Your AI Is Only as Good as Your Data. Here's Why.

Your AI Is Only as Good as Your Data. Here's Why.

Nearly 90% of enterprise data is unstructured. That's a daunting statistic until you realize it may also be your biggest competitive advantage. In this episode hosted at Cisco Live, Brian Feldt sits down with WWT's Jeff Fonke, NVIDIA's Jason Schroedl and NetApp's Mike Hommer to explore why data has become the defining factor in enterprise AI. From token economics and GPU utilization to hybrid AI infrastructure, the conversation keeps coming back to one idea. AI is only as valuable as the data behind it. If your organization is moving beyond AI experiments and into production, this episode offers a practical look at the decisions that matter most and why bringing AI closer to your data may be the smartest investment you make. More about this week's guests: Jeff Fonke [https://www.wwt.com/profile/jeff-fonke/bio] leads WWT's High-Performance Architectures team, where he helps customers build the AI infrastructure they'll rely on for years to come. With more than 25 years of experience, he brings a practical perspective on what works, what doesn't and where enterprise AI is really headed. Jason Schroedl [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschroedl/] is Director of Product Marketing at NVIDIA, where he helps shape how enterprise AI moves from innovation to production. With more than two decades in enterprise technology, he brings a practical perspective on AI infrastructure, data readiness and what it takes to scale AI successfully. Mike Hommer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhommer/] is a Field CTO at NetApp, where he helps organizations make smarter decisions about AI, data and infrastructure. With more than two decades in enterprise technology, he focuses on separating lasting strategy from short-lived hype and helping customers build for what's next. The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

When the Ground Keeps Moving: The New Reality of AI Security

By the time this episode reaches your feed, the AI landscape may have changed again. That's becoming the new normal. It's tempting to chase every new model, every policy update, every headline. But the organizations making real progress aren't rebuilding their strategy every time the landscape shifts. They're building the resilience to keep moving anyway. Madison Horn and Rob Geis join AI Proving Ground Podcast to explore what this new reality means for enterprise security. The conversation moves beyond the latest AI models to something much bigger: how to build an organization that can absorb change, contain risk, and stay effective when the technology refuses to stand still. In AI security, keeping your head on a swivel isn't just good advice. It's becoming the job. Support for this episode provided by: Cloudflare [https://www.wwt.com/partner/cloudflare-inc/overview] More about this week's guests: Madison Horn [https://www.wwt.com/profile/madison-horn/bio] is National Security & Critical Infrastructure Advisor at WWT, where she helps organizations strengthen cyber resilience and prepare for emerging threats at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure. With more than 15 years of experience spanning national security, global incident response, and cybersecurity strategy, Madison advises enterprise and public sector leaders on securing the technologies shaping the future. Madison's top pick: The Quantum Signal from the White House Operators Should Not Miss [https://www.wwt.com/blog/the-quantum-signal-from-the-white-house-operators-should-not-miss] Robert Geis [https://www.wwt.com/profile/robert-geis/bio] is a Field CTO for Global Cyber at WWT with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations strengthen cybersecurity, manage risk, and protect critical infrastructure. He advises enterprise leaders on cyber resilience, governance, and AI adoption, helping some of the world's largest organizations navigate an increasingly complex and fast-changing threat landscape. Robert's top pick: AI Security Threats: Mythos, Project Glass Wing, and the New Cyber Resilience Framework [https://www.wwt.com/video/ai-security-threats-mythos-project-glass-wing-and-the-new-cyber-resilience-framework] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

Doing AI Is Easy. Doing It Well Is Hard.

