AI is as transformative as it is intensive. Mittal Parekh, Senior Director, Products, RUCKUS Networks, CommScope shares how AI can help meet carbon targets
Reflecting the importance of sustainability within organisations, ‘Safeguarding the Planet’ was a key theme for Davos 2025 (the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum). Hefty targets have been placed upon businesses and upon nations, but while companies look for and plan ways to reduce their carbon footprint, they are also onboarding tools, such as AI, that drive up their data demands and, therefore, energy use.
For many, operational efficiency and sustainability depend heavily on their network infrastructure. An organisation’s network connects with almost every aspect of operations, and it can play a huge role in sustainability efforts. Energy conservation, water usage, waste reduction, and procurement practices can all be interconnected through the network. In theory, a holistic strategy that uses the network to leverage smart monitoring and automation for the digital tech stack is the key to success. However, this relies on the connectivity and efficiency of the network being optimised.
Within modern advanced networks, there are numerous solutions in place that can enhance connectivity, for instance, wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth, Zigbee, 5G, and CBRS unlicensed spectrum. Each has its own specific role to play, but they can also be combined in different formations to meet the specific goals of the organisation and/or industry – hospitality for example.
The impact of network visibility in hospitality
Hotels have been visibly aware and communicating the importance of sustainability for decades. The World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance suggests that a hotel can use an average of 1,500 litres per room per day, which explains why guests have been encouraged to ‘re-use your towel’ to save water since the early 1990s. It’s an admirable approach and sends a clear message to customers, but its impact is obviously limited.
That’s why hoteliers have embraced other network-reliant improvements that can move things a step, or ten, further on. Guests might spot such efforts in the form of digital room keys, mobile guest check-in, digital menus and even digital signage. What they are less likely to notice are the IoT devices used to monitor water output and alert teams to inefficiencies, or the remotely managed HVAC solutions that ensure only occupied rooms use heating or air conditioning. Nor will they be aware of the hotel network being leveraged to balance Wi-Fi coverage across zoned areas, ensuring that signal is where it needs to be, but not beyond.
The role of AI in sustainability
I referred to AI at the top of this article, and it’s an important point to return to. Writers for publications like Forbes have stated that AI is pushing the world towards an energy crisis. However, when used in a smart way AI can also be a saviour for enterprise sustainability efforts; it is already having a significant impact on the monitoring, management and automation of networks.
As tech stacks grow, they become harder for humans to manage without large support teams or costly observability solutions in place. Unfortunately, while enterprises are being asked to review the sustainability of their networks, the growing skills gap makes addressing the issue a challenge. AI, however, makes it possible to apply the control that is needed, without significant human resources.
Until now, I’ve only used hospitality to explain how AI can boost green efforts, however in nearly every setting, AI can be used to deliver deep data-led insights, from procurement to resource management to day-to-day operations. At each step, AI-driven networks can help identify, leverage and measure the key sustainability factors in play. For instance, in restaurants, theatres and stadiums AI can be used to sort waste more accurately, thereby increasing recycling rates. Meanwhile, in offices and managed accommodations, AI-managed networks can be given control over a vast number of sensors allowing it to track and power on systems (such as hot water or HVAC) as and only when needed.
Not every benefit of AI is immediately clear. Its use can also lead to less obvious efficiencies because it can simulate and test various configuration models, experimenting with theoretical network changes that would take weeks or months for IT to test in actual practice. It can be programmed to make human-like decisions about when to turn services on, scale them up or down, or turn them off completely. Returning to the example of hospitality, AI can determine whether a room is occupied and adjust room settings accordingly – and it can predict occupancy patterns. As of this moment, human oversight is needed to ensure the AI is accurate, but the benefits for human productivity and corporate sustainability are clear.
One of the criticisms AI has faced has been that its use will replace skilled tech staff, something that would only serve to widen the existing skills gap. But in this case, AI is a supporting tool, one that complements rather than looks to replace a skilled IT staff. With IT budgets often stretched, AI reduces costs by learning and automating tasks; it enables staff with less technical knowledge to get involved through the use of predictions and recommendations that are delivered to them through natural language models. By ensuring the outputs communicated by the AI are accessible to non-tech experts, the team members involved are empowered in their task rather than intimidated by instructions that are hard to follow and easier to ignore.
In 2025, the focus on sustainability will only grow as enterprises look to align with government goals to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. AI-powered smart networks, along with their integrated applications and services, will play a vital role in supporting these sustainability efforts and improving the user experiences that propel businesses forward. For this to succeed, strong connectivity supporting the network will also be crucial, ensuring smart networks operate efficiently and reliably, enabling seamless integration and optimal performance of sustainability initiatives.
Mittal Parekh is a Senior Director for RUCKUS Networks at CommScope. Most recently, Mittal spent several years as a product marketing and strategy leader in the startup universe tackling cybersecurity, mobile security, enterprise mobility, and virtualisation challenges. Prior to that, Mittal held various Product Management and Product Marketing roles at Citrix Systems and Hewlett-Packard company delivering IaaS cloud, private Cloud, mission critical systems, as well as identity and security management solutions.
Author: Mittal Parekh, Senior Director, Products, RUCKUS Networks, CommScope
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