AI Proving Ground Podcast: Exploring Artificial Intelligence & Enterprise AI with World Wide Technology

Enterprise AI is moving out of pilots — and the infrastructure gaps are getting harder to ignore.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Intel’s Lynn Comp and WWT’s Mike Trojecki break down why treating enterprise AI infrastructure as a single hardware decision is a costly mistake. As agentic systems push AI into real operations, assumptions like “AI = GPUs” start to crack under pressure from power, cost, governance, and scale.The takeaway from 2025 is clear: performance alone isn’t the advantage. Fit is.We unpack how agentic AI is reshaping security models and centers of excellence, why disciplined architecture beats oversized builds, and what leaders need to plan for in 2026 to scale AI without locking into brittle, overbuilt systems.Because driving a Ferrari to run errands looks impressive — until you see the bill.Support for this episode provided by: ProofpointMore about this week's guests: Lynn Comp has a wide range of experiences spanning her ~30 years in the tech industry, from strategic planning and go to market of RISC SOCs for both communications infrastructure and mobile phones, to software pipelines laying the groundwork for rapid video-based services innovation, to pioneering the foundational libraries that paved the way for 'software defined' networking with telecommunications operators. Lynn has extensive experience in marketing, product management, product planning, and strategy development across software, hardware, cloud, and communications service providers (CoSPs). Lynn has a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from University of PhoenixLynn's top pick: AI Meets the Classroom: Shaping the Future of Learning with IntelMike Trojecki brings more than 25 years of experience across technology and leadership. His career began in the U.S. Air Force, supporting missions for the White House and Air Force One, where he developed a foundation of precision and reliability. After transitioning to the private sector, he led emerging technology practices at firms including ePlus and Logicalis. At World Wide Technology, Mike now leads the AI Practice, focusing on high-performance architectures, data, computer vision, and AI data center design to help organizations scale AI with impact.Mike's top pick: AI and Data Priorities for 2026The 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. 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), 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.

Enterprise AI didn’t fail.It hit the wall.In 2025, pilots multiplied, copilots spread, and expectations skyrocketed. Then reality caught up. Scaling AI turned out to be less about model quality — and more about data, security, cost visibility, and how organizations actually work.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Chris Campbell and Jason Campagna break down what enterprises learned the hard way, why most AI initiatives stall between pilot and production, and what leaders must fix to make AI deliver real impact in 2026.We get practical about:Why AI breaks when fundamentals aren’t readyWhat agentic systems expose at scaleWhy focus beats hype when AI becomes infrastructureHow winning teams design, govern, and measure AI like a core systemIf your AI strategy looks impressive but hasn’t changed outcomes yet, this conversation explains why — and what to do next.Support for this episode provided by: GraphiantMore about this week's guests:Chris Campbell is Senior Director of AI Solutions at World Wide Technology, where he leads strategy and delivery for AIaaS/GPUaaS and data center facilities and infrastructure solutions. He brings deep experience across executive engagement, customer advocacy, and large-scale engineering leadership. Prior to WWT, Chris held senior leadership roles at Forsythe, Red Hat, BEA Systems, and AT&T. He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Maryland, where he was a Dingman Entrepreneur Scholar.Chris's top pick:  AI and Data Priorities for 2026Jason Campagna is a strategic technologist at World Wide Technology, where he leads AI solution strategy and helps enterprises navigate the next wave of intelligent systems, from AI assistants to autonomous agents. With deep experience spanning cloud, automation, and platform architecture, Jason focuses on turning emerging technology into operational reality. He brings a pragmatic, execution-driven approach to scaling AI in complex enterprise environments.Jason's top pick: AI Agents: Scaling Your Digital WorkforceThe 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. 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), 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.

