The Bridgecast with Scott Kinka

Beyond the Hype: Building Ethical AI for Business

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka welcomes Dr. Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler, a literal rock star in the world of data science and AI ethics. As the former leader of IBM’s first AI center of excellence and a top advisor to the European Parliament, Dr. Eva-Marie brings a wealth of experience in turning emerging technologies into measurable business outcomes. She challenges the current corporate obsession with "agentic AI" and "autonomous workers" by highlighting the foundational work required in data governance and strategy.

Dr. Eva-Marie shares a seminal moment from her career where a major telecom company offered her an intern's worth of raw data without an MOU, illustrating just how far the industry has come—and how many ethical pitfalls remain. The discussion dives deep into "data archaeology," explaining why data for AI requires a much more rigorous standard than data for traditional analytics.

What you will learn:

Why AI must always start with a business need rather than a technical capability
The fundamental difference between data for analytics and data for AI
How to identify and mitigate "hidden proxies" that create bias in machine learning models
The framework for choosing between "buying" versus "building" AI solutions
Why the loss of senior expertise in the workforce is a major threat to AI monitoring and safety
The reality of current AI regulations and why most models are not yet truly GDPR compliant

Dr. Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler is the Founder and Chief AI Officer at The Hummingbird Group, a firm dedicated to responsible, high-performance AI deployment. With over 25 years of experience helping global organizations turn emerging technologies into measurable business outcomes, she has led major AI initiatives at KPMG, Ernst & Young, and IBM—where she built their first AI center of excellence. She has also advised the United Nations, UNESCO, and the European Parliament on AI governance and risk mitigation. Recognized as a Top 10 Most Influential Woman in Technology, World’s Best Data Scientist, and Top Brilliant Women in AI Ethics, Dr. Eva is a leading voice on the intersection of technical rigor, ethical AI, and real-world business outcomes. She is based in Dubai and is currently writing a book on how to correctly build AI systems.

Episode Highlights:

[04:34] The Data Wild West That Changed Everything

Dr. Eva’s pivotal career moment came in 2013 at KPMG, when her team was building “always-on machines for decision support.” With almost no data governance norms in place, they contacted one of the world’s largest telecom companies and asked for all their customer data—who called whom, from where, which bills were paid. The company’s response was essentially: help yourself. They sent an intern with flash drives to pick it up. No MOU. No payment. No legal framework.

Sitting with the data, Eva and her team had a sobering realization: they didn’t need AI models at all. They could simply filter behavioral patterns to identify individuals’ religion, health status, and financial situation—with no model required. “We had so much knowledge about individual people,” she recalls. That moment became the catalyst that drove her into AI governance work with the UK government, EU, United Nations, and NGOs worldwide. Even today—with GDPR and the EU AI Act in place—most large language models are not compliant, and enforcement remains dangerously weak. The wild west isn’t over. It’s just better dressed.

[14:30] The Champions Program: Nike's Secret to GitHub Copilot Adoption

When Nike rolled out GitHub Copilot, leadership assumed flipping the switch would be enough. It wasn't. Adoption stalled. What unlocked it? Training, targeted use-case discovery, and — most critically — a "champions program" that activated the engineers who were already experimenting on their own. Elaine connects this directly to the shadow IT problem: fear of displacement drives people to go rogue. Organizations that surface those early adopters and give them a sanctioned role in the rollout don't just solve a security problem — they create a self-sustaining adoption engine. Her formula: top-down mandate gives permission, bottom-up champions give momentum. "Build community structures that understand and operate. Then, all of a sudden, you're not just pushing a literacy program; it's creating itself. That's sustainable."

[19:15] Tribal Knowledge Is the Real AI Advantage

Elaine lands one of the episode's most counterintuitive insights: it's not Gen Z leading AI adoption in the enterprise — it's the seasoned operators with years of context. AI tools are only as powerful as the prompts fed into them, and great prompts require deep domain knowledge. "Intelligence lives outside the tool," she says. "You can't just apply an agent and think you're diving into the workflow. You have to learn about all the tribal knowledge gained over the years." This reframes the entire upskilling conversation. The goal isn't to teach experienced workers to be tech-savvy; it's to help them see that what they already know is the most valuable input to any AI system — and then invest in developing that capability intentionally.

Episode Resources:

Dr. Eva-Marie Muller-Stuler on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Innovation Lessons from Nike and Amex

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka welcomes Elaine Barsoom — Venture Partner at Silicon Foundry and a recognized leader in enterprise AI and corporate innovation — for a wide-ranging conversation on what it actually takes to build an AI strategy that sticks.

With 20 years of experience bridging strategy and next-generation technology across Nike, American Express, and multiple sectors including retail, fintech, and hospitality, Elaine brings a rare lens: the view from inside the machine. Her defining insight? Most organizations are asking the wrong question. Instead of "How do we use AI?", the right question is "What problem are we trying to solve, and can AI help?" — a subtle but transformative shift that changes everything about governance, adoption, and ROI.

What you will learn:

Why most AI mandates are set up to fail — and how to reframe the right question
How to map current-state workflows and redesign around human needs before selecting tools
Why experienced employees with tribal knowledge outperform younger workers when using AI
How Nike's GitHub Copilot rollout almost stalled — and what a champions program did to fix it
The top-down mandate + bottom-up build model for sustainable AI adoption
Why most AI governance frameworks are "theater" and what to do instead
Real-world CX wins: Lowe's Milo, Wingstop's Smart Kitchen, and what they teach about ROI
The bold prediction that AI agents will soon outnumber humans in enterprise org charts

Elaine Barsoom is a Venture Partner at Silicon Foundry and a globally recognized leader in AI strategy and corporate innovation. She spent 20 years helping Fortune 500 organizations marry strategy with next-generation technologies, most recently serving as Global Head of Tech Innovation, Partnerships, and Strategy at Nike. Her career also includes pivotal leadership roles at American Express, where she built one of the company's first e-commerce ventures in the years following September 11th. A first-generation daughter of Egyptian immigrants and a systems thinker at her core, Elaine now works with mid-market organizations and leaders to navigate AI transformation with rigor, empathy, and measurable results.

Episode Highlights:

[09:52] Ask the Right Question First

Elaine's most foundational piece of advice for AI-overwhelmed CIOs reframes the entire conversation. At Nike, before touching any tool or vendor, the team asked: "What problem are we trying to solve, and can AI help?" — not "How do we use AI?" This single reframe changes how friction points get identified, how workflows get redesigned, and ultimately whether AI gets used at all. Elaine is unambiguous: "Just putting a tool on top of a tool just incurs more technical debt. Don't just do AI for AI's sake." She also challenges the very structure of governance conversations, arguing that IT leaders must walk in with systems and frameworks already in place — not reinvent the wheel for each vendor conversation. A pre-agreed risk framework between IT and legal isn't bureaucracy; it's the only way to move fast and stay protected.

[14:30] The Champions Program: Nike's Secret to GitHub Copilot Adoption

[19:15] Tribal Knowledge Is the Real AI Advantage

Episode Resources:

Elaine Barsoom on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The CIO’s Guide to AI Governance and Risk

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka welcomes Paul Lekas, Executive Vice President of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs at the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), to explore the intersection of tech policy, national security, and operational strategy. With a career spanning three presidential administrations and senior roles at the Department of Defense, Paul offers a rare, high-level view of the legislative forces currently shaping the AI landscape.

The conversation dives into the growing tension between federal and state governments, where over 1,500 AI-related bills were introduced last year alone. Paul explains why the SIIA is advocating for federal oversight of AI models to prevent a "confusing field" of 50 different sets of rules that could hinder economic growth and innovation. For mid-market leaders, he provides a pragmatic framework for AI governance: map your data, categorize your systems by risk, and ensure your engineers are in constant dialogue with your legal team.

What you will learn:

The distinction between AI "developers" and "deployers" and why it matters for your liability
Why the federal government should have sole authority for AI model oversight
How to identify "high-risk" AI scenarios in healthcare, finance, and employment
Practical steps for data mapping and conducting AI impact assessments
Why the court system—not new legislation—is currently the best place to settle AI copyright disputes
The emerging policy focus on AI infrastructure and data center licensing

Paul Lekas is the Executive Vice President of Global Public Policy and Government Affairs at the SIIA, representing nearly 400 companies across the technology and information sectors. A graduate of Harvard Law, Paul has a distinguished background in public service, having co-authored recommendations for the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and served as senior counsel at the Department of Defense. His work now focuses on bridging the gap between fast-moving innovation and the educational needs of government enforcers and lawmakers.

To find out how Bridgepointe Technologies helps businesses make IT decisions faster with world-class engineering support and ongoing guidance, head to https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/

Episode Highlights:

[14:38] Build Your AI Governance Stack—Before Regulators Build It for You

Paul’s advice for CIOs is the clearest playbook you’ll hear: any company using AI needs a governance mechanism where engineers, lawyers, and business stakeholders are in active conversation with each other—not in silos. That means mapping your data, mapping your AI, and categorizing your systems by risk level. Under currently enacted laws, “high-risk” AI consistently shows up in the same categories: healthcare, employment eligibility, and access to financial services. If your AI systems touch any of those areas, focus your audit practices and explainability requirements there first, because that’s where legal liability is most likely to materialize. The companies building this infrastructure now aren’t just complying—they’re creating the organizational muscle that will let them innovate faster and more confidently when the regulatory environment hardens further.

[10:09] Federal Preemption: Why Model-Level Oversight Belongs in Washington

SIIA’s position is direct: frontier AI model oversight—the major models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude—should be the exclusive domain of the federal government, not fragmented across 50 separate state frameworks. Paul’s reasoning is practical rather than ideological. Evaluating national security risks, unintended model behavior, and public safety events requires specialized expertise and institutional resources that no individual state government can reasonably be expected to replicate. The alternative—fifty separate state-level investigations into frontier model risk—would be “incredibly complicated and resource-intensive” and would almost certainly not produce better outcomes. This doesn’t mean no regulation. It means regulation in the right place, by the right institutions, with the right expertise. Paul is careful to distinguish this from deployer-level regulation, where state and sector-specific oversight can play a meaningful role.

[27:37] Data Mapping Is Your First Line of Defense

For a mid-market business without a dedicated policy or legal team, Paul’s starting point is deceptively straightforward: know what data you have and know what AI you’re using. From that inventory, work with legal to conduct impact assessments, update terms and conditions, and identify near-term compliance obligations. If you operate across borders, think carefully about data localization requirements and consider building modular approaches to your services that can flex as local rules diverge. Paul frames it simply: if you’re already handling PII, medical records, or financial data with care, you’re most of the way there. “You’re already taking care of certain data; keep doing that, and then layer the AI piece on top.” The companies that will be caught off guard are the ones that haven’t done this inventory before regulators arrive asking for it.

Episode Resources:

Paul Lekas on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Zero Trust, Zero Passwords: Mobile Mentor's Blueprint for Hybrid Work Security

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Denis O'Shea Founder and CEO of Mobile Mentor, Microsoft Global Partner of the Year, for a wide-ranging conversation on endpoint management, identity security, Zero Trust architecture, and what it really takes to build a workforce that is secure, productive, and ready for the AI era.

Denis's journey is anything but linear. Born in Ireland, he built cellular networks for Nokia in Finland and New Zealand before a fateful dressing-down from a European telco CEO: "Why are your customers only making calls and sending texts?" sent him on a two-decade mission to close the gap between technology investment and human adoption. From deploying Microsoft Intune when it was, in Denis's own words, 'a dog,' to now managing the world's largest Intune tenant and sitting on Microsoft's engineering advisory board, Denis has earned the right to tell IT leaders exactly what to do next.

What you will learn:

Why 97% of cyber breaches start with compromised credentials and what to do about it today
The "allergic reaction" test for hiring elite technical engineers
How to use "security by stealth" to drive adoption without user pushback
Why organizations only use 44% of their software licenses and how to consolidate
The hidden security risks of executive MacBooks and unmanaged home devices
A structured approach to AI implementation that avoids the "52-tool" trap

Denis O'Shea is the Founder and CEO of Mobile Mentor, a global technology company recognized as Microsoft's Global Partner of the Year. Over two decades, Mobile Mentor has helped more than one million people across the US, Australia, and New Zealand become more secure, more productive, and better equipped for hybrid work. Denis began his career with Nokia, helping set up some of the world's earliest cellular networks, and has spent the 20 years since proving that the biggest barrier to technology transformation is never the technology; it's the human experience. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and has not typed a password in three and a half years.

Episode Highlights:

[03:33] Go Passwordless Now: 97% of Breaches Start with Compromised Credentials

Denis O'Shea makes a compelling case that passwords are obsolete technology invented in 1961, yet organizations continue forcing employees to take massive security risks every time they type one. Since 97% of cyber breaches originate from compromised credentials, moving to passwordless authentication should be your security North Star. The good news is it's not as difficult as you think—you've already solved this on smartphones, and the same biometric and hardware-based authentication methods work on Windows and Mac devices. Start by mandating TPM 2.0 on all new hardware, adding infrared cameras for facial recognition, rolling out phish-resistant MFA, and tying everything together with conditional access policies. O'Shea personally hasn't typed a password in three and a half years, making him nearly phish-proof as a human since he literally doesn't know his own password. For IT leaders, this shift eliminates your largest attack surface while improving user experience—a rare win-win that justifies the investment immediately.

[11:04] Set a North Star and Align Your Organization Around It

Denis O'Shea's career demonstrates the power of a clear, inspiring vision: when Microsoft asked him to help launch the immature Intune product in 2015, all his engineers said no—but he committed to becoming "the best in the world at deploying Microsoft Intune," knowing the product would mature and market dynamics would favor consolidation. That single North Star aligned the entire organization, attracted the right talent, and ultimately led to Microsoft Global Partner of the Year, advisory board seats, and managing the world's largest Microsoft tenant. A North Star works because it gives teams something bigger than themselves to pursue, makes resource allocation decisions obvious, and attracts people who share that vision. When you're hiring, designing strategies, or deciding where to invest, a clear North Star prevents drift and keeps teams focused on what actually matters. For IT leaders building modern security and workplace strategies, this means defining your endpoint management, security, and digital workplace vision—then measuring every decision, hire, and tool against that vision. O'Shea's experience shows that commitment to a single direction, combined with the right people, consistently outperforms scattered efforts across too many competing priorities.

[20:34] Security by Stealth: The Vanderbilt Playbook

Your organization is likely paying for technology it doesn't use; across hundreds of assessments, Denis O'Shea found enterprises only utilize 44% of their Microsoft licenses while simultaneously maintaining overlapping security and productivity tools from multiple vendors. This fragmentation creates a compounding problem: poor integration, manual workarounds, limited automation, and zero ability for AI to reason across siloed data sources. Instead of spreading resources thin across 52 overlapping security tools (the industry average), consolidate around one or two strategic platforms to maximize integration, automation, and data accessibility. A practical first step is auditing your current stack and identifying which tools duplicate functionality, then mapping a consolidation roadmap that prioritizes depth over breadth. O'Shea's clients who moved from "best of breed" to "best of platform" strategies reported significantly improved security posture, faster incident response, and measurable cost savings from license optimization. For procurement officers and CTOs, this consolidation strategy directly addresses budget constraints by extracting maximum value from existing investments.

Episode Resources:

Denis O'Shea on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Begin Before You're Ready: Military Precision Meets Business Transformation

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka welcomes Joel Neeb, Chief Transformation and Business Operations Officer at 8x8, for a deep dive into organizational change and the reality of the AI-driven market. Joel brings a unique perspective forged in the cockpit of an F-15 and refined through high-stakes leadership roles at VMware and Afterburner. He challenges the notion that AI is a "parlor trick" and instead presents it as the ultimate catalyst for businesses to reinvent themselves—or risk becoming obsolete to upstarts they don't even know exist yet.

Joel shares the harrowing yet inspiring story of his Stage IV cancer diagnosis at age 33 and how surviving a 15% survival rate gave him the courage to walk away from a guaranteed military retirement to conquer the business world. This conversation bridges the gap between military tactical excellence and modern business operations, offering IT leaders a practical framework for navigating the "revolutionary change" required in the next three years.

What you will learn:

How to implement the "Visualize, Optimize, Automate" framework before touching AI
Why the military's brief-execute-debrief cycle is the blueprint for business agility
The "chair flying" technique to accelerate team performance without burning budget
How to position communications data as your competitive moat in the AI era
Why revolutionary budgeting beats evolutionary optimization every single time

How IT leaders can become architects of transformation, not just infrastructure keepers

About the Guests:

Joel Neeb is the Chief Transformation and Business Operations Officer at 8x8, a global leader in cloud communications and contact center solutions. Before 8x8, Joel spent 15 years as a US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and F-15 Mission Commander, flying 3,000 missions and training the top 0.5% of pilots in the world. After surviving Stage IV cancer in 2010 (given just an 18-month prognosis), Joel left the military five years before retirement to pursue his passion for transformation in the business world. He completed his MBA and joined Afterburner, a consultancy focused on corporate execution, before joining VMware's Office of the CEO where he worked directly with Pat Gelsinger to lead the company's shift from product sales to outcome-based SaaS models. Joel is the author of Survivor's Obligation and posts daily on LinkedIn, where he answers every message and engages in dialogue with leaders navigating transformation.

[05:42] You Have Seven Missions to Solo

Joel reveals the most powerful early lesson from flight school: you begin before you feel ready. After just seven training flights, the instructor climbs out of the cockpit, leaves one engine running, and says "Good luck." When Joel grabbed his instructor's shoulder and said he wasn't ready, the instructor replied, "I know you don't, but you are." This principle applies everywhere in business. We wait for the "perfect" moment, the complete data set, the executive buy-in—but transformation requires movement before comfort arrives. Joel explains: "The secret was, he was right. He had done the things to make sure I was ready. We often get stuck waiting for the 'perfect' opportunity, but you have to move before you feel ready." The companies that thrive in the AI era won't be the ones who wait for certainty. They'll be the ones who launched when they had 70% of the answers, not 100%.

[08:15] Chair Flying: Programming Your Brain for Success

Every night before a mission, Joel would go home, stick a plunger on the floor, close his eyes, and visualize the entire sortie—every maneuver, every action, every decision point. This practice, called "chair flying," was the determining factor in performance the next day. Joel notes that flight instructors still ask struggling students: "Did you chair fly last night?" The business world hasn't adopted this yet, but it should. Visualization isn't mysticism—it's deliberate mental programming. Whether you're preparing for a board presentation, a customer negotiation, or rolling out a new AI initiative, the act of mentally rehearsing every scenario dramatically increases your odds of success. As Joel puts it: "That act of visualizing success was a determining factor in my performance the next day." In an era where execution speed matters more than perfect strategy, mental preparation is the edge most leaders overlook.

[20:50] Visualize, Optimize, Automate—In That Order

Joel delivers the framework every IT leader needs: Visualize your current processes, Optimize them ruthlessly, then Automate the bottlenecks. Most companies skip straight to automation—and that's how you fail. "If you put AI on an inefficient process, you just become inefficient faster," Joel warns. "You're paving over the cow path." He uses the example of how 8x8 approached AI implementation: they first mapped every business procedure (sending emails, updating Salesforce), then eliminated convoluted steps, and only then introduced AI to handle the manual work. The result? Automated meeting summaries, instant CRM updates, and a custom-built sales training simulator that cost pennies compared to the $200,000 off-the-shelf version. The lesson: AI isn't magic. It's a tool that amplifies what you feed it. Feed it broken processes, and you get faster failure. Feed it optimized workflows, and you get compounding leverage.

[24:35] We Are All Blockbuster Video Today

Joel drops the most uncomfortable truth in the episode: every company today is Blockbuster Video. Blockbuster had the chance to buy Netflix for $50 million in 1999. Even if they had, they likely would have strangled it to protect their brick-and-mortar cash cow. Netflix won because they disrupted themselves repeatedly—from DVD logistics to streaming to Hollywood production studio. Joel's warning is stark: "We have to be willing to disrupt everything we do in this moment because the sad part of the story is we are all Blockbuster Video today. We all have to figure out how to reinvent ourselves the way Netflix did, or we will become obsolete—and not obsolete to our competitors, but obsolete to some upstart we don't even know exists right now." This isn't fear-mongering. It's reality. The companies winning in AI aren't the ones protecting legacy revenue. They're the ones cannibalizing their own business models before someone else does. If you're optimizing for comfort instead of survival, you've already lost.

Episode Resources:

Joel Neeb on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

2025 Year End Recap: The Return to Office Debate, AI Predictions & Season 4 Preview

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this continuation of The Bridgecast's year-end wrap-up, producer Gene Volpe and host Scott Kinka shift from stats and buzzwords to the human questions that will define 2026: Is the office dead? How do we train the next generation remotely? And what does leadership look like when five generations share the same workforce?

This episode pulls from some of 2025's most thought-provoking moments. Gary Sorrentino, Global CIO of Zoom, predicts that by 2030, a new wave of leadership will emerge—one that throws away "the older guy's book" and readdresses hybrid work based on what's right for people and outcomes. Chris MacFarland, Chief Development Officer at Comcast, warns about the "magical thing" that gets lost when onboarding and training happen through screens. Aaron Darcy from Lumen challenges CIOs to stop being operators and start being transformation agents. Chad Townes from AT&T reveals the secret to aligning thousands of employees: custom metrics that tie back to one collective mission. And Neil Foard delivers the thesis that ties it all together: "We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and space-age technology."

Scott doesn't just recap—he adds layers. He explains why hybrid work has "crossed the chasm" and become permanent, why communication expectations across five generations are a leadership failure (not a generational one), and why the role of the CIO has fundamentally changed from operator to transformation agent.

The episode closes with Scott's 2026 predictions, his ChatGPT "Wrapped" (which includes an 8-bit image of his life: a computer, a microphone, and a Phillies baseball), and a preview of Season 4's "Design List"—a framework focused not on tools, but on the decisions organizations make about how they work, scale, and compete.

This isn't nostalgia. It's a roadmap.

What you will learn:

Why 2030 will bring a new wave of leadership that redefines hybrid work
What "water cooler moments" really represent—and how to recreate them intentionally
Why the traditional office isn't dead, but the traditional use of the office is
How to set communication standards across five generations in the workforce
Why CIOs must become transformation agents, not just operators
The "Big Rocks" theory and how to align projects with top-level business goals
Neil Foard's framework: Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, space-age technology
Scott's predictions for 2026 and the "Design List" framework for Season 4

[01:07] Gary Sorrentino: By 2030, Leadership Will Readdress Hybrid Work

Gary Sorrentino predicts a fundamental shift by 2030 when Boomers and upper-end Gen Xers retire. "We're in a state where there are still gray-haired senior managers out there who are thinking, 'For 25 years, I've been a leader of this type of group, and that's the way I know how to lead, so everybody should come in.'" The next wave of leadership, he argues, will ask, "What's right for the people that work for me, and what's right for the outcome of my company?" Gen Zs and Gen Alphas—who are 12 years old now—don't want to work in "Mom and Dad's company" anymore. They want quality of life and a different way of working. Scott agrees wholeheartedly: "Hybrid is not a stopgap to the place where we'll ultimately land; it is the place where we've landed."

[02:08] Scott Kinka: The Office Isn't Dead, But Its Traditional Use Is

Scott clarifies the nuance: "The office isn't dead, but I think the traditional use of the office is more than likely dead." Hospitals, medical facilities, and manufacturing will always require physical presence. But for traditional information work—the kind Scott and most technology people do—the old concept of the office is largely dead. "We've crossed the chasm. Hybrid is not a stopgap; it is the place where we've landed. Businesses have to plan around hybrid work, and IT has to architect for it. It's about empowering and securing the end user, not the location."

[10:37] Aaron Darcy: You Can't Just Be an Operator Anymore

Aaron Darcy from Lumen delivers a reality check for CIOs: "Even for CIOs today, with AI, multi-cloud, and the explosive growth in data, you really can't just be an 'operator.' You have to think about transformation. If you're not comfortable with that, you have to surround yourself with people who are." Scott couldn't agree more: "The role of the IT leader has changed; you are now a transformation agent. If you're a CIO, the role involves sitting next to the CEO, CRO, and CFO. If you just want to punch the clock and watch a screen, you're not a CIO. The job is to lead the business through transformation because we've entered an age where most transformation is technology-led."

[13:04] Chad Townes: A Thousand Little Missions Tied to One Mission

Chad Townes from AT&T shares his secret to aligning massive, complex teams: "The biggest thing I found successful is building custom metrics. Everybody wants to be measured to know if they're doing a good job. But the metric isn't the same for every group. You have to change the metric so it ties back to the central theme but remains specific enough that the group knows their achievement lends to the collective effort." Scott ties this to Bridgepointe's "Big Rocks" theory: "Everything is driven by top-level initiatives. Whether you are two or 47 levels down, your KPIs should trace back to the five main goals of the CEO or CIO. If you can't trace a project back to those goals, is it really important?"

[16:29] Neil Foard: Paleolithic Emotions, Medieval Institutions, Space-Age Tech

Neil Foard delivers the thesis that ties the entire year together: "We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and space-age technology, yet we still make decisions based on emotions. Let's take advantage of space-age technology to pull us back to the campfire and do what we know is true: People buy from people they like and trust." Scott breaks it down: "We have Paleolithic emotions—we're mammals reacting to stimuli. We have medieval institutions—hierarchical structures where we measure productivity by how hard someone looks like they're working. And then we have space-age tech that helps us think faster and build autonomous structures. It's the most interesting time to be in tech because all three things coexist."

Episode Resources:

Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Gene Volpe on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Bridgecast Wrapped: 2025's Top AI Insights, Predictions & Behind-the-Scenes

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

In this special year-end episode of The Bridgecast, the tables turn as producer Gene Volpe steps in front of the camera to interview host Scott Kinka. It's the fourth annual wrap-up show, and this one delivers more than nostalgia—it's a strategic debrief on what 91,000 downloads and 26 episodes taught us about the state of enterprise technology in 2025.

Gene walks through the numbers: 26 episodes, 29 companies represented, 34 executives interviewed, 11 live tapings, and over 91,000 downloads. But the real story isn't in the metrics—it's in what those conversations revealed. AI dominated the year (no surprise), but security ranked sixth on the buzzword list. Scott explains why: "We're beyond scaring people. Security needs to be an undercurrent, not a topic."

The episode revisits three standout moments from 2025:

Tim Sanders on the "butter analogy": AI isn't a silver bullet with an end-to-end use case—it's butter that makes every workflow faster and more enriched. Scott unpacks why this reframes the conversation from "AI replacing humans" to "AI supercharging humans."
Tony Moroney on AI washing: Boards are pressuring executives to "do something with AI," leading to blind adoption without business outcomes. Scott adds a critical layer: IT leaders are rarely invited into line-of-business conversations, so how can they solve problems they don't even know exist?
Michael Quince on the "mom test": If your AI solution feels confusing or impersonal, it's back to the drawing board. Scott translates this for non-technical audiences: "A stands for artificial. You're already interacting with AI every day—you just don't realize it."

Scott also reflects on live events, the return of human interaction post-pandemic, and why 2026 will demand more from IT leaders than ever before. This isn't just a recap—it's a roadmap for navigating the next wave of transformation.

What you will learn:

Why AI ranked #1 but security ranked #6 on the year's top buzzwords
The "butter analogy" that reframes how to think about AI in workflows
Why IT leaders need to shift from plumbers to general contractors
How shadow AI can be an enabler instead of a threat
Why asking "why" repeatedly is the most powerful leadership tool
Scott's predictions for 2026 and what enterprises are getting wrong about resilience

[08:52] Tim Sanders: The Original Online Networker

Scott geeks out about Tim Sanders, one of the original Yahoo executives and author of Love Is the Killer App (2003). "This is LinkedIn before LinkedIn," Scott says. The book held up when he reread it before the interview—proof that the humanity of technology matters more than the tech itself. Tim's career spans the first Victoria's Secret online show, live streaming innovation, and a philosophy that relationships, not algorithms, drive success. The episode is a masterclass in why leading with love and logic still works in the AI era.

[16:41] Why Security Ranked Sixth, Not Second

Gene is shocked that security ranked sixth on the year's top buzzwords. Scott's response is revealing: "We're beyond scaring people. Security used to be sold through fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I think we're done with that." Security needs to be an undercurrent—embedded in every conversation, not treated as a separate topic. The shift from "fear-based selling" to "resilience-based building" is one of the year's most important themes, and Scott believes 2026 will accelerate this transformation.

[19:35] Tony Moroney: AI Washing is the New Greenwashing

Boards are pressuring executives to "do something with AI," leading to adoption without strategy. Tony Moroney from The Digital Explorer calls this out: "Think about what you need to do for your business to be relevant and competitive in the future. Then figure out what role AI plays in supporting that." Scott adds a critical insight: IT leaders are rarely invited into line-of-business conversations, so they're being asked to solve problems they don't understand. The solution? IT needs to decide whether they're plumbers or general contractors.

[22:56] The Butter Analogy That Changed Everything

Tim Sanders delivers one of the year's most memorable metaphors: "There is no end-to-end use case in the world for butter. You can't eat a stick of butter for breakfast. But tell any chef they can't cook with butter and they'll go on strike. Butter makes everything better." Scott breaks it down: Stop thinking about AI as autonomous replacement systems. Think about AI as the thing that supercharges your humans. "Be the butter," Scott says, summarizing the philosophy perfectly.

[26:29] Can Your Mom Use It? The AI Empathy Test

Michael Quince from NICE introduces the "mom test": If your AI feels confusing, impersonal, or untrustworthy, it's back to the drawing board. Scott takes this further, explaining to his hypothetical mom that she already uses AI every day. "You talk to Alexa. You call your bank and speak to an automated attendant. AI isn't changing how you interact with your bank—it's changing how the bank programs the infrastructure to understand your needs at scale." The point: AI is artificial intelligence, not alien intelligence.

Episode Resources:

Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Gene Volpe on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Beyond the Buzzwords: Making AI Work for UC

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000

In this episode, host Scott Kinka sits down with Shane Cleckler, Director of Sales Engineering, and Jeff Martis, Senior Director of Product Management at Sangoma, to explore why hybrid deployments are the real differentiator in unified communications, how to meet customers where they actually are (not where vendors want them to be), and the key strategies for solving survivability and resilience without forcing migration to cloud. Whether you're rationalizing your post-pandemic collaboration spend or building a UC roadmap that actually works for your business, this conversation cuts through the noise with practical frameworks for evaluating cloud, on-premise, and hybrid options—plus why the most successful vendors are thinking like integrators again.

What you will learn:

Why hybrid UC deployments are a permanent "flavor" rather than a temporary stopgap measure
How to think about site survivability and network redundancy beyond just dual internet circuits
The real-world use cases where cloud-only solutions fail (hospitals, manufacturing, schools, law firms)
Why UC is about to annex adjacent domains like digital signage, video surveillance, and environmental sensors
The consultative approach to replacing outdated RFPs with business-outcome-focused solutions
How the industry has come full circle from product sales to integration to SaaS and back to solutions engineering
Why simplicity beats feature bloat in collaboration tools—and why 50 features means 45 you'll never use
Sangoma's partner-first strategy and why they meet partners "nine-tenths of the way"

About the Guests:

Shane Cleckler is the Director of Sales Engineering at Sangoma, bringing over 25 years of VoIP and unified communications expertise from the Dallas area. Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, Shane has been deeply embedded in the evolution of voice technology—from the days when people couldn't spell VoIP to today's integrated, cloud-native UC platforms. His philosophy centers on consultative selling: understanding business problems first, then architecting solutions that often combine multiple platforms rather than forcing customers into rigid product boxes. Outside of work, Shane is pursuing an unexpected passion: becoming a hot air balloon pilot.

Jeff Martis is the Senior Director of Product Management at Sangoma, representing the Philadelphia area with nearly 25 years in telecommunications. His career spans the entire arc of the industry's transformation, and he's worked across diverse customer segments—from large dealer partners to mom-and-pop bakeries, hospitals, schools, retail chains, and manufacturing plants. Jeff's product philosophy is refreshingly contrarian: he believes the industry needs fewer features, not more, and that simplicity leads to less regret and doubt. His reading list includes The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, and his preferred productivity tool is decidedly analog: a physical notepad where he can experience the satisfaction of checking items off by hand.

[04:42] You Already Have the Tools—Just Flip a Switch

When the pandemic hit, Sangoma customers frantically called asking, "We have remote workers now, what do we do?" Shane's response was simple: "You already have the tools, you just need to start using them." For many organizations, the capabilities for remote collaboration—voice, video, SMS, file sharing—were already embedded in their systems. They just hadn't activated them. The pandemic didn't create a technology gap; it exposed a utilization gap. Once customers started using these features, the floodgates opened. Suddenly, requests came pouring in: "I want this, I want that, and I want it all to look exactly how I want it." The lesson? Sometimes the barrier to digital transformation isn't technology—it's awareness and adoption.

[07:22] Cloud, Hybrid, or On-Prem: Meeting the Customer Where They Are

Sangoma's core differentiator in a crowded UC market is flexibility. While most providers are "a dime a dozen" in the cloud or have abandoned on-premise entirely, Sangoma offers cloud, hybrid, and on-premise solutions. This isn't just a marketing position—it's a strategic philosophy. Jeff explains: "We can meet the customer where they are. They might start in the cloud, realize they need something completely theirs, and then we can move them into a hybrid or on-prem environment." Many competitors viewed hybrid as a temporary stopgap or "straddling point," but Sangoma discovered that hybrid is actually a permanent "flavor" that customers swear by. It provides site survivability, control, and flexibility without requiring full-time IT staff to manage premise equipment. The takeaway? In a world obsessed with cloud migration, the smartest vendors recognize that one size doesn't fit all.

[09:58] Site Survivability: The Mission-Critical Feature You're Ignoring

When Scott challenged Shane on why customers need local survivability—"Can't I just build a redundant internet network?"—Shane's answer was brutally practical: "Redundant internet is fantastic, but it's not a total failsafe." He's seen cases where a trackhoe breaks both connections because they terminate at the same point in the building. For hospitals, manufacturing plants, schools, and law firms—organizations that simply cannot afford downtime—the hybrid model provides peace of mind. Even with dual internet circuits, you need local survivability to keep station-to-station communication up during outages. These customers aren't theoretical; they come to Sangoma after already experiencing these problems. The lesson for IT leaders: Don't optimize for cost. Optimize for resilience.

[14:35] AI Hype vs. Real Business Problems

When asked about AI, Jeff's response was refreshingly grounded: "What do you actually need to do? Let's not talk about what's possible; let's talk about your pain points." Too many companies are selling AI as a product rather than a solution to specific problems. Shane echoed this consultative approach, noting that customers often come in stuck on needing "X, Y, and Z" because that's what they've always had—sometimes based on RFPs written for strategic needs decades ago. The better approach? "Tell me what your business issues are and what you're trying to achieve, and let us create a solution." Sometimes that solution isn't a single platform; it's a culmination of multiple integrated tools. The AI conversation is the perfect example: Stop chasing buzzwords. Start solving problems.

[18:04] Full Circle: From Integrators to SaaS and Back

Scott made a sharp observation: "I feel like voice providers have almost gone back to being integrators. We went from integrators to SaaS platforms, and now the successful SaaS people are acting like integrators again." Jeff confirmed this pattern, comparing it to HGTV renovation shows where one house needs bold colors and the next needs neutrals. The UC world has cycled through bundled offerings, then a la carte pricing, and now back to bundled solutions. It's cyclical, and "the only constant is uncertainty." Sangoma's approach? Stay consistent by providing solutions, not widgets. Jeff recounted stories of customers on other systems who just needed firewall whitelisting fixes or better IT staff—and once that was resolved, they were fine. "I'm not trying to force people out of their comfort zone; I just want them to think about what they are trying to achieve rather than just following the latest market trend.".

Episode Resources:

Shane Cleckler on LinkedIn
Jeff Martis on LinkedIn
Sangoma Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Network Strategy in the AI Era: What CIOs Need to Know Now

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:28:00 +0000

In this live episode of The Bridgecast, recorded at the Bridgepointe Tech Summit 2025 in Miami, host Scott Kinka welcomes Christopher Bonavita, VP of Strategy and Technology Adoption at GTT, to explore how connectivity and managed network services have evolved from infrastructure afterthoughts into mission-critical business enablers. Drawing on his journey from Accenture to Lumen to his current role, Bonavita shares hard-won insights about what CIOs actually need to focus on as AI reshapes enterprise operations.

What you will learn:

Why "do less, better" beats "add everything" in network strategy
How simplified infrastructure unlocks competitive advantage in the AI era
What GTT's AI factory does (and why it matters for your ops)
Why most CIOs are investing in the wrong process improvements
How "anticipated implications" using AI differs from true predictability\
Why connectivity has transformed from a commodity to a strategic asset
The hidden cost of legacy networks in a hyperscaler-driven world
How to design networks that don't restrict your business outcomes

About the Guest:

Christopher Bonavita is the VP of Strategy and Technology Adoption at GTT, where he leads product innovation, market feedback loops, and collaborative deployment initiatives. His career includes specialized sales leadership at Lumen, consulting at Accenture, and foundational telecommunications work during the internet's commercial explosion in the mid-1990s. A former military linguist and analyst, Chris applies cross-functional thinking to bridge the gap between cutting-edge network technologies and practical customer outcomes. His leadership philosophy centers on persistent feedback loops, collaborative deployment, and maintaining human investment alongside AI enablement.

To find out how Bridgepointe Technologies helps businesses make IT decisions faster with world-class engineering support and ongoing guidance, head to https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/

Episode Highlights:

[06:04] Do Less, Better: Why Focus Wins

Christopher shares a surprising insight from his time at GTT: in a world obsessed with adding more features and more technologies, the real superpower is focus. GTT's history shows that overreach—trying to do everything with limited resources—creates problems. When he spoke to customers, they confirmed it: "You can't do everything. Please don't try to do everything. Please solve this that leads to other solutions, or work well with other solution providers. Please focus on your core." This philosophy isn't just good strategy; it's what customers actually want. The irony? In an industry that talks about innovation through scale and expansion, the winning move is disciplined narrowing.

[12:27] Network as Strategic Foundation, Not Plumbing

Connectivity has shifted from a commodity utility to a strategic asset. CIOs can no longer treat the network as "keep the lights on" infrastructure. The business landscape has changed: the footprint now includes AI at the core, data centers, distributed offices in homes, field operations, and hyperscaler integrations. As Chris puts it, CIOs now face fundamental questions: "What is a LAN? What is a WAN? Is there a LAN? Is there a WAN?" The language itself is changing because the expected experience is changing daily. The infrastructure you choose must enable outcomes, not restrict them. If it restricts, you're limiting the business.

[20:10] Anticipated Implications vs. Prediction: How AI Changes Planning

Chris distinguishes between prediction and what GTT actually does: "anticipated implications." Using AI, they create digital twins based on real customer and operational data. Instead of drawing on a whiteboard, they simulate changes in parallel with production systems and see implications in near-real time. When they change something, they can ask, "AI, how good was that decision? What does it really look like based on real data?" This approach catches foundational mistakes early, before a six-month deployment goes sideways. The ability to run implication games with AI "far surpasses anything we could do before." This capability will eventually flow to customers through collaborative deployment and persistent feedback loops.

