Digital Transformation Stories With SoFi Stadium, Vodafone, WWE, United Airlines, Steve Madden, and Lowe's at Cisco Live

From sports arenas, airlines, and fashion to home improvement and Wrestling, how many industries are being transformed by technology? On Tech Talks Daily, I uncover the untold stories of how unexpected sectors leverage the power of tech to transform their operations and customer experiences.

At 思科 Live, I recently sat down with executives from SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park , Vodafone Business , WWE , United Airlines , Steve Madden , and Lowe's Companies, Inc. are putting some of the hottest technological innovations to work.

Despite the vast differences between these organizations and their audiences, they are all undergoing intensive transformation through technology. .

The Tech Tag Team: WWE and Cisco’s Networking Power Play

Talking with Ralph Riley , Director of Broadcast IT Systems for WWE, I began to understand how technology fuels the operational engine to deliver WWE's world-renowned entertainment brand. WWE's broadcast infrastructure, managed by the company's television studio in Stamford, Connecticut, depends on advanced IT systems in the successful execution of live broadcasts.

Ralph first joined WWE as a 2009 IT intern and is now in charge of a multifaceted, tangled network comprising Cisco equipment, firewalls, routers, and load balancers to ensure security and operational efficiency.

One main thing we took away from our sit-down was how pivotal Cisco's ThousandEyes has been in reducing mean time to resolution on network-related issues, especially during live events. The fact that Ralph moved from replacing CRT monitors as an intern to running the WWE's broadcast operations backbone is a tremendous humane testimony of the power of hands-on experience and lifelong learning.

Ralph shared with me how deploying solutions such as Cisco's network intelligence into their fold—Nexus Dashboard, ThousandEyes, amongst others—has provided needed transformation in visibility, empowers situational understanding, and responds in network troubleshooting to proactively detect network anomalies. This is crucial to achieving quality live broadcasts from many locations worldwide, from ultra-low-latency high-tech studios to on-the-go mobile television trucks right outside the arena.

The consequence is strong and secure network performance for WWE IT and cybersecurity as they wrangle with the changing media technology landscape. This discussion has outlined the technical expertise and innovative solutions that go hand in hand, underlining the significant impact of technology on the reliability and protection of WWE's broadcast infrastructure.

Tech at 30000 Feet: How United Airlines is Transforming Passenger Experiences

After one of my recent conversations with Dan Field the director of platform and network engineering at United Airlines, one thing became apparent: it's an entirely different level when you're tasked with making sure that your passengers on the ground and in the air have a seamless experience at one of the world's largest airlines.

With his diverse experience in managing high-technology integration, he has been instrumental in helping United move its customer-centric and operational performances to new frontiers. For example, technology was crucial in creating United's Agent on Demand service.

This service guarantees that passengers can engage with representatives via call, text, or video without the will to queue in lines for the same purpose, thus presenting a better, more innovative way to deal with traveling-related queries.

It makes it easier for passengers to use the QR code by simply scanning it. Dan shared how integrating advanced observability tools was instrumental in managing the vast and complex network belonging to United Airlines. Given that United Airlines is the world's largest airline, operations are extensive, entailing a robust technology strategy.

With these tools in place, United has empowered round-the-clock detection and resolution of any issues that might pop up, guaranteeing every passenger interaction goes smoothly and seamlessly. For example, in cases of weather disruptions or mechanical problems, Agent on Demand can deploy these technologies and help passengers quickly to improve the overall passenger experience.

This discussion revealed how United Airlines strategically uses technology to optimize its operations and set a new standard in customer service within the airline industry.

Exploring Retail Tech With Steve Madden

I also recently sat down with Steve Madden’s top tech minds: Kamran Siddique , Global CISO and head of infrastructure and Nitin Srivastava ,Director of IT Infrastructure & Operations to talk about the fast-growing fashion brand's IT infrastructure.

Steve Madden counted on an IT structure to sustain its position as the fashion trailblazer. Kamran was nearly celebrating his first anniversary in the company and said that technology could further build businesses and ensure customer data security. In the 15 years he has worked with Steve Madden, Nitin talked about the journey of data centers and systems underpinning the brand reputation in the fashion industry.

Our discussion reiterated the importance of alignment between IT and business strategy, especially as Steve Madden is moving more SaaS-based solutions to production, such as the POS system running on iPads. Kamran and Nitin further elaborated that the team has to factor in security considerations to protect customer transactions and data through multiple integration points, like loyalty programs and social media interactions.

Efforts with this team in modernizing the IT infrastructure have been vital to ensuring that the seamless and robust user experience continues in a high-traffic retail environment where performance and availability are both critical. It takes a layered, defense-in-depth approach to endpoint and network connection protection and constant monitoring of third-party risks.