AI is no longer an experiment — it’s an accountability test.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Dave DeWalt, Founder and CEO of NightDragon, and Kate Kuehn of WWT unpack what happens when AI systems fail, misfire, or create real-world risk — and who ultimately owns the outcome.As organizations look toward 2026, boards want visibility, CEOs want measurable impact, and the lines between IT, security, and the business have disappeared. AI accelerates opportunity, but it also accelerates exposure — collapsing decision timelines and reshaping responsibility.This conversation explores how accountability is shifting to the top of the enterprise, how leaders should think about ownership when AI breaks, and why resilience, governance, and speed now define competitive advantage.Support for this episode provided by: GraphiantMore about this week's guests:Dave DeWalt is founder and CEO of NightDragon, a venture and advisory firm focused on building the world's leading SecureTech platform. A four-time CEO, he has led iconic companies including FireEye, McAfee, and Documentum, creating over $20B in shareholder value. A longtime board leader and public servant, DeWalt has advised four U.S. administrations on national security and cybersecurity and is a recognized voice on technology risk and resilience.Dave's top pick: Infrastructure as a Strategic Target of WarKate Kuehn joined WWT in 2024, bringing more than 25 years of experience leading and advising cybersecurity, technology, and AI strategy. She has held executive and board roles across the cyber ecosystem — including CISO, CEO, Chief Trust Officer, advisor, and board director — with experience at companies such as Aon, BT, and Verizon. A trusted advisor and award-winning leader, Kate focuses on helping executives and boards align cyber risk, AI, and business strategy in an increasingly complex threat landscape.Kate's top pick: AI Won't Save You: Easterly, Joyce and CISOs on the Cybersecurity Reality No One Wants to HearThe 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. 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), 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.

Cyber risk is changing — and AI is accelerating it.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, former NSA Director Rob Joyce joins WWT’s Madison Horn to explain how nation-state cyber activity has shifted from quiet espionage to strategic pre-positioning inside critical infrastructure.AI isn’t introducing new tactics — it’s collapsing timelines. Reconnaissance, phishing, and exploitation now move at machine speed, shrinking response windows from weeks to minutes. The result is a fundamentally different threat model.The conversation focuses on what leaders need to understand now: how agentic AI reshapes cyber risk, why basic discipline still matters but no longer scales on its own, and how AI must become a force multiplier for defenders.A clear, high-level look at the cyber line that’s already been crossed — and what comes next.More about this week's guests:Madison Horn is a cybersecurity executive and national security strategist whose work spans technology, policy, and critical infrastructure. With 15+ years of experience, she has led global incident response, digital risk transformation, and cyber strategy across highly regulated and high-risk environments. Madison has held leadership roles at FusionX, Accenture Security, PwC, and on the founding team of Siemens Energy's Global Security practice. She currently serves as National Security & Critical Infrastructure Advisor at WWT, advising on AI governance, ICS/OT resilience, zero trust, and cyber-informed engineering. A frequent media contributor and advocate for women in technology, Madison is driven by advancing digital trust and national resilience.Madison's top pick: Infrastructure as a Strategic Target of WarRob Joyce has more than 30 years of leadership in cybersecurity, cyber operations, and intelligence. He has dedicated his career to advancing national security and cyber resilience. Rob previously served as Director of the Cybersecurity Directorate at the NSA, overseeing defense of the nation's most critical systems, and held senior roles including Acting Homeland Security Advisor and Special Assistant to the President for Cybersecurity. He is the founder of Joyce Cyber LLC and currently advises boards and executives on emerging cyber risks, with advisory and board roles spanning technology, national security, and critical infrastructure.Rob's top pick: Who Owns AI When It BreaksThe 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. 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), 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.

Francis deSouza, COO of Google Cloud and former CEO of Illumina, dives into the evolving landscape of Enterprise AI. He emphasizes the need for a focused approach over broad experimentation, advocating for strategic use cases to maximize ROI. Francis discusses the critical role of data as the backbone of AI and how generative AI can unlock value from unstructured data. He also explores the importance of security in AI deployments and the flexibility of pricing models. His insights offer a roadmap for leveraging AI effectively in businesses.