[24:08] The Process Gap That's Breaking IT Organizations

Here's the uncomfortable truth: CIOs are doing well on People (giving teams tools and upskilling) and Technology (evaluating and deploying solutions). But Processes—the underlying workflows, how they deliver, measure, and optimize—are breaking under the weight of change. Chris explains, "Your processes are being strained because it's a completely different way of doing business. It's not just an incremental change to the process." Most existing processes with talented people are "good for right now" but "not good enough in this next world." You can't just automate a bad process with AI. As Scott adds, if it's not documented well, AI won't learn something reliable. The real work: stepping back and redesigning processes for an AI-enabled, fast-moving business.

Episode Resources:

Christopher Bonavita on LinkedIn
GTT Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The CIO Playbook for Leading AI Transformation

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this live episode of The Bridgecast from the Bridgepointe Tech Summit 2025, host Scott Kinka welcomes Aaron Darcy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Go-to-Market for Lumen, for a deep dive into digital transformation, network modernization, and the infrastructure requirements for the AI era.

This conversation tackles the hard truths about digital transformation: why 90% of IT projects still fail, why CIOs can no longer afford to be operators, and why even the most advanced AI tools won't fix dirty data. Aaron shares the practical budgeting framework he's used for 25 years—splitting investments into "run the business" and "change the business" categories—and explains why having an experimentation fund isn't optional anymore.

What you will learn:

Why CIOs must transition from operators to transformation leaders in the AI era
The "run vs. change the business" budgeting framework for funding innovation
How Lumen is building network fabric for Cloud 2.0 and AI workloads
Why dirty data remains the biggest blocker to AI success (and how to fix it)
What network-as-a-service actually means and how Lumen Connect delivers it
The role of validated designs in reducing integration burden for customers
How to lead transformation when your organization has competing priorities
Why network security must be baked in at the infrastructure level
The realistic timeline for AI maturity and where we are on the hype curve

About the Guest:

Aaron Darcy is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Go-to-Market at Lumen, where he's driving the company's transformation into an AI-ready network infrastructure provider. With a career built on transformation from Microsoft to GE Digital to Lumen, Aaron specializes in building and scaling new capabilities within large organizations. He's worked alongside several Lumen executives across multiple companies, drawn by the common thread of building something new. His philosophy centers on fundamentals: people first, process second, technology third. At Lumen, he's executing a three-pillar growth strategy focused on physical infrastructure investment, digital platform development (Lumen Connect), and partner ecosystem expansion—all aimed at making Lumen the network backbone for the AI economy.

[04:25] Shift from Operator to Transformation Leader

Aaron Darcy stresses that CIOs can't survive in today's landscape by simply keeping the lights on; they must embrace transformation as a core responsibility. This shift matters because 90% of IT projects still fail, and most failures stem from people, culture, and process—not technology. The challenge is that many IT leaders lack the mindset or surrounding team to drive meaningful change across their organizations. Start by surrounding yourself with transformation-minded people who understand that you're not moving from point A to point B without fundamental change in processes, data management, and organizational thinking. At Lumen, Darcy refuses to fund large projects without deep business leader engagement, ensuring every initiative answers the critical questions: "So what?" and "Who cares?" For IT leaders ready to evolve, this transformation-first mindset directly impacts your organization's ability to compete in the AI economy and deliver measurable business outcomes.

[07:20] The Run vs. Change the Business Framework

Aaron shares a two-bucket budgeting strategy he's deployed for 25+ years: allocate funds for operational expenses that keep systems running, while also carving out a separate experimentation fund for transformation bets. This framework matters because it forces deliberate thinking about where you're investing and prevents the trap of either thrashing with too much change or stagnating with too little. The main challenge IT leaders face is deciding how much to invest in each bucket without jeopardizing business continuity or missing innovation opportunities. Split your budget explicitly: ensure baseline operational funding covers "keep the lights on" needs, then allocate a measurable percentage to experimentation and transformation initiatives. After pilots succeed, successful experiments become next year's operational baseline—creating a sustainable cycle of learning and growth. This structured approach gives you confidence in your bets, measurable outcomes, and a clear pathway for advancing your technology strategy without destabilizing core operations.

[10:06] Technology Isn't the Problem—People and Process Are

Aaron makes a provocative point: AI won't fix dirty data, because dirty data is a symptom of broken processes, not a technology gap that AI tools can magically resolve. This matters immensely because organizations investing heavily in AI often overlook data governance, expecting AI to deliver value even when underlying data is unreliable or poorly organized. The challenge is that many leaders see data quality as a technology issue and throw AI solutions at it, missing the real problem: the processes that created the bad data in the first place. Before deploying any AI initiative, conduct a data audit and ask: Where's the dirt coming from? What processes allowed bad data to accumulate? Fix the process, not just the symptom. For IT leaders and CIOs, this means shifting conversations from "Which AI tool should we buy?" to "What process improvements must we make first?" This disciplined approach ensures your AI investments deliver real ROI and prevents the common trap of buying expensive tools that fail because foundational data practices weren't addressed.

[18:33] Modernizing Networks for Cloud 2.0

Aaron explains that networks architected for Cloud 1.0 are now bottlenecks for AI workloads, featuring hairpins, choke points, and limited flexibility for multi-cloud environments where companies juggle multiple cloud vendors, SaaS providers, and data centers simultaneously. This is critical because network architecture directly impacts your ability to scale AI initiatives, move data efficiently, and support distributed workloads—yet many IT leaders haven't modernized their network infrastructure since the early cloud era. The challenge is that legacy networks weren't designed for the mesh architecture, direct cloud connections, and unified management that AI-driven applications require today. Evaluate your current network design: Are you managing multiple clouds and data centers with a unified fabric, or do you have fragmented connections with hairpins and bottlenecks? Modernize by moving toward a fabric-based architecture that supports direct, high-speed connections to hyperscalers, dynamic bandwidth management, and centralized control across all endpoints. For IT leaders planning AI deployments, network modernization isn't optional—it's foundational to enabling the performance, reliability, and scalability your AI workloads demand.

[22:12] Security Baked Into the Network Layer

Aaron argues that IT leaders should demand security baked into their networking solutions rather than treating it as an afterthought or separate layer, with providers catching threats at the network level before they propagate to application and data layers. This shift matters because security layered on top of poor network architecture creates operational complexity, performance drag, and higher costs—while security integrated into the network fabric provides protection closer to the threat source. The challenge is that vendors have historically sold networking and security as separate products, forcing IT teams to manage integration, compatibility, and multiple vendor relationships. When evaluating network solutions, ask: Is security integrated into the platform, or am I buying separate point solutions that require custom integration? Look for validated designs and reference architectures that guarantee security, networking, and storage components work together seamlessly—removing integration burden from your team. For IT leaders and procurement officers, demanding integrated security-network solutions reduces deployment friction, improves threat detection, lowers total cost of ownership, and simplifies management across your multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure.

Episode Resources:

Aaron Darcy on LinkedIn
Lumen Technologies Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Building Resilience in the Age of AI-Driven Networks

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In this live episode of The Bridgecast, recorded at the Bridgepoint Tech Summit 2025, host Scott Kinka welcomes Chad Townes, Senior Vice President of AT&T Partner Solutions, for an in-depth exploration of enterprise connectivity, AI-driven networking, and the infrastructure powering tomorrow's business landscape.

With over 30 years of experience spanning wholesale, consumer, business, and operations divisions at AT&T, Chad brings a rare perspective on how massive organizations evolve while maintaining focus on customer needs. His career arc—from wholesale to consumer to operations to partnerships—reveals a counterintuitive truth: the best leaders aren't specialists; they're perpetual learners driven by curiosity.

What you will learn:

How to use curiosity as a leadership superpower to unlock innovation
Why network infrastructure is now a strategic business decision, not just an operational expense
The framework for building custom metrics across diverse teams with conflicting KPIs
How to build network redundancy and resiliency before you need it
Why AT&T's FirstNet model demonstrates purpose-built innovation at scale
The realistic timeline for AI market maturation—and why bubble correction is coming

About the Guest:

Chad Townes is the Senior Vice President of AT&T Partner Solutions, bringing three decades of hands-on experience across AT&T's wholesale, consumer, business, and operations divisions. He's led teams deploying wireless networks in stadiums and convention centers at the dawn of the iPhone era, managed global customer delivery operations, and now oversees the partnership ecosystem that connects AT&T's scale to customers everywhere. His leadership philosophy centers on curiosity, cross-functional empathy, and the belief that organizations thrive when people understand not just their own role but how the entire system works together.

To find out how Bridgepointe Technologies helps businesses make IT decisions faster with world-class engineering support and ongoing guidance, head to https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/

Episode Highlights:

[03:42] The Power of "Why"

Chad explains why asking "why" repeatedly is the most powerful leadership tool in his arsenal. When you ask someone why and they can't tell you, it opens the door to do things differently and better. More importantly, it creates psychological safety—people know they can share opinions without criticism. This technique was so powerful that even when Chad felt confident in his knowledge, he continued to use the "why" question because it drove collaboration and saved "time, energy, and money in all the deployments we did." After 30 years at AT&T working in wholesale, consumer, business, and operations, Chad reveals his secret: "I feel like I'm a little bit of a unicorn at times because I've been deep in the weeds on the technology side, but I also feel like I can go talk to a customer just like they're my best friend at any time." This balance—knowing the technology deeply while understanding customer needs intimately—is what made the transition to partnerships natural rather than jarring.

[13:17] Network is the New Strategic Air

Connectivity has transitioned from a commodity utility to a strategic asset. As Chad puts it: "It's air. You don't know until you don't have it." With AI-driven demand for massive data throughput and latency requirements, network architecture is no longer about "good enough"—it's about competitive advantage. AT&T is investing hundreds of millions into fiber and spectrum infrastructure for AI-driven demand, but the use cases are still emerging. "We don't even know what we need because we're constantly adding all this stuff. With AI, the amount of data being consumed, the payloads, the requirements for latency—there are things we're building into the network today that most people don't even know they need. But they need it."

[16:28] Purpose-Built Innovation Strengthens the Core

FirstNet is more than a network upgrade—it's a dedicated emergency response infrastructure with reserved spectrum for first responders (fire, police, military, and medical). But the innovation didn't stop there. AT&T developed satellite trucks on wheels, drones that broadcast spectrum, and mobile units that follow first responders into disaster zones. When hurricanes destroy networks, AT&T is already there rebuilding in real-time. "We're parked on the edge waiting for it to happen so we can immediately fill the gaps." Leading multiple teams through macro-level disruption requires one thing: relentless customer focus. "What does the customer need?" That customer could be shareholders, actual customers, internal teams, or the network itself. Then, build custom metrics for each group so they understand how their work lends to the collective goal. "One mission isn't one mission; it's a thousand little missions that the leader can then tie all together."

Episode Resources:

Chad Townes on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Five Generations, One Workplace: Tech Leaders on Change

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In the second part of this live Tech Summit episode, Scott Kinka continues his conversation with Chris MacFarland and Gary Sorrentino, confronts the biggest challenges facing CIOs today. The discussion opens with the reality of Shadow IT, noting that ChatGPT is the fastest-growing application in this category. Gary Sorrentino argues that fighting user-driven tools is futile; instead, CIOs must embrace them to understand what employees need to do their jobs better.

What you will learn:

How to turn shadow IT into an advantage instead of a compliance headache
Why your RTO mandates are failing (and what to do instead).
The coaching mindset replaces the boss mindset and it's non-negotiable.
Less than 50% of internet traffic is now human prepare your infrastructure accordingly
AI coworkers aren't hype; they're arriving by 2030.
The generational divide in customer experience is real and your strategy should reflect it

About Chris MacFarland & Gary Sorrentino:

Chris MacFarland is the Chief Development Officer of Comcast Business, playing a pivotal role in the company's massive bets on AI infrastructure, robotics, and customer engagement. He provides an operator's view on deploying AI to enhance customer experience and dramatically increase internal efficiencies, such as using generative AI for code development and contract administration.

Gary Sorrentino is the Global CIO of Zoom, bringing over four decades of technology experience and a focus on how to keep employees curious while maintaining a secure and productive environment. He is a leading voice on the critical need to evolve success metrics and leadership muscles to manage the rapid progress of new technologies like AI.

[03:43] Shadow IT as Innovation Catalyst

ChatGPT has become the fastest-growing shadow IT app, proving that employees use unauthorized tools to solve real problems. Instead of treating this as a compliance issue, CIOs should ask why existing systems fall short. Interview teams using shadow AI to understand their needs, then design sanctioned tools that achieve the same outcomes safely. One insurance firm did this by turning unsanctioned ChatGPT use into an approved AI writing assistant, boosting efficiency and compliance. This shift turns IT from an enforcer into an enabler, improving productivity while reducing risk.

[15:13] The AI Bandwidth Explosion

Less than half of internet traffic now comes from humans—AI agents, IoT devices, and automated systems dominate the rest. Most IT infrastructures still monitor for human patterns, leaving blind spots in bandwidth management and threat detection. CIOs should audit their environments to identify sources of machine-to-machine traffic and ensure tools can monitor them effectively. A financial firm discovered security gaps in API-to-API communications, revealing how outdated monitoring can miss key risks. Adapting networks for post-human traffic is now critical for security and performance.

[11:25] The Forever Hybrid Model

Return-to-office mandates fail because many leaders still manage with outdated, presence-based playbooks. By 2030, a new generation of leaders will value results over office attendance, aligning with Gen Z’s demand for autonomy and balance. Companies clinging to rigid policies risk losing top talent to more flexible employers. Forward-thinking organizations are shifting from “where work happens” to “what outcomes matter,” as seen in Comcast’s hybrid success. Redesigning around outcomes—not mandates—keeps talent engaged and reduces operational costs.

[13:17] The Five-Generation Challenge

Leading across five generations means abandoning command-and-control management in favor of coaching. Employees now value personalized feedback and autonomy over rigid evaluation cycles. Weekly check-ins focused on development and needs outperform traditional annual reviews. One tech firm cut turnover by 23% after switching to weekly coaching conversations. This approach builds trust, accountability, and engagement across all generations.

[22:01] AI as Co-worker

By 2030, at least 10% of employees will work alongside or report to AI agents—a change more cultural than technical. AI won’t replace people outright but will take over specific decisions and repetitive tasks. Companies that start designing human-AI collaboration now will gain a huge advantage. Pilot programs in areas like customer service and data processing show that managing AI “teammates” requires new coaching and trust models. Preparing for this shift today ensures smoother adoption and stronger talent attraction tomorrow.

Episode Resources:

Gary Sorrentino on LinkedIn
Chris MacFarland on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Futurist Panel: CIO Priorities in an AI-First World

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:30:00 +0000

In this live episode of The Bridgecast, recorded at the Bridgepointe Tech Summit, host Scott Kinka welcomes back Chris MacFarland, Chief Development Officer of Comcast Business, and Gary Sorrentino, Global CIO of Zoom, for a high-powered discussion on the future of enterprise IT. The "futurist panel" explores the shift in CIO priorities, where the persistent pressure to manage spend—the constant request to save 10%—is now colliding with the massive investment required for AI and cybersecurity initiatives.

The conversation delivers practical strategies for IT leaders and cuts through the hype surrounding AI. The panelists explore why excitement for AI remains high, yet a majority of large-scale projects fail. They pinpoint two primary pitfalls: organizations attempting to "swing for the fences" with massive sea-change projects before the tech is ready, and the challenge of navigating enormous amounts of technical debt.

What you will learn:

Why the "save 10%" mandate for CIOs is less about cutting costs and more about reallocating spend to high-value areas like AI and cybersecurity.
The necessity for the modern IT department to reimagine guardrails and gates, balancing security with the user's growing curiosity and access to tools like generative AI.
How Comcast Business is leveraging generative AI internally to achieve dramatic reductions in legal contract administration and consulting fees (e.g., up to 80%).
The critical shift from viewing AI as a "download and go" product to a strategic, incremental change management process that requires proper governance and protects proprietary information.
Why traditional ROI metrics are failing to capture the true value of AI in areas like employee satisfaction (attrition reduction) and improved customer empathy in CX.
The impact of shadow IT, such as ChatGPT being the fastest-growing shadow app, and the need to embrace and guide users who are already adopting AI to solve their own problems

About Chris MacFarland & Gary Sorrentino:

To find out how Bridgepointe Technologies helps businesses make IT decisions faster with world-class engineering support and ongoing guidance, head to https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/

Episode Highlights:

[03:43] The Reallocation Mandate: The mandate for CIOs is not to cut costs, but to strategically redirect spend ("taking dollars and putting them in the right place" ) from unused software licenses ("licenses we'll never use" ) toward critical, high-value areas like AI and cybersecurity.
[11:25] AI's Incremental Success Story: Large AI projects often fail due to significant technical debt and the tendency to attempt a "massive sea change". The effective strategy is incremental progress, as demonstrated by Comcast using generative AI to reduce external consulting fees by "pushing 80%".
[13:17] AI and CX Empathy: AI agents in customer experience are achieving "dramatically higher empathy" scores than human agents. This is because the AI does not internalize emotional stress from previous interactions; it "goes to the next call and is still happy".
[15:13] Rethinking ROI: Traditional ROI metrics focusing only on headcount are flawed. True AI value must be measured by outcomes like better customer satisfaction scores (SAT scores) and improved employee quality of life, which impacts the attrition rate.
[22:01] The Shadow IT Problem: With ChatGPT being the fastest-growing shadow IT application of all time, IT leaders must stop fighting adoption. The new challenge is to "build an environment where people can stay curious, but we can keep it safe" by establishing new governance over proprietary data.

Episode Resources:

Gary Sorrentino on LinkedIn
Chris MacFarland on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Building Trust in AI: Insights from NiCE

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Michael Quince from NiCE to explore why most AI implementations fail and what separates successful adoption from expensive disappointments. Michael reveals how NiCE's acquisition of Cognigy positions the company to lead in conversational AI while maintaining its 11-year streak in Gartner's Magic Quadrant top-right corner. This conversation cuts through AI hype to deliver practical strategies for IT leaders navigating customer experience transformation.

What you will learn:

How NiCE integrates Cognigy's conversational AI capabilities to move beyond legacy IVR limitations and create genuinely human-feeling customer interactions
Why the "download and go" approach kills AI projects before they start, and what enablement, context, and calibration actually mean in practice
The critical role partner ecosystems play in reducing adoption fears and accelerating time-to-value for enterprise AI deployments
Which metrics actually matter for measuring AI success: customer satisfaction scores, reduced support volumes, lower churn rates, and revenue impact
How to build organizational culture that drives technology adoption rather than resists it, starting from within teams instead of top-down mandates
Why starting with people and letting technology do the heavy lifting produces better outcomes than technology-first strategies
The framework for evaluating whether your AI implementation can pass the "my mom could use it" test for intuitive design

About Michael Quince:

Michael Quince is the Regional Vice President of Partner Sales at NiCE, where he leads channel strategy and partner enablement for the AI-powered customer experience leader. With over two decades in technology sales across companies including Northern Telecom, Polycom, Shortel, and 8x8, Michael has built his career on the principle that influence and trust matter more than titles and org charts. At NiCE, he plays a pivotal role in helping partners navigate the company's evolution from contact center dominance to comprehensive AI solutions, particularly following the Cognigy acquisition. His "people first" leadership philosophy emphasizes building culture from within, enabling employees before expecting adoption, and creating ecosystems where technology enhances rather than replaces human connection.

To find out how Bridgepointe Technologies helps businesses make IT decisions faster with world-class engineering support and ongoing guidance, head to https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/

Episode Highlights:

[02:08] NiCE's Evolution and the CognitG Acquisition

Michael explains how NiCE has maintained its position in the Gartner Magic Quadrant's top right corner for 11 consecutive years as a contact center leader, while simultaneously transforming into an AI-first company. The acquisition of Cognigy represents a strategic move to lead in conversational AI, bringing together market-leading contact center capabilities with cutting-edge AI orchestration across all modalities and workflows. This combination enables partners to cross-sell and upsell AI solutions within their existing customer base, creating new revenue opportunities while helping businesses enhance customer experience.

[17:51] Moving Beyond Legacy IVR Systems

The conversation addresses a critical challenge in AI adoption: overcoming negative associations with legacy interactive voice response systems. Michael describes how older IVR technology relied on rigid decision trees that failed to provide the knowledge and flexibility customers needed, leading users to frantically press zero to reach a human agent. Modern conversational AI powered by platforms like Cognigy represents a fundamental shift, offering human-like interactions that understand context, share relevant knowledge, and build trust rather than frustration. This evolution requires partners to help customers "give it another try" while reducing fears that AI will replace human connection rather than enhance it.

[21:13] AI Implementation Pitfalls and Best Practices

Michael emphasizes that the number one pitfall in AI adoption is treating it like a "download and go" product rather than a strategic implementation requiring enablement, context, and calibration. Successful AI deployment demands investment in education, real-time feedback loops on customer objectives, and creating frameworks that allow for experimentation and quick scaling without getting stuck in perpetual beta cycles. Organizations must ensure customers understand not just the solution they're buying, but what that solution will accomplish for their business and how to use it comfortably. This approach contrasts sharply with simply adding AI to a product sheet as an SKU and expecting immediate results.

[26:49] People-First Leadership Philosophy

When asked to summarize his business philosophy in a single sentence, Michael responds with clarity: "People first." This leadership approach emphasizes that technology should do the heavy lifting while people remain the biggest asset in any organization. Michael believes in leading with influence and trust rather than titles and org charts, investing deeply in people and building culture from within teams rather than expecting organizations to create it top-down. For IT leaders implementing AI or any transformative technology, this means ensuring employees are comfortable with new tools, feel empowered and supported, and understand how innovation will enhance rather than threaten their roles. The results follow when people are prioritized.

Episode Resources:

Michael Quince on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

AI Inference Zones: CoreSite's Brian Eichman on the Future of Data

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka welcomes back Brian Eichman, Vice President of Business Development and Solution Architecture at CoreSite, to explore the revolutionary concept of "AI inference zones." From CoreSite's billion-dollar milestone to the shift from AI training to monetization, Brian breaks down how proximity, ecosystem partnerships, and hybrid infrastructure are reshaping the future of enterprise AI deployment.

Brian introduces the critical concept of inference zones—strategic locations where AI models transition from training to real-world application and monetization. Using his signature analogy-driven approach, he explains how AI is moving from the "college phase" of learning to the "big city phase" of making money, requiring new infrastructure approaches that prioritize proximity to users and low-latency connectivity.

Want to learn how to build an infrastructure that can handle the next wave of AI? Tune in now.

What you will learn:

The concept of AI inference zones and why they're crucial for AI monetization
How proximity and low-latency connectivity are becoming critical infrastructure requirements
Why comprehensive, ecosystem-based infrastructure strategies outperform siloed approaches
The industries leading AI inference adoption: financial services, gaming, and social media
How to future-proof infrastructure decisions in an AI-driven world
Why the current AI hype cycle mirrors previous technology waves and what to expect
Strategic frameworks for evaluating data center, cloud, and network decisions holistically
The cultural shift happening in how we value human output versus hours worked

Brian Eichman is the Vice President of Business Development and Solution Architecture at CoreSite, one of the leading colocation providers in the U.S. With over 13 years at CoreSite, Brian has transitioned from engineering to product development and now focuses on corporate strategy, ensuring CoreSite remains competitive in the rapidly evolving data center landscape. Under his leadership, CoreSite has achieved a major milestone, growing from $150 million in annual revenue when he started in 2012 to breaking the billion-dollar revenue mark. Brian is also a dedicated community volunteer with organizations like Junior Achievement and serves as a soccer coach, bringing the same collaborative and mentoring approach to his professional leadership.

Episode Highlights:

[06:39] Introducing AI Inference Zones: The Future of AI Monetization

Brian introduces the groundbreaking concept of inference zones—strategic geographic locations where AI models transition from training to real-world application and revenue generation. These zones represent key markets with high concentrations of enterprises, consumers, and robust internet infrastructure where cloud providers are establishing clusters of infrastructure. Unlike the training phase that happens in remote locations with expensive GPUs, inference zones are positioned in major Tier 1 markets like Northern California, Chicago, and Northern Virginia, where models can be served with high-speed, low-latency connectivity to end users and monetized at scale.

[11:25] From College to Career: The AI Development Lifecycle

Using his signature analogy approach, Brian explains AI development as a journey from college to career. The training phase is like attending university—models are exposed to vast amounts of data, different perspectives, and formal education in isolated environments where organizations pay significant costs for GPUs, power, and space. The inference phase represents graduation and moving to big cities where that knowledge gets applied to make real-time decisions and generate revenue. This shift from learning to earning requires different infrastructure approaches, emphasizing proximity to users and integration with existing business systems rather than raw computational power.

[17:28] Breaking Down Infrastructure Silos: The Proximity Imperative

Brian emphasizes that successful AI deployment requires abandoning traditional siloed decision-making in favor of comprehensive, interconnected infrastructure strategies. IT leaders can no longer make isolated decisions about data centers, cloud providers, or network connectivity without considering how these choices impact AI capabilities. The key principle is proximity—ensuring that every infrastructure decision considers low-latency access to AI models, cloud on-ramps, and ecosystem partnerships. This holistic approach enables organizations to remain flexible and choose the best fit for each application rather than being locked into suboptimal solutions based on price alone.

[26:29] The AI Bubble Reality Check: Lessons from Previous Tech Waves

Brian offers a contrarian perspective on the current AI hype, suggesting that while the technology is transformative, the market may be experiencing overbuilding and bubble-like conditions similar to previous technology waves. Drawing parallels to the internet boom and cloud adoption cycles, he predicts some rationalization ahead where the initial hype will settle into practical, sustainable implementations. This perspective doesn't diminish AI's importance but suggests that organizations should prepare for a more measured adoption phase where proven use cases and ROI take precedence over experimental deployments.

Episode Resources:

Brian Eichman on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Special Episode: Stories That Sell with Tech Summit 2025 Keynote Speaker Neal Foard

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this special Tech Summit episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Neal Foard, principal of StoryFire and featured speaker at Bridgepointe's Tech Summit 2025 in Miami. From a daughter's baseball game cheer to boardroom presentations, Neal reveals how storytelling transforms technical leaders into trusted advisors. Whether you're preparing for budget meetings or building stakeholder relationships, this conversation offers practical frameworks for turning data into narratives that drive action and create lasting connections.

Want to learn more about how storytelling can transform your leadership approach and help you build stronger stakeholder relationships? Tune in to hear Neal's insights on turning technical expertise into compelling narratives that drive business results.

What you will learn:

How to master your first 60 seconds in any presentation or meeting
Why storytelling is humanity's default communication system and how to leverage it
The critical difference between being the hero versus the narrator of your stories
How video has changed the storytelling game and what leaders must do to adapt
Why preparation and practice separate amateur presenters from professionals
How kindness and human connection drive measurable business results
Why technical expertise alone isn't enough in today's leadership landscape
Practical frameworks for overcoming the discomfort of watching yourself on video

Neal Foard is the principal of StoryFire and a social media personality with over 30 years of experience helping global brands like Budweiser, Sony, Lexus and Toyota tell stories that inspire action, build loyalty and drive measurable results. He's held leadership roles at Saatchi & Saatchi, Wieden & Kennedy and Sarnoffsky, and now shares his expertise through StoryFire, teaching leaders how to turn ideas, data and experiences into compelling narratives that move teams, customers and stakeholders. Neal will be speaking at Bridgepointe's Tech Summit 2025 on October 20-23 in Miami.

Episode Highlights:

[09:11] Mastering Your Opening 30-60 Seconds

Neal emphasizes that the first 30-60 seconds of any presentation represent "beachfront real estate"—the most valuable time you'll have with your audience. Instead of wasting time with pleasantries or disclaimers about speaking ability, technical leaders should prepare and rehearse their opening like Olympic swimmers. This preparation creates confidence that eliminates stage fright and establishes immediate credibility. For CIOs and IT directors suddenly thrust into C-suite presentations, this tactical approach provides a foundation for success in high-stakes meetings where budget approvals and strategic initiatives hang in the balance.

[11:56] Storytelling as Humanity's Default Communication System

For 50,000 years, humans have communicated through stories around campfires, making narrative the brain's preferred method for processing and retaining information. When technical leaders present 12 bullet points on a slide, audiences forget everything because the hippocampus discards information that isn't presented in story form. However, everyone can remember classic stories because narrative structure creates lasting memory. This insight transforms how IT professionals should approach presentations, turning technical specifications into compelling stories that stakeholders actually remember and act upon.

[15:52] The Professional Video Transformation

Neal explains that mastering video communication requires accepting initial discomfort and committing to practice. The key breakthrough moment comes when you can watch yourself back without cringing—"that day, you turn pro." Getting comfortable with video means you can reach people emotionally, creating connections that lead to business results. Since people make decisions emotionally and rationalize them logically afterward, video tools like Zoom calls and presentations become powerful instruments for building trust and influence that separate you from competitors.

[21:32] Never Make Yourself the Hero

The biggest mistake in business storytelling is making yourself the hero of your own stories. When you do this, audiences either don't believe you or become jealous and hope for your downfall. Instead, position someone else as the hero while you serve as the narrator expressing admiration or sharing lessons learned. This approach puts you alongside your audience as a friend experiencing the story together, making the lessons more relatable and the emotional connection stronger.

Episode Resources:

Neal Foard on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe’s Tech Summit 2025 “The Next Wave”
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Beyond ChatGPT: Why 90% of AI Implementations Fail Without This Key Factor with Tony Moroney

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Tony Moroney, Principal at The Digital Explorer, to explore why AI adoption isn't just about technology—it's about fundamentally rethinking leadership. Tony breaks down the commoditization paradox facing organizations, explains why "AI washing" is the new greenwashing, and reveals how leaders must evolve from command-and-control to intelligence orchestration. From customer experience differentiation to the future of geographically specific AI models, this conversation offers strategic insights for navigating AI's impact on business and society.

What you will learn:

Why AI commoditization creates a paradox for competitive differentiation
How to move beyond "AI washing" and develop meaningful AI strategies
The critical shift from command-and-control to intelligence orchestration leadership
Why customer experience remains the key differentiator in an AI-commoditized world
How geographically-specific AI models will reshape global business strategies
The governance frameworks needed for autonomous AI agents in business
Why starting with business problems, not technology solutions, drives AI success
How to prepare for a future where AI agents are smarter than human leaders

Tony Moroney is the Principal at The Digital Explorer, where he advises global brands on digital disruption, innovation, and AI strategies. With over 17 years of experience spanning industries like financial services, technology, and consulting, Tony has guided executive teams in harnessing AI and digital transformation to drive measurable business outcomes. A former international management consultant who worked across the globe before returning to Ireland, Tony combines advisory work with academia and thought leadership. His expertise lies at the intersection of digital disruption, strategic technology implementation, and helping organizations navigate the complex challenges of AI adoption.

Episode Highlights:

[03:56] The Commoditization Paradox in AI Strategy

Tony introduces a fundamental challenge facing organizations: if AI becomes a general-purpose technology like electricity or the internet, how do companies differentiate when everyone has access to the same large language models? This commoditization paradox means organizations using identical AI tools will generate similar outputs, potentially eliminating competitive advantages. The solution lies in focusing on unique human factors, organizational ambition, and customer-centric approaches rather than technology-first thinking. Leaders must start with what they're trying to achieve for customers, not what they want to accomplish with technology, to avoid the trap of AI for AI's sake.

[13:53] Customer Experience as AI's True Differentiation Opportunity

While many AI implementations focus on cost reduction and compliance, Tony argues customer experience represents the real opportunity for competitive differentiation. AI can transform customer service by providing real-time support to agents, enabling instant language translation, and dramatically reducing training time from months to weeks. The key is augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing them, allowing customer service representatives to focus on empathy and relationship-building while AI handles information retrieval and technical support. This approach creates genuine value for customers while building loyalty in an increasingly fluid marketplace.

[21:52] The Rise of Geographically-Specific AI Models

Tony predicts the emergence of "big islands of AI" that are geographically and culturally specific, fundamentally changing how global businesses operate. Regions like the Middle East, China, India, and Europe are developing large language models that reflect their cultural values, social norms, and regulatory requirements. This shift toward digital sovereignty means organizations must strategically consider whose platforms and models they use, as these decisions now carry significant business and compliance implications. The board-level conversation has evolved from simple outsourcing decisions to core strategic choices about data, values, and competitive positioning.

[27:26] From Command-and-Control to Intelligence Orchestration

The most profound shift Tony identifies is the evolution from traditional command-and-control leadership to intelligence orchestration. Leaders will manage a mix of human employees and autonomous AI agents, each capable of independent reasoning and decision-making. This challenges fundamental assumptions about leadership since executives will no longer be the most knowledgeable people in their organizations. Success will depend on orchestrating various forms of intelligence while maintaining oversight of autonomous systems that may not reveal their reasoning processes. This transition requires new governance frameworks and a complete rethinking of organizational structures.

Episode Resources:

Tony Moroney on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Power Crisis No One's Talking About: How AI Could Break the Grid with Mike Pereira

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Technology leaders must balance rapid innovation with strategic implementation as AI, security, and hybrid work reshape the business landscape.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka talks with Mike Pereira, Executive Vice President of Technology at Bridgepoint Technologies, about navigating complex technology decisions, evolving security challenges, and the future of workplace collaboration in an AI-driven world.

What you will learn:

How to approach AI implementation through low-risk, high-value use cases while maintaining security and compliance
Why leveraging existing platform capabilities offers safer AI adoption than building custom solutions
The evolving role of tech advisory in helping organizations navigate increasingly complex technology decisions
How to balance security needs across different organization sizes, from SMBs to Fortune 50 companies
Why collaboration tools aren't one-size-fits-all and how to assess your organization's unique needs
The critical importance of power infrastructure planning as AI and data center demands grow
How to support and learn from technology "champions" within your organization who are already implementing solutions
Why making informed technology decisions requires both deep expertise and practical experience in implementation

Mike Pereira is the Executive VP of Technology at Bridgepointe Technologies, bringing over three decades of experience in enterprise technology and sales engineering. Throughout his career, Mike has witnessed and guided the evolution from traditional data center environments to cloud-based, AI-powered enterprise ecosystems. As a key leader at one of the nation's fastest-growing tech advisory firms, Mike helps organizations navigate complex technology decisions while maximizing ROI. Beyond his professional expertise, Mike is a dedicated father and assistant varsity basketball coach who brings the same strategic thinking to mentoring young athletes that he applies to solving enterprise technology challenges.

Episode Highlights:

[04:18] The Evolution of Enterprise Technology Needs

Mike Pereira reflects on how enterprise technology requirements have fundamentally shifted over his three decades in the industry. While data remains at the center of the universe, the ways organizations connect to and leverage that data have multiplied exponentially. The complexity has grown to the point where being an expert in everything is "absolutely impossible," requiring technology leaders to build stronger teams and rely more heavily on specialized advisory services. This evolution has driven the need for tech advisory firms that can provide deep expertise across multiple domains while helping organizations navigate an increasingly complex vendor ecosystem.

[14:20] The Current State of AI Adoption

Organizations find themselves at vastly different stages of AI readiness, from those not yet using basic AI companions for meeting notes and task generation to others building custom AI solutions for specific business processes. Mike emphasizes that companies should already be leveraging AI tools embedded in existing platforms like Microsoft or Zoom, as these provide immediate productivity gains with lower risk profiles. The key challenge isn't technical capability but rather establishing proper governance frameworks to ensure secure, compliant AI adoption while preventing employees from using unauthorized tools that create security vulnerabilities.

[17:55] Security Strategy Across Organizational Sizes

Mike outlines a clear framework for security strategy that varies dramatically based on organizational size and resources. Small companies should leverage managed security service providers (MSSPs) rather than attempting to build internal expertise, being completely transparent about their capabilities and limitations. Large enterprises with substantial security teams focus on filling specific gaps in their comprehensive programs, often implementing multiple point solutions annually. The common thread across all sizes is the need for honest assessment of capabilities and strategic partnerships with trusted advisors who can provide objective guidance.

[21:49] The Shadow IT Challenge and Employee Empowerment

Mike addresses the critical issue of shadow IT adoption, particularly around AI tools like ChatGPT, emphasizing that if organizations don't responsibly deploy technology for their employees, workers will find and use tools independently without IT oversight. This creates significant security and compliance risks while missing opportunities to harness employee innovation for business benefit. The solution involves proactive governance frameworks, employee education, and creating approved pathways for technology adoption that balance innovation with risk management.

Episode Resources:

Mike Pereira on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
Bridgepointe Technologies Website
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Breaking Down Silos: How Snowflake’s Tamanna Chanana Gets Marketing and IT to Work Together

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Tamanna Chanana,Campaign Program and Events Lead at Snowflake and host of "Brand Talkies," to explore how marketing and IT teams can work together effectively. Tamanna, a self-described "T-shaped marketer" with experience scaling initiatives at Whatfix and Truecaller, shares practical strategies for breaking down silos, implementing agile methodologies in marketing projects, and redefining B2B influencer marketing beyond social media followers. Whether you're struggling with cross-departmental collaboration or looking to optimize marketing-IT partnerships, this conversation offers actionable insights for building bridges between creativity and technology.

What you will learn:

How to implement effective B2B influencer marketing by leveraging both external consultants and internal champions

The "T-shaped Marketing" framework for developing deep expertise while maintaining broad marketing capabilities
Why documenting expectations and outcomes is crucial for successful marketing-IT collaboration
How to structure weekly cadences between marketing and IT teams to maintain alignment and resolve challenges
The essential practice of involving sales teams early to validate marketing initiatives and understand customer pain points
Why starting with customer problems rather than technology solutions leads to more effective marketing campaigns
How to prioritize marketing investments for small and mid-sized companies with limited budgets

Tamanna Chanana is the Campaign Program and Events Lead at Snowflake and host of "Brand Talkies/The BT Show" podcast. A self-described "T-shaped marketer" with deep expertise across brand awareness, demand generation, flagship events, and field marketing. Previously scaled marketing initiatives at Whatfix for nearly four years, where she hosted "The Digital Adoption Show" and led growth marketing globally while managing field marketing across the EMEA region. With experience spanning from performance marketing to ABM strategies, Tamanna brings a unique perspective on building marketing programs from scratch and fostering cross-departmental collaboration.

Episode Highlights:

[04:27] T-Shaped Marketing: Depth and Breadth Combined

Tamanna explains her philosophy of becoming a "T-shaped "marketer"—developing deep expertise in content and inbound marketing while maintaining broad competency across all marketing disciplines, including SEO, performance marketing, events, and demand generation. This approach enables marketers to communicate effectively with technical teams and understand the full customer journey, making them more valuable in cross-departmental collaborations and strategic decision-making.

[05:48] B2B Influencer Marketing Reality Check

The discussion reveals how B2B influencer marketing differs fundamentally from B2C approaches. Instead of focusing on follower counts or social media presence, successful B2B influence comes from identifying consultants, thought leaders, and internal champions who possess deep technical knowledge of your product category. These individuals can authentically advocate for solutions within their professional networks and organizations, driving more qualified leads and meaningful business relationships.

