Advertise on podcast: Ciena Network Insights

Join Ciena's Chief Technologist of Research Networks, Rodney Wilson, as he sits down with Amber McEwen, CEO of REANNZ, and Michael Tremblay, CEO of CANARIE, to explore how national research networks power scientific discovery and global collaboration. They unpack the massive data demands of modern science, the innovations required to support data intensive research, and the unique challenges their networks face across New Zealand and Canada. The conversation highlights real-world AI driven applications, from surgical robots enabling precise remote healthcare to other breakthroughs made possible by high-speed, high-performance networks.

Victor Moreno, Associate Director, Network Planning at Verizon joins Ciena's Nicola Benvenuti, Vice President, Product Line Management and Mark Bieberich, Vice President, Portfolio Marketing to discuss Verizon AI Connect, an integrated suite of solutions and products designed to enable hyperscalers, cloud providers and global enterprises to run resource-intensive AI workloads at scale. They also share insights into the 30+ year collaboration between the two companies, including a recent metro network trial that marked a major technology milestone – achieving speeds of 1.6 Tb/s of data on a single-carrier wavelength using Ciena's WaveLogic 6 Extreme coherent optical solution. Together, Verizon and Ciena are pushing the limits of what's possible over fiber to meet the needs of the AI era, delivering the required higher capacity and performance, while also increasing network reliability and energy efficiency.

Telstra International has unveiled its highly Autonomous Network vision, part of the company's ambitious five-year plan to drive connectivity and innovation across Asia-Pacific. Head of Telstra International Networks, Wayne Lotter joins Blue Planet's Vice President for Global Products & Delivery, Kailem Anderson to discuss Telstra International's AI strategy and how Blue Planet is powering the foundation of its highly autonomous network.

Bandwidth demand continues unabated, and AI is expected to be a likely driver for increased bandwidth demand, overland and undersea. In this episode, Southern Cross's CEO Laurie Miller and CTO Dean Veverka speak with Brian Lavallée, our resident submarine expert, about how the submarine cable operator is preparing for the AI wave and its plans for connecting the Pacific.

Have you been hearing the term Managed Optical Fiber Networks (MOFN) more and more lately? In this episode, Lumen Technologies' Alison Greenwood, Vice President of Hyperscalers, and Martin Reilly, Director of International MOFN at Ciena, join Kent Jordan of Ciena Product Marketing for an in-depth discussion about all things MOFN. You'll learn about MOFN's benefits, business models, and emerging trends, and hear about Lumen's experiences, successes, and lessons learned.

On this episode, Mike “MJ” Joseph, who manages the infrastructure network engineering team at Meta, joins Ciena's Mark Bieberich to discuss innovation in out-of-band (OOB) management networks, which are essential for initial device commissioning, disaster recovery, remote troubleshooting, and secure lifecycle management. MJ and Mark explore Meta's decision to adopt passive optical networking (PON) for OOB management, highlighting the collaborative effort with Ciena to create an ultra-scalable, cost effective PON-based solution. They also discuss the positive outcomes Meta has achieved by streamlining and automating its OOB network operations in the data center—and the lessons learned along the way.

Tune-in to hear Kailem Anderson (Blue Planet) and Mark Bieberich (Ciena) as they compare the differences between Network Digital Twin to traditional network modeling. The two delve into ways Digital Twins can be used to enhance IP and optical network planning, traffic analysis, troubleshooting, optimization, and more. They also explore how AI can be used to advance and accelerate the abilities of Digital Twins, such as using predictive analytics to analyze the impact of different ‘what-if' network scenarios.

AI is redefining what it means to be a CIO. In this episode, Bill Bragg, CIO at SymphonyAI, and Craig Williams, Chief Digital Information Officer at Ciena, dive into how AI is transforming business operations, accelerating innovation, and changing how organizations lead in the digital age.

In part two of this episode, Paulina Gomez, Ryan Lafler, Doug Schremp, and Paola Osorio delve into Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms. They discuss the principles of QKD, its challenges, and industry progress, as well as the development of PQC algorithms to deliver quantum-resistant encryption solutions. They also explore future milestones and the solutions that are available today to safeguard critical data and mitigate the quantum computing threat to enable quantum-secure communications.

In this episode, Paulina Gomez, Senior Advisor of Portfolio Marketing at Ciena, Ryan Lafler, President and CTO of Quantum Corridor, Doug Schremp, Solutions Architect at ConvergeOne, and Paola Osorio, Senior Advisor of Product Line Management at Ciena, discuss the threat of quantum computing to today's cryptography. They explore the concept of "Harvest now, decrypt later" and the importance of quantum secure communications, while also highlighting the Quantum Corridor project and its key objectives to help safeguard critical data in the quantum era.

Let's dig into the topic of AI and the data center boom! On this podcast, Ciena's International CTO Jürgen Hatheier speaks with special guest Jérôme Totel, Group Strategy & Innovation Director at Data4, a major European operator and investor in the data center market. The two discuss the critical role data centers play in AI. They cover energy demands and the importance of Power Use Efficiency, AI training and inference, and how Europe can take a leading position in the AI race.

On this episode, Ciena India's Head of Engineering, Vineet Vohra and software engineers Manish Chopra and Ruby Saxena have a no holds barred conversation around their favorite work milestones, advice they would give aspiring engineers, how Artificial Intelligence is impacting their work environment and the importance of building an innovative, all-inclusive work culture. Stay tuned for an insider's view from the team that drove many of Ciena's many innovations including Navigator Network Control Suite and WaveRouter.

On this episode, Campbell McClean, Chief Architect of BT Group joins Kailem Anderson, Blue Planet's Vice President of Global Products & Delivery, to discuss the UK carrier's digital transformation journey and ways BT Group is leveraging Blue Planet software to offer an improved digital experience for its customers. The two discuss the value of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in BT Group's operations and the growing opportunities with AI moving forward. Campbell also shares his experience working in diverse organizations and the importance of fostering a more inclusive work culture.

Step behind the curtain and delve into the captivating world of product innovation in our latest episode. Join Raf Francis, Director of Product Line Management, Dan Rivaud, Systems Design Architecture Engineer, and host Gina Nienaber as they provide an in-depth look at the cutting-edge technologies and intricate design considerations that went into WaveRouter, Ciena's family of purpose-built coherent metro routers. Whether you're an aspiring innovator, a technology enthusiast, or simply curious about the inner workings of groundbreaking products, this discussion will educate and inspire.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generating a lot of buzz with bold predictions about its transformative potential. On this podcast, Ciena's International CTO Jürgen Hatheier speaks with special guest Fánan Henriques, Director of Vodafone Business International & EU Cluster, about AI's impact on the network. They talk about ways AI can improve business productivity and explore how AI can improve network planning, operations, customer service, fault detection, security, and more. Fánan also shares some lessons learned and successes Vodafone has seen utilizing AI in its own business.