The Deep Edge Podcast

For the last two years, the AI infrastructure conversation has been dominated by GPUs. But as AI clusters scale to tens of thousands — and eventually hundreds of thousands — of GPUs, the real bottleneck is shifting. The next AI infrastructure challenge is not just compute. It is interconnect. In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast , Ray Mota breaks down why optical networking is becoming the fou...

Everyone is talking about the GPU shortage. GPUs are expensive, scarce, power-hungry, and central to AI infrastructure. But the real issue is much deeper. In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast , Ray Mota breaks down why AI infrastructure is not fundamentally a GPU problem — it is a network economics problem . As AI workloads scale, the hidden bottleneck is not just compute capacity, but the abi...

Starbucks has recently pulled the plug on their AI inventory tool, after just 9 months in 11,000+ shops. The bigger lesson for me is simple: AI cannot solve an operations problem it does not understand. The technology was designed to utilize computer vision and spatial intelligence to count inventories faster and more precisely. On paper it sounds powerful. But in the real world, it apparently con...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast , Ray Mota breaks down one of the most important questions facing network architects, CTOs, and business leaders building next-generation AI data centers: how to make the right infrastructure investment decisions with real confidence. Ray explains why the economics of AI data centers are fundamentally different from traditional enterprise networks. In the A...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast, host Ray Mota, Ph. D. speaks with Will Eatherton, Cisco’s engineering leader driving the future of AI-optimized networking. They dive deep into:  • Cisco’s AI-ready data center strategy  • Silicon One evolution & optical innovation  • Adaptive routing, congestion control & GPU fabric design  • Cisco + NVIDIA partnership and what it means for AI clu...

I use AI to create this podcast, let me know what you think? The ACG Research study highlights how application-driven traffic is reshaping the economics of fixed and mobile networks. While fixed networks benefit from lower unit costs ($0.06/GB vs. $0.33/GB for mobile), far higher household data consumption drives a 393% higher TCO per subscriber ($21.22 vs. $5.40). A small set of applications acco...

Join Ray Mota, CEO of ACG Research and host of the Deep Edge Podcast, for an in-depth conversation with Kevin Vachon, of Mplify (formerly the MEF). In this episode, Kevin walks us through:  • The Story Behind the Rebrand: Why “Mplify” was chosen, how market shifts toward multi-cloud, AI, and automation drove the decision, and the legacy of LSO and network standardization.  • Building a Global NaaS...

Join host Ray Mota as he sits down with Matt Biringer, Co-Founder of North Cloud, to explore the evolving world of public cloud finance. In this episode, we dive into:  • Why cloud cost management matters – The shift from upfront data-center purchasing to utility-based billing and its impact on budgets.  • The rise of FinOps – How finance, engineering, and product teams can collaborate around clou...

Call to Action to our Community!!! Join me in standing up for justice and digital inclusion—help secure a fair trial and release for Dawit, the visionary entrepreneur detained in Ethiopia. Share his story, sign the petition, and urge your representatives to act. Today I’m spotlighting a colleague whose story demands our attention. Dawit, an American citizen and former Cisco leader, left a lucrativ...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast, ACG Research CEO Ray Mota sits down with Jamie Dobson—author of Visionaries, Rebels, and Machines and founder of Container Solutions—for a powerful, no-nonsense conversation on the hype, reality, and economic implications of AI. Together, they unpack how AI is reshaping corporate decision-making, exposing organizational blind spots, and challenging traditi...

In this Deep Edge episode, host Ray Mota sits down with Cisco’s VP of AI Products, Anand Raghavan, to unpack the 2025 State of AI Security report. With 72 % of enterprises already running AI in production but only 13 % feeling prepared to secure it, the conversation probes today’s most pressing blind spots—from “Sleepy Pickle” supply-chain exploits and fine-tuning–induced jailbreaks to the surge o...

Welcome to The Deep Edge Podcast, where we navigate the frontiers of innovation shaping tomorrow’s digital economy. In today’s episode, we explore one of the most consequential developments in cybersecurity: quantum-secure communications. As quantum computing edges closer to practical reality, the imperative to safeguard data against future quantum threats is no longer the concern of governments a...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast, host Ray Mota sits down with Callum Morrison, Account Director at Cologix, and Wayne Lloyd, CEO of Consensus Core, to discuss their pioneering partnership that is reshaping North America’s AI infrastructure landscape. The guests delve into the launch of the first NVIDIA-powered GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) at Cologix’s MTL10 data center in Montreal, exploring...