[14:18] Documentation as the Foundation of Collaboration

Tamanna outlines three essential practices for successful marketing-IT collaboration: comprehensive documentation of project requirements and expected outcomes, clear storytelling about business objectives and ROI expectations, and establishing regular weekly cadences for progress updates and problem-solving. This systematic approach helps bridge the communication gap between creative marketing goals and technical execution capabilities.

Episode Resources:

Tamanna Channa on LinkedIn
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Contact Center Evolution: Live from NECCF 2025

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this special episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka goes live from the Northeast Contact Center Forum 2025 at Gillette Stadium to capture the pulse of the contact center community. Through candid conversations with industry leaders, we explore how AI is shifting from "foe to friend," why breaking down organizational silos has become mission-critical, and how the post-COVID workplace continues to reshape customer service delivery.

From AI-powered knowledge management to the evolving challenges of remote work and agent burnout, this episode delivers unfiltered insights from the front lines of customer experience. Whether you're navigating staffing shortages, implementing new technology, or trying to get leadership buy-in for contact center initiatives, these conversations offer practical wisdom from those who've been there.

What you will learn:

How leading organizations are distinguishing between AI and automation for practical business applications
Why contact centers are becoming the voice of the customer within their organizations
The real impact of remote work on agent performance and customer expectations
How to break down silos between contact centers and other departments
Practical strategies for managing agent burnout as simple calls get automated away
The critical role of data quality in successful AI implementations
Why relationship-building remains essential in an increasingly digital workplace
Leadership lessons on delegation, trust, and working on the business vs. in the business

Episode Participants:

Aileen Rocheleau - Operations Manager at Citizens Bank and board member of NECCF, sharing insights on AI implementation and breaking down organizational barriers.

David McAbee - Vice President, Enterprise Solutions at BridgepointeCX, discussing customer expectations, AI adoption trends, and the evolving staffing landscape.

Erin McGinnis - Contact Center Manager at Cornerstone Bank, exploring the challenges of automation's impact on agent workload and the importance of cross-departmental relationships.

Penny Tremblay - Founder of the Sandbox System and keynote speaker, providing insights on workplace relationships and conflict resolution in the post-COVID era.

Wade Hauser - Vice President of Business Development at Teleperformance, sharing perspectives on industry competition and the changing landscape of contact center outsourcing.

David Teixeira - Equity Partner at Bridgepoint Technologies and NECCF board member, discussing vendor management and the evolution of live events in the industry.

Episode Highlights:

[00:19] AI as Friend, Not Foe - When Done Right

Aileen Rocheleau distinguishes between AI and automation, emphasizing that success comes from having the right data foundation. She shares how AI can process thousands of customer survey comments in 30 seconds to identify top unresolved issues, providing quantified business cases rather than gut feelings. The key insight: AI's power lies in data analysis and pattern recognition, not just voice automation. Contact center leaders should focus on building robust data systems before implementing AI solutions, ensuring they can demonstrate clear ROI through measurable outcomes rather than technological novelty.

[06:42] The New Staffing Challenge: Finding AI/ML Engineers

David McAbee reveals a surprising trend in the staffing shortage: highly skilled AI and ML engineers are now so scarce that companies are going nearshore to find talent, driving up costs in Latin American markets. This represents a fundamental shift from traditional contact center staffing challenges to specialized technical roles. IT leaders need to consider whether to build internal AI capabilities or partner with specialized vendors. The shortage also highlights the importance of identifying team members who can bridge business needs with technical implementation.

[16:30] When Automation Creates Harder Jobs

Erin McGinnis addresses a critical challenge: as self-service handles easy calls, agents only deal with complex, difficult conversations, leading to increased stress and potential burnout. This creates a training imperative where agents need higher skill levels to handle escalated issues effectively. Contact center leaders must invest in advanced training programs and consider how to maintain agent morale when their daily interactions become predominantly challenging. The solution involves reframing the role as specialized expertise rather than basic customer service.

[27:00] Breaking Down the Contact Center Silo

Multiple participants emphasized the frustration of contact centers being blamed for systemic issues they don't control. Aileen Rocheleau notes that contact centers "don't create products or systems" but are expected to fix customer experience problems. The solution requires executive support to give contact centers authority to drive change across departments. Successful organizations are positioning contact centers as the voice of the customer with the power to influence product development, systems design, and process improvements.

Episode Resources:

Northeast Contact Center Forum Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Ethics, Empathy, and AI: A Conversation with Arshad Hisham of InGen Dynamics

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 13:00:00 +0000

What if AI doesn’t take your job, but gives you a better one?

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Arshad Hisham, founder and CEO of InGen Dynamics, to unpack why AI and robotics won’t replace the workforce, but redefine it. From debunking fears about job loss to explaining the power of governance-first AI adoption, Arshad offers a human-centric vision for automation. He shares how intuitive, ethical design, not just technical prowess, will shape success in industries like healthcare and education. For IT leaders and decision-makers, this episode is a timely roadmap to navigating the next wave of intelligent, responsible technology.

What you will learn:

Why AI will create more jobs rather than eliminate them
How to approach AI adoption through governance first
The critical balance between automation and human interaction in robotics design
Why social robotics and human psychology are crucial to successful implementation
How to evaluate AI and robotics investments beyond the "gimmick factor"
The immediate risks facing AI implementation
Why intuitive design and human-centric approaches are essential
How to prepare for the coming wave of humanoid robots in business settings

Arshad Hisham is the Founder and CEO of InGen Dynamics and a globally recognized leader in AI, automation, and robotics. A serial entrepreneur, engineer, inventor, and executive, Arshad has built multimillion-dollar startups, led digital transformation for Fortune 50 firms, and delivered keynote talks at top global summits. His innovations, featured in Forbes, Fortune, and IEEE, tackle real-world challenges such as labor shortages and sustainability. With a background spanning engineering, business, and education, Arshad continues to shape the future of intelligent technology.

Episode Highlights:

03:05 The Human-Centric Approach to AI Implementation

Arshad Hisham emphasizes that AI and robotics must become more people-centric rather than pursuing full automation. Organizations should prioritize three key product elements: affordability, intuitive design, and practical application, with intuitive interfaces being crucial for successful deployment. The challenge lies in creating solutions that enhance human capabilities while maintaining natural interactions. IT leaders can drive adoption by focusing on collaborative approaches that keep humans in the loop rather than seeking complete automation. This human-centric framework helps organizations achieve both technological advancement and workforce acceptance.

08:50 Preparing for the AI Productivity Revolution

AI and robotics will drive unprecedented productivity gains of 50-100x across industries, functioning as "the new computer" for modern business. By 2030, McKinsey predicts 70% of all job tasks will involve significant automation, requiring a complete redefinition of most roles. This rapid transformation gives organizations only 5-10 years to adapt, unlike previous technological revolutions that evolved over generations. IT leaders must start preparing their workforce now through reskilling programs and change management. The opportunity lies in harnessing these productivity gains while helping employees transition to higher-value work.

27:49 Why IT Leaders Can't Delay on AI Governance

Even organizations claiming to defer AI adoption often find their employees are already using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini independently. This creates urgent security and compliance risks that require immediate policy development and implementation. IT leaders must shift from asking whether to adopt AI to establishing governance frameworks for its inevitable use. The key is balancing innovation and risk management through clear guidelines and identifying use cases. Proactive governance enables organizations to harness the benefits of AI while mitigating potential risks.

18:47 The Psychology of Robot Design

Successful robotics implementation depends more on social and psychological factors than technical capabilities. Key considerations include matching human height, mirroring behavior patterns, and projecting appropriate empathy levels while avoiding the "uncanny valley" effect. IT leaders must prioritize user experience and workflow integration over technical specifications alone. Understanding these human factors is crucial for achieving sustainable adoption and avoiding the typical pattern where robots quickly transition from novel to irritating.

Episode Resources:

Arshad Hisham on LinkedIn
InGen Dynamics Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Future-Proofing Voice with AI: Insights from Alistair Pidd

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Alistair Pidd, Professional Services Director at BCM One, to demystify the complex world of enterprise voice in the age of hybrid work. They unpack Microsoft Teams voice integration strategies, including Calling Plans, Direct Routing, and Operator Connect, while offering practical advice on contact center migrations, global architecture, and maintaining legacy workflows.

From directory hygiene to Copilot’s emerging role in voice, Alistair shares invaluable insights for IT leaders navigating telephony modernization. Whether you're optimizing UCaaS or tackling compliance challenges, this episode is your guide to building a resilient, future-ready voice strategy.

Episode Highlights:

12:23 Strategic Migration to Modern Voice Platforms

Alastair emphasizes the importance of identifying quick wins when transitioning to cloud communications while maintaining critical legacy systems. Organizations should start by moving basic telephony functions and back-office operations that don't require specialized hardware or analog systems. The approach requires developing a clear inventory of existing systems and understanding which components can be migrated easily versus those requiring more complex integration. IT leaders should focus on sites with basic telephony needs first, while maintaining awareness of how legacy and new services can coexist. This enables organizations to modernize their voice infrastructure incrementally without disrupting critical business operations.

21:37 Understanding Microsoft Teams Voice Integration Options

The evolution from basic calling plans to more sophisticated integration options has created three distinct paths for enterprise voice integration: Calling Plans, Direct Routing, and Operator Connect. Each option offers different levels of control and complexity, with Calling Plans providing basic functionality, Direct Routing offering complete control but requiring technical expertise, and Operator Connect striking a balance between functionality and ease of implementation. Organizations need to evaluate their technical capabilities, existing infrastructure, and specific requirements to choose the right approach.

33:45 Teams Contact Center Implementation Strategy

Microsoft Teams' native queue functionality provides a cost-effective solution for internal service desks and basic call distribution needs, offering essential features like team visibility and basic reporting. However, organizations requiring advanced features like omnichannel support or skills-based routing should consider Microsoft's three-tier contact center framework: Connect, Extend, and Unify. The tiered approach allows organizations to match their contact center needs with the appropriate level of integration and functionality.

42:02 Directory Services Optimization for Teams Voice

Proper directory service management is crucial for successful Teams voice deployment. Three key areas require attention: removing legacy Skype for Business attributes, updating user location information, and maintaining accurate number assignments. These elements directly impact user experience and system functionality, particularly in operator connect scenarios. IT leaders should conduct a thorough directory cleanup before migration to prevent service desk issues and ensure smooth implementation.

Episode Resources:

Alistair Pidd on LinkedIn
BCM One Website
Pure IP Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Why Fast Innovation Fails, and What Indi Young Says to Do Instead

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Indi Young, an Independent Qualitative Data Scientist, Coach, and Consultant. Together, they explore how deep listening and cognitive empathy can revolutionize enterprise technology decisions. Indi shares insights on moving beyond generic personas, embracing diverse thinking styles, and using qualitative data to serve all users better. Indi also shares her actionable frameworks, including the Mental Model Skyline, for designing systems that align with real user needs, offering a powerful alternative to fast but shallow innovation.

What you will learn:

How to move beyond the "average user" trap by designing for multiple thinking styles
The "Mental Model Skyline" framework for mapping solutions to diverse user needs
Why qualitative data patterns are as crucial as quantitative metrics
How to identify and support different thinking styles within your organization
The strategic advantage of understanding problem spaces before jumping to solutions
Why traditional personas fall short and how to use character-based frameworks instead
How to leverage AI to recognize and adapt to different thinking styles in system design
The practical application of cognitive empathy in technology implementation

Indi Young is a thought leader in product strategy and a pioneer in human-centered research. She specializes in exploring the problem space by deeply understanding people’s inner thinking and uncovering diverse thinking styles. Indi helps organizations move beyond assumptions to build more inclusive, user-aligned solutions through her groundbreaking work in cognitive empathy and qualitative data analysis. An author, speaker, and educator, she empowers practitioners to listen deeply, avoid bias, and use empathy as a strategic tool for meaningful innovation.

Episode Highlights:

05:51 Moving Beyond Solutions to Problem Space Research

Indi introduces the concept of problem space research as a crucial counterpoint to solution-focused thinking in technology implementation. The approach examines how different users mentally process and approach tasks, rather than forcing a single "best practice" workflow. Understanding these diverse thinking styles helps organizations identify friction points where solutions aren't serving all users effectively. Organizations can map different thinking styles within each business function to see which solutions support various approaches rather than trying to force everyone into one method. This framework helps IT leaders select and implement systems that work with, rather than against, their users' natural thought processes.

17:45 The Mental Model Skyline Framework for Technology Selection

The Mental Model Skyline provides a visual framework for mapping how different solutions support user thinking patterns and needs. This strategic tool looks like a city skyline where each "tower" represents patterns in how people mentally approach tasks, with solutions mapped underneath to show coverage. Leaders can use this to evaluate technology options by seeing which ones support their organization's most critical thinking patterns. The framework becomes more valuable over time as organizations layer in new data and options, creating a comprehensive view of user needs and solution fit. This approach helps IT leaders make more informed decisions about technology investments while considering long-term strategic impact.

24:31 Recognizing Different User Interaction Styles in System Design

Using CRM systems as an example, Indi illustrates how different users naturally approach the same task in various ways, from linear form completion to object-oriented navigation between screens. Rather than forcing standardization around metrics like minimizing clicks, IT leaders should recognize these varying interaction styles as valid approaches. When systems don't support a user's natural thinking style, they often create workarounds that introduce friction and inefficiency. Organizations can reduce resistance and improve adoption by understanding and accommodating different thinking styles during system selection and configuration.

30:44 Leveraging AI to Support Different Thinking Styles

Indi proposes training AI systems to recognize and adapt to different thinking styles rather than trying to force users into a single interaction model. While AI can't yet independently identify thinking styles, it can be taught to recognize patterns and adjust its interface and guidance accordingly. The key is providing AI with a framework of known thinking styles within specific business contexts, allowing it to match users to appropriate interaction models. This approach could help organizations create more inclusive systems that flex to meet users where they are, rather than forcing adaptation to a single UI paradigm.

Episode Resources:

Indi Young on LinkedIn
IndiYoung Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Mark Tina on How Verizon is Powering SMBs with AI & Security

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 27 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Mark Tina, Head of Indirect Distribution at Verizon Business, about Verizon’s journey from telecom giant to tech solutions powerhouse. They discuss democratizing AI for small businesses, enhancing cybersecurity, and integrating tools like Microsoft Teams for seamless mobile communication. With practical tips for business leaders and insights from Mark’s 22-year career, this episode reveals how Verizon is helping companies thrive in an increasingly digital, hybrid work environment.

What you will learn:

Verizon’s evolution from "the phone company" to a full-service technology solutions provider
Why AI adoption among SMBs has doubled, and how to implement practical AI solutions for small businesses
The critical importance of employee cybersecurity training
How to rationalize post-pandemic communications investments
Why career longevity at major tech companies requires viewing positions as careers
How enterprise providers help customers balance security, connectivity, and collaboration needs in a hybrid work environment
The "Be Where Your Feet Are" principle for maintaining focus and presence in both business and personal life
How to leverage partnerships between major platforms like Microsoft Teams and carrier networks for seamless communication

Mark Tina is the Channel Chief and Vice President of Indirect Partner Sales at Verizon Business, leading national channel strategy and driving profitable growth with a sharp focus on customer experience. With nearly 25 years of sales and leadership experience, Mark oversees five key sales outlets and a team of 700+. He previously led a 1,000+ person B2B sales organization, accelerating SMB recovery through Verizon’s 5G and connectivity solutions. A co-creator of Verizon’s LEAD Together mentorship program, Mark holds an MBA from Iona College and serves as Executive Sponsor of VALOR, supporting Verizon’s military employee community.

Episode Highlights:

06:30 Verizon's Evolution from Phone Company to Technology Solutions Provider

Mark explains how Verizon has transformed from a traditional telecommunications provider into a comprehensive technology company delivering end-to-end services. This evolution reflects the changing needs of modern businesses seeking integrated solutions for connectivity, security, and digital transformation. The company now provides everything from broadband and mobility to cybersecurity and AI-powered business tools, addressing the full spectrum of enterprise technology requirements. Verizon's approach combines foundational network capabilities with advanced services like software-as-a-service solutions and comprehensive security offerings. For IT leaders, this transformation represents an opportunity to consolidate vendors while accessing cutting-edge capabilities through a trusted partner.

09:00 Democratizing AI for Small Business Success

Verizon's approach to AI implementation focuses on making enterprise-grade capabilities accessible to small and medium businesses. The company has developed practical AI applications like customer service automation and business intelligence tools that can be quickly deployed without extensive technical expertise. Their AI assistant for small businesses demonstrates how complex technology can be simplified for practical daily use, such as managing customer inquiries and operations. Verizon provides both the technology and the implementation support, helping businesses properly configure and maintain their AI solutions. This comprehensive approach enables smaller organizations to compete effectively using the same technological advantages as larger enterprises.

14:50 Comprehensive Cybersecurity Strategy

Verizon's cybersecurity approach combines employee training, technical solutions, and continuous monitoring to create a robust security posture. Their strategy includes regular phishing tests, security awareness training, and detailed reporting to identify and address vulnerabilities. The company leverages its network expertise to deliver integrated security solutions that protect infrastructure and endpoints. Through partnerships with companies like Accenture and their security research published in the DBIR, Verizon helps organizations stay ahead of evolving threats. This multi-layered approach ensures businesses can maintain strong security while adapting to changing work environments.

25:16 "Be Where Your Feet Are" Leadership Philosophy

This principle emphasizes the importance of full engagement and presence in both professional and personal contexts. Leaders can improve their effectiveness by focusing entirely on the current task or interaction rather than allowing distractions to divide their attention. This approach leads to better decision-making, stronger relationships, and more productive outcomes in all areas of life. The practice requires conscious effort but yields significant benefits regarding work quality and personal satisfaction. For technology leaders managing multiple priorities, this mindset helps maintain focus and drive better results.

Episode Resources:

Mark Tina on LinkedIn
Verizon Business Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

From Video to CX: Shana Hafterson and Sean Fair on Zoom’s Next Evolution

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

What if you could transform your customer experience while leveraging the power of AI and video?

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka and David McAbee sit down with Zoom’s CX team of Sean Fair and Shana Hafterson to explore Zoom’s transformation into a full-scale customer experience platform. They dive into how AI, video support, and unified communication tools are helping businesses cut resolution times by 50%, improve agent performance, and modernize contact centers. Get practical insights into the future of CX and what it takes to implement these technologies successfully.

What you will learn:

How Zoom's pivot from meetings to voice to CX reflects changing customer engagement needs
How video integration in customer support can reduce resolution times by up to 50%
How AI-powered agent assistance reduces training time while improving efficiency
How self-service capabilities are transforming customer support
Why companies are increasingly seeking unified UCaaS and CCaaS solutions
How Zoom's proven scalability and reliability translate to enterprise CX deployments
Generational preferences: self-service vs. human support
Why service partner expertise is crucial for successful CX implementations

Sean Fair is Head of CX Sales and GTM at Zoom, bringing over 25 years of experience in unified communications and contact center technology. Sean has previously held leadership positions at Mitel and ShoreTel and played a pivotal role in scaling Zoom's phone division to 7 million subscribers before leading their contact center initiatives. He specializes in talent acquisition and team development, having built successful leadership teams across Zoom's Phone and Contact Center divisions.

Shana Hafterson is Head of Americas CX Channel at Zoom, bringing extensive experience from previous roles at Five9 and other leading CX technology providers. She specializes in helping organizations bridge the gap between employee and customer experience through innovative technology solutions. Her expertise in channel development and understanding of CX market dynamics provides a valuable perspective on the evolution of customer service technology and implementation strategies.

Episode Resources:

Sean Fair on LinkedIn
Shana Hafterson on LinkedIn
Zoom Communication Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
David McAbee on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

Previous Zoom episodes:

Previous episode with David McAbee:

The Business Process Outsourcing Model with David McAbee

Books mentioned in the episode:

The War of Art

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Leading with Love (and Logic) in the Age of AI: Insights from Tim Sanders

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:52:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Tim Sanders, AI Evangelist and VP of Research Insights at G2, to explore how leaders can approach AI as a human-first strategy rather than just a tech trend. From building organizational AI literacy to embracing optionality and leading with empathy, Tim shares a roadmap for thoughtful, effective AI adoption. If you’re a tech leader looking to innovate without losing the human touch, this conversation is your next must-listen.

What you will learn:

How to develop AI literacy across your organization
Why viewing business challenges as prediction problems unlocks AI's true potential
The "Optionality Framework" for making reversible strategic decisions in uncertain times
How to shift from managing inputs (hours worked) to measuring outcomes
Why focusing on workflows is the key to successful AI implementation
The 30% Rule for business leaders: master the economics and applications of AI
How to build trust in AI adoption
The critical balance between human relationships and leveraging AI capabilities
How to avoid the "get some AI" trap

Tim Sanders is the VP of Research Insights at G2 and an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he collaborates with the Digital Data Design Institute. A former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo, Tim is also a New York Times bestselling author of five books, including Love is the Killer App and Dealstorming. A sought-after keynote speaker, he specializes in leadership, AI, innovation, and digital transformation. Tim champions human-centered leadership rooted in knowledge, compassion, and connection. His mission: help leaders reimagine work, scale innovation, and lead with love. Learn more at timsanders.com.

Episode Resources:

Tim Sanders on LinkedIn
Tim Sanders Website
G2 Website
Scott Kinka on LinkedIn
The Bridgecast on Apple Podcasts
The Bridgecast on Spotify
The Bridgecast on YouTube

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Building a Smarter AI Enterprise Strategy: Live from NJ SIM

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:58:00 +0000

In this special live episode of The Bridgecast recorded at the NJ SIM (Society for Information Management) event, Scott Kinka moderates a panel of thought leaders to unpack enterprise-level AI adoption and challenges.

The panel highlights real-world use cases in healthcare, insurance, and contact centers where AI is driving measurable efficiency, cost savings, and improved customer

experience.

The panel featured:

· Gary Sorrentino, Global CIO of Zoom

· Yalim Eristiren, Managing Director at SESTEK North America

· Jim Marron, AI Sales Director at Talkdesk

Topics discussed in this episode:

· The hype vs. reality of AI trends, including generative AI, agentic AI, and predictive AI.

· Significant concerns around use case readiness, data quality and AI governance.

· The confusion around deploying AI before understanding the problem it should solve.

· How many businesses are missing the foundation for meaningful ROI?

The growing need for trusted advisors, internal alignment with line-of-business leaders, AI literacy, and microlearning to upskill teams.

About Gary Sorrentino

Gary Sorrentino serves as Zoom’s Global CIO, after spending over two years as our Global Deputy CIO. A former Managing Director for J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management, Gary was the Global Head of Client Cyber Awareness and Education.

For over 12 years, Gary was the Chief Technology Officer for J.P. Morgan AWM’s global technology infrastructure initiatives, where he managed its Data Privacy program and was responsible for Infrastructure, Application and End User Technology Production Support. In 2014, he assumed a new role as the lead for their Cybersecurity efforts and developed a firm wide “Protect the Client” Cyber program designed to raise cybersecurity awareness among employees and clients.

With almost 40 years of experience in Information Technology, Gary has served in various other IT leadership positions in firms across the financial services industry. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2005, Gary was Head of Global Infrastructure and Head of Technology Efficiencies at Citi Private Bank, where he was responsible for Global Infrastructure Support and strategic technology initiatives. Other roles he has held include Global Technology CFO at Credit Suisse and North America IT Controller at UBS.

Contact Gary

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysorrentino/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoom/

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/zoom/

Insta. https://www.instagram.com/zoom/

Twitter. https://x.com/Zoom

About Jim Marron

Jim is a Regional AI Sales Director based in Chicago, IL, with over 10 years in software and more than four years in the AI space. He specializes in helping enterprises adopt and scale conversational AI to improve customer engagement, operational efficiency, and business outcomes. With a deep understanding of AI-driven transformation, he works closely with technology leaders to navigate the evolving landscape of AI, automation, and digital innovation.

Contact Jim

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-marron-sells-software/

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/Talkdesk/

Insta. https://www.instagram.com/talkdesk/

Web. https://www.talkdesk.com/

About Yalim Eristiren

Yalim Eristiren has earned a reputation as a dynamic and accomplished business development leader with expertise in building strategies to deliver technology solutions and drive new revenue. His progressive experience has led to resounding success across his 25+ year career, including attainments and promotions with Intel and Siemens. Easily able to move from high-level planning to face-to-face relationship building, he ensures that companies and clients enjoy the best possible results.

Between 2018 and 2019, Yalim joined Vera Venture as a Member of Technology Investment Committee, where he orchestrated investment strategies and decisions for a burgeoning company. This involved building out an initial deal flow and screening startups in the areas of blockchain, AI, IoT, and Martech.

Earlier in his career, Yalim earned numerous promotions during a storied tenure with Intel (2005 – 2018), where he rose to the position of Country Lead (Turkey, 2017 – 2018). Using unique approaches and exceptional team leadership, he secured multimillion-dollar opportunities in a highly competitive industry. He was also selected to represent Intel at high-profile events around digital transformation, smart cities, and other emerging technologies as spokesperson and keynote speaker, leading to his reputation as a thought leader in the industry. Among his peers, Yalim is known for his high business acumen, innovative problem-solving, understanding of enterprise, telecom, cloud, education markets and ISVs, and tireless work ethic.

Bolstering these achievements are Yalim’s exemplary educational qualifications. These include an Executive Master of Business Administration from Bogazici University, and a Master of Science in Power Electronics (Electrical & Electronics Engineering) from METU.

In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar, scuba diving and hiking.

Contact Yalim

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yalimeristiren/

Web. https://www.sestek.com/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Enterprise Network Infrastructure: What Every IT Leader Should Know

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:14:00 +0000

What if networking were as simple and seamless as electricity?

Scott Kinka sits down with Meter CEO and co-founder Anil Varanasi to talk about how Meter is revolutionizing connectivity—offering end-to-end networking with custom-built hardware, software, and simple pricing by square footage.

They dive into Anil’s startup journey, their bold partnership with Microsoft, and how AI, leadership, and customer obsession are shaping the future of infrastructure.

Meter provides internet infrastructure for businesses. Headquartered in San Francisco, it was founded in 2015 to build enterprise-grade networks that are faster, more accessible, and more secure. Its full-stack approach combines hardware, software, and operations so that any company can seamlessly run on a reliable and modern network. Meter believes the internet is a fundamental utility that businesses should be able to turn on as easily as water and electricity.

Topics discussed in this episode

● Anil’s entrepreneurial journey, including early startup challenges and self-funding before raising capital.
● The problems with networking and what Meter does differently.
● Meter’s unique pricing and utility-based model.
● The partnership with Microsoft.
● Short and long-term perspectives on AI and the future.

About Anil Varanasi

Anil Varanasi is the CEO of Meter, a company that provides internet infrastructure for businesses. He co-founded the company with his brother, Sunil, in 2015. Meter’s full-stack approach combines hardware, software, and operations to provide enterprise-grade networks that are faster, more accessible, and more secure to customers across industries including Brex, Higher Ground Education, Stord, and Tishman Speyer. Anil is also a member of the board of The Roots of Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to establishing a new philosophy of progress for the 21st century. He graduated from George Mason University with degrees in both economics and computer networking.

Contact Anil

Web. http://www.meter.com
LinkedIn (Business). https://www.linkedin.com/company/meter-com/
LinkedIn (Personal). https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilcv/
Twitter. https://x.com/meter

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Giving Back Through Tech: The Mission of Tech4Change

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 02:43:00 +0000

In this episode of the Bridgecast, host Scott Kinka sits down with Jasmina Mueller and Brad Dupree to discuss the charitable organization Tech4Change. This organization brings together technology leaders to raise funds for various grassroots charities.

During their discussion, they explore the mission behind Tech4Change and the fundraising strategies used, sharing impactful stories from their events. The conversation emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the potential for technology professionals to make a difference through charitable work.

Tech4Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of technology suppliers and channel partners who dedicate time and resources to aid grassroots charities across the U.S. Since its inception in 2014, Tech4Change has raised more than $1.25 million for local grassroots charities that are often overlooked and underfunded. Through event-based fundraising, Tech4Change provides game-changing donations that go directly to the cause rather than administrative costs.

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Background on Tech4Change

· The types of charities supported by Tech4Change

· How Tech4Change does their fundraising

· Milestones Tech4Change has achieved

- How being a 100% volunteer-run organization maximizes direct impact.

- Notable contributions made by Tech4Change

Previous Granite Episodes

Using AI at Scale with Adam Weiner of Granite - https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/podcast-episodes/ai-at-scale/

The Bridge Podcast with Mark Palmer of Granite - https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/podcast-episodes/the-bridge-podcast-mark-palmer-granite/

About Tech4Change

In the tech channel, we work hard, play hard and, for the most part, earn a good living. Some of us donate time, but more often than not, we write a check to a charity and move on. While those one-off donations help, what could we do if we work together to raise money for a cause? It turns out that we can do a lot! Over the past nine years, we’ve raised more than $1.25 million for grassroots organizations through Tech4Change.

In 2023 and beyond, we plan to make a bigger impact with more fundraising events in partnership with industry publishers, event organizers, technology distributors and other organizations that support community-based charitable groups.

Tech4Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization composed of technology suppliers and channel partners that dedicate time and resources to aid grassroots charities across the U.S. Since our inception in 2014, we’ve raised more than $1.25 million for local grassroots charities that are often overlooked and underfunded. Through event-based fundraising, Tech4Change provides game-changing donations that go directly to the cause rather than administrative costs.

Web. https://tech4change.org/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/telecom-for-change/

Donate. https://bit.ly/3Fo2DJn

About Brad Dupee

President

Head of National Channel Sales, Granite

I am the Head of National Channel Sales and Development at Granite, a leading provider of managed network services and solutions for large multi-location businesses. In this role, I lead the strategy and execution of the national B2B partner program, which accounts for approximately 25% of the company's revenue and 50% of the company's new revenue. With more than 25 years of channel sales experience, I have built and managed global alliances, integrations, and ecosystems with technology leaders, system integrators, resellers, VARs, agents, and managed service providers across various industries and markets.

I am also passionate about leveraging technology for social impact and innovation. I serve as the President of Tech4Change, a nonprofit organization that supports grassroots charities across the U.S. with technology solutions and fundraising that has raised over $1.25 million for local causes since 2014.

As a technology entrepreneur, I have founded and co-founded four start-ups and three corporate ventures, raising capital and developing go-to-market strategies for SaaS, PaaS, API, and cloud applications. I thrive on creating value, building relationships, and solving problems with a collaborative and entrepreneurial mindset.

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dupee/

About Jasmina Muller

Vice President

Chief Ecosystem Officer, Titan Cloud Storage, Inc

Leadership Executive: Dynamic and award-winning channel partner sales leader with over 25 years of experience driving revenue growth, building high-performing teams, and delivering exceptional partner program results in the software and telecom industries. Recognized for developing innovative channel strategies that surpass targets and foster sustainable partnerships. Known for driving operational excellence, cultivating trust, and delivering measurable outcomes.

I have achieved significant industry recognition, including 2023 and 2022 Channel Chief awards, 2022 Circle of Excellence Honoree, and multiple Channel Futures DE&I honoree awards. I support organizations that give back to the community and promote DEI efforts, volunteering my time with board seats on Tech4Change, The Alliance of Channel Women, AchieveUnite and a founding member of the Los Angeles flagship location of Chief. My motto is: "Sell the Problem you solve, not the product!"

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminamuller/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Future of Communication with Dialpad’s Mike Kane

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 16:35:00 +0000

Can AI make business communication smarter and sales more human?

Scott Kinka and Mike Kane from Dialpad break down the future of AI-driven conversations, tech partnerships, and the power of emotional intelligence in sales.

They cover Dialpad’s AI-driven growth, the role of emotional intelligence in sales, and how AI is reshaping customer interactions, security, and global tech partnerships.

Tune in for insights on leveraging AI for smarter, more effective communication.

Dialpad is the leading AI-Powered Customer Intelligence Platform that completely transforms how the world works with one beautiful workspace that seamlessly combines the most advanced AI Contact Center, AI Sales, AI Voice, and Ai Meetings with AI Messaging. Over 30,000 innovative brands and millions of people use Dialpad to unlock productivity, collaboration, and customer satisfaction with real-time Ai insights.

Topics discussed in this episode on the future of communication:

· How AI is transforming customer communications, but focusing on specific use cases is essential.

· The case for private LLMs for businesses and why the customization of AI models is essential.

· Use cases for AI in the sales process to enhance productivity and coaching.

· Why emotional intelligence is a key strength for sales leaders, aiding in understanding customer needs.

· The importance of adapting to different cultural contexts in business.

Previous Dialpad episodes

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part Two)

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part One)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 2)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 1)

BOOK: Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity 1st Edition by Frank Slootman

About Mike Kane

Mike Kane is SVP of Global Channel Sales at Dialpad and has built the organization's channel team from the group up since joining in 2017. Bringing more than two decades of experience in channel and sales to his role, Mike evolved Dialpad into a channel-first company and has maintained the channel as a leading revenue driver for the company. Mike is responsible for all channel go-to-market strategy, enablement, qualified pipeline and revenues across North America, EMEA and APAC. Prior to Dialpad, Mike was the catalyst for the implementation of the channel model in Silicon Valley at large, educating about and driving channel model adoption for companies like DocuSign, Okta, and Box.

Contact Mike

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kane22/

Web. https://www.dialpad.com/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

2024 Year End Recap - Part Two

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 01:11:00 +0000

Sometimes, we think that new tech can solve old problems. For instance, can AI help employees be better at processes that don't exist?

This is just one of the questions we tackle on this episode of The Bridgecast.

In this conclusion to The Bridgecast’s 2024 Year-End series, Scott and Gene discuss key industry trends, reflections on the past year, and predictions for the future.

The conversation highlights AI adoption challenges, the importance of human oversight in AI-driven processes, and the evolving nature of IT strategy.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• How IT budgets are increasing, but organizations must focus on efficiency in non-investment areas to balance spending.
Human oversight is critical in AI processes to guide decision-making and ensure ethical and accurate outcomes.
Why imagination and creativity remain uniquely human qualities.
How demonstrating ROI in small, measurable AI projects can build executive confidence.
Why leadership involves humility and recognizing the contributions of all team members to success.

About Scott Kinka

This is a SPECIAL EDITION of the Bridgecast with Scott Kinka. Over the last 12 months and 25 episodes, Scott has gotten the opportunity to ask some of the best minds in technology a plethora of questions, including “what is your favorite app” and “what book is on your nightstand?”. In addition, he’s gotten some shameless predictions from all of these interviews.

Well, on this episode, we get to ask the same questions of Scott.

Producer Gene Volpe asks Scott all of the tough questions and has him look back on his favorite moments from our episodes so far. This one was an ode to 2024 while looking forward to 2025. We hope that you enjoy this interesting look into the Chief Strategy Officer of Bridgepointe Technologies and tech evangelist, Scott Kinka.

Contact Scott

Web. https://www.thebridgecast.net/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkinka/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

2024 Year End Recap - Part One

Bridgepointe Technologies — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 23:54:00 +0000

According to Sun Tzu, energy without strategy is chaos. This sentiment has never been more appropriate today, particularly concerning IT strategy and discussions around AI.

In this year-end episode of The Bridgecast, Scott reflects on a monumental year for Bridgepointe Technologies and the broader IT industry. The conversation explores key themes that dominated the year, including AI governance and its impact on business strategy, the evolving role of IT leaders, and lessons from C-suite executives featured on the podcast.

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Why AI governance and regulation are essential to prevent PR disasters.

· How IT leaders must anticipate objections and prepare for questions.

· Why cybersecurity is most vulnerable at the human level.

· Why generative AI can only deliver value if informed by accurate, clean data.

· How IT’s role has evolved post-pandemic.

· Why historical frameworks are still relevant for navigating modern tech adoption and strategy.

Why collaboration tools like Microsoft Copilot bring immense potential but require careful planning.

ABOUT OUR HOST SCOTT KINKA

This is a SPECIAL EDITION of the Bridge Podcast with Scott Kinka. Over the last 12 months and 30+ episodes, Scott has gotten the opportunity to ask some of the best minds in technology a plethora of questions, including “what is your favorite app” and “what book is on your nightstand?”. In addition, he’s gotten some shameless predictions from all of these interviews.

Well, on this episode, we get to ask the same questions of Scott.

Producer Gene Volpe gets the opportunity to ask Scott all of the tough questions and have Scott dig back on his favorite moments from our episodes so far.

This one was an ode to 2023 while looking forward to 2024. We hope that you enjoy this interesting look into the Chief Strategy Officer of Bridgepointe Technologies and tech evangelist, Scott Kinka.

CONTACT SCOTT

Web.

LinkedIn.

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

ESPN’s CX Transformation: Using AI to Enhance Fan Support with Doug Kramon

Bridgepointe Technologies — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 20:32:00 +0000

Sports are a profoundly human experience—emotional, visceral, and passionately followed. While AI won’t replace athletes anytime soon, it’s increasingly shaping how fans engage with their favorite teams.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, Scott Kinka sits down with Doug Kramon, Head of Customer Care and Fan Support at ESPN, to explore the evolving role of AI in sports customer experience. They discuss how generative AI plays a role in CX transformation and fan support, the power of emotional connections in customer care, and the challenges of balancing automation with human-centric service.

Doug also shares insights on leadership, the impact of big data on AI-driven insights, and the importance of curiosity and storytelling in professional growth.

Tune in for a fascinating look at the intersection of sports, technology, and fan engagement.

ESPN is the leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand that features seven U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent worldwide, and more.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Why understanding different fan needs is crucial for effective support.
• How generative AI can support CX transformation but not replace human interaction.
• Why the evolution of customer experience is driven by technology.
• How AI can handle routine tasks, freeing humans from complex interactions.
• Why building relationships with partners is key to success in customer care.
• How the sports fan’s story is central to enhancing their experience.
• Why curiosity and storytelling are vital for continuous learning.
• How summarization tools can save agents valuable time and significantly enhance customer service efficiency.
• Why big data is essential for actionable AI insights.
• How catharsis scoring helps identify customer sentiment changes.
• Why generative AI must be integrated with existing tech stacks.
• Why bundle confusion in streaming services remains a challenge.
• How work-life balance is crucial for employee satisfaction and open communication fosters a healthy workplace culture.

ESPN Customer Experience (CX) Case Study
https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/espn/

About Douglas Kramon

Douglas Kramon leads Customer Care and Fan Support at ESPN. This includes a fan base of tens of millions of rabid sports content consumers! He oversees all fan support initiatives at ESPN, focusing on the fans in the stands, suits in the suites and everything in between. He provides consumers of ESPN content the tools to experience an exceptional journey in their ESPN fandom!

Contact Douglas

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglaskramon/

Web. http://espn.com

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Refining Your 2025 AI Strategy with RapidScale’s Duane Barnes

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:08:00 +0000

A new year often means resolutions and plans for your business. And for 2025, one of those plans is likely focused on literally and figuratively getting your arms around your AI strategy.

