IT Visionaries

Think 5G is about faster phones? That's what telecom companies want consumers to believe. The truth is far more interesting. In this episode, Elena Fersman (VP and Head of AI Innovation at Ericsson) reveals what 5G networks are really built for: industries, not consumers. Through network slicing, edge computing, and cognitive systems, 5G creates the infrastructure that makes AI applications possible at scale—from remote surgery where milliseconds matter, to AR/VR without wearing a backpack of GPUs, to factory floors with autonomous heavy machinery. Elena also shares surprising stories: how establishing a simple communication link led to 20% fuel savings for a shipping company, why autonomous networks are safer than human operators (the elevator operator analogy is perfect), and why Ericsson's trustworthy AI research has been running for 15 years. If you're an IT leader trying to understand where networks and AI intersect, or you're struggling with AI deployment and don't know where to start, this conversation cuts through the hype with practical frameworks and real-world examples from someone who's been in the trenches for two decades.   Chapters: 00:00 - The Risk of Not Deploying AI 03:05 - The AI RAN Alliance: AI and Networks as Symbiotic Partners 10:03 - Why 5G Is Built for Industries, Not Consumers 13:54 - How AI Optimizes Networks (Energy, Predictions, Handoffs) 21:06 - Cognitive Networks and Self-Organization 29:02 - Real-World Impact: 20% Fuel Savings for Shipping 30:52 - What Makes AI Projects Scale vs Fail 41:11 - The Critical First Step: Data Management Over Algorithms 57:25 - Confessions of an AI Brain: The Positive Future 1:01:02 - Why Autonomous Systems Are Safer Than Humans -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kim Huffman, CIO of Workiva and former customer, applies AI and data strategy to financial reporting and sustainability disclosures. She discusses fragmented compliance, the need for a single source of truth, and how AI can give finance teams time back. She also covers AI governance, the evolving CIO role, and the rise of workplace AI assistants.

Most companies don’t realize it yet, but the way they built their technology foundations is quietly becoming a liability.Cloud costs are rising. Platforms change underneath you. AI is reshaping infrastructure from hardware to data to governance. And the strategies that once felt “safe” are now the ones creating the most risk.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt sits down with Mano Bhattacharya, CTO of Nutanix, to unpack what’s really happening inside enterprise technology right now. This isn’t a conversation about chasing the newest tools or betting on a single future. It’s about why adaptability has become the most important design principle in modern tech.Mano explains why many organizations are rethinking long-held assumptions about virtualization, cloud, and containers, and why the smartest teams are building infrastructure that gives them options over the next three to five years. They explore how AI changes the entire stack, not just applications, why data has become the real bottleneck, and why moving fast without a coherent plan can be more dangerous than moving slowly. Chapters:00:00 - The VMware Exodus Wave is Coming03:34 - VMware Broadcom Acquisition: What Changed and Why It Matters05:56 - Three Migration Paths: Stay, Move to Cloud, or Modernize09:59 - Why Containers on VMs Make Sense for Most Enterprises15:40 - The Five Stages of VMware Migration Grief21:20 - VMware Admin to Nutanix Admin: Closing the Skills Gap24:14 - The Cloud-in-a-Box Philosophy: From Boxes to Software32:30 - Opening Up the Platform: Pure Storage and Third-Party Integrations40:54 - AI Infrastructure: The End-to-End Challenge48:01 - Enterprise AI Strategy: Use Cases, Economics, and Governance56:44 - What's Next: Building the Invisible Platform for AI  -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most people assume the internet is stable, durable, and ready for whatever comes next. The truth is a bit more complicated. Modern networks were never designed for today’s scale, and for the first time we are seeing technology that can make them smarter, simpler, and far more reliable.