Network Provider Trust Crucial for Enterprise Success

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 28, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- 58% of enterprise leaders have delayed, scaled back, or introduced additional safeguards around strategic initiatives due to concerns about their network provider, according to a new report from Arelion. The findings highlight the significant impact that trust concerns around network providers are having on enterprise strategy.

This disruption is most prevalent in AI and data-driven projects, with 49% of respondents experiencing issues in this area. Other initiatives, including security and compliance programs, digital transformation initiatives, cloud migrations, expansion into new markets, and new product or service launches, have also been impacted.

The report also delves into the specific areas where trust is lacking. While nearly all respondents (93%) say they largely or completely trust their current provider, confidence weakens significantly when leaders consider a real-world network incident. Just 15% say they have complete confidence in their provider's ability to detect and resolve a serious network issue quickly, while only a third report moderate or some confidence.

The findings also suggest that trust can be fragile in day-to-day operations. 42% of respondents say their provider falls seriously short of expectations anywhere from a few times a year to monthly or more frequently. When asked what matters most in building trust with a network provider, leaders ranked protection against security threats highest (48%), followed by reliability and uptime (44%), and performance and latency (37%).

The report underscores the significant business impact of trust in network providers. If their network provider experienced a serious failure tomorrow, 40% of leaders expect major operational disruption. Nearly one in five (18%) anticipate significant financial loss or severe financial or reputational damage, rising to 23% among respondents in the United States.

Trust is also influencing purchasing decisions. Nearly two-thirds of leaders (65%) say trust is the dominant or deciding factor in what they are willing to pay for network services. Almost all respondents (98%) say they would pay more for a provider that could consistently demonstrate trustworthiness, with 72% willing to pay between 6% and 20% more and an additional 13% willing to pay more than that.

When asked what would most help earn their trust, transparency emerged as a clear priority, cited by 38% of respondents. Reliability and uptime (22%) and security and data privacy (14%) followed.

Looking ahead, 85% of leaders believe trust in network providers will become more important over the next three years. Respondents identified proactive AI-driven fault prediction, stronger built-in security, responsive support teams, and greater accountability as the factors most likely to strengthen trust in the future.

These findings make it clear that trust is no longer a soft metric, according to Mattias Fridström, Chief Evangelist at Arelion.

The research was conducted on behalf of Arelion by Savanta, a global leader in digital data collection. An online survey was carried out in 2026 with 518 senior enterprise network decision-makers across the US, UK, Germany, and France. All participants work for organizations with more than 2,000 employees and have decision-making influence over their company's network development strategy, including data center, cloud, and connectivity, with 66% holding the final word and sign-off responsibility for this area.