 September. If your team is helping move the industry forward, now is the time to share your story.
Learn More
- Explore the 2026 NaaS Excellence Awards Categories & Submit an Entry – Review award categories, eligibility requirements, judging criteria, and submission guidelines, and recognize your organization’s leadership in AI-ready infrastructure, automation, interoperability, and ecosystem collaboration.
- Download the LSO Solution Provider Landscape Report – See how the technologies and solution providers enabling AI-ready infrastructure, automation, and interoperability are helping turn industry priorities into real-world deployments.