During MWC Barcelona 2026, Huawei took the spotlight to stress that the future of AI adoption will focus more on infrastructure over models. Yuan Yuan, leading Huawei’s data storage products, noted that while many organizations explore AI, few have scaled it effectively. A primary hurdle is data mismanagement, with silos, poor quality, and cumbersome data preparation hindering AI’s commercial value. Huawei proposes evolving storage infrastructure from mere archiving to supporting systems that actively engage with data. This involves transition from data storage to knowledge storage, adapting to new AI-driven data formats. The telecom sector, in particular, faces pressure to meet AI service demands efficiently. Huawei showcased a collaborative project with a Chinese carrier to enhance computing efficiency using large-scale caching, improving throughput and reducing costs. Huawei concludes that a comprehensive view on AI deployment must include integrated planning of storage architecture and data lifecycle management to fully leverage AI technologies for telecoms’ digital transformation.