Welcome to episode 61 of the Deep Edge Podcast. In this episode, I take a deep dive into the fascinating crossroads of AI and global networking, dissecting a conversation that covers everything from hyper-scale data centers to the evolving challenges of network resiliency. I interview Mattias Fridström, Chief Evangelist for Arelion. Key Themes Explored:  • AI’s Insatiable Appetite for Bandwidth: T...

Welcome to The Deep Edge Podcast, where we explore the most transformative shifts in the telecom and technology landscape. Hosted by Ray Mota, this podcast delivers expert insights, industry analysis, and thought-provoking discussions with top executives, innovators, and analysts shaping the future of connectivity. Special Guess: Doug Makishima from ECOBLOX Doug is an advisor to MEF (Mobile Ecosys...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast, Ray Mota, CEO and Principal Analyst at ACG Research, interviews AE Natarajan, EVP CDO at Juniper Networks, to explore the evolving landscape of AI-driven networking. The discussion focuses on how AI-native networking solutions are transforming the industry by improving network efficiency, reducing operational complexity, and enhancing sustainability. Key T...

Join Ray Mota from ACG as he sits down with Akamai Cloud Evangelist Ari Weil for an insightful exploration into the rapidly evolving cloud landscape. In this episode, Ari unpacks how the new wave of stricter regulations is reshaping public cloud providers and driving the shift toward alternative, distributed cloud solutions. He delves into the vulnerabilities inherent in traditional cloud infrastr...

In this episode of The Deep Edge Podcast, we delve into the recent strategic partnership between Arrcus and NVIDIA, spotlighting the integration of NVIDIA’s BlueField Data Processing Units (DPUs) into the Arrcus Connected Edge (ACE) platform. Shekar Ayyar, CEO of Arrcus, and Keyur Patel, Co-Founder and CTO, provide in-depth insights into how this collaboration enhances networking performance, secu...

In this interview, the CTO of Juniper Networks joins Ray Mota CEO from ACG Research to discuss the launch of Juniper Beyond Labs, a significant milestone for the organization. Juniper, known for its history of innovation, introduces Beyond Labs to further harness breakthroughs in various technological areas and drive industry transformation. The CTO elucidates on why the initiative was launched at...

Governments worldwide are investing massively in bridging the so-called digital divide. In the US alone, an estimated $100 billion will go to broadband deployment funding. This unprecedented funding is spurring prodigious demand and will result in a generational transformation of the access network. The entities looking to deploy broadband access run the gamut from highly experienced incumbents to...

Dr. Ray Mota, ACG Research CEO and Principal Analyst, and Ilan Tevet, RAD Marketing and Business Development VP in dialogue about user-centric service assurance tools for CSP customer retention, package upgrades and OpEx savings. ___ What if CSPs could save millions annually on call center and tech support, while raising satisfaction for enterprises and enterprise users? This is now possible by ha...

As the “new edge” where connectivity, distributed cloud, and customer experiences converge, metro networks face traffic growth of 500 percent by 2027. Expanded security threats, talent shortages, and new ITU standards for reducing carbon emissions are also changing metro requirements. Amid these conditions, operators can’t sustain the current cost per bit of service delivery for long. Juniper Clou...

About Ribbon Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN) delivers communications software, IP and optical networking solutions to service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors globally. We engage deeply with our customers, helping them modernize their networks for improved competitive positioning and business outcomes in today's smart, always-on and data-hungry world. Our innova...

Cloudification has been significantly affecting metro networking and RAN in the network to deliver differentiated services for improved user experience. The metro can potentially drive new service opportunities for operators and improved experiences for network users. It will become where connectivity + edge hosting, + service experience converge. At the same time, Open RAN provides opportunities...

With SR-MPLS turning ten and SRv6 coming on the scene in 2019, is there a right path for service providers? Where are service providers regarding their decision-making roadmap?  Ciena’s Jahanzeb Baqai joins Ray Mota to discuss a new Segment Routing report from ACG Research®, with insights directly from Service Providers on this and more.  Topics: ·       SR-MPLS adoption: real or imagined? ·     ...