How Ciena is Powering Regional AI Data Centre Growth

As the global AI race continues to heat up, data centre connectivity requirements are being stretched. This has caused organisations to move from centralised AI processing to more distributed models, which is making regional data centres increasingly critical.

To confront this shift, leading provider of networking systems and software Ciena has been building connectivity infrastructure for AI workloads since early 2024.

Kevin Sheehan, Ciena’s CTO of the Americas, explains that the company’s initial AI focus involved “building up connectivity between data centres where learning was taking place” to bolster connectivity between facilities to support AI training.

He says: “We had to teach all of these engines how to do AI, and they continue to learn whatever aspect they're being targeted for.”

The data centre industry is now witnessing a focus on distributed AI models – those that bring computation closer to end users. Looking ahead, Kevin reveals that this transition will occur in phases, suggesting: “Distributed first into regional locations, then into metro locations and finally right out to the edge.”

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