AI Is Becoming the Infrastructure of the Economy

Swiss SMEs are facing the question of how to use AI in a meaningful, secure, and economically viable way. In many cases, the benefits are found in everyday operations: AI can prioritize service requests, analyze documents, prepare proposals, evaluate production data, make knowledge more accessible, and detect cyber risks earlier.

A look at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ illustrates just how far this development has already progressed. The tournament will feature 48 teams, 104 matches, and 16 stadiums. Billions of fans around the world will follow the event. For an occasion of this scale, traditional IT is no longer sufficient. What is required is a comprehensive, resilient, and intelligent technology foundation.

What Businesses Can Learn from the World's Biggest Sporting Stage

Lenovo, the global technology company, has been appointed as the Official Technology Partner to provide this foundation. The company is responsible for 14 functional areas within the FIFA ecosystem and delivers full-stack technology solutions, including hardware, servers, AI PCs, hybrid AI infrastructure, and AI-powered applications such as Referee View, digital player avatars, and FIFA AI Pro. More than 200 Lenovo engineers and employees are supporting operations on site.

"For businesses, it is a perfect example because it makes key principles visible. AI does not create value as a standalone solution. It requires data, computing power, secure devices, reliable infrastructure, and clear operating models," says Frank Blockwitz, Managing Director of Lenovo Switzerland. This is particularly evident in FIFA World Cup 2026™ broadcasting operations. Lenovo provides server infrastructure at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, processing large volumes of live video data almost in real time. The IPTV infrastructure distributes content across ten channels to more than 1,000 screens at FIFA locations with a latency of less than five seconds.

The lesson is clear: the future is not about choosing between “cloud or on-premises,” but about Hybrid AI. AI should run wherever it delivers the greatest value, whether on the device, at the edge, in the data center, or in the cloud. For SMEs, this means standard applications can remain in the cloud, sensitive data can be processed under greater control, and business-critical workloads can be secured through hybrid approaches.

Another example is FIFA AI Pro. The platform provides all 48 teams with AI-powered analytics. It can evaluate millions of data points and more than 2,000 metrics to deliver tactical insights to coaching staff, players, and analysts. Applied to business environments, this demonstrates how AI democratizes knowledge. It helps employees access relevant information more quickly, identify connections, and make better-informed decisions.

Governance Determines Success

However, for AI to deliver sustainable results, governance is essential. Many organizations are still in the transition phase between pilot projects and their first productive implementations. Scaling AI successfully requires clearly prioritized use cases, high-quality and accessible data, defined responsibilities, and security considerations integrated from the outset. In Switzerland in particular, trust, data protection, and data sovereignty are critical success factors.

"For SMEs, a pragmatic starting point is recommended: not a large-scale project, but a clearly defined use case with measurable benefits. Where do employees spend significant time searching for information, documenting activities, manually entering data, or handling repetitive tasks? These are often the areas where the first economically viable AI projects emerge," explains Frank Blockwitz.

Why the Right Partner Matters

As AI becomes part of a company's core infrastructure, deploying individual tools is no longer enough. What matters is a holistic approach that integrates devices, computing power, data, security, and operations. Lenovo supports organizations with a full-stack portfolio ranging from AI PCs and servers to edge computing, hybrid AI infrastructure, and managed services. The FIFA World Cup 2026™ demonstrates on a global scale what is equally relevant for Swiss SMEs:"Intelligent technology must operate reliably, reduce complexity, and create measurable value," concludes Frank Blockwitz.

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