For decades, network engineers have been the ones keeping everything running. Now AI is learning to do the job itself. And in some cases, it's already doing it better. As AI agents place unprecedented demands on enterprise networks, the infrastructure supporting them is undergoing its own transformation. Networks that can detect problems, optimize performance and even repair themselves are moving from ambitious concept to operational reality. On this episode of the AI Proving Ground Podcast, HPE's Sudheer Matta and WWT's Christine Fierro join host Brian Feldt to explore what happens when the network starts thinking for itself. From a university engineer who was challenged to step away from his keyboard to an AI-generated application that brought a manufacturing site to a halt, the conversation reveals both the extraordinary potential and very real stakes of autonomous networking. The technology is advancing. The harder question is how much control we're ready to give it. Support for this episode provided by: Equinix More about this week's guests: Sudheer Matta is a networking technology leader who helped shape Mist Systems' growth through product management and its integration with Juniper Networks. A passionate technologist, he emphasizes disciplined execution, strong teams and lasting customer partnerships. His approach centers on earning trust through customer success — a philosophy reflected in Mist's commitment to building lifelong customer relationships. Christine Fierro has over 17 years of experience in networking, with an initial focus on optical networking. Since joining WWT in 2014, she has held numerous roles and now serves as the Sr. Director for the Networking practice within the Global Solutions & Architecture (GS&A) team. Her team is responsible for the strategy, development, enablement, and pre-sales technical support within the company for Core Networking, Campus & Branch, Data Center Networking, and Enterprise Architectures, representing over $14B in revenue. 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.