Making effective use of AI in 2025 means rewinding one whole hype cycle to the early 2020s to big data. That's the last big story we were all talking about. Organization, accuracy, availability, and, of course, security of your data are the essential building blocks for you to build a language model that is serviceable and accurate for your business. It's the core of your AI strategy.

In this episode of The Bridge, Scott interviews Duane Barnes, president of RapidScale. RapidScale is owned by Cox (yes, that Cox), and we understand why Duane believes that nine out of every ten of you are not prepared for AI — but you can be! It won't take a massive budget, nor will it be a multi-year project, but it will take understanding where you are.

During the conversation, they explore RapidScale’s mission to simplify IT for businesses, the current state of AI in the hype cycle, and the challenges companies face in leveraging AI effectively. Duane shares insights on customer engagement, real-world AI applications, and the importance of having a clear strategy when implementing AI tools like Co-Pilot.

They also delve into the critical aspects of AI governance, the importance of data management and having quality data, strategic approaches to AI adoption, and with the risks associated with AI usage in businesses, emphasizing the need for proper governance policies and the potential consequences of data leaks.

RapidScale is the managed cloud partner that turns technology into your biggest competitive advantage. Their comprehensive portfolio of private and public cloud solutions is tailored to your needs and backed by one of the deepest benches of certified experts in the industry. They make innovation easy by bringing you the latest solutions to keep your technology platforms responsive and delivering the consistent results your business deserves.

Topics discussed in this episode on AI strategy:

· Duane’s journey into technology.

· Why AI is still in the hype cycle, with many companies exploring its potential.

· Why AI adoption requires a cultural shift within organizations and data organization is crucial for leveraging AI effectively.

· How can real-world AI applications significantly improve efficiency, and why is prompt engineering essential for practical AI tool usage?

· Why data privacy is crucial when using AI applications and the risks when data management is neglected in AI strategies - the importance of data accuracy cannot be overstated.

· How starting small with AI projects can lead to success.

· Why do companies need to connect AI tools to their existing data for maximum benefit?

· Internal policies are necessary to protect sensitive data when using AI. Businesses often lack governance steps for AI.

· The impact of AI tools on employees and customers - many employees use AI tools without understanding the risks, and most customers lack a fully formed idea for AI implementation.

Why governance policies should be more than just compliance.

About Duane Barnes

Duane Barnes is an accomplished senior executive with a distinguished career spanning over two decades in the cloud and managed services business. He currently holds the position of President of RapidScale, a Cox Business Company, encompassing the acquisitions of RapidScale and Logicworks.

Having joined RapidScale in 2016 as head of the Solutions Engineering group, Mr. Barnes swiftly rose through the ranks, demonstrating exceptional leadership and strategic acumen. His tenure saw him assume pivotal roles such as Senior Vice President of Technology and interim Chief Technology Officer, before eventually being appointed Chief Operating Officer in June 2020. Subsequently, he assumed his current role as President, where he directs a multifaceted portfolio encompassing Operations, Technology, Product Management, Cybersecurity, Sales, Marketing, and Finance.

Mr. Barnes' extensive expertise extends across diverse domains within IT, with a particular emphasis on enterprise data centers and managed cloud services. Prior to his tenure at RapidScale, he held key leadership positions at organizations such as Intelisys, Open-Xchange, Windstream, and The Walt Disney Company, building a solid foundation in complex technology solutions and managed services projects. His breadth of knowledge encompasses private and public cloud computing, cybersecurity, and professional services.

Complementing his wealth of experience, Mr. Barnes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Phoenix. His unwavering commitment to excellence and proven track record make him a highly respected leader in the field of technology and business management.

Contact Duane

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/duanebarnes/

Web. https://rapidscale.net/about/leadership#duane-barnes

Twitter/X. https://x.com/duanebarnes

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship - Part Two

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 01:04:00 +0000

How is AI transforming IT leadership?

AI solves no problems by itself. But with the proper workflows and systems around it, it drives real-world ROI. Rather than replacing humans, it can enable the next level of cross-functional collaboration.

The panel explored AI's role in transforming business processes and IT leadership in part two of the 2024 Bridgepoint Tech Summit episode of The Bridgecast.

The discussion focuses on AI’s potential to enhance human performance, streamline workflows, and enable cross-functional collaboration within organizations. The panel emphasizes that effective AI adoption requires alignment across stakeholders and robust governance policies to mitigate risks like bias and inaccuracy.

Our discussion panel included:

· Nick Slater, Chief Revenue Officer, Dialpad

· Milind Pansare, Vice President of Product Marketing, Observe AI

· Shawn O’Connell, Vice President of Global AI Sales, Talkdesk

· Kristy Thomas, Senior Vice President of Global Channels and Alliances, Vonage

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Why AI should enhance human performance rather than replace it.

· How companies must align cross-functional stakeholders to drive successful AI adoption.

· Why governance and readiness are crucial before implementing AI solutions.

· How AI-driven tools can streamline workflows and improve employee productivity.

· Why knowledge repositories and accurate data are essential for effective AI integration.

· Why personalization and human interaction remain critical for customer satisfaction.

How industry-specific AI applications are gaining traction, with contact centers being a major area of focus.

2024 Live at Tech Summit's Episode Links:

2024 Tech Summit Live Episode Part I

2023 Live at Tech Summit's Episode Links:

2023 Tech Summit Live Episode Part I

2023 Tech Summit Live Episode Part 2

ABOUT THE PANEL

Nick Slater, Dialpad CRO

I am an experienced sales and operations leader with a track record of delivering consistent revenue growth, exceeding targets, improving sales productivity and developing top-tier technology sales and support teams. I have built several global teams from ideation to scale that have sold and supported hundreds of millions of dollars in ongoing revenues.

My previous sales and operations teams built the strategy, charter and infrastructure to take an organization from ~$25M in annual revenues to over $800M in 9 years. We effectively scaled a 100 employee “startup” business unit to a 1,500 employee global leader in the space.

I have a servant leadership philosophy revolving around hiring incredibly passionate, determined and intelligent individuals and providing them with the guidance, resources and autonomy to showcase their abilities most effectively. This has resulted in some of the lowest employee attrition and highest employee trust and engagement scores in my organizations.

Web. https://www.dialpad.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-slater-41113a10/

Shawn O'Connell, Talkdesk Vice President Global AI Sales

Innovative Leader in AI Sales Shawn O'Connell is a distinguished sales executive with extensive experience in AI and technology. As the Vice President of Global AI Sales at Talkdesk, he leads worldwide sales strategies for the Ascend AI Platform. Previously, as SVP of North America Sales at Yellow.ai, Shawn was the driver behind significantly expanded market presence. At Celonis, he played a key role in scaling the Western US HiTech vertical. His tenure at Salesforce was marked by consistent revenue growth and market expansion across Enterprise and Strategic Accounts. Shawn has also excelled in roles at BMC Software, Trace3, and EMC Corporation, building high-performing teams and delivering exceptional results. Shawn is renowned for his strategic vision and commitment to innovation and growth in the technology industry

Web. http://www.talkdesk.com

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-o-connell-17a27a32/

Milind Pansare, Observe.AI Vice President Product Marketing

Milind Pansare has led marketing and software engineering teams at startups and Silicon Valley icons for 30 years. When not immersed in tech, he grows grapes, makes wine, and prays for snow.

Web. https://www.observe.ai/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/milindpansare/

Kristy Thomas, Vonage Senior VP of Global Channel and Alliances

With an unwavering passion for technology and telecommunications, Kristy Thomas is a seasoned expert in driving organizational success. Equipped with extensive knowledge and experience, she empowers businesses to navigate the dynamic technology landscape with confidence.

🚀 Future-Ready Solutions: As a forward-thinking strategist, Kristy is dedicated to helping businesses leverage cutting-edge technologies for operational efficiencies and agility gains. She possesses an innate ability to identify opportunities that drive growth and foster innovation.

💼 Customer-Centric Approach: With a relentless focus on customer experience, Kristy ensures that organizations gain a competitive edge by delivering exceptional service. She understands the power of building strong customer relationships and guides companies in creating meaningful connections.

🔧 Operational Excellence: Armed with her expertise in operations management, Kristy streamlines processes, enhances productivity, and optimizes performance. Her insights enable organizations to adapt swiftly to market changes while maximizing their resources. ✨ Transforming Possibilities into Reality: Known for her visionary mindset, Kristy excels at translating complex technologies into tangible business solutions. She empowers teams to embrace change, embrace innovation, and stay ahead of the curve in this fast-paced digital era.

Web. https://www.vonage.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristy-thomas-bb004a29/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part One)

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:55:00 +0000

Is your business experiencing AI fatigue?

Right now, AI is all anyone is talking about…but too many conversations are about tech and innovation when they should be about getting measurable outcomes.

In this live episode of The Bridgecast, recorded at the Bridgepointe Tech Summit 2024, we sat down with thought leaders from Dialpad, Observe AI, Talkdesk, and Vonage so they could share some timely insights on how companies are cutting through the AI hype and making it work.

We talk about how AI is transforming customer and employee experiences with some real-life success stories, practical applications and ROI-driven use cases. Plus, this conversation dives into the AI hype cycle and the challenges of AI fatigue.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Why AI adoption must be tied to clear ROI metrics to overcome fatigue and skepticism.
• Customer experience (CX) is often the entry point for businesses starting their AI journey.
• Why companies should prioritize readiness assessments to identify meaningful use cases for AI.
• How employee experience enhancements, such as automating routine tasks, provide significant ROI.
• Why effective AI implementation requires aligning tools across platforms like Salesforce.
• Why is generative AI’s role in transcription, data insights, and automation pivotal for efficiency?
• How storytelling around ROI is essential to gaining buy-in from stakeholders.

2023 Live at Tech Summit's Episode Links:

2023 Tech Summit Live Episode Part I
https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/artificial-intelligence-debate/

2023 Tech Summit Live Episode Part 2
https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/questions-about-artificial-intelligence/

ABOUT THE PANEL

Nick Slater, Dialpad CRO

Web. https://www.dialpad.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-slater-41113a10/

Shawn O'Connell, Talkdesk Vice President Global AI Sales

Web. http://www.talkdesk.com

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-o-connell-17a27a32/

Milind Pansare, Observe.AI Vice President Product Marketing

Milind Pansare has led marketing and software engineering teams at startups and Silicon Valley icons for 30 years. When not immersed in tech, he grows grapes, makes wine, and prays for snow.

Web. https://www.observe.ai/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/milindpansare/

Kristy Thomas, Vonage Senior VP of Global Channel and Alliances

Web. https://www.vonage.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristy-thomas-bb004a29/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Building Your Personal Brand in the Era of Virtual Meetings with Zoom’s Patrick Kelley

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 02:06:00 +0000

There are five generations in the workforce today, and every one speaks, communicates, and collaborates differently. You have to meet them all where they are—generally in their homes behind screens.

While your personal brand used to be based on how you interacted with people in the real world, now, what happens on screen is your brand, and you need to invest in it.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, Scott interviews Patrick Kelley, Distinguished Architect at Zoom, who shares insights on optimizing online meetings and video conferencing.

Patrick — also known as The Tattooed Nerd — discusses his background in technology, his role at Zoom, and the importance of audio and video quality in virtual communication. He’s an expert on the tools you likely use daily to communicate with peers, customers, and prospects. He provides practical tips for improving meeting etiquette, lighting, and background setup, emphasizing the need for both employees and employers to invest in quality equipment.

Zoom helps people stay connected so they can get more done together. They set out on a mission to make video communications frictionless and secure by building the world’s best video product for the enterprise, but they didn’t stop there. With products like AI Companion, Team Chat, Contact Center, Phone, Events, Rooms, Webinar, Contact Center, and more, they bring innovation to a wide variety of customers, from the conference room to the classroom, from doctor’s offices to financial institutions to government agencies, from global brands to small businesses.

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Why practice and preparation are essential for effective communication.

· Why preparation is key to successful presentations.

· Why employers should invest in quality equipment for employees.

· How every generation communicates differently in the workplace, and we need to adapt to each style.

· Why audio quality is the most important aspect of video calls.

· How lighting can significantly enhance video quality.

· How personal backgrounds can reflect individual brands in meetings.

o Why virtual backgrounds can detract from personal branding.

· How a good camera can make a significant difference in video quality.

· Why Investing in a decent microphone is affordable and impactful.

· Leadership lessons Patrick has learned along the way.

· Future predictions regarding AI.

About Patrick Kelley

Chief Technology Evangelist, Top 50 UCaaS Influencer, Published Author, Distinguished Architect, Public Speaker, Story Teller, Content Creator, Marketer, Sales Enablement Leader, and Donut Lover.

I help lead competitive enablement discussions with our customers.

Lead content creator

Sales Enablement Leader

Pre-Sales Engineer Lead

Public Speaker

Master of Ceremonies

Strategic Integration Leader

Technology Storyteller

Master of Webinars

The guy that answers the question “So who can lead this effort perfectly?”

Contact Patrick

Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAi8mVZlMS_9Mk2_R41VZWw

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-kelley-zoom/

Twitter. https://x.com/pkelley27

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Mentorship Matters: Lessons from a CTO with Performive’s Ryan DiRocco

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 01:40:00 +0000

Have you ever noticed that being an entrepreneur and an IT leader require nearly the same skills?

On this episode of the Bridgecast, Scott sits down with Ryan DiRocco, CTO of Performive. We explore that intersection and how experience and mentorship play critical roles in both realms. We discuss why mentorship is essential—not just when you lack specific skills but even when you think you’ve covered them.

It's a lot like using an MSP to deliver a product. Sure, you could go it alone, but sometimes it's worth paying more to avoid costly mistakes. Like an MSP, mentorship can save you time, money, and headaches.

Ryan discusses his extensive background in technology, the evolution of Performive, and the importance of customer service in tech solutions. He also shares insights on navigating the mid-market landscape, the role of VMware, and the significance of leveraging hyper scalers and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) for business efficiency. The conversation also touches on lessons learned from past experiences and predictions for the future of IT infrastructure.

Performive partners with growing mid-sized companies by delivering secure, VMware-based cloud solutions, on-demand engineering resources, and 24/7/365 Devoted Customer Support. They meet their customers’ needs through VMware cloud solutions, data protection, and managed security services. With a consistent global platform to leverage, these medium-sized businesses now have access to solutions that simplify their day-to-day operations. Their customers’ internal IT teams are now entirely focused on driving innovation and business solutions in this demanding, ever-changing, technology-focused era.

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Why experience is invaluable in navigating business challenges and how mentorship can guide entrepreneurs.

· Why understanding customer pain points is crucial for success.

· Why the mid-market has unique challenges that require tailored solutions.

· Why VMware plays a significant role in many mid-market organizations.

· Why cost control is essential in managing IT budgets.

· How DaaS can provide predictable costs and security for organizations.

· How leveraging hyperscalers can optimize workload management.

· Why redundancy in infrastructure is critical to avoid failures.

· Why customer service should be at the core of technology offerings.

About Ryan DiRocco

Ryan DiRocco is an expert in networking and enterprise operations with more than two decades of experience within the IT and managed services sector. He brings deep knowledge in virtualized environment architectures, efficiencies, and operations to lead the Performive technical teams. Having built a solid foundation within the managed services space, Ryan’s experience and dedication is a key component of the Performive team.

The smooth operation of Performives’ global workloads is Ryan’s chief goal. Additionally, he guides engineering and technical product development across the brand.

Contact Ryan

Web. https://performive.com

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-dirocco-5453447/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

From HQ to Cloud: The New Network Core with 11:11 Systems’ Anthony Lobretto

Bridgepointe Technologies — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:27:00 +0000

IT leaders, remember when your headquarters was the heart of your business network?

You connected everything to it—offices, remote workers through VPNs, and kept security at the HQ. Then, the cloud arrived, and COVID changed everything. Suddenly, we stopped focusing on connectivity and locations.

Now, the data center and cloud are the new network core, and while speeds and performance still matter, they're not the main topic anymore.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, Scott interviews Anthony Lobretto, Senior Vice President of Connectivity Services, at 11:11 Systems. We discuss Anthony’s background, his journey to 11:11, and the company’s focus on bridging cloud connectivity and security. Also, we discussed how 11:11 provides a single pane of glass for managing connectivity, security, and cloud services, making it easier for customers to navigate and optimize their infrastructure.

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that holistically addresses the challenges of next-generation managed cloud, connectivity and security requirements. 11:11 combines the teams and technology behind market-leading, analyst-vetted companies like Sungard AS and iland to deliver increased performance, optimization and savings. 11:11 provides cloud, connectivity and security solutions from its global footprint of data centers throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Topics discussed in this episode:

· Why having a solid team, a clear mission, and a relentless attitude are crucial to success as an entrepreneur.

· Why 11:11 offers agnostic connectivity services, allowing customers to mix and match their existing connections with additional circuits for resiliency.

· How 11:11 is a marketplace vendor on AWS, making it easier for customers to purchase and manage their connectivity services.

· Why mistakes are inevitable, but it’s essential to learn from them and operate within established policies and procedures.

· Why, in a dystopian future, Anthony would choose iMessage as the one application left on his mobile phone.

About Anthony Lobretto

As the Senior Vice President of Connectivity at 11:11 Systems, Anthony drives transformative strategies in connectivity products and technology. With a keen focus on innovation, he leads comprehensive initiatives spanning quoting, cost management, systems, and M&A infrastructure integration. At the intersection of vision and execution, he defines and executes the connectivity product strategy, ensuring that 11:11 Systems’ offerings align with market dynamics and propel 11:11 Systems to the forefront of the industry. Anthony’s leadership extends to optimizing quoting processes, managing costs for sustained profitability, orchestrating streamlined systems, and seamlessly integrating new infrastructures through mergers and acquisitions. This role encapsulates his commitment to shaping the future of connectivity, fostering innovation, and positioning 11:11 Systems as a trailblazer in the evolving landscape of Cloud, Security, and Connectivity.

Contact Anthony

Web. https://1111systems.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-lobretto/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Cost Optimization for Cloud Hyperscalers with ProsperOps’ Chris Cochran

Bridgepointe Technologies — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:34:00 +0000

When optimizing your cloud hyperscaler expenses, there’s a massive difference between workload optimization and rate optimization. We put tons of effort into the performance of our workloads to control usage, but far less attention is paid to how much we pay for that usage.

And we’re not talking about the size we buy — we’re talking about the minor incremental changes that can be accomplished algorithmically throughout the day to ensure that you are paying less for the usage that your workload generates.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, Scott interviews Chris Cochran, co-founder and CEO of ProsperOps. the tech scene in Austin, the importance of automation in cloud optimization, and the value of rate optimization in reducing cloud costs. Chris shares his experience starting the company and offers advice for entrepreneurs. We also talk about AI's potential and future in cloud optimization.

ProsperOps’ is a hands-free AWS cost optimization platform offering customers a solution to automatically reduce their AWS cloud costs with zero ongoing effort. Their mission is to remove complexity and deliver savings outcomes so every business can prosper in the cloud.

Topics covered in this episode on information security and risk management:

How automation and algorithms can solve cloud optimization problems that humans can’t, leading to cost savings and improved performance.
Why rate optimization, focusing on reducing cloud costs, is an important aspect of cloud optimization.
Why starting a company requires finding the right partners and having a clear vision.
How the potential of AI in solving specific problems is still being explored.
Why In a hypothetical world-ending scenario, X would be the app of choice for entertainment and information.

ABOUT CHRIS COCHRAN

Chris co-founded ProsperOps with two former colleagues from Rackspace and serves as CEO. Our FinOps automation platform delivers a simple, fully autonomous cost optimization service for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud.

Previously, Chris served as CEO of Chargify, a recurring billing and subscription management SaaS. In eighteen months, the company doubled revenue, headcount, and changed every element of strategy, culture, product, and business model to reposition into the top tier of providers.

Prior to Chargify, Chris was a Senior Vice President & General Manager at Rackspace during its growth from $500 million to $2 billion in revenue. During his tenure, Chris co-founded and/or led multiple business units (Fanatical Support for AWS, Enterprise, Managed Colocation, DataStores, Private Cloud) and corporate strategy during the shift to managed cloud.

Prior to Rackspace, Chris held strategy and operations roles with Electronic Data Systems and was a management consultant with Ernst & Young. Chris earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University and a MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

CONTACT CHRIS

Web. http://www.prosperops.com

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/prosperops/

Insta. https://www.instagram.com/prosperops/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Fortifying the Digital Frontier: Information Security and Risk Management with Melanie Thomas

Bridgepointe Technologies — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 15:47:00 +0000

Information security and risk management are kind of like the chicken or the egg — what comes first?

In this episode of The Bridgecast, Scott interviews Melanie Thomas, the Vice President of Cybersecurity at Bridgepointe. They discuss Melanie’s background, her transition to Bridgepointe, and her belief that change doesn’t need to be scary, but in light of recent events, it IS necessary.

We also discussed the recent CrowdStrike outage how it may affect how we think about our internal IT operations.

Melanie shares her insights on the importance of policy and governance in cybersecurity, the need for more centralized control of devices, and the potential consolidation of vendors in the industry. They also touch on the concept of Hope Punk and its relevance in approaching cybersecurity challenges with optimism and resilience.

Topics discussed in this episode on information security and risk management:

· Melanie’s background and transition to Bridgepointe as the VP of Cybersecurity.

· Why is the cybersecurity market moving towards more mature conversations, with customers having an idea of their security needs and implementing basic solutions?

· How the recent CrowdStrike incident highlights the importance of policy and governance in cybersecurity and the need for centralized device control.

Why vendors may need to take a step back and prioritize testing and release processes to avoid overpromising and underdelivering.

BLOG. Lessons from the CrowdStrike Outage: Moving Forward by Building Sustainable Systems

PODCAST. Exploring the Cybersecurity Landscape with Melanie Thomas of AT&T

ABOUT MELANIE THOMAS

Melanie Thomas is the Vice President of Cybersecurity at Bridgepointe Technologies.

Thomas joins Bridgepointe from LevelBlue, formerly AT&T Cybersecurity, where she held the role of Principal-Cybersecurity, overseeing services such as Managed Threat Detect and Respond (MTDR) and Managed Endpoint Security (MES), in addition to advising security and consulting teams on active customer incident response engagements. A respected leader in the cybersecurity space, Melanie is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego and holds multiple certifications, along with a M.S. in Cybersecurity Strategy and Information Management.

CONTACT MELANIE

Web. https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/team/melaniethomas/

University of SD. https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/faculty/melanie-thomas/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/themelaniethomas/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Reaction to Inaction with Jack Jackson

Bridgepointe Technologies — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 03:32:00 +0000

Every business book in the past 20 years has in some way talked about being customer-obsessed. And of course, to do that, you need to empower your employees to innovate. Mistakes be damned! However, some recent challenges with software updates to 80 % of the operating systems in the world might say that we may need to pause unbridled innovation.

In this episode of The Bridgecast, I interview Jack Jackson, a seasoned tech executive and author of the upcoming book Reaction to Inaction. During our conversation, Jack shares his background in the tech industry and his passion for leadership, emphasizing the importance of inspiring and empowering people to be successful.

Our primary focus for the chat was on Jack’s book, which explores how organizations, employees, and customers suffer when people fail to take action and provide insights and strategies for overcoming inaction and driving positive change.

The book Reaction to Inaction addresses the issue of organizations and employees. Jack was inspired to write it after witnessing an employee’s frustration in trying to help a customer but being unable to take action due to red tape and bureaucracy. The book proposes a framework for building dynamic and innovative organizations where employees feel empowered and trusted. It emphasizes the importance of putting the customer first and removing barriers to action.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How Jack’s book provides insights and strategies for overcoming inaction.

● and driving positive change.

● Why building fences, not tearing them down, might be

● the key to balancing innovation and risk.

● How leadership is about inspiring and empowering people to be successful.

● Why inaction can have negative consequences for organizations, employees, and customers.

● Why taking action is essential for driving positive change.

● How organizations, employees, and customers suffer when people fail to take action.

● The book’s framework for building dynamic and innovative organizations.

● How the framework applies to various areas —including IT —and encourages employee empowerment while managing compliance and risk.

Why putting the customer first and removing barriers to action are key principles in the book.

Get The Book

https://thereactiontoinactionbook.com/

ABOUT JACK JACKSON

Experienced operational hyper growth executive with a dynamic management career in selling technology products within a competitive global landscape. Organizational health builder with 20 years experience exceeding revenue goals in worldwide markets. Proven sales leader with direct and channel success. Expert in building top-producing selling organizations through strategic marketing, tactical sales, key account management partner enablement and operational excellence. Deep understanding of growth and scale operations. Outstanding record of achievement in large sales negotiations. Excellent communicator with the ability to actively manage change. Impeccable track record of high growth quick to scale execution. Track record of building high performance sales organizations and managing 100M+ organizations.

CONTACT JACK

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-jackson-4137894

Web. https://aratum.com/perspective/saas-sales-expert-jack-jackson-joins-aratum-as-senior-vice-president-for-global-sales/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Contact Center Integration with Talkdesk’s Rei Kesai

Bridgepointe Technologies — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 21:48:00 +0000

You’ve heard the old adage that everyone in business is in customer service or customer experience. Yet, legacy contact center software has been designed for one primary

workflow — the customer service agent. This results in our approach to CX and customer expectations being out of alignment, meaning we need to focus more on contact center integration.

On this episode of The Bridgecast, I talk to Rei Kesai, Senior Vice President of Product at Talkdesk. We discuss Rei’s background, his journey in the CX space, and how Talkdesk has evolved into a full-blown CCaaS platform.

We also explore the convergence of communications, customer data management, analytics, and automation and how Talkdesk focuses on creating industry-specific workflows and applications. We chat about the challenges of integration, the importance of simplifying the customer experience and the changing expectations of customers.

Talkdesk® is a global cloud contact center leader for enterprises of all sizes. Talkdesk CX Cloud and Industry Experience Clouds help enterprises deliver modern customer service their way. Their trusted, flexible, and innovative contact center platform leverages AI and automation to drive exceptional customer outcomes and improve the bottom line.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How Talkdesk has evolved from a telephony capability for CRM platforms to a full-blown CCaaS platform and an AI platform for customer experience.

● How Talkdesk focuses on creating industry-specific workflows and applications to enable customer experiences and solve high-value use cases.

● Why is simplifying integration with standard back-office systems of record a crucial focus for Talkdesk?

● How the expectations of customers and businesses have changed, with a demand for multimodal and connected communications.

● Why Talkdesk aims to provide a seamless and personalized customer experience by enabling choice and integrating different communication modalities.

● Why Talkdesk believes that everyone in the company, not just a specific department, should be involved in delivering great customer service.

● How AI is being used to drive workflows and integrate with business applications, enhancing customer experiences.

● Why Talkdesk has developed a platform incorporating advanced technologies like AI and NLP to automate and analyze customer interactions.

How Talkdesk’s product, Navigator, replaces the traditional IVR system and provides more personalized and efficient customer service

Other Talkdesk Episodes

The Intersection of Business Communication and Technology with Talkdesk’s Bill Welch

ABOUT REI KESAI

I am a strategic product and engineering executive and my specialty is building scalable businesses, teams, and products. I have had the fortunate opportunity of experiencing what it takes to build start-ups into market leaders multiple times and have operated at all stages of growth from early-stage start-ups to mature global tech companies.

My 25+ Years of experience includes:
• GenAI, CRM/CX, Enterprise App Platforms, Analytics, Mobile, IoT, Mar-tech, SFA, Customer Service, Field Service, and Contact Center
• Hiring, managing, and leading small VC-backed start-up teams to large global development organizations
• Defining strategy, delivering roadmap, and nurturing customer relationships to secure market leadership
• Managing hyper-growth as a company being acquired as well as being the acquirer
• Transforming cultures from sales and engineering-led companies to a product-led one
• Building and launching new disruptive products from ground up
• Leadership roles in strategy, product, and engineering and GTM roles in pre-sales and product marketing

CONTACT REI

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/reikasai/

Web. https://www.talkdesk.com/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Enterprise Technology Integration & Essential Advice for IT Leaders with Evolve IP’s Peter Eisengrein

Scott Kinka — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 14:40:00 +0000

As one of the early innovators in the hosted PBX space nearly twenty years ago, Peter offers countless insights on pre-integrated, self-contained user environments for remote work, collaboration, and innovation.

Evolve IP partners with IT professionals to integrate their essential productivity and communication tools into a single, secure cloud-based solution, ﬁne-tuned for the hybrid workforce and delivered as a service. By integrating these disconnected systems and ﬁlling in the gaps, they improve both productivity and security, increasing uptime to improve the future of work for everyone.

Topics covered in this episode:

● The challenges of enterprise technology integration and why you don’t want to be in the integration business.

● How Desktop as a Service (DaaS) simplifies IT operations and enables remote work and why wider adoption is hindered by various factors.

● The shift from a CapEx model to a monthly recurring model is challenging but beneficial.

● How cloud-based communication platforms enable easier security management and device control.

● Insight into why voice specialists have focused on leveraging productivity applications as the front end.

The hype about AI technology and what companies must consider when implementing it.

Other EvolveIP Episodes

End User Computing with Evolve IP’s Kevin Sullivan

ABOUT PETE EISENGREIN

Peter is a founding member of Evolve IP. Currently serving as Chief Product Officer, Pete is responsible for product vision, strategy, and execution, and leads a high-performing product management team, collaborates with cross-functional teams, and defines product priorities to deliver tangible business value through innovative cloud solutions. Prior to taking on the CPO role, he led Evolve IP’s global Voice Engineering team.

Before joining Evolve IP, Peter served as Director of Engineering for ATX Communications, Inc., where he was responsible for the planning, design, budgeting, development, and support for the ATX network. In this role, Pete oversaw the technical product development and design of the ATX Voice over IP (VoIP) product.

Peter holds a B.M. from West Chester University and completed his post-graduate studies at Temple University.

CONTACT PETE

Web.

LinkedIn.

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Are Data Center Resources Having a Renaissance? With Flexential’s Ryan Mallory

Scott Kinka — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 01:29:00 +0000

AI is igniting innovation in colocation and data center resources at a pace not seen in decades. But what do you need to know right now?

In this episode of The Bridge, host Scott Kinka is joined by guest Ryan Mallory, COO at Flexential, to dive into the seismic shifts AI is causing in data centers.

Ryan shares insights on Flexential's rapid expansion, their game-changing FlexAnywhere® platform, and why emotional intelligence is crucial for industry leaders.

Tune in to hear about the future of data centers and the exciting developments shaping this critical infrastructure.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

● Ryan's background and journey in the tech and data center industry.

● The current renaissance with data center resources, moving beyond traditional power, pipe, and ping models.

● The reinvention of the industry around new workloads.

● Interconnection and ecosystem building in data centers.

● The anticipation of continuous innovation driven by customer workloads.

● The importance of domestic innovation in driving use cases.

● Short and long-term predictions for the industry.

Subscribe to The Bridge wherever you listen to podcasts, and please rate or review the show.

Other Flexential Episodes

Technology Hype Cycles with Jason Carolan at Flexential

Books

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

ABOUT RYAN MALLORY

As COO for Flexential, Ryan drives operational excellence and performance optimization for the integrated colocation and interconnection portfolio - including colocation services, cloud managed services, backbone, real estate, data center and network operations, design and construction, development, customer experience and support and FPS.

Ryan joined Flexential in 2020 after nearly a decade at Equinix and has more than 25 years of experience building high-performing technical teams for global, hyper-growth technology companies, including UUNET, SAVVIS, Digital Realty, and XO Communications.

Ryan has pioneered the development of a single platform delivering a full suite of hybrid IT infrastructure solutions at all scale levels and brings a deep understanding of interconnection models and emerging edge applications to the Flexential team. The company’s national hybrid FlexAnywhere™ Platform of 41 data centers and industry-leading 100Gbps network backbone underpins the new single hybrid platform which provides secure, low latency connections for thousands of customers worldwide. He is focused on supporting a seamless, unified customer journey with a product portfolio that is aligned to a single, holistic and complete understanding of customer requirements.

Most recently, Ryan was SVP of Global Solutions Enablement for Equinix, working hand-in-hand with the global sales, network platform, software and operations teams. Previously, Ryan led key sales and operations leadership functions for Digital Realty .

Ryan received a bachelor’s degree in International Business from University of Phoenix.

CONTACT RYAN

Web. https://www.flexential.com/company/leadership

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mallory-3483504/

Twitter. https://twitter.com/RyanMallory551

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Transformative Impact of Acquisition with BCM One’s Mike Nowak

Scott Kinka — Mon, 13 May 2024 17:55:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Mike Nowak, BCM One’s Chief Revenue Officer. We discuss how the Pure IP acquisition has been transformative for BCM One and much more.

BCM One is a leading global provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services to IT leaders and channel resellers. BCM One streamlines the complexity of enterprise voice solutions and managed network services. BCM One prides itself on its long-standing client relationships backed by their mission statement, “To Provide a World-Class Experience with Every Human Interaction.” BCM One’s family of brands include: BCM One, SIP.US, SIPTRUNK, SkySwitch, Flowroute and Pure IP.

During our conversation, we discussed why future-proofing communication infrastructure is crucial. We also discussed the market's adoption of Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx, the challenges and opportunities of integrating different communication platforms, and other related topics.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How legacy devices and brand loyalty play a role in the decision-making process for businesses choosing between Teams and WebEx.

● How BCMOne offers agnostic solutions that integrate with different platforms.

● Why hybrid environments, where different platforms coexist, are typical in large organizations undergoing business transformations.

● Why managed teams are a valuable service for mid-market organizations.

● How bundling and unbundling of services can have an impact on market share.

● Why automation is a key driver for business process optimization.

● Why the network business has seen changes post-COVID, with a focus on cost optimization and vendor consolidation.

● How network intelligence and access providers are often separate, but can be combined for comprehensive solutions.

Other BCM One Episodes

Swimming in the Whale’s Wake with Geoff Bloss of BCM One

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/swimming-in-the-whales-wake-with-geoff-bloss-of-bcm-one/

The Bridge Podcast with Mike Nowak from BCM One

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/the-bridge-podcast-with-mike-nowak-from-bcm-one/

Books

The Art of War

https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1721195092/ref=asc_df_1721195092/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693706201118&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2761887283369527471&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1024894&hvtargid=pla-677037615274&psc=1&mcid=f42f4ea890193155b9f79d09e97c6c85&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fq6RnhABOM78ttwpecunW5Qj-_C_c6merzFcqhubdPmov2LTVzWgixoCexoQAvD_BwE

ABOUT MIKE NOWAK

In his role as Chief Revenue Officer, Mike Nowak has revenue generation and sales strategy responsibilities for the BCM One family of brands including BCM One Retail, Pure IP, SkySwitch, SIP.US, SIPTRUNK, and Flowroute. Additionally, Nowak leads BCM One’s sales engineering and sales operations teams, and is responsible for sales integration and go-to-market strategy for all M&A activity. His highly strategic and structured approach—for setting policies; making product, pricing, process, and systems decisions; aligning team skills; and more—has enabled him to successfully integrate nine acquisitions while avoiding cross-over inefficiencies and channel conflict within the different business segments and maintaining a consistently high sales-to-profit ratio.

Nowak was previously the Vice President of Sales at nexVortex, which was acquired by BCM One in 2020, helping build the organization from a small start-up to a growth company validated with over 40 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and recognition on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies 10 years in a row. Nowak also held channel sales positions at Aspen Consulting and Bandwidth.com, and he started his career in technical sales at IBM.

Nowak was named to the prestigious list of Channel Chiefs by CRN® in 2022, representing top leaders in the IT channel who excel at driving growth and revenue. He holds a B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University.

CONTACT MIKE

Web. https://www.bcmone.com/company/leadership/mike-nowak/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-nowak-7224555/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Exploring VMware Alternatives with Bridgepointe’s Saad Saleem

Scott Kinka — Tue, 07 May 2024 15:12:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by one of our Bridgepointe team members, Saad Saleem, Senior Cloud Architect. We’re walking through the overarching impact of recent VMware changes on customers and service providers and exploring some VMware alternatives.

Bridgepointe is a tech advisory firm that helps bridge the gap between tech investments and business goals. For two decades, we've helped mid-market and enterprise clients make quicker, more informed tech investments. We'll help you save time by shortening the procurement process while saving money and increasing ROI. We work with 150+ suppliers to simplify the process of planning and procuring the tech solutions you need to meet your tech and business needs.

During our conversation, we discussed the importance of assessing how to deliver business functionality, the potential for transformation in the cloud journey and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How VMware has shifted from perpetual license models to recurring revenue licenses.

● The cost increases customers are experiencing.

● How service providers have been impacted by the new licensing structure.

● Why service providers may need to seek licenses from larger partners.

● Why customers are exploring alternatives to VMware and reevaluating their service delivery models.

● How the focus is shifting towards delivering business functionality and considering the right mix of infrastructure and software expertise.

● Why IT administrators with VMware expertise may face challenges in transitioning to new tools and should carefully evaluate the costs and impacts of change.

Links for this episode:

Other VMware Episodes

Optimizing VMware Cloud Foundations with Rackspace’s Hannah Duce and Kevin Carter

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/

Is It Time for a VMware Breakup? With Enzu’s Dustin Young

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/vmware-breakup/

The Future of VMware with AJ Kuftic of Expedient

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/vmware/

Using AI at Scale with Adam Weiner of Granite

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/ai-at-scale/

More Saad Content

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/author/saadsaleem/

VMware Spotify Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Z9Ny7UQFghuZ2UXLOD969?si=8f13e09cf07d4b70

ABOUT SAAD SALEEM

As an architect, Saad leads Bridgepointe’s Cloud Transformation Practice. Saad joined Bridgepointe in 2018 after a SaaS Delivery focused IT and Product Management career spanning 25+ years at software companies including Oracle, Siebel, UpShot, Granicus and UnitedLayer.

A graduate of San Jose State, Saad is focused on IT Strategies that leverage technology to deliver business outcomes.

Areas of Focus:
▪ Cloud Strategy and Execution with an emphasis on Business Results
▪ Designing Workload Centric Integrated Cloud solutions that scale & integrate into the business
▪ SaaS Operations & Management

CONTACT SAAD

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadsaleem/

Web. https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/team/saadsaleem/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Optimizing VMware Cloud Foundations With Rackspace’s Hannah Duce and Kevin Carter

Scott Kinka — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:07:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by two of our partners from Rackspace: Hannah Duce, Director of Strategic Alliances and Kevin Carter, Product Director. We’re discussing the current state of affairs with the VMware evolution, optimizing VMWare cloud foundations, and much more.

Rackspace is the multicloud solutions expert. They know what you're up against because they've helped global companies across industries through it—and you can bet they're ready to help. Their team delivers results by listening to their customers’ challenges and building custom cloud services and solutions that support their business to perform better now and in the future.

During our conversation, we discussed the challenges and opportunities arising from the changing landscape and how Rackspace navigates through it. They also discussed the role of partnerships and alliances and the decision-making process for customers considering alternative platforms as it all relates to the VMware cloud foundation.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How the VMware-Broadcom deal has created challenges and opportunities for Rackspace and its customers.

