Next in Tech

Ep. 173 - Phishing Deep Dive

June 25, 2024 09:00 - 35 minutes - 80.2 MB

While most of us have a basic understanding of phishing, the email attack tactic that’s been with us for years, attack techniques and the attacker community have been evolving rapidly. The speed of that evolution is outpacing the ability of users to detect the latest instances of phishing attacks and the advances are not slowing down. Poornima DeBolle, co-founder and chief product officer at Menlo Security, joins host Eric Hanselman to look at how phishing has changed and the options availab...

Ep. 172 - IT Buying Sentiment Stays Positive

June 18, 2024 09:00 - 22 minutes - 50.9 MB

IT buying sentiment has remained positive in the latest edition of the 451 Research Tech Demand Indicator study. It showed a strong start to 2024, but there were other signals buried in the data. Liam Eagle and Malav Parekh, two of the study’s authors, return to the podcast to join host Eric Hanselman to explore the results and their implications. The study explores spending sentiment and contrasts it with macroeconomic impacts, looking at shifts across demographics and technology verticals....

Ep. 171 - Concerns About Fraud Drive AI Investment

June 11, 2024 09:00 - 22 minutes - 51.7 MB

Recent study results are identifying where AI is being put to work and how customers and end users are reacting to its use. Sheryl Kingstone, head of the experiences team, returns to look at the Voice of the Connected User Landscape: Connected Customer, Disruptive Experiences 2024 study with host Eric Hanselman. This longitudinal study tracks changes in attitude and use of AI. While there is significant use of AI, there are strong differences between generations across the study. One of the ...

Ep. 170 - Corporate Language Analysis in Pride Month

June 04, 2024 11:06 - 23 minutes - 53.1 MB

Sentiment analysis is a common use case for large language models in generative AI and we’re kicking off Pride Month with a discussion of a recent study that examined the way firms are talking about LGBTQ+ issues in public statements. Returning guest Emily Jasper and Ilan Attar of Pronto NLP, who led the analysis, join host Eric Hanselman to look at what the study explored, how they trained the model used for the analysis, and some of the results. While many organizations make supporting sta...

Ep. 169 - AI’s Impact on Datacenter Power

May 28, 2024 04:00 - 28 minutes - 64.2 MB

The power required to fuel the wave of generative AI use could be massive, but there are many factors that will determine when the crest of that demand will arrive. Analysts Leika Kawasaki and Dan Thompson join host Eric Hanselman to look at recent research in current demand profiles and discuss where it’s headed. The demand for AI infrastructure is here today, but additional datacenter capacity takes years to build. Feeding AI hunger has become a supply chain problem. It’s demand that can r...

Ep. 168 - AI Data Strategies

May 21, 2024 10:53 - 27 minutes - 63.9 MB

As organizations push to realize the benefits of AI, they are increasingly challenged to deliver the necessary data to fuel their initiatives. While most have data repositories to draw from, the quality and accessibility of that data can be an issue. Shiv Trisal of Databricks and John Schirripa of S&P Global Market Intelligence, join host Eric Hanselman to explore the nature of these challenges and ways to address them. One of the major benefits of AI tooling is the democratization of access...

Bonus Episode: RSA Conference Special Report

May 20, 2024 10:19 - 16 minutes - 38.8 MB

In this special report from the RSA Conference, we hear from seven of the team who were there at the event. It’s a set of quick takes on the latest trends and take aways from the conference in discussions with host Eric Hanselman. Whether it’s AI, cybersecurity or M&A, there was a lot going on and a lot to sort out. Guests: Scott Crawford, Research director for information security Garrett Bekker, Principal research analyst Dan Kennedy, Principal research analyst Paige Bartley, Senior rese...

Ep. 167 - FinOps and Battle for Cloud Costs

May 14, 2024 09:59 - 25 minutes - 58.8 MB

The flexibility and adaptability of cloud-based infrastructure brings great value to enterprises, but most have been wrestling with managing cloud costs. Melanie Posey, Jean Atelsek and William Fellows join host Eric Hanselman to look at FinOps, the cost management initiative that is looking to regain control of infrastructure costs in this new model. Hyperscalers are expanding their tooling and a bevy of startups are angling to optimize both operations and deployment. It’s not a simple path.

Ep. 166 - The NAB Show and the Broadcast Market

May 07, 2024 11:56 - 24 minutes - 56.4 MB

The NAB show, what’s become not only a venue for broadcast innovations, but also the latest in consumer electronics, has just wrapped up. Analysts Justin Nielson and Peter Leitzinger join host Eric Hanselman to discuss their thoughts on the show and perspectives on NextGen TV, AI capabilities and advertising. For over 100 years, the NAB show has served as a forum for content alignment and it’s taking on more. High-definition television got another boost with advances in ATSC 3.0 delivery.

Ep. 165 - RSA Conference preview

April 30, 2024 15:00 - 30 minutes - 69.9 MB

The annual gathering of the business side of the cybersecurity industry, the RSA Conference, will kick off in early May. Scott Crawford and Dan Kennedy return to preview what they’ll be expecting with host Eric Hanselman. The upheaval in the security markets is being mirrored at the conference, with one major vendor deciding not to exhibit and consolidation taking place. All of this takes place as security teams struggle with operational scale. AI to the rescue? We’ll have to see.

