For many, AI success isn't limited by how many GPUs you can buy; it's limited by how fast those GPUs can talk to each other without tripping over the plumbing. In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, two of WWT's top networking minds —Justin van Schaik and Eric Fairfield — lay out the real choke points slowing AI projects to a crawl and how powerful, modernized network architectures are quietly rewriting the rulebook for scaling AI.

The AI revolution is here and it's hungry for power, space and cooling that most data centers simply weren't built to provide. This isn't about future proofing. It's about survival in a landscape where power demands are skyrocketing beyond what most facilities were ever designed to handle.

WWT customers across industries are using the AI Proving Ground to accelerate, secure, and scale their AI journeys across all levels of the AI product stack.

As AI pushes the limits of traditional IT infrastructure, enterprises are racing to modernize their data centers. In this episode, Mike Parham and Bruce Gray walk us through the behind-the-scenes decisions that matter — from power and cooling challenges to GPU readiness and sustainability. Whether you're modernizing or starting from scratch, this conversation is your blueprint for AI-ready infrastructure.

Where should your AI workloads run? It's one of the most overlooked questions in AI strategy. From surprising constraints around power, cooling and floor space, to the growing demand for GPU-as-a-Service models, this episode delivers a field-level view of the challenges enterprises face when moving from AI proof of concept to production. You'll hear why infrastructure readiness assessments are essential, how AI workloads differ from traditional IT, and what to consider before buying that next GPU cluster.

The AI journey is just getting started. Explore how WWT and VAST Data partner together to transform enterprises into AI-powered innovators

Ryan Avery, WWT Technical Solutions Architect, unboxes WEKA's brand new 8-node WEKAPod storage array - a turnkey storage appliance designed for AI and high-performance Enterprise use cases. This is a very exciting addition to our AI Proving Ground, and we can't wait to show off what it can do!

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, a new role is emerging at the intersection of artificial intelligence and data strategy—one designed to drive innovation and refine customer experiences through cutting-edge AI solutions. This session takes a deep dive into the essential elements of this role, from crafting data plans and prioritizing use cases to overseeing AI platform management. It shines a spotlight on the crucial role of data science in shaping smarter, more responsive customer journeys.

Watch an exclusive webinar where we  Go Beyond the headlines of Cisco Live 2025. We'll unpack the biggest announcements across Cisco's key focus areas —Security, Networking, and AI.

Phillip Hendrickson, a leader in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, is leveraging his PhD in computational neuroscience to reshape how we approach data analytics and generative AI workloads. In his latest insights, Hendrickson emphasizes the pivotal role of infrastructure in optimizing performance, advocating for a principle-based method to accurately size computing resources based on performance metrics and the complexities of neural networks. Central to his vision is the AI Proving Ground initiative, which includes a cutting-edge sizing tool designed to recommend the most suitable accelerators for various AI tasks. Hendrickson's work is further illustrated through compelling case studies that showcase how different AI models meet specific operational demands, paving the way for enhanced efficiency and innovation in the field. As AI continues to evolve, his strategies offer a crucial roadmap for organizations seeking to harness its full potential.

WWT's Matt Halcomb walks us through the installation of the Cisco FlashStack AI environment in the AI Proving Ground. After the infrastructure is installed, Matt shows us the software component integration. We're excited to continue to build new environments with our partners.

Discover the latest addition to WWT's AI Proving Ground — the Cisco UCS C885A server. Technical Solutions Architect, Chris Braun, walks us through the unboxing of our newest hardware that is part of the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA environment. Equipped with 8 NVIDIA H200 GPUs, this powerhouse is designed for LLM training, fine-tuning, inference, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG).