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Bruce Hembree shared thisGreat week at Verizon’s Partner Summit. Appreciate the opportunity to spend time with the Verizon team and the broader partner ecosystem. The value in these conversations is hearing directly from the teams designing and building what comes next — what’s working, what’s changing, and where the real challenges are. Thanks to the Verizon team for having us and for the continued partnership.Bruce Hembree shared thisHello from the Partner Summit in Miami! 🌴 We kicked off day 1 by bringing the telecom community together, from connecting with industry leaders at our annual golf outing, to some friendly competition on the pickleball courts, we’re ready for an exciting week ahead! ⛳ Check out these photos from this morning and follow along as the Partner Summit unfolds! #VPSSummit2026 #VerizonPartnerSolutions #Verizon #VerizonBusiness #Telecoms
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Bruce Hembree shared thisSpent some time with Alan and the @MOX Networks team on this conversation around scaling infrastructure. What I’ve always respected about the MOX approach is how practical it is. When you get into real scale, it’s not just about adding more — it’s how the network behaves, how it’s operated, and how everything holds together under pressure. Appreciate the partnership and the chance to dig into it a bit. If this is something you’re working through, worth a listen.Scaling networks for AI infrastructure: a conversation with MOX NetworksScaling networks for AI infrastructure: a conversation with MOX Networks
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Bruce Hembree shared thisAI is changing the conversation for service providers — and it’s happening quickly. What we’re seeing now goes beyond keeping pace with hyperscalers. It’s forcing a closer look at how networks are built, how they run day to day, and how they scale under very different demands. There’s a real opportunity here for service providers to take the lead, especially as AI workloads start to drive more coordination across infrastructure, not just more capacity. David Rothenstein shares a good perspective on this. Worth a read if you’re thinking through what comes next.Ciena CSO advocates for service providers to follow hyperscale AI embraceCiena CSO advocates for service providers to follow hyperscale AI embrace
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Bruce Hembree shared thisBrian McDonald does a really nice job pulling this together. What stood out to me is how consistent the message was across both NVIDIA GTC and the OFC Conference — this isn’t something coming down the road. It’s already showing up in how teams are planning and making decisions. Speed and capacity still matter — they always will — but they’re not enough on their own anymore. Power, how these networks actually operate, and how everything comes together end to end are getting a lot more attention. Seeing more customers and partners step back and rethink things as a whole instead of trying to layer it on over time. That shift is real. Good perspective here from Brian. Worth a read.Bruce Hembree shared thisLast week, the AI and networking industries simultaneously held their two biggest annual gatherings. In San Jose at GTC, in front of a crowd of 30,000, Jensen made it clear that AI is now essential infrastructure, rather than an application. With that, the compute spotlight shined on yes, the Rubin GPU, but also the Vera CPU, purpose-built for the orchestration and memory demands of agentic workloads. Meanwhile, three hours south in Los Angeles, OFC 2026 drew nearly 18,000 optical networking professionals to a sold-out floor. The throughline across five days of announcements was that optical networks are no longer connecting AI infrastructure. They are the infrastructure. Two conferences. Two cities. One converging signal. I wrote about this convergence on Ciena.com this week. When agentic workloads fan out across nodes, clouds, and geographies, the network becomes a performance determinant. Inference and agents are here. The GPU-to-CPU ratio is shifting. The network has to move with it. Check it out. https://bit.ly/4uOyd8k
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Bruce Hembree shared thisSpent some time with Allen Meeks and the team at Mox Networks talking through what we’re seeing across the network landscape right now. There’s a lot of energy around AI and infrastructure, but the conversation is shifting. Speed and capacity still matter — they always will — but they’re no longer the only things driving decisions. Power, efficiency, and how you actually operate these networks day to day are becoming just as critical. What I appreciated about this discussion is that it stayed grounded in what teams are working through right now — not theory, but real trade-offs as they plan for what’s next. Appreciate the partnership and the candid conversation with the MOX Networks team. If you’re starting to think differently about how your network needs to evolve, this is worth a listen.Bruce Hembree shared thisMOX Networks is definitely NOT a traditional carrier! Message us and find out why #MOX has become a favorite #network #communications provider for many of the world’s largest #hyperscalers, #neocloudproviders, #AI companies, and more! Sales@moxnetworks.com Allen Meeks, Eric Hall, Brian Kacey, Bryan Bouldin, Tom Gay #InfiniteCapacity #SubseaNetworks #TerrestrialFiber #100G #400G #Ciena #DataCenterConnectivity #Wavelengths #YourFavoriteNetworkPartner #WaveLogic6 #IntelligentNetworks https://lnkd.in/essp-bWw
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Bruce Hembree shared thisSport isn’t defined by the scoreboard alone. It’s defined by the discipline and preparation it demands long before competition begins. That’s why I’m proud to see Dani Aravich heading to the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games. A three-time Paralympian representing Team USA, Dani competes in the Biathlon — one of the most demanding events in winter sport, combining cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. It requires endurance, precision, and relentless focus. Ciena has supported Dani over multiple years, and what stands out most is her consistency. The training. The perseverance. The commitment to improve year after year. Those qualities matter in sport, and they matter in business. We believe organizations are stronger when they reflect different experiences and perspectives. Dani represents that strength through action — not talk, but preparation and performance. As the Opening Ceremony takes place March 6 in Verona, all of us at Ciena will be cheering her on. Dani Aravich, we’re proud to be in your corner. Go Team USA!
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Bruce Hembree shared thisThere’s a lot of energy around AI and infrastructure right now. The opportunity is real, and so are the challenges. Scaling networks to handle new workloads isn’t just a tech conversation — it’s operational, financial, and cultural. Teams are being asked to move faster while carrying more complexity, and there isn’t much room for error. What stands out to me in Kevin’s perspective is the emphasis on discipline. The architecture decisions being made now won’t just show up in performance — they’ll show up in cost, resiliency, and how flexible these environments are two or three years from now. For a long time, speed and capacity drove the discussion. They still matter. But power, efficiency, and operational simplicity are quickly becoming just as critical. You can’t separate performance from power density or long-term cost anymore. The data center model is evolving, and we’re investing accordingly — building for what these environments will require next, not what worked in the past.Bruce Hembree shared thisToday we unveiled Vesta 200 6.4T CPX — the industry’s highest-density, lowest-power pluggable CPO solution. This marks our first product introduction following the acquisition of Nubis Communications. Designed to reduce power consumption by up to 70%, the solution helps hyperscalers, cloud providers, and data center operators evolve their architectures to reliably address AI workloads in both scale-out networks as well as next generation scale-up networks. Some highlights from the announcement: ● Vesta 200 6.4T CPX removes key barriers to co-packaged optics (CPO) adoption ● 200G/lane CPO ideal for leading-edge 100 and next-generation 200 Tb/s ASICs ● Single-wavelength solution natively enables full fan-out AI cluster interconnect networking Explore the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gEC73fcG
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Bruce Hembree shared thisA lot of the AI-native network conversation right now is focused on outcomes — autonomous operations, agentic AI, automation at scale. Joe Cumello makes an important point in this piece: none of that works without getting the fundamentals right first. From where I sit, one of the most important fundamentals is architectural choice. Operators are under real pressure to lower their cost to serve while improving the customer experience. That doesn’t happen by locking into a single stack or limiting flexibility. It happens by building open, secure platforms that give you control — over your data, your operations, and your roadmap. The platforms that will win are the ones that evolve with operators, not the other way around. AI should reduce complexity, not introduce a new form of dependency. Proud of the Blue Planet team and the discipline they continue to bring to this space. The focus on trusted data, open architectures, and operational control is exactly what this industry needs right now. Well worth the read: https://lnkd.in/ewCKuW_VThe fundamentals of AI-native and automated networks - The Mobile NetworkThe fundamentals of AI-native and automated networks - The Mobile Network
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Bruce Hembree shared thisWell done, Ciena team…only made possible by our customers’ collaborative approach to drive mutual success…thanks all!Bruce Hembree shared thisCongrats to the Ciena team for its inclusion in the S&P 500! This is yet another testament to the strategy, execution and hard-work of 9,000+ Ciena employees as we continue to set the standard for high-speed connectivity leadership.Ciena Set to Join S&P 500; Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to Join S&P MidCap 400; ADT and OneSpaWorld Holdings to Join S&P SmallCap 600Ciena Set to Join S&P 500; Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to Join S&P MidCap 400; ADT and OneSpaWorld Holdings to Join S&P SmallCap 600
