Cloudbrink CEO discusses future of remote work & AI tech

Cloudbrink's CEO, Prakash Mana, has shared insights on work-from-anywhere trends, remote connectivity, and advancements in AI and networking technologies.

"Work-from-anywhere isn't going anywhere. Forward-thinking companies are taking the lessons they learned from supporting home workers through the pandemic to create more efficient work environments for employees out of the office. Despite the media attention on some large company return to work mandates in 2024, more than two-thirds of U.S. employers have some type of remote work flexibility," said Prakash Mana.

Mana emphasised that this trend is likely to persist through 2025 and continues due to the influx of Gen Z into the workforce and advancements in remote connectivity. "Expect this trend to continue through 2025 and beyond for two reasons. First, Gen Z, the first true digital-first generation, is fast becoming the primary new talent pool. Second, secure remote connectivity now offers the speed, performance, and security to match the in-office environment," he explained.

On the subject of 5G and 6G advancements, Mana referenced industry predictions, noting the transformative potential of these technologies. "5G/6G will change the game for remote connectivity. According to the GSM association, 5G networks will account for 25 percent of the global mobile market in 2025. 5G and 6G offer high speeds and low latency over the air, creating opportunities for much more sophisticated, data-intensive applications," he stated.

There is a belief that both rural and densely populated areas will benefit from enhanced connectivity offered by these technologies. "Rural areas and densely populated areas alike will become more connected by taking advantage of 5G/6G," Mana mentioned, foreseeing a significant impact on mobile technology's reach and capabilities.

The proliferation of advanced applications could potentially overwhelm network infrastructures, according to Mana. "AI, metaverse, and gaming networks will push network boundaries to the limit. As adoption increases, extreme data intensive applications like generative AI, large language models, as well as metaverse apps and gaming networks will increase the stress on network infrastructure," he said.

Mana anticipates that the consequential demand from these applications will intensify the pressure on networks in 2025. "In 2025 the demand these applications put on the network will grow exponentially. With more remote users and devices than ever, packet loss and network latency could become a crippling issue," he warned.

The evolution of the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology, particularly towards more personalised solutions, was also highlighted by Mana. "SASE gets personal. In 2025 companies looking for faster, simpler, more secure remote connectivity for their work from anywhere (WFA) employees will look beyond 1st generation Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to personal SASE," said Mana.

He noted that the development of personal SASE could offer significant improvements by shifting security and network capabilities closer to the user. "Personal SASE shifts networking and security stack all the way to the user edge, lowering latency and increasing performance while still maintaining security," Mana explained.

Mana also addressed the role of AI in enhancing SASE security. "SASE will get more secure with AI. In 2024 AI agents demonstrated such groundbreaking vulnerability scanning and detection that they are expected to catch more than 25 percent of all new vulnerabilities in 2025," he mentioned.

AI's integration into SASE is set to enhance real-time adaptability and security measures. "With this in mind, SASE frameworks may begin to integrate advanced AI models that proactively learn from real-time network behavior and threats. This evolution will allow the system to dynamically adapt security policies in milliseconds," said Mana.

He concluded by describing the potential benefits of using AI within these systems. "Integrated AI allows SASE to go beyond traditional security controls by introducing context aware, predictive security measures that continuously fine-tune access rules, detect anomalies, and respond autonomously," Mana stated.