AI is moving faster than the rules designed to govern it—and legal teams are now on the critical path.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Olivia Fleming, Chief Legal Officer at Edgewood Management, and Erika Schenk, General Counsel and EVP of Compliance at World Wide Technology, unpack how enterprise AI is reshaping the legal function—from gatekeeper to growth enabler.They break down why the biggest risk in AI isn’t black-box models or hallucinations—it’s deploying tools no one fully understands. From fragmented data estates and fast-moving regulations to cross-border gray zones and emerging governance models, this conversation gets practical about what legal leaders actually need to know to help AI scale responsibly.The takeaway is clear: when legal is involved early, organizations move faster—not slower. The enterprises winning with AI are building trust, governance, and accountability into the stack from day one.If you’re rolling out AI at scale, navigating regulatory uncertainty, or trying to move fast without breaking things, this episode is required listening.More about this week's guests:Erika Schenk is General Counsel and EVP of Compliance at World Wide Technology, where she leads global legal strategy and compliance. Since joining WWT in 2014, she has built and scaled the legal organization, overseeing contracts, ESG, EHS, government affairs, and legal support for enterprise, service provider, and public sector teams. A trusted business partner, Erika has guided WWT through international expansion, acquisitions, and portfolio growth. She previously served as senior counsel at Boeing and as a partner at Bryan Cave LLP.Olivia Fleming joined Edgewood in November 2007 and serves as the Chief Legal Officer. Olivia graduated from Fordham University with a BA and also received a JD from Tulane University Law School. Olivia was promoted to Partner in December 2018.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. 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), 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.

AI is shipping faster than security teams can catch it—and the attack surface is quietly exploding.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Shawn Wormke of F5 and Chris Konrad of World Wide Technology unpack the rise of what they call “naked AI”—enterprise AI systems deployed without proper data controls, API protection, or governance.Drawing on new F5 research, they reveal why only 2% of organizations are truly AI-ready, how shadow AI and exposed interfaces are multiplying risk, and why bolting on security after deployment is already too late. As AI systems move toward greater autonomy—and quantum-era threats loom—the conversation makes one thing clear: trust has to be designed into the AI lifecycle from day one.If your organization is racing to production, experimenting with agents, or scaling AI faster than policy can keep up, this episode is a wake-up call.Support for this episode provided by: Red HatMore about this week's guests:Chris Konrad is a global cybersecurity executive and Vice President of Global Cyber at World Wide Technology. Since joining WWT in 2014, he has helped build and scale its $4.5B global security business. Chris leads global cyber strategy, practice development, and partner engagement, aligning security programs to business outcomes across public and private sectors. With 27+ years of experience, he is a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders and a member of the Forbes Technology Council, known for turning cybersecurity into a strategic enabler of resilience and growth.Chris's top pick: Secure All Together: 5 Principles for Building a Culture of CybersecurityShawn Womke is Senior Vice President of Product Management at F5, leading the strategic direction of a portfolio central to how customers build, secure, and scale modern applications. Since joining F5 in 2013, he has helped deliver products grounded in real-world use cases, from open-source innovation in Kubernetes and OpenStack to leading the Aspen Mesh incubation and serving as General Manager of NGINX. With experience spanning Cisco, startups, and global enterprises, Shawn is focused on uniting teams around clear vision, customer impact, and execution at scale.Shawn's top pick: Texas A&M University System Teams Up with WWT for Cyber Range ChallengeThe 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. 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), 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.