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt talks with Anil Varanasi, CEO and Co-Founder of Meter, about how the next era of networking is taking shape. Anil explains why traditional infrastructure struggles to keep up, how a unified approach can remove layers of complexity, and why the future of the internet is moving toward faster and more resilient systems.He also shares how natural language tools and purpose-built models are transforming the work of network engineers, and why autonomous networking may arrive sooner than most people expect. These advancements are creating a path to networks that can configure, maintain, and optimize themselves without increasing operational burden. Key Moments:00:00 – Why Modern Networks Are Broken02:50 – The Pain of Multi-Vendor Sprawl05:04 – Rebuilding the Entire Stack From Scratch08:31 – Why Meter Refused to Ship Until It Was Great11:39 – Hardware, Software, Delivery: A Single Platform13:34 – No CapEx and Automatic Hardware Refresh18:26 – How Meter Handles Growth, Migration & Space-Level Infrastructure20:32 – The Real Reason Networks Fail (Configuration + Compatibility)23:51 – GUI vs CLI: What Engineers Really Want25:56 – Introducing Command: Natural-Language Networking27:37 – Auto-Generated Dashboards and Custom Software30:38 – Why AI Shouldn’t Be an Empty Buzzword32:51 – Toward Fully Autonomous Networks by 202736:46 – The Network Engineer Shortage & What Comes Next38:33 – What Autonomous Networking Actually Means41:38 – Why the Internet Will Keep Growing Faster43:02 – The Customers Who Need Meter Most45:39 – Factory Floors, Warehouses, Data Centers, and Edge48:32 – Nine New Hardware Platforms & Design Philosophy52:56 – How Meter Maintains Networks Without Downtime  -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sudheesh Nair, Co-founder and CEO of Tinyfish and former CEO of ThoughtSpot, delves into the limitations of current AI and search technologies. He reveals that a mere 7% of the internet is indexed, leaving vast opportunities hidden. Sudheesh argues that the future lies in agentic systems that can navigate and interact with the web's deeper layers. He shares insights on how AI should enhance human creativity and taste rather than replace it, advocating for a democratized internet that offers authentic local experiences.

Most organizations are sitting on mountains of documents, PDFs, emails, and images they still cannot fully search, organize, or understand.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt sits down with Tim McIntire, CTO of Hyland, to unpack why unstructured data is still one of the biggest blockers between AI hype and real results. Tim breaks down why so many companies struggle to access the content they already have and what it really takes to make that information usable, trustworthy, and valuable.From building content that is ready for AI to unlocking new context-aware agents and improving governance and transparency, Tim explains how leading organizations are finally turning everyday content into real business impact and why the future of enterprise AI starts with cleaning up what is already in the basement. Key Moments:02:36 - What Hyland Actually Does04:18 - Why 80% of Enterprise Data Is Unusable06:46 - From 30,000 Manual Indexes to Automation07:47 - Vectorization: Making Documents AI-Ready09:45 - The ROI of Eliminating Mundane Work10:55 - AI vs RPA: Why Intelligence Changes Everything13:23 - Federate Don't Migrate: Meeting Customers Where They Are16:29 - Governance Can't Be an Afterthought18:11 - The Explainability Breakthrough20:10 - Day 1 to Day 90: Faster Time to Value22:56 - Enterprise Agent Mesh Explained24:06 - Context Engineering: The New AI Superpower26:36 - Confidence Scores: When Humans Step In28:12 - Right Model for the Right Job31:00 - The 18-Month Prediction: Agents Everywhere -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If your business relies on video calls, messaging apps, or mobile devices, you are at risk for a new kind of attack.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt sits down with Christine Gadsby, Chief Security Officer at BlackBerry, to explore how AI, deepfakes, and weakened telecom infrastructure are reshaping the modern threat landscape.Christine explains why enterprises can no longer trust what they see or hear, how metadata has become one of the most valuable intelligence sources for attackers, and why encryption alone is no longer enough to protect high-risk communications.She also breaks down how nation-state groups like Salt Typhoon infiltrate global telco networks, exploit unpatchable 2G and 3G protocols, and use AI to refine attacks in real time. Key Moments:00:00 – Where Organizations Are Underestimating Communication Risk04:05 – Can You Still Trust What You See and Hear on a Call?08:11 – How Internal Messaging Quietly Became an Attack