AI has made writing code dramatically easier. Building great software is another story. Recorded live at Cisco Live, Raj Chopra, Cisco's Chief Product Officer for Security, joins WWT's Brian Ortbals and Joe Berger to explore what it really takes to become an AI-native organization. As AI changes the way software gets built, engineering becomes less about producing code and more about solving meaningful problems, applying domain expertise, and creating the right guardrails for systems that can reason and act on their own. This isn't just a conversation about AI-assisted development. It's about how organizations, teams, and leaders need to rethink the way they build, secure, and scale software in the years ahead. When code becomes cheap, judgment becomes the competitive advantage. Support for this episode provided by: Cognition [https://www.wwt.com/partner/cognition/overview] More about this week's guests: Raj Chopra [https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/executives/raj-chopra.html] is Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer for Cisco Security, where he leads product strategy across Cisco's security portfolio. A cybersecurity industry veteran, Raj previously held leadership roles at Proofpoint and was part of the founding team at Netskope, helping pioneer the Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) category. Throughout his career, he has launched market-leading security products used by enterprises around the world. Brian Ortbals [https://www.wwt.com/profile/brian-ortbals] is Senior Vice President of Global Solutions and Architecture at WWT, where he leads teams spanning AI, cybersecurity, cloud, infrastructure, and digital transformation. Since joining WWT in 1999, Brian has helped shape many of the company's technology initiatives, including the growth of its Advanced Technology Center. He works closely with customers to solve complex technology challenges and accelerate enterprise AI adoption. Joe Berger [https://www.wwt.com/profile/joe-berger/bio] leads WWT's Digital Experiences practice, helping organizations transform how people work, build, and interact with technology through AI. His team focuses on AI-native engineering, employee and customer experience, application development, and data platforms. A recognized technology leader and speaker, Joe works closely with leading partners including Microsoft, Cisco, NVIDIA, and Glean to help enterprises turn AI into measurable business outcomes. The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

The Real AI Advantage Isn't What You Think

Everybody says they're data-driven. But according to a Harvard Business Review study, only 7% of enterprises believe their data is actually ready for AI. Not agents. Not advanced machine learning. Just AI. Everyone wants the outcome. Far fewer have done the years of work required to make AI useful in the first place. But Matt Pappas [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-pappas-4391a818] has. As Chief Data Officer at Kiewit, he's spent more than 15 years building production machine learning systems that influence billion-dollar decisions, risk assessments, and project forecasts. His team deployed its first company-wide production algorithm in 2017, years before most organizations had even formalized a data strategy. This isn't a conversation about chasing the next breakthrough. It's about what "AI-ready" actually means, why data science remains a craft, how Kiewit uses machine learning to make better decisions, and why Matt believes technology should solve business problems instead of going looking for them. The companies pulling ahead aren't necessarily the ones with the newest models. They're the ones who started taking data seriously long before everyone else had to. The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.

Everybody Wants AI. Who's Paying for It?

For years, technology leaders could afford a little inefficiency. A system that stayed in place longer than it should. Infrastructure that nobody got around to optimizing. Assets that quietly blended into the background. AI is changing the math. As organizations invest in more intelligence, more automation, and more ambitious digital strategies, every decision about infrastructure, operations, and capacity suddenly matters a little more. Not because the future is out of reach, but because the opportunity is now big enough to be worth chasing. In this episode, WWT's Mark Wall argues that some of the most valuable AI investments aren't new at all. They're hiding in plain sight. The conversation explores why the next generation of enterprise leaders will think differently about efficiency, not as a cost-cutting exercise, but as a way to unlock growth, accelerate innovation, and create room for what comes next. Because the companies that get the most from AI may not be the ones with the biggest budgets. They may be the ones that know how to create capacity for the future. Support for this episode provided by: Riverbed More about this week's guest: Mark Wall [https://www.wwt.com/profile/mark-wall/bio] is Managing Director of Automation at World Wide Technology, where he helps enterprises turn complexity into opportunity. With more than 20 years of experience across networking, application services, automation, and infrastructure, Mark works with organizations to modernize operations, drive innovation, and build the foundations needed for the next generation of AI-powered business. Mark's top pick: Claude Mythos and the Remediation Velocity Gap [https://www.wwt.com/blog/claude-mythos-and-the-remediation-velocity-gap] The AI Proving Ground Podcast leverages the deep AI technical and business expertise from within World Wide Technology's one-of-a-kind AI Proving Ground, which provides unrivaled access to the world's leading AI technologies. This unique lab environment accelerates your ability to learn about, test, train and implement AI solutions.  Learn more about WWT's AI Proving Ground [https://www.wwt.com/atc/ai-proving-ground/overview]. The AI Proving Ground is a composable lab environment that features the latest high-performance infrastructure and reference architectures from the world's leading AI companies, such as NVIDIA, Cisco, Dell, F5, AMD, Intel and others. Developed within our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) [https://www.wwt.com/service/atc/overview], this one-of-a-kind lab environment empowers IT teams to evaluate and test AI infrastructure, software and solutions for efficacy, scalability and flexibility — all under one roof. The AI Proving Ground provides visibility into data flows across the entire development pipeline, enabling more informed decision-making while safeguarding production environments.