Ciena Sees AI-Driven Network Transformation as a Defining Opportunity for 2026 Leader

Pete Hall, Regional Managing Director at Ciena MEA, shares how AI workloads are reshaping network design, the opportunities emerging from ultra-high-speed optical connectivity, and how Ciena is helping operators, hyperscalers, and data center providers build adaptive, sustainable, AI-ready networks for the decade ahead.

What opportunities do you foresee for 2026, and how do you plan to leverage them?
The Middle East is in the middle of a fascinating period where AI adoption and infrastructure modernization are accelerating simultaneously. One of the biggest opportunities I see in the region is the transformation that must take place due to AI’s impact on the network.

AI is redefining the way operators across the globe design, scale, and operate their networks. Middle East operators recognize that the network must transform from a passive transport layer into an adaptive, high-performance fabric engineered for machine-scale thinking. Massive GPU clusters will come to play, and an AI network fabric will emerge with high-capacity optical transport of between 400G and 1.6T that interconnects these GPU clusters and data centers that span across multiple geographies.

Our aim is to help our customers navigate this transition. This is just one example of the opportunities in front of Ciena in 2026.

What major challenges did you encounter this year, and how did you address them?
One key challenge was not related to technological capability but rather the market’s readiness to rethink and take action to transform network infrastructures to handle the demands driven by AI workloads which require a massive increase in bandwidth, faster data transport speeds, network automation and improved efficiencies.

AI workloads don’t behave like conventional applications. They generate volatile east-west traffic patterns, machine-to-machine exchanges and microburst dynamics that cannot be supported by legacy infrastructure designs. When organizations realize their network is limiting their AI investments and, in a way, preventing them from extracting ROI from expensive compute resources, the urgency becomes self-evident.

This past year we worked with our customers to understand the impact of AI on their networks and why their existing infrastructure may need some updates to unlock full GPU utilization. This will no doubt continue in 2026.

Can you elaborate on your strategic partnerships this year and plans for next year?
One highlight for us this year was our success to co-create innovative solutions with our customers that are designed to address the demands of AI. For example, we collaborated with Meta to develop a first-of-its-kind out-of-band (OOB) management solution to simplify data center infrastructure management.

OOB management enables control, recovery, and remote operations when the unexpected occurs, and it forms a critical safety net for complex, distributed environments. As data centers scale to support more compute, higher density, and faster innovation cycles, having an OOB network that can keep pace is essential.

Our data center out of management solution, developed with Meta, offers a simpler, more efficient approach to OOB management. The combined efforts of our two teams translated into a reduction in space, power, and cabling of their data plane management, bolstering sustainability.

What will be your primary focus areas and strategic priorities for 2026?
Our strategy for 2026 will remain laser-focused on creating solutions that provide high-speed connectivity for operators, data center and cloud providers, hyperscalers and emerging neoscalers. Ciena’s long-standing commitment to innovation and our optical technology plays a key role supporting high-capacity, low-latency networks that connect core and edge data centers, enabling everything from model training to AI-driven services.

We will continue to prioritize architectural flexibility, not just at the core, but at the edge, helping our customers reduce latency, cut energy consumption, and scale more sustainably. These are not speculative roadmaps, but active deployments and investments aligned with the realities of AI infrastructure across the globe. With demand for high-speed network connectivity accelerating, Ciena is constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with fiber and we don’t plan to stop that anytime soon.

Are there plans to explore new markets or introduce new products/applications in 2026?
We will maintain our leadership in high-speed AI-ready network connectivity. In the Middle East, this means extending our architectural advantage in areas like ultra-high-speed networking – capabilities already demonstrated through deployments with Omantel and e&.

We’re also seeing a pivotal moment in Africa, where major initiatives such as the UAE’s $1bn Africa connectivity investment are catalyzing infrastructure transformation. This signals a broader shift toward distributed cloud, open-access fiber, and edge-ready data centers to support AI workloads.

Across both regions, our product strategy is grounded in our industry-leading optical innovations, such as WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e), the industry’s only 1.6T coherent modem in the market today and the first of its kind to leverage 3nm technology– which enables double the capacity within same power and footprint of previous technologies.

In 2026, we will share more details about some of the new technologies we plan to bring to market. For example, we will be releasing new solutions in our interconnects portfolio designed to support growing AI workloads by significantly increasing scale up and scale out capacity and density inside the data center.

How is your company approaching sustainability, digital transformation, or AI adoption in preparation for 2026?
Sustainability is embedded into how we design, build, and operate networks. Our approach is guided by science-based targets that shape both our operations and innovation. We are committed to reducing our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 80.6% by 2030 from 2019 levels, supported by the use of 100% renewable energy across our facilities. Our Scope 3 intensity-based target to reduce emissions by 71.3% per unit of capacity shipped in G/sec by 2030 from 2019 levels guides how we innovate. Increasing capacity while lowering power, space, and material requirements is central to our product strategy.

This is critical as hyperscalers and operators scale infrastructure to support AI. AI workloads drive higher power density and space constraints. Our focus on energy-efficient platforms, compact designs, and longer-lived assets helps customers scale capacity while keeping power usage, cooling needs, real estate demands, and emissions under control.

Digital transformation and automation further strengthen this foundation. Greater visibility, optimization, and automation across the network allow operators to improve resource utilization, reduce unnecessary hardware deployment, and operate more efficiently. By designing sustainability into the network from the outset, we enable customers to scale for AI with infrastructure that is efficient, resilient, and ready for what comes next.