● Rackspace’s long-standing partnership with VMware and how they’re working closely to navigate the changes.

● How Rackspace is a trusted advisor for customers who ask questions and consider alternative platforms.

● Critical strategies for mitigating the impact of the changes.

● Why Rackspace is focused on providing a simplified and comprehensive solution for customers in the multi-cloud hybrid world.

● What critical factors—like VMware's maturity level and the presence of mission-critical workloads—should be considered when making decisions about how to proceed?

● How optimizing VMware Cloud Foundation and leveraging its bundled elements can lead to increased value and speed up modernization efforts.

● Why tech stack displacement and rationalization may be necessary when transitioning to VMware Cloud Foundation.

● Why KVM is a mature and viable alternative to VMware, especially for organizations running Windows virtual machines.

ABOUT HANNAH DUCE

Passionate about providing solutions to bring benefit to others, applying concepts in new ways to improve efficiency, and creating meaningful connections between people or ideas. I've leveraged these strengths across multiple industries including IT, Retail, Consumer Products, and Foodservice.

My areas of expertise include identifying needs, developing go to market strategies, product and process development. I bring a personable approach to helping client’s solve problems by offering unique solutions that increase sales, innovation and customer satisfaction. One of my simple joys is teaching and cheering on others to success.

CONTACT HANNAH

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hzduce/

Web. https://www.rackspace.com/

ABOUT KEVIN CARTER

I'm Kevin Carter, a developer and leader with an insatiable appetite for learning, a penchant for tinkering, and a knack for solving the most perplexing problems. Throughout my career, I've honed my expertise in data center operations, gaining hands-on experience in everything from bare metal to networking, virtualization, and containers. I've also had the pleasure of leading successful teams developing innovative solutions for critical infrastructure applications within private clouds.

Now, I'm embarking on an exciting new adventure as a Product Director in open cloud computing, leveraging the power of OpenStack. While I may be new to this role, I'm no stranger to the world of cloud technology. As a leader, I will leverage my extensive background in cloud and systems engineering, and I'm eager to make a substantial impact in shaping the future of open cloud computing.

I've steadfastly advocated for open-source collaboration throughout my journey, contributing to many high-profile projects. My Git archives are a testament to my unyielding drive to innovate and learn from my endeavors. From creating OpenStack-ansible and Turbolift to simplifying TripleO and building Directord, I've consistently tackled the seemingly impossible, rallying like-minded individuals to accomplish ambitious objectives.

If you're interested in delving further into my work and achievements, I invite you to explore my website at https://cloudnull.io or peruse my GitHub repositories at https://github.com/cloudnull and https://github.com/oshied. You can also see my extensive contributions to the open-dev community at http://stackalytics.com/?user_id=kevin-carter. And now, as a Product Director, I look forward to spearheading even more exciting endeavors and (re)shaping the future of open cloud computing.

CONTACT KEVIN

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cloudnull/

Web. https://www.rackspace.com/article-author/kevin-carter

Web. https://www.rackspace.com/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Is It Time for a VMware Breakup? With Enzu’s Dustin Young

Scott Kinka — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 20:32:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Dustin Young, EVP of Global Sales and Marketing at Enzu. We’re discussing whether it’s time for a VMware breakup and much more.

Enzu is built on their TruCloud® Private Cloud Platform. Enzu solutions fuel growth and innovation for small, medium, and large enterprises by delivering expert capabilities in Global Bare Metal, Private Cloud, Migrations off VMware, Networking, Cloud, and Security. Combining decades of unmatched customer focus and passion for excellence, they deliver premium and affordable infrastructure-as-a-service solutions. Enzu also offers other services, including Disaster Recovery, Managed Services, and Cloud Optimization services.

During our conversation, we get into what to do if you’re still trying to sort out your VMware problem — whether it’s time for organizations to break their reliance on VMware, what comes next, determining if it’s the UI that you’ve come to know and be comfortable with that and keeps you locked in, other burning questions that may lead you to a VMware breakup.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Dustin’s career journey and how he landed at Enzu

● Why the Broadcom acquisition of VMware will likely transform the company into a hyperscaler.

● Why customers may face challenges and cost increases due to the acquisition.

● The importance for customers to understand the risks and explore alternative options.

● How VMware’s licensing changes and services bundling significantly impact customers.

● Considerations for transitioning to alternative platforms.

● How Enzu’s platform offers an abstraction layer and easy migration of VMs from VMware.

Links for this episode:

Trust Based Leadership by Mark Given

About Dustin Young

Savvy business leader, proud Autism advocate and parent, and proud United States Marine Corps Veteran with over 15+ years generating maximum financial results in the telecommunications and technology sales industry. Creative talent recruiter and relationship builder, exemplified by the ability to lead teams and execute complex initiatives that benefit both the company and the client. Strong ability to develop sales channels, go-to-market strategies, and program structures that can be implemented worldwide to drive incremental revenue, reduce operating costs, and optimize scalability. Extensive experience in enterprise mobility, big data, network design, and analytics. Proven skills in the development of strong revenue producing programs from green field to production in a start-up environment. High level of initiative and motivation that enables me to work well in an office or from home using video communications and collaborative efforts to succeed.

While the VP of Sales, I have grown overall revenue by 232%, signed 12 Master Agents, added 2 wholesale companies as clients, and partnered with Global Telecommunications Carriers

Oversaw all Channel Sales for a Tier 1, facilities based, business-grade IP service provider with a robust private IP network.

Built a program from scratch which later earned 47% of the company’s $34MM annual revenue stream

Served in a short term contract position developing the legal language and contracts needed to launch a channel program for a VAR, which is still currently in use

Gained remarkable revenue increases throughout my tenure: 318% in 2005, 263% in 2006, 245% in 2007, and 102% in 2008

Built an award winning SaaS Platform with my Engineering Team at O1 Communications

Earned the Top Sales Representative Award in the San Jose/Sacramento branch 23 of the 38 months

Contact Dustin

Web. https://enzu.com/about/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinyoung/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Role of Strategy in IT Leadership with Comcast Business’ Chris MacFarland

Scott Kinka — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 13:47:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Chris MacFarland, CEO and Chairman of Comcast Business. We’re talking about the importance of strategy in IT leadership, the upcoming advancements in AI and AGI and more.

As a pioneer in software-defined networking, Masergy is a leading secure cloud networking platform for global businesses. Acquired by Comcast Business in 2021, Masergy leverages artificial intelligence to enable superior application performance, offering SD-WAN, Security, UCaaS, and CCaaS solutions.

During our conversation, we get into the recent changes and updates within Comcast Business, the shift from being a cost center to a strategic business, and the future of AI and AGI.

Topics covered in this episode:

● The integration of Masergy with Comcast Business.

● Masergy’s focus on enhancing the cyber posture and resiliency of businesses of all sizes.

● Why Comcast Business aims to be the leader in global secure networking and invests in solutions beyond connectivity.

● Why IT leadership should be focusing on strategy and balancing offense and defense to drive innovation and success.

● Why advancements in AI and AGI significantly impact various industries and society.

● How the shift from Western medicine to personalized medicine and the focus on health span and longevity revolutionize healthcare.

Links for this episode:

Previous Episode with Chris MacFarland

https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/sd-wan-deployment-with-comcast-business-masergy-chris-macfarland/

ABOUT CHRIS MACFARLAND

In today's episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Chris MacFarland, the CEO of Comcast Business, a leading global private cloud networking and cybersecurity company. With an impressive career spanning notable organizations like BroadSoft and Allegiance Telecom, Chris is widely respected for his exceptional leadership skills, earning prestigious recognition such as Glassdoor Employees' Choice Top CEO. Beyond his professional achievements, Chris is actively involved in community service, serves on the boards of Compass Data Centers, Linear Labs, International Student Foundation and Tech Titans. Tune in as Chris shares his insights and experiences. And without further ado, let's dive into our conversation with this remarkable industry leader.

CONTACT CHRIS

Web. https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-business-closes-masergy-acquisition

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmacfarland/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Collaboration Technology Evolution with Graeme Geddes of Zoom

Scott Kinka — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:33:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Graeme Geddes, Chief Sales Officer at Zoom. We’re talking about the collaboration technology evolution, the role of Zoom as a communications platform and so much more.

Zoom is an all-in-one collaboration platform that makes connecting easier, more immersive, and more dynamic for people and businesses. Their team chat, phone, meetings, omnichannel contact center, whiteboard, workspace, and AI solutions help hybrid teams collaborate and get more done.

During our conversation, we explored the integration of productivity apps with Zoom, the company’s focus on innovation and AI, and how the collaboration technology evolution is playing out today in our post-pandemic world.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Graeme’s background and career path.

● The collaboration technology evolution.

● The adoption of video as a baseline for collaboration and the acceleration during the pandemic.

● The role of video in collaboration.

● Zoom’s focus on connecting disparate communication methods and enabling businesses to get work done more efficiently.

● The integration of productivity apps with Zoom.

● Why Zoom is investing in AI to augment and enhance user experiences.

● Why the role of the CIO has become crucial in driving digital transformation.

● Shameless predictions for the next 12 to 18 months.

Links for this episode:

LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Earn Your Employee’s Commute with Zoom’s Gary Sorrentino: https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/collaboration-and-productivity/

Books that Graeme mentions.

Simon Sinek: https://simonsinek.com/

ABOUT GRAEME GEDDES

Graeme Geddes is Chief Sales Officer at Zoom, responsible for leading Zoom’s enterprise sales, solution engineering, sales operations, enablement, and channel teams across the globe. A 20-year collaboration industry veteran, Graeme joined Zoom in 2019 to lead Zoom’s Phone business, taking it from a nascent product to more than 5.5 million seats sold in less than four years. He has also spearheaded the successful go-to-market strategies of many of Zoom’s recent platform innovations including Zoom Contact Center, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom IQ for Sales. Before joining Zoom, Graeme spent nearly 16 years at Cisco in a variety of leadership roles, finishing his tenure there as Americas Director for Collaboration Sales of Webex Meetings, Video Devices, and Team Messaging. He also spent nearly four years as a firefighter with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. He holds a BS in Business Administration and Applied Social Psychology from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo and a certificate from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

CONTACT GRAEME

Web. http://zoom.us

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggeddes/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Cybersecurity Fundamentals with Mark Houpt of DataBank

Scott Kinka — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:00:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Mark Houpt, the Chief Information Security Officer at DataBank. We’re talking about cybersecurity fundamentals—current challenges, the global landscape, why relationships and communication are critical to cybersecurity success, and so much more.

DataBank is a leading provider of enterprise-class data center, cloud, and interconnection services, offering customers 100% uptime availability of data, applications, and infrastructure. DataBank’s managed data center services are anchored in world-class facilities. Their customized technology solutions are designed to help customers effectively manage risk, improve their technology performance and allow them to focus on their core business objectives.

During our conversation, we got into overall cybersecurity fundamentals, like why transparency and customer service are key values for Mark and Data Bank and how the biggest challenge in cybersecurity is not the technical aspects but the apathy and ignorance towards cybersecurity. And that was just the tip of the iceberg!

Topics covered in this episode:

● Mark’s Role as CISO and the CISO Corner podcast.

● Data Bank’s growth and expansion and their focus on security as a top priority.

● The current threat landscape and evolving security concerns.

● What’s happening in the changing landscape of cybersecurity threats?

● The importance of immutable backups.

● Why the regulatory environment, including privacy

● regulations like GDPR and CCPA, is a significant driver for security concerns.

● Cyber warfare between nations and why threats haven’t diminished.

● The vulnerability of small and medium-sized businesses and some advice for small business IT directors.

● Creating a strategic plan and addressing risks.

● Why building relationships and collaboration is critical for success.

● Shameless predictions for the future.

Links for this episode:

Mark’s Podcast: https://www.databank.com/resources/?resource-search=ciso+corner&resource-type=&year-num=

ABOUT MARK HOUPT

Mark serves as DataBank’s Chief Information Security Officer and is responsible for developing and maintaining the company’s security program road map and data center compliance programs. He brings over 30 years of extensive information security and information technology experience in a wide range of industries and institutions. Mr. Houpt holds an MS-ISA (Masters Information Security and Assurance), numerous security and technical certifications (CISSP, CEH, CHFI, Security +, Network+) and qualified for DoD IAT Level III, IAM Level III, IASAE Level II, CND Analyst, CND Infrastructure Support, CND Incident Responder, and CND Auditor positions and responsibilities.

Mark is an expert in understanding and the interpretation of FedRAMP, HIPAA and PCI-DSS compliance requirements. He is an active member of ISC2, ASIS International, COMPTIA, IAPP, and ISACA, among other leading national and international security organizations. Mark drives DataBank’s information security and compliance initiatives to ensure that the company’s solutions continuously meet rigorous and changing compliance and cyber-security standards.

CONTACT MARK

Web. https://www.databank.com/about-databank/leadership-team/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-houpt/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Driving Better Business Outcomes with Lumen’s Umesh Lakshman

Scott Kinka — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:29:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Umesh Lakshman, Vice President of Solutions Architecture, National Mid-Markets and Channels at Lumen. We’re talking about how we’re moving head-first into a future that is decidedly up the stack and how that drives the expectation of better business outcomes.

Lumen connects the world. They digitally connect people, data, and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Everything they do at Lumen takes advantage of their network strength. From metro connectivity to long-haul data transport to their edge cloud, security, and managed service capabilities, they meet their customers’ needs today and as they build for tomorrow.

During our conversation, we discussed Umesh’s background and career trajectory, his role in leading a cultural reboot at Lumen to foster a culture of innovation and an opportunity-focused mindset, the evolution of managed services providers in showcasing value during the pandemic, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● An overview of Umesh's podcast, "Breaking Boundaries," which focuses on diversity, inclusion, and equity, particularly from the perspective of male allies.

● Lumen's evolving identity and purpose and transitioning from traditional telecom-focused assets to higher-order application-centric solutions.

● The challenges and opportunities faced by mid-market and larger companies in terms of technology adoption, integration with security, consumption mechanics, and achieving faster ROI.

● The impact of the pandemic on IT leadership and the need for rapid change

● Lumen's vision for network transformation and simplifying service consumption through a digital front-end

● The integration of network and security services and organizational challenges in adopting this approach.

● The evolving role of IT leaders in response to the pandemic.

● How proof of value, demonstrated through demos and proof of concepts (POCs), has become crucial in moving opportunities from discovery to closure.

● The organizational challenge of bridging the gap between network and security teams.

● Predictions about AI advancements in the next 12 to 18 months.

Links for this episode:

Breaking Boundaries Podcast: https://breakingboundariesbyumesh.buzzsprout.com/

The Bridge Podcast with Scott Kinka – Terry Barbounis Lumen: https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/edge-computing/

ABOUT UMESH LAKSHMAN

Umesh Lakshman, as the National Vice President of Solutions Architecture for Mid-Markets and Channels, shapes technical strategy and business outcomes through innovative technology and talented teams. He transitioned to this role after leading sales engineering for Lumen Technologies' West Area and media / entertainment verticals.

Previously at Cisco, he spent over two decades in a plethora of roles bookending his time there in senior sales engineering, supporting the world's leading cloud providers. Umesh couples his professional acumen with a commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion, inspired by his upbringing and the lack of diversity he observed in the tech world.

With a Master's degree in hand, his personal goal is to harmonize the tech industry's diversity with societal representation.

At Cisco, he was integral to 'Men for Inclusion', striving for a future where such initiatives are obsolete. A prolific voice on diversity, Umesh also created "Breaking Boundaries", a platform celebrating DEI champions. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, spotlighting those who challenge norms and forge an inclusive future.

Umesh loves the arts, namely being on stage in some format, be it dancing salsa ( retired ) , be in a band, or talking shop about technology and diversity, inclusion and belonging.

CONTACT UMESH

Podcast. https://breakingboundariesbyumesh.buzzsprout.com/

Web. http://www.lumen.com/

LinkedIn. http://www.linkedin.com/in/umeshlakshman

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/lumentechnologies/

Insta. https://www.instagram.com/umeshonig/

Insta. https://www.instagram.com/lumentechnologies/

Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/umeshlakshman

Twitter. http://www.twitter.com/lumentechco

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Future of VMware with AJ Kuftic of Expedient

Scott Kinka — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 03:55:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by AJ Kuftic, Product Manager at Expedient. We’re talking about the future of VMware and so much more.

Expedient is a data center and cloud services provider offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS) with local operations in Pittsburgh, PA, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, Columbus, OH, Denver, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Memphis, TN, Milwaukee, WI, and Phoenix, AZ. Ranked as one of the Top 3 managed services providers worldwide on Channel Futures' MSP 501 list, Expedient’s converged solutions enable clients to focus on strategic business innovation, while the Expedient team handles operation of the information technology needed to support it. Expedient data centers are compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as well as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Service Organization Control (SOC) reports are published annually for all locations.

During our conversation, we discussed what’s happening with the VMware Broadcom situation and broke down the implications, including the background, impacts on service providers and customers, and the anticipated timeline for adjustment and optimization efforts.

Topics covered in this episode:

● AJ’s background and career experiences.

● An overview of the Expedient brand and its evolution of services to meet current market demands.

● The importance of understanding client pain points.

● Adaptation strategies for services providers and how the shift from per-gigabyte RAM to per-core licensing facilitates "bring your own licensing" capability.

● Changes in the private cloud model.

● The investment in service providers by Broadcom.

● How VMware's shift towards bundling products under Broadcom's ownership contrasts with its previous approach of avoiding shelfware and the impacts of this approach.

● The impacts of the transition from perpetual to subscription licensing.

● The general trend towards subscription models.

● Factors of consideration for alternative platforms.

● Predictions for the next 12 to 18 months.

Links for this episode:

Productivity AI with Expedient’s Brad Reynolds

ABOUT AJ KUFTIC

AJ Kuftic is Product Manager for Expedient. AJ has over 15 years of experience as a customer and partner helping end users build solutions that are sustainable and easy to manage. Having knowledge across various silos of IT infrastructure gives AJ a unique perspective of the pain points and what customers are looking to improve.

When AJ isn’t thinking about the next big thing, he spends his time with his wife and 2 children trying to bake the perfect loaf of bread.

CONTACT AJ

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajkuftic/

Web. https://expedient.com/knowledgebase/blog/authors/aj-kuftic/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Using AI at Scale with Adam Weiner of Granite

Scott Kinka — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 17:28:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Adam Weiner, Vice President of Technology at Granite. We’re talking about using AI at scale and so much more.

Granite is one of the premier telecommunications solutions providers for businesses across the United States and Canada. With unparalleled North American coverage, Granite is the leading corporate phone service provider to multi-location companies through our scalable solutions, customized to manage their clients’ local, regional, and national locations. Through long-term commercial wholesale contracts, Granite offers dial-tone, infrastructure solutions, advanced data services, broadband, and security services to their customers at significant savings.

During our conversation, we get into why we need to solve little issues so they don’t become big ones, what Granite's Edge Boot device is all about, how the company's Granite 360 platform aims to provide transparency and flexibility for customers, and what using AI to scale really looks like.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How Granite's commitment to quality service and customer experience contrasts with larger companies that may struggle with scalability and product portfolio management.

● Granite's role in access aggregation and service provision in comparison to incumbent providers.

● What Granite’s differentiation in approach looks like in practice.

● An overview of Granite's portfolio expansion from traditional services like POTS and circuit aggregation to a full suite of managed services.

● The importance of integration in modern technology solutions and Granite's role in providing end-to-end support for customers.

● The introduction of Granite's Edge Boot device: what it is, how it works, and the multiple functionalities.

● Why Granite emphasizes providing solutions that offer resiliency, scalability, and diversity across carriers for competitive prices.

● Why the integration of various technologies from different vendors is a crucial aspect of Granite's service.

● Why international connectivity presents unique challenges.

● Predictions for the coming months.

Links for this episode:

Past episode: Mark Palmer of Granite

ABOUT ADAM WEINER

Information Technology professional with an unmitigable desire to be challenged. Adam has a proven track record of delivering unparalleled results while operating at the bleeding edge of what is possible, given a set of resources/requirements. A constant desire for technical and interpersonal self-improvement drives a ceaseless engine of growth and motivation. Gaining experience in varied and complex situations to complement theoretical and practical knowledge is his current focus.

CONTACT ADAM

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-weiner-3a888886/

Web. https://www.granitenet.com

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Customer Experience Optimization with Bridgepointe’s Scott Prater

Scott Kinka — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 03:19:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Scott Prater, Vice President of Customer Experience Technology at Bridgepointe. We’re discussing customer experience optimization and the ongoing race to meet customer expectations.

The Bridgepointe Customer Experience team enables organizations to deliver unrivaled results across every aspect of their CX programs, including technology implementation and business process outsourcing. The team’s deep industry experience gives clients a strategic approach to optimizing business outcomes while delivering best-in-class customer experience.

During our conversation, we got into how Scott addressed some of the most challenging customer experience problems at some of the world’s most well-known brands, the importance of customer experience (CX) optimization and why it’s in the news today, the impact of CX on a brand, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

How CX has evolved due to changes in communication channels, including social media.
Social media’s role in customer experience (CX) and its historical association with marketing departments.
The evolution of social media from brand protection to a channel for customer care.
The shift in approach by CX and CRM players towards incorporating various channels.
Why having a single repository for customer journey data to improve data analytics and customer experience is important.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on customer experience.
The transformation of contact centers to accommodate digital channels and cater to younger generations’ preferences for non-voice communication.
The changes in the audience for customer experience technology selection.
The importance of collaboration between IT and business stakeholders in technology decisions.
Common mistakes made by companies when implementing customer experience technology.
The importance of measuring the impact of technology changes on key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate the value of the investment.
The trend of generative AI and its growing popularity in customer experience discussions.
The importance of well-informed AI implementation.
The challenges of navigating a cluttered AI landscape with numerous companies vying for attention and making ambitious claims.
Scott Prater’s predictions for the next 18 months.

Links for this episode:

Success is a Choice by Rick Pitino

ABOUT SCOTT PRATER

Scott Prater is the Senior Vice President of Technology Solutions at BridgepointeCX, a premier provider of Client-centric, performance-based Customer Experience and Business Optimization Solutions.

As a Global Information Technology Executive, Scott brings over 35 years of experience in various roles, including 22 years working with CX technologies. During this time, his focus has been leading successful initiatives in the contact center industry where he has held numerous leadership roles in Service Delivery, Sales and Client Account Management.

Scott began his career in the space and defense industry and has brought the same focus and precision required to launch a satellite with him to successive roles in Customer Experience and IT. He has a proven track record leading and supporting transformational change in both technology and business processes and been consistently ahead of the industry curve as an agent of change. His broad vertical background includes managing Avaya’s largest ever client service delivery program for Home Depot and managing customer service technology transformation initiatives for Comcast, Moneygram, and NRG. Scott’s wide-ranging experience also includes leading the industry’s first ever large-scale hosted contact center VoIP implementation of 10,000 seats in 2002. This experience, as well as his international experience in areas such as satellite/RF communications, telecommunications, customer service and analytics, has provided him with unique knowledge and insights to solve our Client’s complex business challenges.

CONTACT SCOTT

Web. https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/team/scottprater/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-prater-bptcx/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Evolution of IT Cost Management with Eric Russo of Bridgepointe

Scott Kinka — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 15:08:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Eric Russo, Senior Vice President of Lifecycle Services at Bridgepointe. We’re talking about IT cost management and why it’s become a top priority, second only to cybersecurity.

The Bridgepointe Lifecycle Services team advocates for their client's success during every step of the technology lifecycle, from sourcing through implementation and ongoing expense/mobility management to negotiating their renewal. Having completed thousands of client projects resulting in millions of dollars in savings for clients, working with Bridgepointe’s Lifecycle Management Services team helps clients drive greater efficiency while proactively managing their technology costs.

During our conversation, we got into how the post-pandemic budget run-up is over, but the demands on it to deploy next-gen tech, like AI, have never been higher. We also parse out why cost management is a more important priority than data analytics, cloud, automation, and AI, and the role procurement experts play in optimizing technology spending.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Eric’s background and experience.

● Eric’s business superpower.

● The importance of cost management, optimization, and containment in the IT industry.

● Why many companies are focusing on reallocating budgets for digital transformation projects and AI initiatives.

● Why ROI is an essential factor in justifying technology investments.

● The importance of finding cost savings and optimization opportunities in technology spending and how it impacts business cases for technology investments.

● The impact of COVID-19 on the mobile landscape and how it varies for different customers.

● The challenges businesses face in rationalizing their communication investments and the role of Bridgepointe in helping businesses make informed decisions about which solutions to keep and transition to.

● The importance of understanding users' requirements and leveraging Bridgepointe's expertise in technical requirements gathering to make informed decisions.

● Bridgepointe's involvement in managing digital transformation, including the transition process and managing organizational changes.

● The increasing use of RFPs (Request for Proposals) by businesses to validate their technology decisions and how Bridgepointe helps customers navigate the RFP process.

● A shameless prediction for the next 18 to 24 months.

ABOUT ERIC RUSSO

At many large enterprises, IT departments are limited by their tech budget, headcount, and legacy systems that turn new initiatives into huge headaches. We’ve been helping the heads of these departments overcome these limitations for over 25 years.

We take a deep look at your tech stack, your operations, and what it all costs in order to find opportunities to improve. But we don’t stop there. Like other companies, we’ll analyze where you can improve and give you detailed, accurate reports and recommendations.

Unlike other companies, however, we’ll actually take some of that work off your plate. So that your headcount isn’t tied up managing thousands of invoices or wrangling the service and support for every desk phone or mobile device in your company. And you can finally see beyond the daily wave of “break/fix” projects and start on that digital transformation you’ve been planning.

CONTACT ERIC

Web. https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/team/ericrusso/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/erusso/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Bridge 2023 Recap

Scott Kinka — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 13:25:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by our podcast producer, Gene Volpe, for a 2023 recap and discussion about the year that was.

During our 2023 recap, we share the cliff notes of the more than 30 episodes we delivered in 2023, a year of unprecedented growth on The Bridge and for Bridgepointe Technologies. We also discuss a few hot topics like AI and security, plans for season three of The Bridge, and some predictions for the coming year.

Topics covered in this episode:

Memorable guests and episodes from the past year.
Hybrid work, bandwidth, customer experience (CX), and AI.
The rationalization of networks as businesses adapt to remote and hybrid work arrangements.
Scott’s prediction that AI will continue to play a significant role in CX.
Changing consumer expectations, with customers expecting seamless digital experiences.
The challenges of applying AI in customer interactions.
The responsibility of employers in managing remote work arrangements and the evolving nature of work arrangements in response to changing circumstances.
The connection between network and security, with a focus on unifying network and security conversations.
The impact of AI on security and concerns about “dark AI.”
The prediction of chaos surrounding large language models and AI.
The integration of network and security discussions in the current tech landscape.
The chaos and innovation cycles in the tech industry and how the pandemic accelerated certain trends.
Plans for season 3 of The Bridge.
Predictions for 2024.

Links for this episode:

Listen to last year’s recap episode: https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/the-bridge-podcast-with-scott-kinka-2022-end-of-year-recap/

ABOUT OUR HOST SCOTT KINKA

Well, on this episode, we get to ask the same questions of Scott.

Producer Gene Volpe gets the opportunity to ask Scott all of the tough questions and have Scott dig back on his favorite moments from our episodes so far.

This one was an ode to 2023 while looking forward to 2024. We hope that you enjoy this interesting look into the Chief Strategy Officer of Bridgepointe Technologies and tech evangelist, Scott Kinka.

CONTACT SCOTT

Web. https://www.thebridgecast.net/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottkinka/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Hybrid Cloud Growth with Brian Thomas of Equinix

Scott Kinka — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:20:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Brian Thomas, Senior Manager, Segment Marketing at Equinix. We’re talking about hybrid cloud growth, repatriation and so much more.

Equinix is the world’s digital infrastructure company™, enabling digital leaders to harness a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure that powers their success. Equinix enables today’s businesses to access all the right places, partners and possibilities they need to accelerate advantage. With Equinix, they can scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences, and multiply their value.

During our conversation, we chatted about how Equinix enables digital transformation and the establishment of a distributed digital core, if the AI companies will sell their products differently than their cloud ancestors and work with

customers to understand use cases before signing them up, and whether doomed we’re to repeat our cloud history when targeting hybrid cloud growth. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Topics covered in this episode:

● Brian’s background and experience.

● Equinix's services including physical and virtual deployment options, Equinix Metal, and Network Edge.

● The importance of interconnecting with SaaS providers, tech alliances, and co-innovation partners.

● The impact of the pandemic on the shift towards digital cores and edge technology.

● The importance of proximity to other companies for digital core infrastructure and improved user experiences.

● The changing landscape of office locations and the need to blend remote and on-site networks.

● The growing significance of AI in the tech industry and the role of AI in transforming digital infrastructure and driving big data analytics.

● The proliferation of IoT devices and their impact on data generation and analysis.

● The importance of understanding use cases before deploying AI solutions.

● The impact of AI on data center infrastructure.

● The difference in attitudes towards sustainability between the US and Europe.

● AI's constant processing nature and how it differs from traditional applications that are only active when used.

● The importance of looking beyond traditional data center discussions and focusing on interconnection, ecosystem density, and scalability.

● Predictions for the coming months.

Links for this episode:

Listen to the past Episode with Equinix's DR Carlson here: https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/the-bridge-podcast-with-d-r-carlson-from-equinix/

ABOUT BRIAN THOMAS

Top-producing sales and partner executive with over 30 years’ experience in driving revenue growth, sales planning, and channel management. Business development initiatives, for both direct and channel solutions, have generated over 500M in top line revenue. Well-versed in designing global pursuit plans to penetrate new and grow existing accounts. Direct cross-functional teams that collaborate to achieve aggressive business goals. Successful in leveraging internal and external strategic partnerships to win new profitable contracts.

CONTACT BRIAN

Web. https://blog.equinix.com/blog/author/brian-thomas/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-thomas-7827995/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Exploring the Cybersecurity Landscape with Melanie Thomas of AT&T

Scott Kinka — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 14:34:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Melanie Thomas, Principal of AT&T Cybersecurity. We’re talking about the evolving cybersecurity landscape and so much more.

AT&T Cybersecurity’s Edge-to-Edge technologies provide phenomenal threat intelligence, collaborative defense, security without the seams, and solutions that fit your business. Our unique, collaborative approach integrates best-of-breed technologies with unrivaled network visibility and actionable threat intelligence from AT&T Alien Labs researchers, Security Operations Center analysts, and machine learning – helping to enable our customers around the globe to anticipate and act on threats to protect their business.

During our conversation, we got into the increasing demand for managed cybersecurity services among smaller companies, the importance of starting with basic cybersecurity concepts and education when working with customers, diversity in the cybersecurity landscape and why cybersecurity it a team sport.

Topics covered in this episode:

➔ Melanie's role at AT&T focused on managed threat detection and response (MTDR) and managed endpoint security with SentinelOne.

➔ The importance of diversity in the cybersecurity industry and the benefits of bringing different experiences and perspectives to the table.

➔ The growth of women in the cybersecurity landscape.

➔ The natural progression of AT&T from network services into cybersecurity due to changes in the economy and work landscape.

➔ The impact of hybrid work on the cybersecurity landscape, with the shift to remote work increasing the importance of topics like VPNs and mobile security.

➔ The need for companies to consolidate their security infrastructure as they adapt to remote work and close physical locations.

➔ The shift in the security focus from securing physical locations to securing individual identities.

➔ The ongoing challenges in cleaning up security vulnerabilities created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

➔ The importance of top-down support, corporate policies, and acceptable use conversations in improving cybersecurity.

➔ The role of VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and DaaS (Desktop as a Service) in endpoint security.

➔ The evolving strategies of businesses in response to hybrid work.

➔ The adoption of cloud services can significantly impact security tool selection and integration.

➔ How responses to security breaches often require collaboration between various security teams and experts.

➔ How AI can be used for both good and bad purposes, emphasizing the need for vigilance and visibility in security efforts.

➔ Predictions for the next 12 to 18 months.

ABOUT MELANIE THOMAS

Lead Managed Endpoint Security (MES) with SentinelOne offering, serving as service lead engineer, operations manager, and SME. Support customers deployment of the SentinelOne agent in their environments, tuning for false positives, true positives, network control, and device control capabilities. Guide customers and Threat Hunters/SOC to fully utilize the SentinelOne platform with the USM Anywhere (USMA) platform integration to perform threat hunting, research, and mitigation actions throughout their endpoint deployment. Advise on customer Incident Response Plans to build use cases and automated orchestration actions. Support AT&T Incident Response Team (IRR) in utilizing SentinelOne and USMA for active incident response engagements.

Working with the AT&T MTDR team on USMA by providing training, reference materials, procedures, and technical documentation to SoC and Tier-3 Analysts. I research, troubleshoot, document, deploy, and tune USM Anywhere for customers. Also working with AlienVault teams to expand the capabilities of USMA in analyzing 560+TB of log data through numerous deployments by creating investigations on alarms, consulting customers on cyber security best practices, and providing environmental awareness to their on-prem and cloud environments.

CONTACT MELANIE

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/themelaniethomas/

Web. https://life.att.jobs/lgbtq-turn-up-love-winners/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Productivity AI with Expedient’s Brad Reynolds

Scott Kinka — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 15:09:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Brad Reynolds, Senior Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Expedient. We’re talking about productivity AI and so much more.

Expedient is a data centers and cloud services provider offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS) with local operations in Pittsburgh, PA, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, Columbus, OH, Denver, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Memphis, TN, Milwaukee, WI, and Phoenix, AZ. Ranked as one of the Top 3 managed services providers worldwide on Channel Futures' MSP 501 list, Expedient’s converged solutions enable clients to focus on strategic business innovation while the Expedient team handles the operation of the information technology needed to support it.

During our conversation, we discussed how business leaders get ahead of their competitors and unlock the promise of productivity AI without exposing the company to risk, the current state of AI adoption and the parallels to the early days of the internet, the role of corporate policies in guiding the responsible use of AI technology within organizations and more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Brad's role at Expedient.

● The parallels between music and technology.

● Expedient’s history and evolution from an access aggregation business to a colocation and cloud-centric provider.

● The current buzz and interest surrounding AI in the tech industry.

● The role of AI as a transformative technology for business operations.

● The importance of considering how to become experts in AI as it represents a significant part of the future in technology careers.

● Public large language models (LLMs) and their impact on AI's public perception.

● The challenges created by corporate use of public LLMs and the need for controls and wrappers.

● The need for businesses to provide access to AI and the importance of enabling employees to explore and discover AI's potential uses.

● The current stage of productivity AI adoption in businesses.

● The emotional impact of AI on individuals and its potential to touch various aspects of life.

● Exploration of the concept of the singularity and AI becoming self-aware.

● The challenges of understanding AI's decision-making process and neural architecture.

● The challenge of explaining AI in the context of human processing and language.

● The difficulty of using existing language to describe AI's workings.

● The practical product developed by Expedient for corporate AI adoption.

● The importance of preventing the sharing of proprietary or private information.

Shameless predictions for the next 18 months.

ABOUT BRAD REYNOLDS

Bradley Reynolds is a recognized leader in the AI industry, with a deep understanding of the transformative power of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI. As the Senior Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Expedient, Bradley spearheads efforts to simplify the operational deployment of private AI infrastructure for enterprises given strict data governance and regulatory requirements.

Prior to Expedient, Bradley served as an AI Consultant at Yellowfin Holdings, where he played an instrumental role in helping enterprises harness the power of private AI models. His expertise spans from strategic AI planning to specialized areas such as vector database design, language model pre-training, and model fine-tuning.

He is a staunch advocate of the idea that "AI Models Are the New Compute," and believes that our grasp, personalization, and expertise with these models will guide us through the next computational revolution. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, he is passionate about making AI more accessible and helping organizations explore the vast potential of this emerging technology.

CONTACT BRAD

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/expedient/

Web. www.expedient.com

YouTube. https://youtube.com/expedient

Twitter. https://twitter.com/Expedient

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Finding the Right Data Center Resources With Bridgepointe’s Mel Melara

Scott Kinka — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:58:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Bridgepointe’s own Mel Melara, VP of Sales. We’re talking about securing data center resources and more.

Mel joined Bridgepointe in 2019 and brought over 30 years of experience in network and data center infrastructure consulting to the firm. As a sales leader at Masergy, he was part of the executive team that tripled the company’s revenues in five years. Mel also held an executive role at Switch Data Centers and is a subject matter expert on data center trends.

During our conversation, we talked about everything related to data center resources — what happens when hyperscalers buy up three years of inventory they're now digesting, the challenges of sourcing data center space, and considerations when deciding where to go.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Mel's responsibility for data center operators in the portfolio.

● Why choose Bridgepoint for data center space?

● Why there’s a heightened global demand for data centers.

● The influence of hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, Google, Oracle) on space demand.

● The enterprise trend of moving from on-premises to colocation due to remote work.

● Bridgepointe's role in helping clients find suitable data center spaces.

● Covid's impact on data center demand and overall acceleration of data center demand from various sources.

● The importance of data location for compliance, such as GDPR in Europe.

● ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) initiatives and clean energy

● Bridgepointe's role in helping clients find data centers with renewable energy

● Explanation of how carbon credits work in data center selection and carbon credits as a means of satisfying renewable energy requirements.

● The importance of the hybrid model in data centers.

● Bare metal as infrastructure as a service without the operating layer.

● 10 strategic considerations for evaluating opportunities.

The factors affecting facility efficiency and gear longevity.

ABOUT MEL MELARA

Mel joined Bridgepointe in 2019 and brings over 30 years of experience in network and data center infrastructure consulting to the firm. As a sales leader at Masergy, he was part of the executive team that tripled the company’s revenues in a five-year period. Mel also held an executive role at Switch Data Centers and is a subject matter expert on data center trends.

CONTACT MEL

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/melmelara/

Web. https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/team/melmelara/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Artificial Intelligence Optimization in the Data Center World With Brian Eichman

Scott Kinka — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:52:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Brian Eichman, Vice President of Business Development at CoreSite. We’re having an in-depth conversation about the changing make up of the data center in light of AI.

CoreSite, an American Tower company, provides hybrid IT solutions that empower enterprises, cloud, network and IT service providers to monetize and future-proof their digital business. Their highly interconnected data center campuses offer a native digital supply chain featuring direct cloud onramps to enable our customers to build customized hybrid IT infrastructure and accelerate digital transformation.

During our conversation, we discussed the evolution of data center customers, including the rise of hyperscale providers, SaaS companies, and enterprises. We get into how the challenge of bridging the gap between real estate-centric thinking and customer requirements in the data center industry, artificial intelligence optimization in the world of data centers, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● The importance of product development in addressing evolving customer needs.

● The two disruptive aspects of CoreSite's services: scale and density combined with low-latency interconnection.

● The evolution of data center customers, including hyperscale providers, SaaS companies, and enterprises.

● The role of product development in addressing changing customer needs in the data center industry.

● The challenge of bridging the gap between real estate-centric thinking and customer requirements in the data center industry.