Kamaran further discussed the evolution the CISO role is taking, particularly with the advent of digital and SaaS-based solutions, the need to handle any third-party interactions with care, and using AI capabilities to automatically generate responses and data sifting in volumes for actionable responses. This includes investment in continuous education and validation exercises, such as red team/blue team drills, to keep the security team sharp and prepared for emerging threats.

Lowe’s Tech-Enabled Retail Transformation

I also learned how Lowes has adapted to the pace of technological change in conversation with Shad Aul , the retail giant's senior manager of Network Engineering. Lowe's IT infrastructure underwent a massive upgrade and quickly reaped the rewards of improved customer satisfaction.

Shad told me that Lowe's collaboration with Cisco was at the core of it all, and much of this transformation centered on the migration to Cisco Webex Contact Center Enterprise. The move itself increased operational efficiency, literally drove down operational costs, and showed what technology at work in retail could do.

Shad mentioned that with the help of advanced Cisco services, the company found it easier to adapt to innovation in its voice and collaboration infrastructure, which removes the headaches from overlapping technology. The move enabled Lowe's to fine-tune its customer engagement and satisfaction strategy. For example, he finally put in secure single sign-on for staff logging in, added multifactor authentication with fewer credentials for the company to support, and increased the efficiency of the contact center teams overall.

At the same time, this shift to a consumption-based licensing model has helped Lowe's drive more use and unlock short-term value for the business through its licenses. This conversation further demonstrated what a continuous circle of innovation and adaptation will take to sustain competitive advantage if every company becomes a tech company.

Balancing Innovation and Cybersecurity at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park

After speaking to Dwayne Robinson, the head of cyber security at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, I developed a greater appreciation for how technology transforms this iconic venue.

SoFi Stadium is the definitive state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex that ennobles how cutting-edge innovations have been done to empower security functions and the fan experience. The most critical impression we came away with is that Cisco's robust security solutions take on the crucial role of actively securing operations at this 298-acre site against evolving cyber threats, ensuring an end-to-end seamless experience for millions of visitors annually.

Dwayne explained that advanced cybersecurity measures have been implemented, such as incorporating real-time threat-detection-and-response tools, all to ensure that SoFi Stadium sustains its standing for the best-ever events. He notably stressed that, with such advanced cybersecurity measures, there is a need for being proactive because such a dynamic, high-profile environment as SoFi Stadium, with hosting calendars full of regular NFL matches, concerts, and soon—global events comprising the 2028 Olympics and FIFA World Cup—does not leave any time for reactive.

With the full range of tools Cisco supplies, managing all such threats will become more apparent. Dwayne and his team will be better able to correlate the many threats against any individual game, stay focused, and deliver an enhanced experience for the fans. This discussion emphasized a balance between innovation and security: through technology, large venues can be protected and improved in a highly digital world.

How Vodafone is Connecting the World

From my recent conversation with Mark Bennett, Head of Enterprise Connectivity Products at Vodafone Business, I learned where the future of redefining global connectivity lies through technology. Vodafone is creating networking experiences through innovations and solutions like networking as a service.

While talking about Cisco Meraki platform, our talk pushed through the point about the central considerations of robust, secure, and agile networking experiences. It means that solid security and seamless connectivity are assured, which are the two most important things a business needs to thrive within the complexities of the digital age.

Mark explained how Vodafone integrates technology enablers such as AI and network automation to achieve operational productivity and customer satisfaction. He pointed out that such technologies needed embedding to deal with the growing complexity within enterprise networks.

With AI and automation, Vodafone can deliver fluid, on-demand networks that evolve in line with changes across its business customer base. In that context, the discussion showed how Vodafone's strategic adoption of next-generation solutions transforms the optimization of network performance against the needs of the future and how enterprises operate—with end benefits such as creating a more connected and efficient digital future.

After talking with So-Fi Stadium, Vodafone, WWE, United Airlines, Steve Madden, and Lowe's, I quickly learned the power technology has to influence operational efficiency and the dynamics of consumer experience within and across industries.

The use cases above show that strategic adoption of front-line innovations—like AI, advanced cybersecurity measures, observability technologies with real-time insights, and seamless integrations of digital platforms—would drive considerable improvements in performance and security.

These examples highlight that embracing technological advancements is crucial for staying competitive and meeting evolving customer expectations regardless of the industry.

I invite you to share your experiences and insights regarding how the organization harnesses technology to drive change and value creation. Write in comments or contact me directly; let's continue this conversation.