Surface12:18 – Why Encryption Alone Does Not Secure Communications16:24 – What BlackBerry Is Today and Why It Still Matters20:31 – Why Governments and Enterprises Face a Different Threat Model24:37 – How AI Deepfakes Changed Executive and Enterprise Risk28:44 – Which Conversations Inside Your Company Matter Most?32:50 – The Trust Assumptions Most Companies Don’t Realize They’re Making36:56 – Why Attackers Wait for Moments of Urgency41:03 – Is Cyber Extortion Sometimes a Cover for Espionage?45:09 – Who Salt Typhoon Is and Why Telecom Networks Were Targeted49:15 – Why Telecom Infrastructure Became an Intelligence Goldmine53:22 – Why 2G and 3G Networks Still Put Modern Systems at Risk57:28 – What Secure Communications Actually Require Today  -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Security used to be a headache. Now it is a growth engine.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt sits down with Taylor Hersom, Founder and CEO of Eden Data and former CISO, to break down how fast growing companies can turn cybersecurity and compliance into a true competitive advantage. Taylor explains why frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and emerging AI standards such as ISO 42001 are becoming essential for winning enterprise business. He also shares how to future proof controls, connect compliance work to real business goals, and avoid the costly pitfalls that stall companies during scale.Taylor also highlights the biggest blind spots in AI security, including model training risks, improper data handling, and the challenges created by relying on free AI tools. If you are building a SaaS product or selling into large companies, this conversation shows how trust, transparency, and strong security practices directly drive revenue. Key Moments:  00:00 — The Hidden Risks of Scattered Company Data04:11 — Why Early-Stage Teams Lose Control of Security08:22 — Compliance Becomes a Competitive Advantage12:33 — SOC 2 vs ISO 27001: What Founders Need to Know16:44 — Framework Overload and How to Navigate It20:55 — Mapping Security Controls to Business Objectives25:06 — The Gap Between Compliance Audits and Real Threats29:17 — Startup Security Blind Spots That Lead to Breaches33:28 — Rising AI Risks Leaders Aren’t Preparing For37:39 — Building Customer Trust Through Transparency41:50 — Protecting AI Models and Sensitive Customer Data46:01 — Why Free AI Tools Create Hidden Data Exposure50:12 — Automating Security Controls for Scale54:23 — Continuous Compliance Beats Annual Audits58:34 — Final Takeaways on Security, Trust, and Growth -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sumeet Arora, Chief Product Officer at Teradata, dives into transforming AI promises into actionable results. He discusses the challenges of scaling AI effectively and the critical role of data quality in achieving measurable ROI. Sumeet emphasizes shifting from flashy demos to outcome-driven implementations and explains how enterprises can enhance workflows through AI. He shares compelling use cases, like improving customer satisfaction in banking, while advocating for AI literacy among employees to foster innovation and autonomy.

If you’ve ever shipped an AI feature that looked great in testing — only to watch it behave unpredictably in production — you’re not alone.In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt talks with Lawrence Jones, Founding Engineer at incident.io, about the critical gap between AI that demos well and AI that works under pressure. Lawrence shares how his team designs tools that help engineers respond faster, learn from failure, and build systems that don’t crumble when it counts. CHAPTERS / KEY MOMENTS00:00 - AI Chaos & The Mike Tyson Rule00:58 - Meet Lawrence Jones of Incident.io03:14 - From FinTech Outages to Incident Response06:22 - The Biggest Mistake in Incident Management09:08 - Training for Chaos: Game Day Simulations10:31 - Inside the AI SRE System13:01 - What SRE Really Means16:23 - From Prototype to Production AI20:27 - Keeping Up with AI’s Rapid Evolution22:50 - Understanding Vector Databases & Embeddings28:34 - The Architecture Problem: Chaining Prompts at Scale36:11 - Measuring AI Performance & Reliability44:02 - The Future of SRE Meets AI52:10 - Lessons from Real Incidents56:42 - Final Thoughts: Building AI That Works -- This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.---IT Visionaries is made by the team at Mission.org. Learn more about our media studio and network of podcasts at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.