● The coexistence of hyperscale and self-hosted infrastructure and the importance of choosing the right technology and vendor for specific requirements.

● The surge in AI-related data center demand driven by hyperscalers, MSPs specializing in AI, and AI-driven digital native organizations exploring hybrid architectures.

● The importance of GPUs in machine learning models and their efficiency compared to CPUs.

● The impact of GPUs on power density in data centers and the shift towards higher power densities due to AI and machine learning workloads.

● The importance of designing data centers from the ground up to meet specific requirements rather than retrofitting existing buildings.

● The cumulative effects of AI workloads on power generation, cooling, and infrastructure.

● Advice for new companies entering the AI space, including the importance of flexibility, vendor management, and a focus on the future.

● The need for digital native AI companies to learn from the lessons of the past and be thoughtful about their scale and operations.

● Predictions for the next 18 to 24 months.

ABOUT BRIAN EICHMAN

Brian Eichman is VP of Business Development and Solution Architecture. Brian is responsible for IT design and engineering of cloud solutions, storage architectures, IT consulting-related work, OCX network implementation and delivery of customer-facing operations. Brian leads the team of solution architects who serve as entrepreneurial technical thought-leaders to guide organizations through the evaluation and implementation of complete data center solutions and cloud network interconnection services.

CONTACT BRIAN

Web. http://www.coresite.com

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-eichman-b5120110/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 2)

Scott Kinka — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 03:52:00 +0000

For this episode of The Bridge, we’re bringing you part two of our live panel discussion from the 2023 Bridgepointe Tech Summit. We answer some of the most pressing questions about artificial intelligence and the pressure leaders currently face to adopt this technology.

For this practical discussion on the hype and realities of artificial intelligence, I was joined by:

Dan O'Connell, Chief AI and Strategy Officer, Dialpad
Karen Bowman, Vice President, Channel/Alliance, Level AI
Tushar N Shah, Chief Product Officer, Uniphore
Raghu Ravinutala, CEO, Yellow AI

During part two of our discussion, we get into how businesses are using AI technology today, where this technology is going in the future, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

The concept of superintelligence and the singularity, with varying opinions on its proximity.
The idea that technology is inherently biased due to human input, and AI might help reduce bias by relying on data and algorithms.
The emphasis on practical AI applications and real-world outcomes, such as automation and improved productivity.
Speculation about the possibility of AI becoming self-aware and the implications of such a development.

Concerns regarding the development of autonomous weapons capable of making decisions without human intervention and the need for regulation in AI.
Addressing biases and ensuring transparency in AI systems.
The potential misuse of AI by bad actors and the challenge of normalizing innovation and regulation.
The importance of transparency in data usage and sharing among companies and consumers.
The balance between innovation and regulation, with a focus on transparency and accountability.
The role of both software and hardware in AI regulation and the responsibility of various stakeholders in the AI ecosystem.
The need for regulation to prevent catastrophic events and ensure human intervention in AI systems.
The importance of accountability in AI systems and the intention of regulation to drive accountability.

Practical applications of AI, particularly in the area of customer experience.
The impact of AI on cognitive decline and emotional intelligence (EQ).
The potential for AI to improve customer service and business efficiency.
The AI Act in Europe and its implications for AI regulation.
The responsibility of individuals and organizations in determining how AI is embraced and used.
AI's impact on human interaction and generational challenges.
The potential for AI to be both a solution and a challenge in the context of education.
The importance of regulating social media and addressing its impact on youth.
The opportunity for businesses to capitalize on AI technologies.

ABOUT DAN O’CONNELL

Chief AI and Strategy Officer, Dialpad

Dan is the Chief Strategy Officer at Dialpad. Previously, he was the CEO of TalkIQ, a real-time speech recognition and natural language processing start-up that Dialpad acquired in May of 2018. Prior to TalkIQ, he held various sales leadership positions at AdRoll and Google.

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/droconnell/

Web. https://www.dialpad.com/

ABOUT KAREN BOWMAN

VP of Channel and Alliances at Level AI

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-bowman-5a52073/

Web. https://thelevel.ai/

ABOUT TUSHAR SHAH

Chief Product Officer, Uniphore

Tushar Shah has held numerous leadership roles throughout his career. He joins Uniphore from NationBenefits, where he served as president and CEO of Fintech, driving approximately $1B worth of spend. Prior to that he was the senior vice president at PayPal where he led product and engineering, and managed credit, identity, risk, compliance, customer service, machine learning and AI platforms. Shah also played a role in the critical aspects of the separation between PayPal and eBay in 2015 and in the rapid growth of PayPal’s market cap since then. Among his other leadership roles is spending a decade at Bank of America as a technology senior executive for consumer banking, e-commerce, sales and services and software engineering. Earlier in his career, Tushar worked in IT for Teleglobe (Bell Canada) and customer care for Broadslate Networks and WorldCom (Verizon).

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tushar-n-shah/

Web. https://www.uniphore.com/

ABOUT RAGHU RAVINUTALA

CEO, Yellow AI

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuravinutala/

Web. https://yellow.ai/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 1)

Scott Kinka — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 02:50:00 +0000

For this episode of The Bridge, we’re bringing you part one of our live panel discussion from the 2023 Bridgepointe Tech Summit.

For this practical discussion on the hype and realities of the artificial intelligence debate, I was joined by:

❖ Dan O'Connell, Chief AI and Strategy Officer, Dialpad

❖ Karen Bowman, Vice President, Channel/Alliance, Level AI

❖ Tushar N Shah, Chief Product Officer, Uniphore

❖ Raghu Ravinutala, CEO, Yellow AI

During part one of our discussion we get into the artificial intelligence debate by defining what artificial intelligence is and isn’t and an go through an overview of the various technologies that make up what we believe modern AI to be.

We also talked about considerations and concerns about its use, which unsurprisingly spiraled into bias, the digital divide, autonomous weapons, and the potential of AI singularity.

Topics covered in this episode:

● The definition of AI.

● The broad categorization of AI technologies.

● AI training and the emphasis on the importance of data, the context of the problem being solved, and referenceability.

● Concerns and considerations related to AI, including the potential for job displacement, societal bias, misinformation, and ethics.

● The concept of AI learning and training, where AI models improve over time by incorporating new data and user interactions into their datasets.

● The analogy of large language models as libraries and the challenges of building and utilizing large foundational models versus smaller, more specific models.

● The importance of building models that are faster, more accurate, and cost-effective for businesses and user experiences.

● The demand for high-performance GPUs in AI and the challenges of scaling AI models.

● The concerns about job displacement due to rapid automation with AI, particularly for low-skill workers.

● The potential for a widening digital gap between executives and technical workers compared to frontline employees due to the pace of AI adoption.

● The democratization of AI, making it more accessible to the general public, leading to greater understanding and acceptance of AI technologies.

● A shift in perspective towards AI as a wealth creation opportunity and a redefinition of jobs rather than job loss.

● The belief that those who can leverage AI effectively are less likely to be replaced by automation.

● The importance of businesses helping employees understand and use AI technologies to their advantage rather than resisting them.

● Discussion about changing measurements of productivity and rethinking the "butts in seats" model for evaluating worker busyness.

● Concerns about AI systems amplifying biases from developers and data sources, leading to discriminatory outcomes.

ABOUT DAN O’CONNELL

Chief AI and Strategy Officer, Dialpad

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/droconnell/

Web. https://www.dialpad.com/

ABOUT KAREN BOWMAN

VP of Channel and Alliances at Level AI

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-bowman-5a52073/

Web. https://thelevel.ai/

ABOUT TUSHAR SHAH

Chief Product Officer, Uniphore

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tushar-n-shah/

Web. https://www.uniphore.com/

ABOUT RAGHU RAVINUTALA

CEO, Yellow AI

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuravinutala/

Web. https://yellow.ai/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Data Center Economy with Digital Realty’s Tony Bishop

Scott Kinka — Sun, 22 Oct 2023 15:58:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Tony Bishop, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Platform Solutions at Digital Realty. We’re talking about the data center economy and so much more.

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data "meeting place". Digital Realty enables its customers with the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 27 countries on six continents.

During our conversation, we discussed COVID-19 as both an accelerator and a distraction in digital transformation, the concept of capacity as the new data center currency and the scarcity of capacity in the data center market, the data center economy and more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Tony's background, including his Canadian origins and career in Enterprise IT.

● Digital Realty's strategic focus on creating a "data meeting place" to accommodate the increasing need for data exchange in the digital economy.

● The significance of Digital Realty's network backbone in facilitating data exchange between locations and metros.

● The impact of COVID-19 on Digital Realty's connectivity fabric strategy.

● The shift in network focus from locations to humans and the challenge of building networks for hybrid work scenarios.

● The challenges related to power, land availability, and physical complexity in expanding data center capacity.

● The impact of AI companies on data center infrastructure, including power and cooling requirements.

● The distinction between AI workloads for prediction and inference (smaller, colo deployments) and AI training (large farms).

● Challenges related to power density, cooling strategies, and cabling for AI deployments.

● The importance of contiguous space for AI workloads that require proximity between data and computing resources.

● The need for long-term planning for infrastructure to accommodate AI and other evolving workloads.

● AI's impact on traditional models of cooling and power ratios leading to a scarcity of buying options.

● The role of AI in changing the traditional data center model and the need for advanced planning.

● The significance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives in data center discussions and the need to address sustainability as part of the overall criteria for data center operations.

Predictions for the next 12-18 months.

ABOUT TONY BISHOP

Tony Bishop is Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Solutions at Digital Realty with responsibility for the company’s global growth strategy. He plays a central role in prioritizing the enterprise business segment, championing Digital Realty’s platform strategy, and integrated partner solutions. This includes the programmatic launch of platform and solution capabilities that position PlatformDIGITAL™ as the leading data center platform and global meeting place for enterprises and service providers.

Prior to joining Digital Realty, Tony served as Vice President, Global Vertical Strategy & Marketing at Equinix, where he was responsible for creating the global growth strategy for Enterprise and Service Provider Markets through Vertical Solution Development. Previously, he served at 451 Research as Chief Strategy Officer focused on digital infrastructure research. Earlier in his career, Tony was Managing Director, Global Head of Enterprise Datacenter Operations & Strategy at Morgan Stanley & Co.; and he led the global team that defined and implemented the data center transformation program.

Tony also served as an advisor to NuCyper, is a Second Degree fellow with Infrastructure Masons, and is the author of Next Generation Datacenters: Driving Extreme Efficiency & Effective Cost Savings.

Tony studied Business and Computer Science at the University of New Brunswick and has been awarded Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders, ‘Top 40 under 40’ IT Leaders, and the Network World All Star Award.

CONTACT TONY

Web. https://www.digitalrealty.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybbishop/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalrealty/

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/digitalrealty

Twitter. https://twitter.com/digitalrealty

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Hybrid Workforce Solutions with MetTel’s Zachary Grant

Scott Kinka — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 19:35:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Zachary Grant, Vice President of Solution Architecture and Engineering at MetTel. We’re talking about hybrid workforce solutions and so much more.

MetTel is a leading provider of customized, integrated, and managed communications solutions for enterprise customers. By converging all communications over a proprietary network, MetTel enables enterprise companies to easily deploy and manage technology-driven voice, data, wireless, and cloud solutions nationwide. With the most comprehensive offering, the highest quality customer care and project management, and the ability to completely manage, maintain, and secure your communications needs, their portfolio of customer-centric solutions boosts enterprise productivity, reduces costs, and simplifies operations.

During our conversation, we discussed Zachary’s journey with hybrid workforce solutions during the pandemic, service

aggregation and the heavy lifting that goes along with it, the new hybrid economy, decommissioning POTS, and other topics.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Zachary's journey to MetTel.

● An overview of MetTel's unique value proposition, aka their "superpower."

● Why MetTel believes that effective measurement, monitoring, and management of data are crucial.

● How MetTel aims to simplify and normalize the customer experience, offering engineering expertise to create plug-and-play solutions.

● The challenges of replacing traditional copper-based POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines with modern solutions, offering appliances that translate digital signaling to analog for legacy systems.

● How MetTel's approach aligns with the changing landscape of networking, where centralized headquarters are no longer the focus, and businesses require intelligent, flexible, and optimized network solutions.

● Why making the transition to modern alternatives essential for businesses.

● How the urgency to replace legacy copper-based POTS lines has increased due to FCC pressure and high costs, making MetTel's solutions more relevant.

● How MetTel embraces a hybrid work model but recognizes the value of in-person collaboration in the office.

Why Zachary predicts an economic downturn in the next 12 to 18 months.

ABOUT ZAC GRANT

I’m on the Executive Leadership Team for Metropolitan Telecommunications (MetTel) overseeing both commercial and government engineering design for voice, data, and digital security. I have over 20 years of technical experience in many verticals, including Financial, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, and General Telecommunications. I currently work with many of the country’s largest fortune 500 sized organizations on integrated solutions that has successfully revolutionized their business communications and I.T methodologies.

I hold current and previous certifications as a Digital Forensics Investigator, Checkpoint Security Expert, Cisco Security Analyst, New Mexico Law Enforcement Certificate, and many more recognized achievements from companies like Nortel, FEMA, AOTMP, Sniffer PRO, & EHealth.

Previous to leading MetTel’s customer facing technology initiatives, I worked in the IT Management team for Sun Healthcare Group, now Genesis Healthcare; responsible for all of their network, voice, and network security at over 320 medical facilities and six ancillary support companies.

Colleagues and business partners know me as a highly creative Engineer who can always be trusted to come up with a new and innovative approaches. Client’s business comes first, and I am dedicated to building solutions that best fit their needs.

I have a BA from Saint Leo University and am currently working on my Juris Doctor. I am currently not pursuing new opportunities. I can be reached either through this profile or by phone at 801-842-1663.

CONTACT ZAC

Web. https://www.mettel.net/leadership/zachary-grant/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-grant-195b3116

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Tech Revolution with PanTerra’s Artie Chang

Scott Kinka — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 19:07:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Artie Chang, President and CEO of PanTerra Networks. We’re talking about running blindly into the tech revolution while still serving the needs of the people who aren't maybe so revolutionary.

PanTerra is a business-class Unified Cloud Service Provider, seamlessly delivering unified communications, team collaboration, call center, file sync & share, and business analytics through Streams, its secure, all-in-one business communications cloud solution. By offering a fully customizable, unified UCaaS and CPaaS, HIPAA/HITECH secure, multi-service cloud solution, PanTerra can significantly reduce costs, simplify IT administration, increase security, and improve employee productivity.

During our conversation, we discussed coexisting with the “big guys,” remaining committed to your own niche innovation, how hybrid work is emerging as a tool in the workforce ecosystem (not just a reaction to the pandemic), and so much more about the tech revolution that shows no signs of stopping.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How the communications landscape changed due to the pandemic; collaboration became a central feature.

● Why voice used to be the main communication feature, now collaboration tools take precedence.

● Why Artie sees a settling-out period post-revolution, with businesses evaluating solutions more thoughtfully.

● How hybrid work environments can enhance productivity and work-life balance for employees.

● Why there’s a focus on measuring productivity and work-life balance in hybrid work.

● AI's role in productivity and potential challenges.

● Why government involvement in regulating AI raises mixed feelings.

● Panterra Networks' approach to AI: focus on enhancing customer Productivity and ease of use.

● Recent changes and developments in Panterra's offerings.

● Video conferencing innovation and complexity and why Panterra's focused on simplifying video conferencing solutions for mid-market customers.

● Panterra’s emphasis on secure and compliant cloud phone systems.

● AI's robust implementation and the potential chaos due to lack of guardrails.

Promoting work-life balance to prevent burnout at Panterra.

ABOUT ARTIE CHANG

Arthur Chang is a distinguished leader with an extensive background spanning over two decades in the hi-tech industry. As the CEO of PanTerra, his visionary leadership and strategic insights have been pivotal to the company's trajectory.

Drawing on his experience as a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Arthur Chang has been an integral part of the success stories of numerous companies. His journey includes senior executive roles that have propelled growth and innovation. Before joining PanTerra Networks, Mr. Chang held the position of CEO at Cradle Technologies, where he led a multi-core multimedia DSP company to new heights. Prior to that, he held the CEO position at SoloPoint Communications, a prominent provider of telecommunications equipment to major industry players. During his tenure, Mr. Chang orchestrated the company's expansion, culminating in a successful IPO.

With a foundation that includes executive management roles in diverse technology sectors such as telecommunications, storage, server, and remote access markets, Mr. Chang brings a holistic understanding of the industry. His career began at Bell Laboratories in Naperville, IL, where he laid the groundwork for his remarkable journey. Throughout his professional journey, he has collaborated closely with Silicon Valley venture capitalists, contributing as a consultant and analyst.

Arthur Chang's expertise extends beyond leadership; he excels in areas such as talent acquisition, corporate strategy, and capital raising. With a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University, an M.S. degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an Executive MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Mr. Chang possesses a formidable educational foundation.

Mr. Chang's influence on corporate vision and product strategy is unparalleled, with a proven ability to guide businesses toward financial success. His prowess at fostering growth is complemented by his exceptional talent for recruiting top-tier executives and motivating them to excel. A seasoned entrepreneur well-versed in the startup ecosystem, Mr. Chang's acumen is complemented by his experience in working closely with boards and investors.

CONTACT ARTIE

Web. https://www.panterranetworks.com/

FB. https://www.facebook.com/PanTerraNetworks/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/panterra-networks/

Twitter. http://twitter.com/panterranetwork

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Information Security Strategy with Ntirety’s Josh Henderson

Scott Kinka — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 14:24:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Josh Henderson, Chief Technology Officer at Ntirety. We’re talking about information security strategy and so much more.

Managing security and compliance is a strategic, economic imperative directly impacting business outcomes. Ntirety is the only company that embeds compliant security throughout their clients’ IT and company culture. With over 25 years of experience and deep security expertise, their 24x7x365 security operations centers (SOCs) simplify risk management programs with a comprehensive protection, recovery, and assurance suite of services.

During our conversation, we discussed information security strategy and its significance for Ntirety, the evolution of security, industry changes, and technology solutions' complexity, how the pandemic accelerated the attention on security due to increased hacker activity, and other topics.

Topics covered in this episode:

● An overview of Ntirety's history, formed from companies like Hosting.com and Hostway.

● The importance of experienced people in the company who contribute to comprehensive solutions.

● The interconnectedness of security, infrastructure, and data protection.

● The challenges posed by the disappearance of traditional workplace boundaries due to factors like remote work and COVID-19.

● The significance of security's prominence in IT leaders' minds due to the pandemic.

● Why the traditional focus on the number of office locations for security conversations has evolved.

● The focus now shifts to end users and their locations for security discussions.

● The challenge of combining various security products and services.

● The importance of APIs and consistent data transfer for a comprehensive security solution.

● The challenges and complexity of compliance and security.

● The layout of security products in the industry and the need for a comprehensive approach.

● Challenges faced by businesses in implementing a complete defense strategy and the percentage of businesses lacking in certain areas.

● Importance of integrating security products and correlating alarms for effective threat detection and utilizing both human expertise and AI for threat detection and analysis.

● The expansion of security footprint due to IoT devices and the challenge of managing their security.

● Predictions for the next 18 to 24 months involving AI becoming more prevalent in various areas.

ABOUT JOSH HENDERSON

Josh Henderson, Ntirety’s CTO, joined the company in 2021 with over 20 years of experience in large-scale cloud and hosted Infrastructure, managed IT services, network, software development and consulting.

Prior to joining Ntirety, he served as CTO and COO for McLane Intelligent Solutions, CTO of Colo and Cloud at Zayo Group, and CTO for Clearview International. His experience across these roles includes high level IT strategy, technology lifecycle management, P&L management, operations, sales and full product life-cycle management in businesses ranging from startup to $2B+ in revenue.

Josh is an Alumni of Baylor University and today he resides in Austin, Texas.

CONTACT JOSH

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-henderson-8b76572b/

Web. https://www.ntirety.com/company/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

End User Computing with Evolve IP’s Kevin Sullivan

Scott Kinka — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 13:04:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by my friend Kevin Sullivan, Director of Solutions Engineering at Evolve IP. We’re questioning how we do end user computing and more.

Evolve IP partners with IT professionals to bring together their essential productivity and communication tools into a single, secure cloud-based solution, ﬁne-tuned for the hybrid workforce and delivered as a service. By integrating these disconnected systems and ﬁlling in the gaps, they improve both productivity and security, increasing uptime to make the future of work better for everyone.

During our conversation, we’re rethinking end user computing, reconsidering the disjointed structure of the security vendors and products IT leaders are leveraging to secure the widest part of their footprint, the importance of recovery and its unsexy but crucial role in the technology landscape, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Why Evolve IP's superpower lies in the realm of the hybrid workforce.

● How Evolve IP emphasizes the ability to optimize solutions regardless of the underlying platform, promoting platform agnosticism.

● Why the pandemic fundamentally changed work dynamics and industry norms, leading to a continued evolution of strategies.

● How the pandemic caused a shift in technology adoption, especially in DaaS and VDI.

● Why the ongoing effects of the pandemic have led to uncertainty and fluidity in strategic planning.

● Why differentiating data sets based on their importance to the business operations is key.

● Why businesses should be skeptical of providers who try to dictate their recovery priorities.

● Why the role of solution providers is to present the "art of the possible" rather than prescribing specific solutions.

● The relationship between compliance and recovery.

● How the impact of the event and its consequences define the extent of the disaster in recovery scenarios.

● Why recovery plans need to extend beyond server workloads to consider employee work capabilities, such as communications, endpoints, and user computing.

● How the hybridization of the workforce due to remote work offers a built-in business continuity plan for organizations.

● How DaaS was pivotal in maintaining access to secure applications during challenges like the pandemic.

● The significance of optimizing real-time audio and video in remote work scenarios.

● Predictions for the future.

ABOUT KEVIN SULLIVAN

Over the course of my journey in corporate IT and cloud services that started all the way back in 2006, the most important thing that I have learned is that context drives progress. Whether it comes to understanding an organization's needs, ensuring client satisfaction, designing a solution, implementing services, or the myriad of other IT initiatives we undertake on a regular basis, the WHY matters just as much as the WHAT and HOW (if not more-so). This mentality has helped me to serve as a trusted advisor to help both clients as well as partners throughout their digital transformation journeys as they embrace new technology to address their ever-evolving needs.

While technical in nature, I am a huge proponent of the concept of 'Outcome Oriented IT.' Putting the nuances of the technical solutions aside, what are the business challenges, regulatory requirements, and organizational pain-points that we are, ultimately, looking to address? Let's begin with the end in mind knowing that, as an industry, we have a massive technical toolbox from which we can pull solutions, but what ultimately matters is applying that technology to put our customers, our partners, and/or ourselves in a better position than where we started.

Over the last few years, I have used these approaches in the Cloud Services space to serve as a Director of Solutions Engineering, specifically focused on providing analysis, planning, design, solution building, and product education to my colleagues in both direct and channel sales as well as assisting in developing our forward-looking technology roadmap, developing and articulating both our solution and organizational value propositions, and striving to contribute to industry thought leadership in our space specific to end user computing, edge security, general cybersecurity and compliance, and end user experience.

I am extremely fortunate to have served at various levels on both sides of the client/vendor relationship throughout my career from Systems Administration to Director of IT on the client side and Project Management, Solution Architect, Client Success Management, and Director of Solutions Engineering on the vendor side. This multifaceted experience helps with understanding and empathizing with all aspects of the digital transformation journey and enables me to function as both a trusted advisor and advocate for both the clients and partners with whom I am fortunate enough to work as well as the sales professionals whom I represent.

Interested in cloud services, security, or compliance? Please reach out; I'd love to talk!

CONTACT KEVIN

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-sullivan-3204292b/

Web. http://evolveip.net

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Building a Next Gen Network With Aryaka’s Renuka Nadkarni

Scott Kinka — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 15:37:00 +0000

http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com | On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Renuka Nadkarni, Chief Product Officer at Aryaka. We’re talking about building a next gen network and so much more.

Aryaka pioneered the concept of a cloud-first architecture for delivering SD-WAN, and also now SASE, as-a-service. They provide secure connectivity, enabling organizations to work from anywhere in the world without compromising application performance through their patented, integrated technology and services.

During our conversation, we discussed convergence in the era when network and security edge are one and the same, the simplification and cost-saving potential through convergence and SASE, how we connect securely in the future, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Renuka’s career move to Aryaka and the timing post-pandemic.

● The evolution of technology eras: Infrastructure era, Applications era, Conversions era.

● Why we need to focus on solving networking and security problems in the Conversions era.

● What building a next gen network looks like.

● Why Aryaka is shifting focus from infrastructure to applications to users and applications in the cloud.

● The importance of addressing the challenges of both remote users and distributed applications.

● The impact of remote work and distributed applications on productivity and experience.

● The importance of applying security consistently across the entire network and avoiding weak links.

● The differentiating security aspects within SASE.

● The challenges of point solutions for specific security problems that lead to complexity and inefficiency.

● The importance of managing existing security infrastructure and migrating gradually to SASE.

● Why Gen Z is a disruptive force in the workforce, bringing their unique technological and social strengths.

● The impact of the pandemic on changing work styles and acceptance of alternative work arrangements.

● The importance of messaging apps for connectivity and communication in the event of technological degradation.

ABOUT RENUKA NADKARNI

Ever-evolving cybersecurity threats fuel my drive to innovate. Using a data-driven analytical approach, I specialize in solving complex business problems.

My name is Renuka Nadkarni and I am the VP and CTO of Security at F5 Networks. F5 powers applications from development through their entire life cycle across any multi-cloud environment, so that our customers can deliver differentiated, high-performing, and secure digital experiences.

With over two decades of progressive business leadership experience in strategy, business operations and product management, I bring a unique combination of technical and business experience to this hybrid CTO role. Drawing on expertise in cybersecurity and in depth understanding of the business needs, I championed security as a strategic area of growth that led to the creation of a new CTO security charter.

With the evolution of applications come new challenges, and my goal is to get out in front of next gen security problems by driving the long-term security strategy for F5. Leveraging skills in strategic thinking, I provide recommendations for M&As. I sponsored and led several successful acquisitions to complement F5’s security portfolio.

Backed by experience in start-ups and large, publicly traded companies, combined with specialist knowledge in Cloud/IAAS technologies, Cybersecurity and Network and Cloud Security, I have been instrumental in the launch of new businesses at VMware, Infoblox, NetCitadel and Nevis Networks.

An advocate for women, diversity and inclusion in the cybersecurity space, I work hard to actively support a culture where every person in the workplace has the opportunity to reach their full potential. I also mentor student groups via Capstone mentorship and currently work with two groups in Washington State University to develop open source ‘Capture the Flag’ software to encourage girls in high school to pursue Cybersecurity. I also volunteer at Techbridge girls to inspire and support underprivileged girls.

I am on LinkedIn to strengthen business relationships and develop my professional network. To get in touch, connect with me here or via LinkedIn message.

CONTACT RENUKA

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/renukanadkarni/

Web. https://www.aryaka.com/videos/aryaka-cpo-renuka-nadkarni-on-redefining-security/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disrupting the Managed Service Provider Business Model With Sourcepass’ Roli Points

Scott Kinka — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 19:11:00 +0000

http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com | On this episode of The Bridge, Roli Points, co-founder and VP of Strategic Alliances at Sourcepass, joins me. We’re talking about disrupting the managed service provider business model and more.

Sourcepass was created to disrupt the stale IT services and security space. Businesses are often held back by lackluster technology vendors that leave them underserved and overcharged for IT services. An opportunity existed for innovation through leveraging Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) married with premier managed services to provide a revolutionary client experience. As a result, Sourcepass was born. The vision of Sourcepass is to provide businesses of all sizes with a technology experience that elevates their company.

During our conversation, we discussed the DNA of the managed service provider business model, why being an MSP is about embracing the manual work that customers don’t want to do, what makes MSPs difficult to scale, what the approach of “intimacy at scale” looks like in practice, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Why Roli's superpower is understanding business needs and helping customers solve problems.

● Rollie is based in Virginia with her husband, two kids, and a dog.

● How Sourcepass aims to disrupt the Managed Service Provider (MSP) space and focuses on providing a broad portfolio of technology services to the lower/mid market.

● How and why Sourcepass has acquired eight companies since its inception.

● How Sourcepass aims to provide an IT experience customers love and fill the gap between a customer's ability to buy a service and the service provider's role.

● Why their digital experience platform Quest is designed to be a unifying platform for customers, providing various services in one place.

● Why automation is a key component of the platform, including automated user onboarding.

● Why Sourcepass believes that Quest will be a disruptive differentiator in the marketplace.

● Why the company's strategy involves making acquisitions to create a broader portfolio of services and expand geographically.

● The challenges and complexities of managing multiple platforms for clients.

● The importance of employee satisfaction and engagement, organizing events and initiatives.

● Sourcepass’ "Intimacy at Scale," model highlights the personalized service they provide to customers even as the company grows.

● The company's strategy on investing back into the business to benefit customers and maintain control.

● Why the future of technology will likely focus heavily on security, given the increasing importance of cybersecurity due to rising cyber insurance costs and concerns.

ABOUT ROLI POINTS

Roli is a Sourcepass co-founder along, with CEO Chuck Canton and Vice President of Strategy and Execution Bruce Simms. A passionate leader and a technology enthusiast, Roli serves as the Vice President of Strategic Alliances. In this role, Roli will be responsible for building programs and driving strategic partnerships with vendors, services providers, and system integrators to create a lead generation engine. In addition, Roli will be reviewing and setting up channel sales distribution, and supporting the development of a sales and marketing function and go-to-market strategy.

Roli has held multiple core leadership positions in her career, including leading the Enterprise Client Services team at Vonage, delivering the best customer retention rates Vonage ever had for this segment. Prior, she managed GoDaddy’s largest commercial Top-Level Domain (.COM) along with other core product lines. Roli’s vast experience in managing high performing teams and client-facing roles enables her to truly understand customer needs, translating to better overall customer outcomes.

CONTACT ROLI

Web. https://sourcepass.com/team/roli-points/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rpoints/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery With Expedient’s Alvaro Gonzalez

Scott Kinka — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 14:01:00 +0000

http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com | On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Alvaro Gonalez, AVP of Alliances and Marketing Strategy at Expedient. We’re talking about business continuity and disaster recovery, and so much more.

Expedient is a cloud and data center infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provider with local operations in cities across the U.S. Ranked as one of the Top 3 managed services providers worldwide on Channel Futures' MSP 501 list, Expedient’s converged solutions enable clients to focus on strategic business innovation, while the Expedient team handles the operation of the information technology needed to support it.

During our conversation, we discussed VDI having its day in hybrid work, running generative AI in content creation, Expedient's long-standing focus on business continuity and disaster recovery, and why planning for the unplanned is necessary.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Alvaro’s new role at Expedient as the VP of Alliances and Market Strategy, focusing on bridging technical, marketing, and sales aspects of the business.

● The tendency in the tech industry to focus on new and shiny technologies rather than solving actual problems.

● The challenge of balancing being seen as an expert with focusing on customer needs.

● How Expedient's VDI offering is driven by customer demand and caters to the hybrid work environment.

● The concept of hybrid work and the shift it brought to remote work and office dynamics.

● The impact of significant events on driving rapid technological change and adaptation.

● The importance of being exceptional at securing and managing endpoints due to the shift to hybrid work.

● The value of solving problems at scale and adopting strategies over tactics is highlighted.

● The impact of the pandemic on unplanned changes, the increased security risks and vulnerabilities during the pandemic, and the importance of recovery plans and preparation.

● The significance of micro-segmentation, including using tools like ColorTokens, for improving security across environments is discussed.

● The importance of incremental improvements and strategies in making a big difference in cybersecurity.

● Adapting and evolving due to various factors, including the pandemic and emerging practices like edge computing and end-user computing.

● The importance of solving challenges related to downtime, control, and telemetry in manufacturing.

● Microsoft's role in Expedient's ecosystem, where they provide support for Microsoft products like licensing, Microsoft 365, and Azure without directly reselling them.

● Predictions for the next 12 to 18 months.

ABOUT ALVARO GONZALEZ

Alvaro is an adventurous learner and hunter of excellence. After a first career in higher education, technology and problem solving in business are his focus.

First in the Cable MSO/IP world, then adding Telco, Data Center, MPLS and SIP, Cellular Network gear and remote site monitoring, Supply chain, BPO and now Cloud, he is proud of his record of using where he’s been to enrich his approach to the present set of problems faced by his employers and customers alike.

Alvaro’s academic experience was an excellent training in both how and why to be exacting in gathering data about a problem, organizing it in ways that illuminate solutions, and presenting the solutions effectively to people with different levels of technical and business expertise.

He gets great satisfaction from continuing to learn and applying his experience and fascination with improvement to clients’ needs and goals.

CONTACT ALVARO

Web. https://expedient.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvaro-gonzalez-54602a5/

Twitter. https://twitter.com/alvarocinci

Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/alvaro.gonzalez.39395/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Swimming in the Whale's Wake with Geoff Bloss of BCM One

Scott Kinka — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 19:57:00 +0000

http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com | On this week’s episode of The Bridge, I sit down with Geoff Bloss, CEO at BCM One, to discuss investing in voice technology, acquisitions, and more.

BCM One is a leading provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services to IT leaders and channel resellers nationwide. Serving over 18,000 customers and 5,000+ channel resellers, BCM One offers UCaaS, SIP Trunking, Managed SIP, Microsoft Teams, Managed SD-WAN, SASE, Global Managed Connectivity, Microsoft Professional Services, Technology Expense Management, and Network Monitoring and Management.

During this conversation, we talk about the COVID era, collaboration, investments, revolutions versus evolutions

and why voice technology is considered the most mission-critical application within businesses, especially during the transition to remote or hybrid workforces.

Topics covered in this episode:

● The role of voice technology within organizations.

● How BCM One excels in providing complex voice solutions and partnering with clients to architect full solutions that adapt to changing environments.

● The challenges of hybrid work.

● How the role of the office and office workers is being redefined, and why the burden of managing hybrid work is not necessarily reduced

● How BCM One evaluates potential acquisitions based on geographic expansion, service enhancement, and unique capabilities.

● Why businesses are rationalizing their investments in voice and collaboration services.

● How budgetary constraints and the desire for rational thought and planned deployment are driving the need to harmonize voice investments.

● Why providers like BCM must focus on crafting their unique value propositions while coexisting with larger providers like Microsoft and Cisco.

● Why Operator Connect is an easier way for end customers to bring their own provider into the Microsoft Teams environment.

● The importance of being prepared to adapt and alter strategies and businesses to meet a changing and dynamic environment.

ABOUT GEOFF BLOSS

Geoff Bloss is Chief Executive Officer for BCM One and it’s family of brands including SIP.US, SIPTRUNK and SkySwitch. BCM One provides NextGen Communications and Managed Services to over 17,000 clients/IT leaders of mid- to enterprise-level businesses nationwide, and serves over 2,000 channel partners, VARs, and MSPs.

Bloss joined BCM One in 2012 and served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer before being appointed to the role of CEO early in 2019 to lead the company to the next level of growth. He is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

Bloss previously served as Chief Information Leader at FlightSafety International, a $1B Berkshire Hathaway company. Earlier in his career, Bloss built deep expertise in the telecommunications industry, providing strategic and program management consulting and deploying operational support systems.

Bloss received an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a B.S. in Mathematical Science with Honors from the University of North Carolina. He was selected as one of QuantumShift’s Top Entrepreneurs in America for 2019 by KPMG LLP’s Private Markets Group and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

CONTACT GEOFF

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffbloss/

Web. https://www.bcmone.com/company/leadership/geoff-bloss/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Meeting the Challenges of Hybrid Work With Comcast Business Masergy's Chris MacFarland

Scott Kinka — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 19:36:00 +0000

http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com | On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Chris MacFarland, CEO of Comcast Business-Masergy. We’re talking about SD-WAN deployment and so much more!

During our conversation, we discussed rollercoaster career rides, the need for mid-market connectivity and security as equal partners in hybrid work, generative AI, and the future of energy abundance. And in a moment of transparency, we also talk about lessons learned during the pandemic and things that he and they could have done differently.

Topics covered in this episode:

The acquisition of Masergy by Comcast and its integration into Comcast Business.
The strategic fit between Masergy and Comcast Business, filling a gap in the upper market and mid-market around solutions.
The challenges and excitement of the 19-month journey after the acquisition.
The potential for Comcast Business to be recognized as a major player in enterprise services and solutions in the future.
The rationale behind Comcast’s decision to bring Masergy into the fold was driven by the changing landscape of work and the need for advanced solutions that enhance cyber posture and support the cloud journey.
Comcast’s aspirations with Masergy to become the leading global supplier of secure networking in the world.
The changing landscape of work, hybrid work environments, and the importance of connectivity in the new office setup.
Why the return to the office has been challenging for many companies, with some experiencing talent leaving when announcing the return.
Hybrid working is likely to continue, and companies are adjusting to this new reality.
How the pandemic led to increased demand for cloud communications, video conferencing, connectivity, and cybersecurity services.
Why the cultural challenges for fully virtual companies may outweigh the technical challenges.
The challenges and lessons learned from transitioning to a hybrid work environment during the pandemic.
How Comcast Business and Masergy are working on solutions to enhance security and resiliency for remote and small office users.
Predictions for significant advancements in AI and its impact on personalized medicine, leading to longer lifespans and improved quality of life.

ABOUT CHRIS MACFARLAND

In today's episode, we have the pleasure of hosting Chris MacFarland, the CEO of Comcast Business | Masergy, a leading global private cloud networking and cybersecurity company. With an impressive career spanning notable organizations like BroadSoft and Allegiance Telecom, Chris is widely respected for his exceptional leadership skills, earning prestigious recognition such as Glassdoor Employees' Choice Top CEO. Beyond his professional achievements, Chris is actively involved in community service, serves on the boards of Compass Data Centers, Linear Labs, International Student Foundation and Tech Titans. Tune in as Chris shares his insights and experiences. And without further ado, let's dive into our conversation with this remarkable industry leader.

CONTACT CHRIS

Web. https://www.masergy.com/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmacfarland/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Intersection of Business Communication and Technology with Talkdesk’s Bill Welch

Scott Kinka — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 17:07:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Bill Welch, President and COO at Talkdesk. We’re talking about business communications and technology and how Talkdesk aims to transform the customer experience.

Talkdesk is a global cloud contact center leader for enterprises of all sizes. Talkdesk CX Cloud and Industry Experience Clouds help enterprises deliver modern customer service their way. Our trusted, flexible, and innovative contact center platform leverages AI and automation to drive exceptional outcomes for their customers and improve the bottom line.

During our conversation, we discuss technology, knowing your products and strengths, being culturally innovative, and not trying to be all things to all people. We also discuss living at the intersection of business communications and technology and why Talkdesk seeks strategic partnerships to deliver integrated solutions.

Topics covered in this episode:

● How the organization has always been feature-first and customer-focused.

● How they’ve developed a robust roadmap with a wide range of products to anticipate and meet customer needs.

● Why workforce management and case management are essential components of their offering.