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Bruce Hembree liked thisBruce Hembree liked thisIRIS Networks is expanding its 400G transport network with a new route connecting Chattanooga to Huntsville, designed to deliver high-performance, diverse, and reliable fiber connectivity for carriers, data centers, and network operators preparing for continued growth. Built on advanced optical platforms, this route helps support evolving capacity demands across the region. Learn more about IRIS Networks 400G routes: https://buff.ly/VOd36NB #400G #CarrierNetwork #FiberInfrastructure #Transport #IRISNetworks
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Bruce Hembree liked thisBruce Hembree liked thisA big thank you to Ciena for hosting an incredible Lunch & Learn for our students! We truly appreciate your team not only sharing valuable insights and real-world perspectives, but also being so actively involved in preparing our students for this week’s sales competition. Your support and engagement are making a meaningful impact looking forward to seeing it all come together! #LunchAndLearn #StudentSuccess #FutureLeaders #SalesCompetition
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Bruce Hembree liked thisBruce Hembree liked thisRecently, I had the amazing opportunity to compete in the Kennesaw State University President's Cup Sales Competition hosted by Ciena where my partner, Ashton Nulty, and I placed 2nd! I am also thrilled to announce that I will be joining the Ciena team as a part of the Technical Sales Development Program! Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me along this journey! A special thank you to Bruce Hembree, Debbie Schuler, Quinn Cage, Valerie Artigues for hosting an incredible competition. Thank you to Lloyd Sergent for all the guidance throughout my interview process! A huge shoutout to Ashton Nulty for being a very dedicated partner! Your hard work is truly admirable and I'm so excited to see all your future success. Congratulations to all the competitors as well! Here's to what's next 🎉
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Bruce Hembree liked thisBruce Hembree liked thisHad an incredible time attending ACCS in Norfolk, Virginia! It was a great opportunity to connect with leaders in the Research & Education space, exchange ideas, and learn more about the evolving needs across the industry. Representing Ciena at this conference was truly an amazing experience—I’m grateful for the chance to engage with so many innovative organizations and be part of conversations shaping the future of connectivity. Looking forward to continuing these relationships and building on the momentum from such a powerful few days. Thank you to Mayna Jayanti for allowing me to shadow and learn from her in the field. My future is bright with mentors like her! #ACCS #Networking #Ciena #ProfessionalGrowth
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Bruce Hembree liked thisBruce Hembree liked thisSo proud to share that Oluwamayowa Adewumi and I placed 4th in the Spring 2026 President’s Cup hosted by Ciena, through Kennesaw State University - Michael J. Coles College of Business! We stepped into the roles of account managers and sales engineers and competed in a three-round technical sales competition focused on customer discovery, solution design, and executive closes. I’ll be honest - I came into this with very little exposure to the industry. In the first prep session, I quickly realized how much I had to learn! The learning curve was steep, but the prep sessions (and recordings) from Ciena, along with support from my peers and the KSU Center for Professional Sales, made all the difference. A lot of hard work went into truly understanding the product, but from there I really enjoyed taking what I learned from customer discovery, tailoring it into a technical solution, and breaking it down into clear business value under pressure. Thank you to the 'buyers', judges, and organizers at Ciena for the opportunity and thoughtful feedback throughout each round, and to all the volunteers who helped make the competition possible. A special shoutout to Jubilee Criswell and Jmen Clarisse Seso for their dedication to us students in the Center for Professional Sales, as well as the Ciena team (including Quinn Cage, Kristella Bui, Valerie Artigues, Brandon Kim, Lucas Friedberg, Jd Bemowski, Debbie Schuler, and Bruce Hembree) for their valuable insights and support. And congratulations to all the competitors, especially Will Cain and Wesley Hoogendyk, the first-place winners. Grateful to be walking away with a stronger understanding of technical sales and more confidence in my ability to learn quickly, simplify complex concepts, and perform under pressure!
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