AI Network Automation in the Real-World at OSU Wexner – Industry Keynote
In this mid-day keynote, Gluware Chief Product Officer Ernest Lefner and Bryan Kingsley, Senior Director for Cloud and Networks – Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUMC), will unpack the difference that AI can make in a mainstream enterprise network when it has been made ready for AI. The session will cover:
- The challenge: How do you get from legacy networks to automated and AI-ready?
- Pre-req – lay the foundation
- Solving physical technical debt
- Building a new network, based on a modern design based on standards
- Placing the right people in the right roles
- Step into opportunities – New University Hospital
- Touch on some of the technical stats (# switches, miles of cable, etc)
- Progression to zero-touch deployments
- Automated rollout of system updates for vulnerability management
- Time crunch
- Practical evolution of IT and network teams with AI
- AI Consultation – e.g.:
- An engineer needs commands to update BGP peers
- Convert commands into code for configuration management
- AI Consultation – e.g.:
- Pre-req – lay the foundation
- The new frontier of AI-powered security threats and how to respond (and knowing when you don’t need to)
- Identify true exposure of a vulnerability through deep analysis
- Where is OSUMC headed in its AI journey
We want to close with the sequence of events that lead to the creation of our Integrated Operations Center and how we will be leaning into AIOPS as a critical part of our observability maturation
Ernest co-founded ONUG with Nick Lippis after realizing that the user community needed to take control of their own destiny and expedite the network transformation. At the time he was VP of the Internetwork Engineering organization at Fidelity Investments and under his leadership Fidelity hosted the first ONUG in Boston in February 2013.
A 12-year veteran of Fidelity, Ernest was responsible for leading the team that engineered world class network, security, and application delivery services driving value to the customer beyond infrastructure management. Ernest also managed the Network and Voice service portfolio as well as Global Network Operations LAN/WAN teams and has held various technical and leadership roles.
Brian is a senior technology leader with a career spanning healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and global consulting—consistently delivering large‑scale transformation across cloud, data center, and network environments. His leadership blends deep technical expertise with the ability to shape strategy, build high‑performing teams, and execute complex initiatives that strengthen operational reliability and business outcomes.