● Why the organization seeks strategic partnerships with UCaaS and customer experience providers to deliver integrated solutions.

● What the intersection between business communication and technology looks like.

● Talkdesk's commitment to operating within verticals, particularly in healthcare, finance, and retail

● Adapting to changing customer expectations, where digital and mobile-first solutions and predictive technology enhance the customer experience.

● Why the company embraces remote work and finds it highly effective.

● The challenges in measuring productivity with managers from outside the organization.

● Predictions for the next 18 to 24 months

ABOUT BILL WELCH

William (Bill) Welch is the president and chief operating officer for Talkdesk, bringing over 30 years of extensive experience in operationalizing and scaling product development and innovation, customer experience and expansion, talent acquisition and retention, and strategic alliances across the globe. Prior to Talkdesk, Welch held executive leadership positions at IronNet, Duo Security, and Zscaler. While president and COO of Duo Security, he helped secure a $2.35 billion cash transaction with Cisco. As COO of Zscaler, he led the organization toward a dramatic expansion of employees and revenue, culminating in an industry-leading IPO and a $17 billion market capitalization.

CONTACT BILL

Web. https://www.talkdesk.com/about/leadership/

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/wewelch/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Achieving Better Business Outcomes Jeff DeVerter

Scott Kinka — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 18:27:00 +0000

On this week’s episode of The Bridge, we sit down with Jeff DeVerter, CTO at Rackspace Technology to talk about achieving better business outcomes whether through leveraging new technology, hybrid work models or AI.

Rackspace Technology is the multi-cloud solutions expert. Their technical acumen with the world’s leading technologies and multi-cloud environments — across applications, data, and security — enables customers to grow their business, increase efficiency and deliver the future. They solve more than workload problems; they create business advantages. Their multi-cloud solutions expertise means customers are empowered to work faster, smarter, and ahead of what’s next.

During this conversation, we covered a lot of ground, including the history of Rackspace, AI technology, autonomous weapons,, acheving more desirable business outcomes and whether Microsoft is a friend or foe. We also talked about customers and how they consume technology, and how we as technologists get consumed by our tech.

Topics covered in this episode:

· How IT decision-makers should prioritize solutions that can create tangible business outcomes.

· The importance of focusing on business outcomes enabled by infrastructure solutions rather than just the technology itself.

· How the role of managed service providers (MSPs) is to bridge the gap between technology vendors and customers, helping connect business outcomes with the right technology solutions.

· Why the evolution of technology, such as AI and generative AI, doesn't eliminate the need for developers.

· How evaluating employee success in the context of hybrid work and the value of output versus work hours can create more positive business outcomes.

· The concept of productivity as a math equation and the importance of meeting deadlines.

· The impact of the pandemic as a catalyst for change and opportunities in reevaluating business processes.

· Misconceptions about AI and the need for human intelligence in development teams.

· Potential risks and benefits of AI, including concerns about runaway AI and the need for a pause in technological advancements.

ABOUT JEFF DEVERTER

Perhaps the best way to describe what I do is to say that I am fanatical about helping people and companies be more successful with technology. Perhaps, though, a better way to describe my approach to work would be to say that I’m passionate about helping people. These folks could be co-workers, customers, employees, or friends – meaning is found in making a positive impact in another’s life.

I’ve been working with cloud-based services and technologies for over 10 years and during that time, I've launched business units within companies, lead those units, functioned as the CTO for Microsoft Technologies, and in general - been the trusted advisor to business large and small in making Cloud-transformation decisions.

When I’m not working, I enjoy my wife and two sons in either San Antonio or our small place in the Texas hill country – outside of Bandera, TX, the cowboy capitol of the world. So, whether I’m helping restore our piece of Texas hill country paradise or help companies transform their business into the digital age – it’s ultimately about helping.

CONTACT JEFF

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdeverter/

Web. https://www.rackspace.com/article-author/jeff-deverter

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Rise of AI with Swapnil Jain

Scott Kinka — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:06:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Swapnil Jain, CEO and Co-Founder of Observe.AI. We’re talking about the rise of AI and solutions that are making real-world changes right now.

Observe.AI is the fastest way to boost contact center performance with live conversation intelligence. Built on the most accurate AI engine in the industry, Observe.AI uncovers insights from 100% of customer interactions and maximizes frontline team performance through coaching and end-to-end workflow automation.

During our conversation, we discuss what lead Swapnil to build a conversation intelligence platform to improve productivity and how Observe.AI combines AI technology with human agents for improved performance and customer outcomes. We also talk about how the rise of AI had lead to more conversations about responsible AI usage and how we can balance innovation with societal impact, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

How the pandemic and hybrid work model escalated the need for AI tools in contact centers.
How real-time monitoring helps supervisors identify potential sales that may not happen and intervene to convert the sale during the call.
The need for guardrails and protocols to ensure the right use of AI.
Recent advancements in AI, particularly in generative AI and large language models
Responsible use (and potential misuse) of AI and the importance of considering the societal impact.
The role of empathy and human emotions in customer experience.
Customer concerns regarding data privacy and security.
Self-policing and government involvement in regulating AI.
Swapnil’s predictions of large companies emerging based on generative AI and the potential threat to established companies.

ABOUT SWAPNIL JAIN

Swapnil is the Founder and CEO of Observe.AI. Observe.AI, a leader in Contact Center AI, transforms customer experiences and improves agent performance by helping top brands analyze 100% of calls and streamline quality assurance workflows. With Observe.AI, businesses transcribe every call with high accuracy and coach agents while gaining full visibility into their customer service operations. Observe.AI brings the power of agent assistance, automatic speech recognition, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to modern contact centers and their frontline teams. Observe.AI is trusted by more than 150 customers and partners, including Root Insurance, Alcon Laboratories, Tripadvisor, and Pearson. Backed by Menlo Ventures, Next47, NGP Capital, Scale Ventures, Nexus Ventures, and Y-Combinator, Observe.AI’s headquarters is in San Francisco with an office in Bangalore, India. For more information, visit www.observe.ai.

CONTACT SWAPNIL

Web.

LinkedIn.

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Technology Hype Cycles with Jason Carolan

Scott Kinka — Mon, 22 May 2023 02:35:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Jason Carolan, CIO at Flexential. We’re talking about how the label of the day is for people and workloads is ‘hybrid’, and what it really means to be a digital-first company.

Flexential empowers the IT journey of the nation’s most complex businesses by offering tailored hybrid IT solutions delivered via the FlexAnywhere™ platform of integrated colocation, cloud, connectivity, data protection, managed and professional services, with three million square feet of data center space in 19 highly connected markets.

During our conversation, we discuss the challenges and opportunities related to adopting a digital-first approach, workload portability, and infrastructure management, We also talk about what it means to be a recovering CTO, and the satisfaction and growth in finding the right place — not necessarily the cool one — for workloads and for people.

Topics covered in this episode:

Flexential’s focus on delivering infrastructure as a service across the United States.
Why Flexential’s superpower lies in the expertise and skill sets of its 1000-person team.
The concept of a “recovering CTO”.
Why the conversation around digital transformation has shifted towards digital-first thinking.
Why there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for technology solutions and workload placement decisions.
How the macro-economic environment is driving companies to take a digital-first look at the economics of their technology stack and how it drives the conversation around inventory and assessment of applications to get to the correct equation.
The challenges and opportunities related to workload portability and infrastructure management.
The crucial role of the network for bringing together different types of workloads.
The idea of not throwing anything away, with data being a valuable asset that informs AI and contributes to building new products.
The limitations and challenges of artificial intelligence and the concept of singularity.
Predictions for the next 18 to 24 months.

ABOUT JASON CAROLAN

Jason drives next generation network-enabled technologies at Flexential. He and his cross-functional team translates market trends into strategic initiatives that inform the investment decisions across the company’s development, builds early stage products, and go to market strategies. Jason joined the company in 2011 and has held various technology and business leadership roles in product, operations and technical management, including CTO. Jason is a recognized thought leader and industry expert in distributed computing, network systems and cloud computing.

Jason has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in IT, system architecture, software development, and technical sales and support across a variety of companies, including Sun Microsystems, where Jason was honored as a “Distinguished Engineer." During his tenure at Sun he helped architect and implement some of the most advanced systems and platforms in financial, e-commerce, IoT, and cloud services.

Jason also led a team at VMware to develop and implement some of the first cloud provider technologies. At the Mayo Clinic he heard a variety of roles, including IT support analyst, help desk manager, developer and Unix/Network administrator working closely with clinic and research staff.

Jason was a lead author of “Building N1 Grid Solutions,” one of the first books highlighting the combined use of virtualization and automation. He also has several patents in networking, data center resource management, virtualization, and security.

He is a member and contributor to the Wall Street Journal CIO Network and Forbes Technology Council. Guest lecturer and contributor - Galvanize Denver, CU-Boulder on Cloud and Open Source Licensing / Methedologies, and former member of University of Denver AMPLIFY committee for Business / Engineering eco-system development.

CONTACT JASON

Web. https://www.flexential.com/

Twitter. https://twitter.com/jtcarolan

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtcarolan/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Business Process Outsourcing Model with David McAbee

Scott Kinka — Mon, 15 May 2023 18:56:00 +0000

On this week’s episode of The Bridge, I sit down with David McAbee, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions here at Bridgepointe, to discuss leveraging the business process outsourcing model.

Bridgepointe helps mid-market and enterprise clients make quicker, more informed tech investments. We help our clients save time by shortening the IT procurement process while saving money and increasing ROI.

During this conversation, we talk about some of the myths we hear about the business process outsourcing model and how companies can get better results for less money.

We also talk about what happens when you have the most discerning customers with high service expectations and combine that with a slowing economy, as well as why leveraging the business process outsourcing model to cut costs doesn’t automatically mean sacrificing customer experience.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Why the business process outsourcing model is evolving rapidly.

● The actual cost of choosing the wrong business process outsourcing model.

● The role that business process outsourcing models play in skill sets and talent enhancement.

● What makes companies reluctant to embrace the business process outsourcing model?

● The importance of documentation and expert guidance when choosing the proper business process outsourcing model.

● Myths about the business process outsourcing model.

● The mainstreaming of AI technology

David’s predictions about the rise of the AI superagent.

ABOUT DAVID MCABEE

There are many things that lead to poor customer experiences including knowledge gaps, lack of insight, tech debt, and lack of vision. I help my clients overcome these challenges to achieve efficient and repeatable customer journeys across all touch points.

CONTACT DAVID

Email. david.mcabee@bptcx.net

LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmcabee/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Future of Collaboration and Productivity With Zoom’s Gary Sorrentino

Scott Kinka — Mon, 08 May 2023 21:04:00 +0000

On this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Gary Sorrentino, CIO at Zoom. We’re talking about how 2020 changed everything and what the future of collaboration and productivity looks like in today’s world.

Zoom’s frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and they have set the standard for innovation ever since. That’s why they’re an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for large enterprises, small businesses, and individuals alike.

During this episode, we talk about the hard questions employers must ask themselves before asking employees to return to work in the office and what the impacts on collaboration and productivity might be from these decisions.

We also dive into how Zoom went from a noun to a verb, its evolution from a meeting app to a platform providing solutions for employees, customers, and developers, their goal of shaping the future of work, productivity and collaboration, and so much more.

Topics covered in this episode:

● Gary’s experience in the technology and finance industries.

● The role of Global CIO at Zoom and the importance of understanding client needs in providing practical solutions.

● The responsibility that comes with providing a technology that has changed how we work since 2020.

● Expanding Zoom’s platform to provide solutions that eliminate or decrease burnout and increase productivity.

● How Zoom had to adapt culturally to overcome challenges during the pandemic.

● The need for upskilling employees to work differently rather than simply training them.

● The importance of earning employees' commute by creating a collaborative environment that people want to come to.

● The difficulty of measuring productivity for knowledge workers and the problem of proximity bias in the workplace.

Predictions for the next 18-24 months.

ABOUT GARY SORRENTINO

CONTACT GARY

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/zoom/

INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/zoom/?hl=en

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Zoom

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysorrentino/

LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zoom-video-communications/mycompany/verification/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Cyber Resilience with 11:11 System’s Dante Orsini

Scott Kinka — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 15:14:00 +0000

In this episode of The Bridge, I’m joined by Dante Orsini, Chief Strategy Officer at 11:11 Systems. We’re talking about building cyber resilience and the aftereffects of the rush to pivot workforces during the pandemic.

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that holistically addresses the most pressing cloud, connectivity, and security challenges — like cyber resilience — of today while preparing businesses for tomorrow.

During this episode, we talk about how we paused being careful during the pandemic. We rushed in and deployed tech without too much thought to our cyber resilience. As a result, the pandemic was a force multiplier for bad actors.

Plus, we discuss how despite being prevention and security-obsessed, we don’t talk about cyber resilience and recovery enough, and it’s treated like a different (and less interesting) topic. Ultimately, humans and non-technology remain the riskiest aspect of cyber resilience in all our businesses.

Topics discussed in this episode:

11:11 Systems' strategy to help organizations modernize their applications, secure their data, increase cyber resilience, and ensure application availability, regardless of where the workload exists.
The changes in security, cyber resilience, and disaster recovery in the current work environment.
The need for companies to have a multi-layered strategy to protect against attacks and improve their cyber resilience.
The importance of cyber recovery and resilience, and the move towards bringing disaster recovery into the security framework.
The challenge of retaining security talent in a highly competitive job market.
The need for a comprehensive approach to security that includes people, processes, and technology.
The role of vendors and consultants in helping organizations to build governance and ensure compliance.

ABOUT DANTE ORSINI

Dante Orsini serves as 11:11 Systems’ Chief Strategy Officer. He brings more than 20 years of experience leading direct and indirect sales teams, ideally positioning him to lead customer-focused strategy across all facets, from planning to execution, business transformation, and partner growth.

In his role as Senior Vice President of Business Development for iland, he oversaw the global direction and execution of iland’s strategic and channel partnerships. Additionally, Dante along with his team were responsible for designing iland’s robust global, partner ecosystem from the ground up. He sits on the VMware Service Provider Advisory Council, as well as the HPE, Veeam, and Zerto Partner Advisory Boards.

Dante was instrumental in helping iland to achieve “Leader” status in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service from 2016 through 2019 when the report was retired. Additionally, Dante and his team led iland to win CRN’s Partner Program (Five-Star rating) for five consecutive years as well as the Veeam Impact Partner of the Year award for four consecutive years and the Zerto Cloud Service Partner of the Year for three consecutive years.

Dante’s background, combined with his thought leadership in cloud computing and cloud infrastructure, have ensured that he is repeatedly tapped to present at events across the globe.

Dante holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interpersonal Communications from Bowling Green State University.

CONTACT DANTE

WEB: https://1111systems.com/why-1111/leadership/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danteorsini/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Avi Lonstein of AireSpring

Scott Kinka — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:24:00 +0000

On this week’s episode of The Bridge, my guest is Avi Longstein, CEO of AireSpring. We’re talking about the idea that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should, secure access service edge (SASE) and so much more.

AireSpring is a 21-year-old managed service provider (MSP) with a legacy in connectivity and communications. Today they focus on managed services including SASE, SD-WAN and have a commitment to covering international requirements.

During this episode, we discuss how managing complex services across multiple vendors can be a significant workload, especially when dealing with local regulations, laws, exchange rates, and import/export controls.

We also chat about productivity and the value proposition of AireSpring. Avi shares how they’re able to provide a higher level of service and support to mid-sized businesses with a wide set of managed solutions covering connectivity, security, secure access service edge, SD-WAN, cloud communications, and mobility and wireless services.

Topics covered in the episode:

How the pandemic has shown that a hybrid work environment can work.
Why the pandemic accelerated the trend towards cloud-based security infrastructure, with secure access service edge being a key driver for the flexible environment going forward.
How conversations with clients have shifted from measuring the number of locations to how many people are in the organization and how to connect them.
Airespring offers international services driven by customer demand, and they have a team and relationships with hundreds of international carriers worldwide.
Why AI is an essential trend that will have a big part to play in the security and telecom industry in the coming years.
Why there should be some regulation and smart thought around safety to ensure that technology is not used irresponsibly as governments attempt to curtail technology.

FOR FULL SHOW NOTES: http://www.bridgepointetechnologies.com/secure-access-service-edge

ABOUT AVI LONSTEIN

Avi Lonstein, CEO, AireSpring Avi Lonstein has been a telecom entrepreneur for over 30 years. In 1989, Mr. Lonstein co-founded ADDTEL Communications. As President of ADDTEL, he was directly responsible for growing the company from a start-up operation to one of the country’s most successful nationwide long-distance resellers. Under Mr. Lonstein’s direction, ADDTEL was recognized as one of the telecom industry’s most innovative and well-managed companies, and experienced substantial growth during his tenure.

Mr. Lonstein’s next entrepreneurial venture was AireSpring which he co-founded in 2001. Mr. Lonstein and his team foresaw the massive changes in telecom technology, and rapidly built AireSpring’s own next-generation IP network to become a full-fledged VoIP carrier, offering a range of SIP Trunking and telephony services. Mr. Lonstein later spearheaded development of the company’s own nationwide MPLS network and created an innovative Mesh MPLS product that has won several awards. As chief executive officer for AireSpring, Mr. Lonstein is responsible for the company’s operations, strategy, and transformation into a nationwide provider of managed services for IP communications, intelligent networking and cloud computing applications and services. He continues to lead AireSpring as the company expands its portfolio of award-winning services and applications to keep it on the cutting edge.

CONTACT AVI

Web: www.airespring.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/airespring

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avi-lonstein-0b52b/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Terry Barbounis of Lumen

Scott Kinka — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 18:25:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to the Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode of the Bridge is Terry Barbounis. He's the Director of innovation and Strategy at Lumen, or A director of innovation and strategy at Lumen. By his explanation, he gets paid to daydream and his focus is on edge.

A phrase we hear every day, and assuming frankly we all know what that means. Terry is himself a podcast host of Lumens podcast, “Light, Data Action”. We'll give you some information in the liner notes to make sure you can check that out. He's also, by his definition, a reformed standup. He's got a silky radio voice. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bit jealous of that.

Terry talks in big concepts and I love that, but, but he also does a great job of making them simple, his definition. Or explanation I should say, of Edge as an example during the pod was particularly compelling. You know, why is it important now? Is this new tech or a new need?

And the answer in a lot of ways is both, right? We've moved critical apps to the cloud from the office data center. We've moved people out of the office as a result of the pandemic. So, while the regional pops of a traditional tier one telco provider like Lumen, you know, might be less important perhaps as a means to deliver last mile.

Offices that may sit in the wan, they're frankly more important now as a means to get in microservices content availability and applications closer to the users. And to the applications themselves out in the field. We get into quite a bit on that. Moving to softer topics, though, we talked a lot about our new normal and the concept of busyness.

We're measuring value and productivity based on hours and not output, and how that's culturally started falling apart. Right. Primarily because of the concept of office work has changed and the way we think about it, the way we talk about it, our culture hasn't really caught up. I mean, I won't spill the popcorn.

You'll have to listen to the episode to get a little bit more. We got a little AI nerdy in the conversation. Talked about a bit about pending regulatory government oversight, how close we are to the singularity or the moment when AI achieves self-awareness. Something we've been concerned about since, you know, the sci-fi of the thirties and forties.

Frankly, what struck me most though in listening to Terry throughout the chat, and as I look back on the notes, is that Terry's opinions are all still really about. They're people centered. We talk about collab and AI and robotic process automation and the dawn of a new era, and yet people have never been more at the center of how we run our businesses post pandemic.

Is technology driving people or people driving technology, or is it both? This was a great intellectually honest chat that I really appreciated, and I hope you find it as compelling as I did. Here is my chat with Terry Barbounis, director of Innovation and Strategy at Lumen Technologies.

ABOUT TERRY BARBOUNIS

As a Director of Innovation Strategy, Terry excels in identifying emerging technologies and their impact on business outcomes. His primary focus is discovering opportunities to develop innovative products and services that address modern organizational challenges. Collaborating with external analysts, internal teams, and industry leaders, Terry seeks to uncover untapped markets with the potential for significant impact.

With 30 years of experience in the IT sector, Terry has held prestigious roles, including CIO for Blue Aspen Capital, L.P., and CTO/Director, PMO for the Christian Science Publishing Society, managing global infrastructure and IT services operations.

Terry is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences and seminars, addressing topics such as hybrid IT, edge cloud computing, and the Future of Work. He also hosts the insightful podcast, Light, Data, Action!, where he speaks with industry experts and thought leaders to demystify the latest trends and technologies.

CONTACT TERRY

Web: http://www.lumen.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbarbounis/

Podcast: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/LNULE4903599501

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Maile Kaiser of CoreSite

Scott Kinka — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 22:00:00 +0000

Here are the links to two new CoreSite videos, mentioned in this episode:

OCX Demo:

https://www.coresite.com/multimedia/open-cloud-exchange-demo

Native Cloud On Ramps:

https://www.coresite.com/multimedia/what-is-cloud-direct-connection-and-how-can-it-support-your-hybrid-it-strategy

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode is Maile Kaiser. She's the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at CoreSite. She's been there for about 11 years. In her past, she was at Oracle and IO Data Centers, which eventually became Iron Mountain. Personally, three kids, two dogs, loves to travel.

But in terms of CoreSite, very domestic data center provider owned by American Tower, who is one of the largest global REITs. CoreSite’s data centers are in 10 major markets in the US or what they consider interconnection-rich, data center campuses.

Let me read that back to you. Interconnection-rich, Data Center campuses. Their focus is on building communities of companies that together interoperate their workloads. Kind of a right tool for the right job approach. Storage here. Back office in the Colos, scale computing and app front ends in the public cloud, you know, applications for CRM and collaboration connect out to them.

CoreSite wants to be in the middle of all that, you know, effectively functioning as the new headquarters for the business. Now of course that we've seen the importance of the actual headquarters, wane post pandemic. From there, obviously in their data centers, they're expecting their customers to connect out in logical, in some case, private connections to the various apps and providers in the community.

It's not all that unlike some of the other stories we've heard from data center providers, at the end of the day. We know data centers are real estate at the core. But I really enjoyed CoreSite’s story around this interconnection-rich campus and community. Also interesting, is how they think about what they're calling the repatriation of data into the colo from public hyperscalers.

Customers have learned that limitless scale is valuable but not necessary and certainly more expensive in most cases than static workloads. This really comes down to a simple question. In particular, the data center space, but I think across many of the sessions we've had lately: compete or coexist. I think our post pandemic IT strategy has really changed how service providers of all kinds think about that question. “Coexist” is the principal theme behind CoreSite's approach their open and cloud exchange, which is a logical network connection platform for customers in their data centers. I won't steal her thunder. She tells the story much better than I could possibly tell it. You'll need to listen in to learn a little bit more.

This is my conversation with Maile Kaiser, the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CoreSite.

ABOUT MAILE KAISER

Maile Kaiser is CoreSite’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. She is responsible for overseeing revenue growth through CoreSite's national sales organization, and provides oversight to marketing, business development and sales operations. Maile joined CoreSite in 2012 and was previously Senior Vice President of Sales. Maile brings over 25 years of direct sales and management experience in the data center, network communications, software and managed services industries driving growth and innovation for large enterprises. Prior to joining CoreSite, Maile was responsible for wholesale and large enterprise sales at IO Datacenters (now Iron Mountain) and ran the Southwest region for Abovenet Communications (now Zayo). Maile started her career with Oracle Corporation. Maile received a BA in English Literature from the University of California, at Berkeley. Maile also serves on the board of the Advanced Imaging Society and is the Chairman of the Awareness and Communications Committee for the iMasons.

CONTACT MAILE KAISER

Web: http://www.CoreSite.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mailekaiser/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Chris Reaburn of Nextiva

Scott Kinka — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 20:48:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. My guest on this episode is Chris Reaburn, the Chief Marketing Officer of Nextiva. He's a Chiefs fan, and I'm recording this intro a day after the Super Bowl; one for the ages, and one of my Eagles did not win. So, as hard as it is to be gracious right now, I still have to say this is one of my favorite episodes.

Chris is a C-level exec and a marketer in a company that Chris considers the anti-tech company. They started out like several businesses that we've talked to on the pod as a UCaaS provider based around the BroadSoft stack, which was a software platform that eventually got purchased by Cisco that powered many of the early way providers.

Back then, the conversation with customers was about moving from prem to cloud. It wasn't really about features, until it became about features when several SaaS companies jumped in to become part of the story. You're not good if you're running other people's software. It's all about the features valuations followed.

Today, even those companies, those great companies are reckoning with the post covid dominance of Teams and Zoom. And yet Nextiva survived and thrived throughout all of those stages when everyone else was developing their own app to communicate, Nextiva was focused on how complicated it was going to get when all of those applications reached critical mass in adoption. By their numbers, the average worker uses 15 to 20 applications per day to communicate, losing up to two hours or so in contact switching. Nextiva is indeed a hosted voice provider with their own software, but that software is designed as a conversation based work hub where all of your apps can be seen in real time, including their own features. Voice chat meetings, sure, but also Teams, Slack, zoom messaging apps, CRMs one place.

Their mission to eliminate silos is what makes up their market approach today. Rather than fight the others, they decided to play nice with all of them and take advantage of our desire for ease of use, and in the meantime, they're gonna get some valuable time back. What's the best app? Well, according to Chris, the right channel for customers is the one they want to use.

Okay, I can get behind that.

Let's check out my conversation with Chris Reaburn from Nextiva.

ABOUT CHRIS REABURN

Chris Reaburn is the Chief Marketing Officer at Nextiva, responsible for championing Nextiva's brand and products in the market in support of the company's vision to change the way businesses around the world work together and serve their customers.

With 20+ years leading marketing and strategy in communications, software and services businesses after a career as a naval officer, Chris leads with his unabashed love for Nextiva customers, ensuring the entire brand experience is best-in-class at every touch point.

More than 100,000 businesses depend on Nextiva to start more than 6 billion conversations each year. Chris is known within Nextiva for wearing a t-shirt with a customer logo to work every day, bringing a Nextiva customer into every meeting and each conversation.

CONTACT CHRIS REABURN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reaburn/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/reaburn

Website: http://www.nextiva.com

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Mark Palmer of Granite Telecommunications

Scott Kinka — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 01:16:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode is Mark Palmer. Mark is the Vice President of Managed Services at Granite. Mark is a telecom lifer. His dad worked at Bell Atlantic. He was a service splice technician to pay for college. His first job was selling telco and like many of us, he went through the dot bomb in the early 2000. And he eventually ended up at Granite where he's been for 20 years at this point. I have some history with Granite. At my previous employer, we used them for field services. Experts at sourcing, training, hiring and mechanically, and consistently deploying people for other tech companies to do physical install work, onsite troubleshooting, et cetera.

This is a business that grew out of, not so much a tech focus as a use case focus, right? In this case, businesses with lots of consistently deployed small to mid-size locations, right? LD became local. Local became internet aggregation, pots replacement field services, eventually security and SASE. Today, their field services alone, are larger themselves than many tech companies.

But yet they've never wavered in that market. Specialists in multi-location, 1500 sites, 5,000 sites, 7,500 sites. We took all the time on this pod about how the pandemic changed the way we do our jobs. The way we construct our networks, the way we secure our workers, the changing state of hybrid work, and the fact that we really haven't figured it out yet.

But very often we talk about the changing value of location in the IT equation. We've moved to people-centered IT. So what happens when you're a company whose entire identity is around lots of consistent little locations? You double down and you grow as a result. This is a great story about leaning into headwinds and finding your niche.

And of course, Mark picked the Eagles to win the Super Bowl this weekend. So I loved it, but we'll see how well that holds up when we release next week's episode. In the meantime, here is an informative post0-COVID look at location focused Managed Services Provider, Granite, and they're VP of Managed Services, Mark Palmer.

ABOUT MARK

Mark Palmer is Vice President of Managed Services at Granite Telecommunications. Mark currently works to build solutions to help customers have better visibility and control over the health of their networks. Mark previously worked at Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) in 1995 - 1996 as a service splice technician upgrading phone services at older facilities. In 1999, Mark moved his career to direct sales, working for Network Plus. By 2001, Mark was helped launch a new Network Plus office in Philadelphia, PA.

Mark joined the Granite Telecommunications team shortly after its founding in 2002, selling analog phone lines. In 2011, he was asked to help start the data team at Granite to sell non-POTS service to our customer base. In 2015 Mark was named one of the first directors in the Relationship Development team, which was more proactive in understanding customer goals and ensuring that we were helping to meet them. In 2017, Mark hit his 15th year with Granite Telecommunications and was asked to work with the Granite Channels team to develop programs introducing current clients and agents to next generation products Granite delivers today. In 2022, Mark celebrated his 20th anniversary with Granite.

Mark lives in Rhode Island with his wife and three children. He is currently the President of the non-profit, Burrillville Junior Hockey League and very much enjoys coaching his children’s hockey teams.

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-palmer-14b4a07/

Web

www.granitenet.com

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

2022 End of Year Recap with Scott Kinka

Scott Kinka — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 22:42:00 +0000

This is a SPECIAL EDITION of the Bridge Podcast with Scott Kinka. Over the last 6 months and 14 episodes, Scott has gotten the opportunity to ask some of the best minds in technology a plethora of questions, including "what is your favorite app" and "tell us where you were and what you were doing when the pandemic started". In addition, he's gotten favorite actors, favorite sports teams and shameless predictions from all of these interviews.

Well, on this episode, we get to ask the same questions of Scott. We learn a little about his past, his previous IT roles and maybe even a nugget or two about being in the popular cover band, Split Decision.

Producer Gene Volpe gets the opportunity to ask Scott all of the tough questions and have Scott dig back on his favorite moments from our episodes so far.

This one was an ode to 2022 while looking forward to 2023. We hope that you enjoy this interesting look into the Chief Strategy Officer of Bridgepointe Technologies and tech evangelist, Scott Kinka.

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Dennis Weikle & Scott Casson of PPT Solutions

Scott Kinka — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 13:44:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. On this episode, we meet PPT Solutions, Dennis Weikle, who's the CEO, and Scott Casson, the Senior Vice President of Delivery. So, why PPT Solutions? Well, in full disclosure, Bridgepointe Technologies, as you know, the sponsor of this podcast, recently acquired PPT, which stands for People, Process and Technology considers themselves a CX as a service provider. That doesn't mean they're a technology service provider or a SaaS provider. In fact, it sort of means the opposite. They are a services firm that operates in and around those software as a service and platform as a service providers. They deliver consulting, implementation, and managed services around CX. Importantly, they're also a BPO or Business Process Outsourcing Broker. We'll get to what that means in a minute. Everyone is talking CX these days, like it was just invented. Acronym of the year.

We spent some time talking about what CX is, what it isn't. We debated it. We talked about the differences between CX and CCaaS. Without spilling the beans here: CCaaS, really technology platform. CX, a business strategy. Why now? Why is it all about CX today? Is it the pandemic, the changing expectations of consumers? Is it finally now the year of the consumer? Isn’t every year? Why are we constantly reinventing what we call the technologies and platforms that support our engagement with clients? I've said this several times in the pod in the past year, and I'll continue to say it, contact center and CX implementations don't go bad because of broken tech. They go bad because of poor strategy or implementation or unclear objectives, and that's really the gap that PPT Solutions, now Bridgepointe, is filling for businesses. And they give a few really good examples of that on the pod. We talked a bunch about outsourcing agents, getting back to that. What has come to be known as BPO and, and how in some business lines it was taboo before the pandemic. You know, you don't want to call and get somebody overseas. But once everyone went home, businesses realized that they needed more flexibility in staffing and costs, businesses are questioning not only whether they need full-time staff in their contact center, but they're also looking at how technology, or in this case, the broader CX portfolio, can actually serve customers without agents, right? How do we eliminate calls coming into the contact center?

Of course, we ended with our predictions section. We got some great predictions about the Bengals winning the Super Bowl. We talked about Dennis's dream of being a member of an eighties hair band. Don't miss that part. Either way, this was a great conversation and one that I hope you find as thought provoking as I did. So let's get to. Here we are with this episode of The Bridge.

About Dennis Weikle
Founder and Managing Director

Dennis Weikle is a JD Power award winning executive with over 20 years of experience leading small to large contact center organizations, outsourcing engagements, and customer lifecycle transformations. He brings diverse and thoughtful expertise to each client engagement helping create solutions that solve real business problems. Most recently, Dennis was Chief Operating Officer for Direct Energy Residential and prior to that served as Vice President of Prepaid Care and Consumer Account Services at Sprint where he led the organization to three JD Power Awards. He has a track record of success having developed high performing teams, strategic partnerships, and innovative technology solutions.

About Scott Casson
Senior Vice President, Delivery

Scott is a 25-year veteran of the Contact Center/Customer Service industry and had held every possible position within the contact center from starting on the phone as an agent up to, and including Senior Vice President. Throughout the past 15-years, he has focused all his efforts on helping corporations, both large and small, on-shore and off-shore, improving their contact centers by delivering engagements that significantly enhanced productivity, reduced expenses, and improved their overall Customer Satisfaction. While Scott is considered a contact center generalist, he has become a Subject Matter Expert in the areas of productivity improvement through Outlier Management, Workforce Management, IVR and ACD redesign, Outbound Dialing, and Knowledge Management.

Contact Dennis & Scott

PPT: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ppt-solutions/

Dennis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisweikle/

Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottcasson/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pptsolutions1

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Sanjay Srinivasan of Vonage

Scott Kinka — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 18:45:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. My guest on the pod this week is Sanjay Srinivasan. He's the Senior Vice President of Solutions Engineering for Vonage. In his distant past, he served as the Chief Architect for Simple Signal. They were acquired by Vonage to be their business arm about a decade ago.

And because of that, he and I have a long history together at the early stages of UCaaS. Back then we called it hosted PBX. We were sort of early innovators around the broad, soft switch platform that powered a lot of the early providers in the space and that platform would later come to be purchased by Cisco.

We broke a lot of the same regulations. We figured out a lot of the same problems. We broke a lot of eggs together. Scaled some session border controllers for service providers together, and we did all that work along with our great engineering teams. But I can tell you, I don't think it's bombastic to say, that this is a conversation with one of the early pioneers of hosted VoIP and a close friend for nearly 15 years.

We joked that for 10 of those years at various industry conferences, and every year we were like, this is going to be the year of video. Of course, all it took was a pandemic for that to happen, right? And now we feel like we have to have a formal 30-minute meeting to accomplish what we could have covered in a five minute phone call.

Because you know, nobody wants to make phone calls anymore, right? We always want to get on video. Here we are though, both former CTOs, in the VoIP business talking about how humans need face-to-face interaction and how we need to learn to take breaks between our meetings. He shares some insights on the blurring line of who is actually in customer service in the business, a theme that we've heard multiple times in recent weeks.

He also said something that I found incredibly interesting though that and I've added it to my lexicon, “happy agents create happy customers”. Seems obvious, but customer experience always starts with the agent experience. And something we really need to think about if you're redesigning your contact center.

This led us to conversations about communications, APIs, supporting unique business cases, and needing to stop worrying about tech and start worrying about the problems that we're trying to solve before we get into wiring APIs up. Lastly, we wrapped up with soccer becoming popular in the US, the availability of high quality 5G everywhere, how a book reader could eventually become the most important app on your phone and lastly, and most importantly, how the judge in my cousin Vinny, is possibly one of the most underrated roles in modern cinema. So, time to get to it. This is a podcast I've really been looking forward to. My longtime innovation partner and peer, and all around great guy, Sanjay Srinivasan, Senior Vice president of Solutions Engineering for Vonage.

ABOUT SANJAY

Chief Architect, GM, SVP, Business Services, Vonage

Sanjay has over 24 years if experience in the areas of VOIP, UCaaS, Cloud/Hosted Services, SD-WAN, Software Development, Telecommunications and IP networking with time spent on Product Development, Marketing, Telecom Service Provider, IP MPLS and launching businesses. He has launched services in the telecommunications and managed services arena using ground-breaking technologies in the areas of VOIP and Cloud Computing. He has led and coordinated large teams to build disruptive business models and services challenging status quo in the areas of telecommunications.

He has built successful businesses offering Cloud Communications, Hosted VOIP, SD-WAN and IP Networking Services.

Specialties: Specialize in the area of Hosted Services - CaaS & PaaS.

CONTACT SANJAY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasrinivasan/

Web: http://www.vonage.com

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

D.R. Carlson of Equinix

Scott Kinka — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode is D.R. Carlson. He's the Director of Segment Marketing for Equinix. We joked a little bit, I asked him what D.R. meant, he said “disaster recovery”. D.R. has been at Equinix for two different stints. He's about to have his second fifth anniversary with the company and is a father of four, 10 to 18 years old, from Ashburn, Virginia. Kind of right where colo all started.

Equinix started as a peering provider. I sort of threw out, hey, I know them as colo and he sort of corrected me. They built colo around their peering network and from there became one of the larger network service providers in the world.

They consider themselves, given their interconnection strategy, an on ramp to the digital economy. I'll describe that a little bit more in a few moments. What I really loved about this conversation, is that D.R. is both a technologist and a marketing guy. He had some really polished answers around some of the things that we talk about on this podcast.

Here's an example. He compared the pandemic to a health scare. Interesting, right? The things that you should do to get healthy aren't really any different than the things that you should do before you're sick. Right? But now those things are more important. He applied that to the pandemic. He used that to explain sort of the impending event that the pandemic became.

If you were doing the right things, you are generally fine. If you weren't, you were sick and you needed to react quickly. We talked about how to think about the digital transformation in 2023, and he made it really simple. The way that Equinix talks the digital economy is that businesses need to focus on three things.

First, interconnecting their core. Second interconnecting their digital systems, and then third, interacting at the edge. Now, I'm not going to describe each one of those things in detail here, and I couldn't do it as good as he does, but generally speaking, if your initiative doesn't fit into one of those categories, don't do it.

I'll let him break that down a little bit more on the pod, but I do think it's a useful way to break down your technology roadmap. He also describes the cloud hangover and what he means by that is running into clouds and looking at them as destinations, when really they're just a portion of an overall network strategy.

Data center, core has moved, but app strive traffic edge is largely now in the home. So consider how people, traffic and patterns flow and that should really be the root of the IT conversation. And this is what in his mind in some cases, is driving customers away from a hundred percent cloud infrastructure into hybrid architectures.

We've heard that repeated quite a bit on the pod so far this year. Everyone is trying to do the same thing; connect more people in more locations with more devices to more information in a secure manner. The lesson I took from it, stop buying tech, and start supporting use cases, understand the users. We wrapped up with his love of Spotify and his desire to play Steven the Irishman in the movie Braveheart. You'll love that.

This chat was a lot of fun and I definitely stole some nuggets that will become a part of my speak going forward. Here is D.R. “Disaster Recovery” Carlson, the Director of Segment Marketing from Equinix.

ABOUT D.R.

D.R. is the Director of Segment Marketing for the Americas for Equinix focusing on joint messaging and go-to- market strategy with Equinix’s largest partners. D.R. has also worked as VP, Sales and Strategic Partnerships for Neovera (Equinix New Partner of the Year 2017), and Oratium a company that built sales messaging for companies, trained Ted speakers, and prepared Executives for Keynote speeches.