AI pilots are easy. Enterprise AI at scale is the hard part.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Craig Dillman of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Earl Dodd of World Wide Technology break down how enterprises are moving from experimentation to production-grade artificial intelligence—and why AI Factories are becoming the backbone of modern enterprise AI.Rooted in decades of supercomputing expertise, AI Factories turn artificial intelligence into a repeatable, governed production system—balancing performance, cost, sovereignty, and security while staying flexible enough to absorb fast-moving models and agentic systems.With inference workloads exploding and AI agents generating massive volumes of data, they warn that 2026 may be the year the enterprise AI data bottleneck hits, exposing infrastructure that wasn’t built for continuous AI production.The takeaway is clear: the future of enterprise AI belongs not to endless pilots, but to organizations that industrialize artificial intelligence.Support for this episode provided by: Juniper NetworksMore about this week's guests:Earl J. Dodd is Global HPC Business Practice Leader at World Wide Technology, where he advises enterprises and governments on HPC, HPDA, and supercomputing strategy. He drives technology enablement, business development, and ESG-aligned outcomes, helping organizations achieve ROI through secure, ultra-scale architectures spanning HPC, cloud, and extreme data environments. With 40+ years of experience, Earl is a trusted industry leader and frequent speaker at global conferences.Earl's top pick: The Workflow Revolution: How HPE Private Cloud AI Transforms Enterprise AI from Isolated Workloads to Integrated Value ChainsCraig Dillman is an NVIDIA Alliance Technology Solutions Manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he works at the intersection of advanced computing platforms and enterprise adoption. He partners with customers and ecosystem stakeholders to align NVIDIA technologies with real-world business and technical requirements, helping organizations design, deploy, and scale modern AI and accelerated computing solutions within enterprise environments.Craig's top pick: How AI Agents Are Transforming IT OpsThe 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. 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), 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.

GPUs don’t create value. Enterprise AI does—when it’s built the right way.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, Allen Clingerman of Dell Technologies and Matt Halcomb of World Wide Technology break down why the next phase of enterprise AI won’t be won by chasing GPUs or spinning up one-off pilots—but by building real AI factories grounded in data, strategy, and execution.They introduce Dell’s AI Data Platform as an operating model for production-grade artificial intelligence—one that starts with use-case clarity, not silicon. The conversation reframes the AI factory as a system that aligns people, process, data, security, and infrastructure to deliver repeatable outcomes at scale.A major theme: bring artificial intelligence to the data, not the other way around. With most enterprise data still on-prem and regulations tightening around sovereignty and locality, flexible architectures that span data center, cloud, and edge—and remain silicon-diverse—are becoming non-negotiable.The message to leaders is blunt: slow down long enough to design with intent, then move fast with purpose—or risk building rigid AI monuments that never deliver ROI.More about this week's guests:Matt Halcomb is a Principal Solutions Architect for Data Center Technologies at World Wide Technology, with over 25 years of experience in enterprise IT, including 17+ years at WWT. He works within WWT’s Global Solutions Development team, designing and deploying next-generation infrastructure in the Advanced Technology Center. His expertise spans compute, storage, software-defined, and composable architectures, with a focus on scalable, sustainable, production-ready platforms.Matt's top pick: The AI Proving Ground: Empowering IT Teams to Drive Their Organization's AI SuccessAllen Clingerman is Chief Technology Strategist & Partner AI Officer for Global Channel at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. With more than 25 years of award-winning experience, he is an achievement-driven IT and technical sales leader known for translating enterprise architecture strategy into measurable business outcomes. Allen partners with customers to design scalable AI and infrastructure solutions that move organizations from vision to real-world results.Allen's top pick: AI-Powered Customer Success: The Dell AI Factory with NVIDIAThe 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. 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), 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.

AI at scale isn’t about more GPUs—it’s about building a system that can keep evolving.In this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, John Gentry of NVIDIA and Derek Elbert of World Wide Technology explain why AI factories are becoming the backbone of enterprise AI—and why isolated GPU clusters can’t keep up.They break down the factory model for production-grade artificial intelligence: data and power in, intelligence out. But making it work now requires more than compute—enterprises must unify networking, storage, orchestration, security, and multi-tenant management into a single, flexible system that serves the entire business.At the center is data. What was once an asset is now the bottleneck. As platforms and GPUs evolve every year, enterprises need industrial-grade data pipelines and architectures built for portability—not lock-in.The episode looks ahead to distributed inference and agentic AI, where models run at the edge while core factories continuously generate new intelligence. The mandate is clear: design for scale, flexibility, and constant change—or fall behind.Good AI starts with good data.Now it has to be put to work.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. 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), 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.