CONTACT D.R.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-r-carlson-b6431a1b/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Ashish Seth of RingCentral

Scott Kinka — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 22:52:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode is Ashish Seth. He's the Vice President of Product Management at RingCentral. Ashish is a recent addition to RingCentral. He's got a legacy and contact center and that's his charter at Ring. Mind you, focusing on the Ring Contact Center product. He was the former Chief Product Officer at LifeSize who if you recall, acquired Contact Center vendor, SerraNova. He was also at one point the Vice President of products at Nice in Contact. So, this is a contact center guy. He's been in Silicon Valley, at the cutting edge for 20 years.

Interestingly enough, he changed jobs twice during the pandemic. I asked him, like I've asked some of our other guests, if he considers himself part of the “great resignation”. He had a really interesting response; he said he “was part of the great opportunity”. And one other thing he added there was breakdowns lead to breakthroughs, a quote that got our producer Gene jumping out of his chair a little bit. He echoed a theme that we've heard from several guests that the pandemic was an accelerator for cloud communications and customer experience technologies. Frankly, we've had security networking data center vendors say the exact same.

I asked them to explain RingCentral's strategy in light of the pandemic. And you know, it was kind of interesting. I mean, you said what you would expect. You see CC one that connect them, but for them it was about intelligent experiences, right? Phone, video meetings, contact center agents, together in a single application. And to him, he felt like the opportunity was very real because of hybrid work, not sort of in conflict with hybrid work, right? How he sees it, you know, what RingCentral's customers are. You know, when most of us talk about hybrid work, we talk about this happy medium between being in the office, being on the road like I am today and being at home and it's really more of an option based scenario.

Ashish's thought was that it's really about work styles, about cognitive enablement, about enabling the styles of work. So in in his mind, some people should always be at home. Some people should always be in the office, and the key is to equip each one of the work styles with the tools that work for them and enable them to have their place in this, sort of, connected workforce. Function-based as opposed to option-based hybrid work, which was just a really interesting way of looking at it.

Since we've both been in the business of developing contact center software, we were talking a lot about where the agent sits going forward which he believes will fall into remote work now more than ever. Given the transiency of the labor force and, you know, and the fact that it's just easy to stand up an agent that way, but we talked a lot about what would be lost in that environment. And the real thing is peer to peer engagement. You know, tap tapping someone on the shoulder, getting help or, or even just therapy after a difficult interaction. Also missing really when you can't sort of tap the shoulder is the role of the subject matter expert in the contact center. Much harder to engage them now.

And that really brought it back for me to this idea of the connected experience, right? Some of these SMEs are not agents, and regardless of who you escalate to, those escalations need to be seamless. You know, the contact center solution in a business has historically sort of sat alone, it's been its own island, but now you've got this blend of mobile video meetings, traditional calls into the contact center. That led us into an interesting conversation about the lines of really who is an agent in the modern customer experience. Those lines are blurring because customers want to interact differently. The information workers never really thought of themselves as agents, and now they're in these workflows. It's really a shift of how we think about customer experience, not sitting off to the side of the business. And of course, look as a UC provider. I asked Ashish about Teams, about Zoom and where he sees RingCentral sitting, how the market sees them. And his answer, you know, was that they're a compliment. They believe they deliver the connected work experience where a truly voice centric is going to focus on a voice centric provider like Ring, where other business will you choose a collab first experience, but integrate it with their quality, their five 9s, their international reach on the backside. So, they are a Microsoft partner, as an example.

So we had a very interesting discussion on direct routing as a result. We talked about hybrid hosted PBXs and kind of what that means going forward and really how all that works. And then lastly, at the end, we had a great chat about virtual reality in the workplace, which you know, not here yet, but certainly I said to him that I would bring him back on the show when these workplace technologies start to get there.

So, looking forward to that in a year or so, maybe two, maybe three. But in the meantime, this is my conversation with Ashish Seth, who is the Vice President of product at RingCentral.

ABOUT ASHISH

I like to think I’ve had great success helping large organizations and senior IT executives drive efficiencies that have led to exceptional results for over 30 years. Essentially, we help them do more with less. But what I am most passionate and proud of is the company and staff I have built at Cannon Group.

Our mission statement is “Building long-term relationships with clients by over-delivering on value and exceeding their expectations.” I feel we do an amazing job at that, and its reflective in the long tenure of our client relationships. Clearly, our staff is doing something right.

My role has evolved into one that focuses on client satisfaction and new solutions we can offer that provide great value and the long-term vision of the firm. Most importantly, I am also focused on motivating and empowering our team by providing a supportive work environment that encourages a healthy work-life balance. It’s a challenging role that I have welcomed and has paid off--this past year we were recognized as a 2018 Top Workplace by Philly.com

My expertise includes: Information technology, telecom strategy, contract negotiation, cost containment, vendor management, new product innovation, business growth and partner alliances

includes his own entrepreneurial venture - CloudSquads, Inc. - that helped enterprises build online customer communities.

As Vice President of Customer Experience at RingCentral, Inc. I am responsible for product strategy, go-to-market plans and roadmap execution for the RingCentral Contact Center and Customer Experience portfolio. My expertise spans CCaaS, UCaaS, CRM Systems, social media engagement and online communities. Prior to RingCentral, Inc. I was the Chief Product officer at Lifesize, Inc - leading strategy and execution of the Lifesize Suite of Contact Center, Meetings and Collaboration solutions. I have held leadership roles in Product Management, Consulting and Engineering at large public companies such as NICE Systems, KPMG Consulting, Oracle as well as startups. My career journey includes my own entrepreneurial venture - CloudSquads, Inc. - that helped enterprises build online customer communities.

CONTACT ASHISH

Web. https://www.ringcentral.com/
Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ash.seth
Twitter. https://twitter.com/ash_seth
LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashseth/

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Emil Sayegh of Ntirety

Scott Kinka — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 21:02:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to The Bridge. I'm Scott Kinka. My guest today is Emil Sayegh. He's the CEO of Ntirety, and a really interesting guy, Lebanese guy, Austin, Texas, UT grad, four kids, two of whom were in college, one at his alma mater, the other enjoying watching a spectacular football season at TCU. Emil is a well established executive in product and cloud role, having spent time at Rackspace, Dell, Codero. His last role was as CEO of Cero and eventually he was tapped by private equity to lead Hostway, who, if you remember, was a leader in shared hosting. Eventually, Hostway merged with hosting.com, a company with a similar history in shared hosting. Which is why I was surprised to hear about the trajectory of the business today.

Ntirety is entirely a different company than you might expect. Yeah, I did that, I guess I'm feeling it coming out the holiday weekend here, but as far as Emil, he, he strikes me as a professional change agent. He led cloud at Rackspace. He's taking companies public. He's been tapped for business turnarounds and exits, and currently in pulling together two similar companies and turning them into something wholly different, centering around managed services and cybersecurity.

In talking about that, he leveraged the old Wayne Gretzky moniker of “skating to where the puck is going”. Really an essential discussion to think about as a technology leader. We can't know what's next, but we do have to consider it. Marking conditions, end risks will change, and being prepared and even taking some chances on what might be next is an absolute requirement for technology leaders, and what frankly makes discussions like those we have here on The Bridge really important. Emil oversaw the merger of Hostway and hosting.com in 2018 with a vision of focus on managed services, but particularly cybersecurity and backup and recovery.

They were rewarded frankly, for that vision when the pandemic struck. We also had an important discussion about security, compliance, and governance, and the expectations on businesses. Making a great discussion short for this intro, no business is expected to be perfect, but you are expected to follow documented best practices. You are expected to have a plan, and most importantly, you are expected to be able to recover, which Emil pointed out is too often not part of the security provider playbook. We talked about the importance of security training, both internally and with a stance towards the supply chain. Supply chain being sort of that uncontrolled partner inside of your four walls.

He mentioned that 40 to 60% of mid-market companies that get hacked do not recover inside of a year. There's a clear ROI to cybersecurity investments, but it's often confused, or in some cases ignored, in favor of actual insurance or cyber insurance. A very important discussion for business executives to listen to.

I challenged Emil to answer the question, or the objection, I should say, of Emil, I'll just increase my cyber insurance. Something that you may be hearing from your executive team or even considering yourself as a technology leader. Emil writes extensively about cybersecurity, but specifically about this topic, in Forbes Magazine.

We'll make sure that we include the link to that in the show notes. Even if you don't have time to listen to the entire pod, please jump to about the 26 minute of the interview portion. I don't want to steal his words, but real lessons to be learned about cyber insurance and how that differs from actually having a real IT governance and compliance policy internally. So, I won't steal his words. Time to jump in. Here we go. My talk with Emil Sayegh of Ntirety.

Contact Emil

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilsayegh/

Forbes article that Emil referenced in this episode:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2022/01/25/the-imminent-death-and-rebirth-of-cyber-insurance/?sh=462279907080

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Chris Cannon of the Cannon Group

Scott Kinka — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 00:11:00 +0000

The Bridge Podcast - Cannon Intro

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. This episode was a special one. First, because it was in person. I don't get to do a lot of those. And second, because it was with one of our own from Bridgepointe. My guest today is Chris Cannon, founder of the Cannon Group, recently acquired by Bridgepoint Technologies.

Chris is now serving as the managing director of Lifecycle Services for Bridgepointe. That’s why I'm all decked out in my Bridgepointe gear today. Cannon Group is a 20 plus year old MSP. It focuses on technology, expense management, mobile management, transition projects, and strategic sourcing. They're located right here in the Philadelphia market, not too far from where we're filming.

Like most of our episodes, we started talking about their business during the pandemic. They have an inbound contact center for mobile support that needed to be transitioned. They were already on Teams and Teams Voice, which is something we don't hear often. So that transition was seamless and that includes their call queues, an early adopter there.

What was not seamless was Chris's work. He lives only a few miles from the office. He found it easier to work there. He sort of walked around in a surreal, dystopian future, empty office, kind of wanderer model there. Must have been really, really interesting. What also didn't transition well though was the mobile deployments out of the business.

What I mean by that is kidding, as they call kind of mobile staging has to be done in person, right? I mean, he shares a great story about original convenience store chain, that we hear in the east know very well; Wawa. For those of you who don't know, Wawa is a convenience store, sandwich shop, and gas station combo, all over the place. And they're a customer of Cannon Group. They moved from an iPad based, for doing online ordering, to a 4,000 iPad rollout, basically overnight. And, as the mobile desk for Wawa, that meant receiving, unboxing, staging, apply screen protector test, put it back in the box, ship out all, hands on deck, everybody that could be involved from the company working through that.

And if you think about it, this again, challenges that definition of essential. That's become a theme through some of our past episodes on data center and things like that. Workers you wouldn't normally consider to be essential. But, you know, think about it, these were people literally provisioning the tech necessary for people to be able to order food during the pandemic.

I'm not sure it gets any more essential than that. That discussion branch starts over into supply chain. First for laptops being poor and, you know, as a mobile support organization, Cannon was getting calls for laptops, frankly, because customers were trying anything. They didn't have access to those.

But something you don't think about is that mobile devices weren't a problem during the pandemic. And it was because we were in an iPhone refresh cycle at that time. You know, new devices were dug into return to work. We dug into what that means. We talked about work-life balance, culture, committees, type job markets, online, happy hours, what worked and what didn't work.

Something's going to be interesting in there for you, I'm sure. You've got similar stories and could get a chuckle out of some of that. And finally, we talked quite a bit about the economy, the looming recession, the macroeconomic environment that we're walking into and Chris's belief and backed up by research.

He shared some of that research at our tech summit in September, that tech budgets will remain firm during the recession, but that money will move over towards more efficiency and cost containment types of initiatives. He shared that there's usually room in an IT budget, if properly managed.

New IT projects in reality, expense management is not a job that IT people focus their time on. Tech leaders don't have time to focus on mobility, as an example. Mobility is a savings every year on new plans, if properly done, but it just falls into that also job category for IT and tech and even businesses that have formal procurement teams who are supposed to be focused on that are not generally mobile plan experts.

That is just something to think about as you're trying to figure out how you're going to fund your IT initiatives in a compressing economy right now. But either way, it was fun to talk to Chris in person, fun to create an interesting bookend to some of the provider focused conversations that we've been having and really interesting.

To think about the idea that funding, uh, you know, it, new IT initiatives is still out there and available, it just might be buried in your existing expenses. So let's get to it. My discussion with my friend Chris Cannon, Founder and CEO of Cannon Group here in Philadelphia, and now the managing director of Lifecycle Services for Bridgepointe Technologies.

ABOUT CHRIS:

My expertise includes: Information technology, telecom strategy, contract negotiation, cost containment, vendor management, new product innovation, business growth and partner alliances.

CONTACT CHRIS:

Web. https://www.cannongroupinc.com/teams/chris-cannon/
eMail. ccannon@cannongroupInc.com
LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherccannon/LinkedIn

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Craig Patterson of Aryaka

Scott Kinka — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 21:00:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to the Bridge. I'm Scott Kinka. In this episode, I speak with Craig Patterson. Craig is the Senior Vice President of Global Channel Sales for Aryaka. He’s an interesting high energy, great guy, hockey dad, technologist. He runs his own podcast, incidentally, called Dreamers and Doers. He's invited me to be on that podcast. I've started listening, really good. So check that out. And joining him on his pod might be fun, Dreamers and Doers. But the fact that he's a pod show host should give you a little bit of perspective on this guy's personality. We'll get back to that in a minute.

But in terms of Aryaka, he joined during the pandemic, and he said he is the "great resignation". I don't want to steal his thunder about why he did it and what he was doing; he talks about that in the pod. I'm sure you'll find it interesting, maybe even a little bit personal. Maybe you've thought about it. Maybe you were part of the great resignation.

Maybe you were swept up in some of the fall of 22 tech layoffs. Just interesting feedback from a serious technologist, and somebody who's been very successful in this industry, about the decisions he made during the pandemic. In terms of Aryaka, interesting name, right? It means noble or truthful in Hindi. Aryaka is a global SDWAN.

Winner of Gartner's voice at the customer award multiple times, they generate about 90% of their revenue through partners like Bridgepointe. I asked him how his business changed as I’ve asked most of my guests during the pandemic. And his answer was interesting and it was immediate. “Fundamentally” was his answer.

As an SDWAN provider, Aryaka was, in his words, in the business of connecting big, shiny buildings. And then everybody went right, so they needed to sort of adjust the product. They quickly added VPN as a service offering, and integrated it into the same network fabric.

Ultimately, that became a security and application optimization fabric, and, really became the trappings of what would become a SASE service for them. And, you know, we talked a lot of this sort of conversion, even on the network and data center side. As you've heard from some of our recent guests around having to change their entire strategy to be around applications during the pandemic. A big selling point for them is that they've optimized something like 3,500 applications for delivery, allowing their customers to decide what's important and what's not in terms of delivering access down to their end users.

They feel very strongly because of that influence on some of the success that some of the SaaS companies had during the pandemic. His belief, one that I hold as well, is that the pandemic accelerated technology projects that didn't have an impending event, like tearing down traditional WANs in favor of next generation networking or shutting down local data centers and applications in favor of cloud. It's not like there was a lot of question that these applications or these conversions or these digital transformations made sense. It was just that there wasn't a good reason to just start doing it at that moment, and frankly, the pandemic brought that along.

Aryaka is betting on businesses leaving people at home and unifying that experience with the office. Their belief is that 29% of businesses are deploying SASE today while, another 50% will do so in the next 12 to 24 months. I wonder what that means for the future of former next gen networking technologies like MPLS.

And, in fact, that was a fact that he doubled down on in the shameless predictions sections. Again, his words, not mine: “legacy networks are dead”. That's a direct quote and I'm sure the Bridge production team is going to have a lot of fun with that quote in post production. We bantered a bit about how business travel is back. We talked about Oktoberfest. We mopped up with a little bit of Apple music, eighties hair bands, beer league hockey. His desire to be the third line center on his hometown avalanche. Craig's a high energy guy. It was early in the morning for me. It was two hours earlier for him, but he's a 5:00 AM hockey dad getting to the rink early in Colorado, so he wins that battle.

Let's get to it, my conversation with the very energetic Craig Patterson SVP of Global Channel Sales for Aryaka.

ABOUT CRAIG:

Craig Patterson is an award-winning, results-driven, and motivational sales leader, currently serving as Aryaka’s SVP Global Channels. In this role, Patterson is responsible for Aryaka’s global Channel Strategy, market growth, and mobilization of channel sales and marketing teams across North America, EMEA and APAC. He is credited with launching Aryaka’s Accelerate Channel Partner Program which earned the prestigious 5-STAR CRN Award in 2022. Patterson is also a recipient of the 2022 CRN Channel Chief Award and 2022 Channel Futures: Circle of Excellence Award for dedication, industry stature and accomplishments as a channel advocate. Prior to joining Aryaka, Patterson was the West Division Vice President for Lumen’s indirect channel, where he led the global sales and revenue strategy for a $1billion organization within the Lumen Channel Partner Program. Patterson is a passionate supporter and contributor to philanthropic efforts, and currently serves on the board for the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). He resides in Colorado with his family.

CONTACT CRAIG:

eMail: craig.patterson@aryaka.com
Web: www.aryaka.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/globalchannel/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Chris Sharp of Digital Realty

Scott Kinka — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 14:25:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to the Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. My guest on this episode is Chris Sharp. He's the CTO of Digital Realty. It's not that often that I get to meet someone for the first time on the podcast, but here we were meeting on camera for the first time. Chris has spent seven and a half years at Digital Realty, Equinix before that. Couple tours of duty with traditional network carriers. We commiserated on that a bit. I had some of my own but if you're not familiar with Digital Realty, they are one of the largest colocation operators in the world, and he had some really interesting perspective on approaching the pandemic from a global level.

They got a jump on their US plan, because frankly, they had already experienced some of the hotspots, Singapore in particular, being one of their larger data centers that they had to contend with. So they sort of made their mistakes there, sort of had their plans already in place.

For the US a lot of it was about how to ensure you had talent in physical locations that you didn't get stuck overseas. While sending information workers home, a really interesting way of thinking about sort of the people aspects of that. He also talked about how they had to evolve pretty quickly in COLO because let's face it, the, the digital economy was driven by people in these large data centers during the pandemic. So, you know, increased demand increased install timeframes all based on the pandemic. Even thinking about things like the fuel for backup generators, not being guaranteed from a delivery perspective, were all things they had to contend with. We did get into a discussion about what he thinks is not returning to normal and what they think and what's interesting, you know, Chris shared his feelings about how the internet has fundamentally changed in terms of its traffic patterns. In particular, the flow of traffic from sort of centralized office hubs out to the cloud. Now it's sort of a thousand points of light in the home out to various cloud vendors. All of the sudden, customers were seeing traffic change from a handful of giant nodes to a million users at home on various ISPs.

And here I am thinking about them having real estate challenge. When in reality Digital Realty spent a lot of their effort in the pandemic just figuring out how to re-architect the network based on this new flow and, and based on the way that their customers were interacting with services and interacting in some ways with each other.

It really forced them up the stack as a real estate company to think about application use of their customers. So not just a power pipe and ping business in a lot of ways. I guess that's the digital part of Digital Realty. You know, he shared some trends around what they're seeing with customers.

Moving out, maybe not moving out, but moving some workloads from hyperscalers back into COLO and settling into hybrid architectures, taking more COLO as a result. I shared a blog from the CEO of Basecamp on my LinkedIn last week and, and got a little, I riled up some salespeople online, but it is a real conversation about which workloads belong.

As we're beginning to optimize our workloads to our new reality. And, you know, the move to hyperscale while elasticity and capacity are immediate, not every workload fits very well in the sort of coin operated model of usage and hyperscale. So just a real conversation, one we're having very, very often at Bridgepointe with our customers.

He also talked about capacity being the new currency of the digital age. If you think about it, the big hyperscalers are also consumers of COLO, right? So as they expand, they're competing with customers who are looking for their own data center space, planning your digital footprint is essential if you are buying services really at a real estate level to support your business. Supply chain challenges are not going away. Availability of data center space in your desired geography is not assured and it's one of the things that sort of planning ahead working with organizations like Bridgepointe are really important. In our fun know, shameless predictions section, we talked about personal media, algorithms, what we get served, who owns curation you know, maybe more transparency coming from those providers in the future about how they're delivering content to you. It was an interesting and kind of fun departure from the rest of the conversation, but it was really thought provoking. At a high level this was a different conversation. We've talked to cloud company service providers, collab, VDI.

We've talked to network and security execs, you know, but here in this conversation, I got the opportunity to take a deep dive down into a real estate business in a lot of ways that found that it too is climbing up the digital transformation ladder to build and grow based on their customer's application use.

So, you know, here we are, a great chat with a self-professed technologist in a real estate business. This is my conversation with Chris Sharp, the CTO of Digital Realty.

ABOUT CHRIS:

Chris Sharp has over 20 years of experience in the technology industry, with an extensive background in developing technology strategies in global markets. He has a deep knowledge of the data center sector and is well positioned to expand technical innovation at Digital Realty. Most recently, he was responsible for cloud innovation at Equinix, where he led the development of innovative cloud services solutions and developed new capabilities enabling next-generation, high-performance exchange and interconnection solutions, facilitating broad commercial adoption of cloud computing on a global basis. Previously, Mr. Sharp held leadership positions at top network and colocation providers, including Qwest Communications, MCI/Verizon Business and Reliance Globalcom.

CONTACT CHRIS

Web: https://www.digitalrealty.com/about/leadership/chris-sharp
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislsharp/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Chris Jones of AT&T

Scott Kinka — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 22:31:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to the Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. My guest this week is Chris Jones of AT&T. He's the AVP of channel sales. For AT&T and ACC business. Chris has been with AT&T for 28 years. We laughed a little bit about one or two little breakups they had where he tried something else, but he's, he's been there almost straight for 30 years.

He's been in multiple roles there. Channel sales, marketing. Strategy, even spent time in wireless. Just a different story than what you hear about folks in this fast moving tech space where we're jumping all over the place. We talked a bit about the start of the pandemic. He was on vacation in Mexico.

His son called him from college to let him know that you know, they were canceling classes. He got back into the US right before things shut down to walk into the news that our biggest show of the year in our industry is called Channel Partners. It was. AT&T was the title sponsor that year. Just a surreal thing.

I'm sure they had 20 or 30 people going and he was on vacation and walks into the fact that that was canceled. Jumped straight from vacation to the lockdown. Kind of a surreal story. He said that they were very prepped as a tech company. Most of the workers, you know, were able to work from home. You know, but he did talk about how you know, look, they're in the wire line business.

They had people who had to go in were, were running fiber to buildings. They were considered essential workers. Really kind of the heartbeat of the pandemic response. And it's funny, you know, we talked about what the pandemic would've looked like in 1990. If not for those essential workers focusing on connectivity.

You know, we didn't have the internet if we didn't have this level of access. You know, our belief, my belief certainly is that the economy would've shut down. He shared some interesting stories about what AT&T calls tabletop exercises. It's, it's sort of a methodology where the execs in the business get together and sorta.

You know, throw the chess pieces on the table. They zombie apocalypse plan, if you will, and talk about how they would do it. So they felt more prepared than most because frankly, we, we had that level of you know, pandemic emergency, if you will, and they got to test some of those plans. Something I've haven't heard from many other vendors and, and haven't seen in a lot of other businesses.

That was a really interesting. We spent quite a bit of time talking about virtual desktops and how they are used internally at AT&T to support bring your own device. He did say though that the tools were available, but people really didn't understand it, really didn't see the value until the pandemic push adoption forward.

And now today most people inside of AT&T will not live without the convenience of flexibility of their BDI. Of their virtual desktop. But it is an interesting parallel that we, we've seen with some of the other pods that we've had lately where we've talked about the pandemic, sort of forcing people to learn how to use the things.

They already have. We did talk a bit about culture what was lost in the pandemic and for Chris, it, it really focused around new employee onboarding. He's, concerned as I am and, and many others are about sort of a potential generation of workers without sort of the, having had the ability to interact one on one.

A really good example he gave, and I haven't heard this yet I wrote it down, I took it as a note. I'll use this again, but we talked about small. You know, you get to know people in small talk and when you walk into a conference room, you sort of pair off. That's when you can talk about your kids and, you know, taking your kids to school and what happened that weekend and sports teams.

But that's really hard to do when the entire room is sort of flat and in a web conference together. You know, he felt, and I, and I agree that it creates a much more mechanical relationship, because you can't do that small talk, You can't do those breakouts, and frankly, people just feel like it's easier to be mean online.

He, already felt that everyone in the business needs to start thinking like a cto, at least in terms of thinking about the business, how it uses, the tools it has, why it has them, you know, everybody being a good consumer, if you will, of the technical capabilities that the business is. And then of course, listen, he's been there for 30 years.

We talked a little bit about AT&T pre pandemic. They were already thinking about sort of refocusing the business on its roots, a little less entertainment, you know entertainment networks, television, and more around what was at the basis of AT&T being a connectivity company. Really that essential work that he was talking about in the pandemic.

And of course now, you know, it's become essential that security is tied to the hip of every connectivity conversation we have. So, look, I'll skip right to it. This was a compelling conversation with a seasoned executive from one of the titans of the industry. And you'll, you'll see that even at that size, Chris and and his peers, they've dealt with a lot of the same concerns, had to make a lot of the same kinds of tough business decisions that you've had to make in your business, regardless how large or small you are.

So lots to learn. I hope you get as much out of it as I did. Here's my conversation with Chris Jones from AT&T.

ABOUT CHRIS

Chris leads the AT&T Alliance Channel Technology Distributors organization, focused on growth for AT&T Business and ACC Business. His organization is solely dedicated to supporting Technology Distributors, Channel Partners, and their customers. This includes organizational strategy & evolution, sales production, operations, process automation, and sales effectiveness. Chris has been instrumental in implementing innovative strategies and thought leadership to shape and transform the program. His efforts have led to significant YOY revenue growth in the segment, and his efforts have led to vastly improved Channel Partner experience.

CONTACT CHRIS

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-jones-47392b/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cj5075alliance

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Tim Allen of EvolveIP

Scott Kinka — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:35:00 +0000

Hi, and welcome to The Bridge. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. This week I interviewed Tim Allen, Executive Vice President and Founding Partner of EvolveIP. Tim and I have been friends for nearly 25 years through a couple of companies, and in the interest of full disclosure, more than a decade together at a EvolveIP. Tim also joined me here in studio, which was a nice change of pace from the online interviews that make up a majority of my podcast, and frankly probably make up a majority of the meetings that you engage in on a day to day basis.

Post pandemic, EvolveIP is a pun intended company name. So we talked a lot about the theme of evolution and that being a principle tenet of their go to market and what he called evolutionaries or their ideal customer. These are people who don't want to incur technical debt, can't stand managing endpoints, don't want to be burdened with the basics of it. So what they did during and after the pandemic was instead of going product focused, they went use-case focused. They wrapped all of their products together in a virtual workspace delivering multiple legacy applications. Comms contact Center, a really interesting approach. Maybe give you some thoughts about another way to think about how you're acquiring and buying it. We commiserated a bit about moving out of the office during the pandemic. We were working together at that time, and truth be told, we were actually doing a move.

We were moving our office from one place to another when the pandemic hit. So we literally packed up our boxes, put them in our trunks, and never came back to the office. Kind of an interesting story. We talked about the challenges of service providers and technology companies during the digital transformation wave of the pandemic and forced work from home. I thought it was really interesting from a service provider perspective, but I think you'll find that interesting even as an IT buyer or technology leader. He suggested that the real effort in digital transformation is about teaching people how to use what they already have, what they've already bought. Really interesting insight and of course that led us into a conversation about the difference between broken and user error, which will be a fun little chat for IT leaders. Maybe you can commiserate with us a little bit. And then lastly you know, in the going forward category, Tim predicted the death of the operating system in the next 18 to 24 months in our shameless prediction segment. I'm sure he was being a little bit melodramatic for effect, I'm sure, but he makes some really great points that I think are valuable for us all to think about. So you don't want to miss this episode. Let's get to it. Here it is, my interview with Tim Allen of EvolveIP.

About Tim:

Tim is a 30 year veteran of the communications and “as a Service” space spending 90% of that time growing 2 companies from start up phase to $100M in revenue. He loves helping organizations use technology to change their business, spending time with his wife of 25 years and watching his 4 kids play sports.

CONTACT TIM

Web: https://www.evolveip.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvolveIP
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimAllen_cloud
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timallen3/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timallen15117/
eMail: tallen@evolveip.net

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Mike Nowak from BCM One

Scott Kinka — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 04:22:00 +0000

Welcome to the next episode of the Bridge Podcast. I'm your host, Scott Kinka. This week we had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Nowak, who is the Chief Revenue Officer of BCM One. I won't steal his thunder, but if you're not familiar with BCM One, they are an MSP, with what Mike describes as a Nordstrom class approach, to customer fulfillment, if you will.

They're in connectivity. SDWAN SIP. They've got about a million UCaas seats out there. Very interesting company. Mike's a great speaker, dad to two girls, a self-professed builder, as he says. He goes out and builds stuff in the yard for stress relief, when his wife lets him, which I loved. We talked quite a bit about the pandemic, kind of their seminal moment for realizing that this was going to be something, you know, corporate and worldwide affecting, was when one of the big shows in our industry, Channel Partners, was canceled.

This was the company that was already prepared for remote work as they're in it, but he did talk about how depressing it was, how shocking it was to see empty offices, stopping traveling, stopping seeing partners and customers. He gives some really good feedback, even though the office vibe is sort of lost, at least to some degree, about trusting your people.

How that's the way to pull them in, give them leadership opportunities. Really interesting. We talk about that. We did get into a little bit of what BCMs return-to-work policies are going to be going forward. They have made their decisions and that may be useful to you and your business. BCM One is also a partner with, on a handful of the collaboration platforms, WebEx teams.

They have their own, which is part of the netsapiens platform. We talked a lot about Teams becoming sort of a default in the pandemic and how business sort of ran into it and are now trying to figure out what their long-term strategy looks like. It's really important to understand what the hybrid work strategy looks like.

He cautioned against people just saying: “Hey, this is what we did in the pandemic, so let's just do that going forward”. It's about figuring out requirements. How do we want to work? Who do we want to be going forward? We had a fun conversation about desk phones and whether they matter. We even talked about fax.

I can't believe we did, but we talked about fax. Mike also talked about security. You know, businesses rushed into decisions. They made mistakes. And we got a mulligan, if you will. But now's the time to figure out what the businesses should look like on a go-forward basis, both from a security perspective and from a collaboration perspective. And then lastly, we had some really interesting banter about the role of the CIO and how their role changed within the pandemic and how they now have a strategic seat. But the key to holding that seat is to become a student of the P&L as a tech leader to understand business financials as the way to become part of that strategic conversation in the boardroom. So, you know, I'll stop blathering on. Mike's a super compelling guy. We had a great conversation. I really hope that you pull as much value from this conversation as I did. So let's get to it. My conversation with Mike Nowak from BCM One.

CONTACT MIKE

Web: https://www.bcmone.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcmonenyc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bcm_one
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-communications-management/

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Artie Chang from PanTerra Networks

Scott Kinka — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:13:30 +0000

A few weeks ago, we sat down with Artie Chang, the CEO and founder of PanTerra Networks. Artie is a true tech entrepreneur. 15 years, self-funded with some local and regional investors, out there competing, surviving every day against the big tech companies in unified communications and collaboration.

This is a guy whose tech was founded around working remote and you'd think, embedded into the culture of the business, and yet even PanTerra still struggled from some of the same cultural challenges that your business may be facing today. If you think you had some problems working during the pandemic Artie has 10 children. Ten! Six of whom, with adult jobs in the Bay Area, all decided to come home and work in the house during the pandemic.

He had some interesting feedback about their employers' ‘return to work’ plans and how his children all kind of want different things out of work, post pandemic. He called the phase we're in today the 'evaluation phase', not the 'return to work' phase. Businesses are still figuring this out.

He also talked about the pandemic kind of hitting in a time of “IT complacency”. He said “this isn't the first time we've gone through something like this, and yet it sort of hit in a period where we were comfortable with the way we were working, not challenging our norms, just sort of supporting the business from an it perspective”.

He talked about one of the challenges that we have right now is losing the ability to sort of onboard new folks into the culture, into the business, with that over the shoulder water cooler way of becoming a part of the culture, and he shared that his business has focused on competing by developing some interesting supervisory features, that he believes, and I could probably support, are not actually in some of the other big platforms that you see out there. Artie had an interesting way of thinking about how you compete, how you find those little ridges in, in which to compete in a very changing economy, in a changing way that we work.

Listen to the whole episode on your favorite podcasting platform and don’t forget to connect with Artie.

ABOUT PANTERRA NETWORKS

PanTerra is a business-class Unified Cloud Service Provider, seamlessly delivering unified communications, team messaging, webinar & team conferencing, call center, file sync & share and business analytics through Streams, its secure, unified cloud solution. By offering a fully customizable, all-in-one, HIPAA/HITECH secure, multi-service cloud solution, PanTerra can significantly reduce costs, simplify IT administration, increase security and improve employee productivity in a distributed dynamic workforce environment.

Arthur "Artie" Chang brings over 20 years of hi-tech executive experience to PanTerra Networks. Artie, a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, held senior executive positions at several successful companies in Silicon Valley. Prior to PanTerra Networks, Artie was the CEO of Cradle Technologies, a multi-core multimedia DSP company and SoloPoint Communications, a provider of telecom equipment. Artie started his career at Bell Laboratories.

CONTACT ARTIE

eMail: artiechang@panterranetworks.com
Phone: 650.283.3555
Web: www.panterranetworks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PanTerraNetworks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B24okChAZ74/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/panterranetwork
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/panterra-networks

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Intro to The Bridge Podcast with Scott Kinka

Scott Kinka — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 02:12:58 +0000

In this quick 1 minute intro, veteran commercial technologist Scott Kinka outlines what you can expect from the forthcoming episodes of The Bridge.

The Bridgecast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

The Bridgecast with Scott Kinka

Beyond the Hype: Building Ethical AI for Business

Innovation Lessons from Nike and Amex

The CIO’s Guide to AI Governance and Risk

Zero Trust, Zero Passwords: Mobile Mentor's Blueprint for Hybrid Work Security

Begin Before You're Ready: Military Precision Meets Business Transformation

2025 Year End Recap: The Return to Office Debate, AI Predictions & Season 4 Preview

The Bridgecast Wrapped: 2025's Top AI Insights, Predictions & Behind-the-Scenes

Beyond the Buzzwords: Making AI Work for UC

Network Strategy in the AI Era: What CIOs Need to Know Now

The CIO Playbook for Leading AI Transformation

Building Resilience in the Age of AI-Driven Networks

Five Generations, One Workplace: Tech Leaders on Change

The Futurist Panel: CIO Priorities in an AI-First World

Building Trust in AI: Insights from NiCE

AI Inference Zones: CoreSite's Brian Eichman on the Future of Data

Special Episode: Stories That Sell with Tech Summit 2025 Keynote Speaker Neal Foard

Beyond ChatGPT: Why 90% of AI Implementations Fail Without This Key Factor with Tony Moroney

The Power Crisis No One's Talking About: How AI Could Break the Grid with Mike Pereira

Breaking Down Silos: How Snowflake’s Tamanna Chanana Gets Marketing and IT to Work Together

Contact Center Evolution: Live from NECCF 2025

Ethics, Empathy, and AI: A Conversation with Arshad Hisham of InGen Dynamics

Future-Proofing Voice with AI: Insights from Alistair Pidd

Why Fast Innovation Fails, and What Indi Young Says to Do Instead

Mark Tina on How Verizon is Powering SMBs with AI & Security

From Video to CX: Shana Hafterson and Sean Fair on Zoom’s Next Evolution

Leading with Love (and Logic) in the Age of AI: Insights from Tim Sanders

Building a Smarter AI Enterprise Strategy: Live from NJ SIM

Enterprise Network Infrastructure: What Every IT Leader Should Know

Giving Back Through Tech: The Mission of Tech4Change

The Future of Communication with Dialpad’s Mike Kane

Previous Dialpad episodes

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part Two)

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part One)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins? A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 2)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins? A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 1)

BOOK: Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity 1st Edition by Frank Slootman

2024 Year End Recap - Part Two

2024 Year End Recap - Part One

ESPN’s CX Transformation: Using AI to Enhance Fan Support with Doug Kramon

Topics covered in this episode:

ESPN Customer Experience (CX) Case Study https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/espn/

Refining Your 2025 AI Strategy with RapidScale’s Duane Barnes

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship - Part Two

2024 Live at Tech Summit's Episode Links:

2023 Live at Tech Summit's Episode Links:

The Bridgecast Live: Reimagining the Customer and Employee Relationship (Part One)

Building Your Personal Brand in the Era of Virtual Meetings with Zoom’s Patrick Kelley

Mentorship Matters: Lessons from a CTO with Performive’s Ryan DiRocco

From HQ to Cloud: The New Network Core with 11:11 Systems’ Anthony Lobretto

Cost Optimization for Cloud Hyperscalers with ProsperOps’ Chris Cochran

Topics covered in this episode on information security and risk management:

Fortifying the Digital Frontier: Information Security and Risk Management with Melanie Thomas

Reaction to Inaction with Jack Jackson

Contact Center Integration with Talkdesk’s Rei Kesai

Enterprise Technology Integration & Essential Advice for IT Leaders with Evolve IP’s Peter Eisengrein

Are Data Center Resources Having a Renaissance? With Flexential’s Ryan Mallory

The Transformative Impact of Acquisition with BCM One’s Mike Nowak

Exploring VMware Alternatives with Bridgepointe’s Saad Saleem

Optimizing VMware Cloud Foundations With Rackspace’s Hannah Duce and Kevin Carter

Is It Time for a VMware Breakup? With Enzu’s Dustin Young

Links for this episode:

About Dustin Young

Contact Dustin

The Role of Strategy in IT Leadership with Comcast Business’ Chris MacFarland

Links for this episode:

The Collaboration Technology Evolution with Graeme Geddes of Zoom

Cybersecurity Fundamentals with Mark Houpt of DataBank

Driving Better Business Outcomes with Lumen’s Umesh Lakshman

The Future of VMware with AJ Kuftic of Expedient

Using AI at Scale with Adam Weiner of Granite

Customer Experience Optimization with Bridgepointe’s Scott Prater

Topics covered in this episode:

The Evolution of IT Cost Management with Eric Russo of Bridgepointe

The Bridge 2023 Recap

Topics covered in this episode:

Hybrid Cloud Growth with Brian Thomas of Equinix

Exploring the Cybersecurity Landscape with Melanie Thomas of AT&T

Productivity AI with Expedient’s Brad Reynolds

Finding the Right Data Center Resources With Bridgepointe’s Mel Melara

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 2)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 1)

ESPN Customer Experience (CX) Case Study
https://bridgepointetechnologies.com/espn/

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 2)

Is this How the World Will End or How Smarter Business Begins?  A Practical Discussion about AI (Part 1)