Ep. 164 - Semiconductor supply chains

April 23, 2024 16:39 - 31 minutes - 71.6 MB

Semiconductors are back in the spotlight with the shortage of GPU’s in the generative AI explosion. But the supply chain that produces them is complex and is not a simple thing to accelerate or scale up. This episode brings Next in Tech together with the Economics and Country Risk podcast, hosted by Kristen Hallam. Chris Rogers and John Abbott join us to dig into the dynamics and geopolitical pressures that make the supply chain so difficult to fix.

Ep. 163 - Enterprise Security Concerns

April 17, 2024 12:08 - 22 minutes - 52.8 MB

Effectively managing information security for any enterprise can be a challenge, but airlines have to deal with the compounding effects of regulations in multiple domains, life safety issues and much more. Air New Zealand CISO, Phil Ross, joins host Eric Hanselman to discuss prioritizing cybersecurity efforts, the practical aspects of zero trust and the potential of new security architectures. Tackling technical debt can be struggle, particularly in risk averse areas, like aviation.

Ep. 162 - The cloud native journey

April 09, 2024 14:59 - 25 minutes - 35.6 MB

While getting to a cloud native development pattern is a goal for most organizations, it can be a significant journey to transform both infrastructure and processes. Analyst Carl Lehmann joins host Eric Hanselman to explore the paths that can move enterprises forward. DevOps approaches can speed development, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) can change ways of managing risk and platform engineering can simplify tool sets, but adoption does not always follow a straight line.

Ep. 161 - Payment technology in automotive

April 02, 2024 16:39 - 24 minutes - 33.7 MB

The integration of payment technologies in the automotive realm offers interesting potential, but it has to be done with care to ensure customer experience meets expectations. FinTech’s move into the EV software ecosystem is a first step and analysts Beatriz Minamy and Sophia Furber join host Eric Hanselman to explore automotive as the latest software platform to embed payments, what’s needed, concerns about fraud and how the market is evolving. It can be more than charging, if it’s done well.

Ep. 160 - AI use cases

March 26, 2024 14:01 - 31 minutes - 73.5 MB

While there is no end of generative AI discussion, it’s not often clear how it’s being used. Nick Patience and Alex Johnston return to explore the results of a recent study that digs into AI use cases with host Eric Hanselman. Projects are charging forward and concerns around data dominate. Getting access to data remains challenging, but, as use matures, data quality has become increasingly critical. Interestingly, trust in AI results is declining as understanding grows. Hallucination anyone?

Ep. 159 - KubeCon Preview

March 19, 2024 13:27 - 32 minutes - 74.1 MB

The spring edition of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s KubeCon/CloudNativeCon is about to get underway and Jean Atelsek and William Fellows return to discuss what will be playing out in the sessions and on the exhibit floor with host Eric Hanselman. The next stage of licensing pull back from a number of open source providers is on display, as Open Core revenue models are realigned. FinOps efforts try to tame operational costs and evolution of platform engineering approaches continues.

Ep. 158 - Mobile World Congress Review

March 12, 2024 16:21 - 36 minutes - 84.7 MB

The curtain has come down on Mobile World Congress for 2024, but the repercussions are just beginning to settle out. Brian Patridge and Rich Karpinski join host Eric Hanselman to look at what happened at the Congress and how the implications are panning out. 5G advanced and 6G were being soft pedaled as operators look to monetize the investments they’ve already made in 5G. The promise of AI loomed large and the promise of API delivered network services offered a new service opportunity.

Ep. 157 - AI Investing

March 05, 2024 13:10 - 26 minutes - 60.4 MB

The world of gen AI is complex, but the web of investments in both cash and infrastructure that are supporting the many AI companies is wildly intertwined. Analyst Melissa Incera returns to look at what these interrelationships mean with host Eric Hanselman. Typical investment priorities have been contorted with strategic investors, in many cases competitors, are vying for stakes in what has become the must-have technology. Funds keep pouring in, but returns are far from assured.

Ep. 156 - Connecting with Customers

February 27, 2024 14:00 - 24 minutes - 33.6 MB

Digital customer interactions are critical to business success. The effect on customer satisfaction can be dramatic, but the technology behind those interactions is often hidden. Raul Castañon Martinez joins host Eric Hanselman to look at Communications Platform and Contact Center as a Service (CPaaS and CCaaS) technologies and how they’re evolving. Gen AI can improve interactions, but is also increasing fraud. Check out the research here.

Ep. 155 - Mobile World Congress Preview

February 20, 2024 23:46 - 30 minutes - 70.6 MB

What has been the premier telecom conference has expanded to be a technology showcase for everything from IoT to AR/VR. Lynnette Luna, Julber Osio and Mohammed Hamza, part of the analyst team braving the 100,000 or so attendees converging on Barcelona, join host Eric Hanselman to discuss what they’ll be looking for. Will satellite have an impact on fixed wireless access? Could spectrum allocations shift focus to the Chinese consumer markets? There’s a lot to digest ahead of this massive event.

Ep. 154 - Supply chain is back

February 13, 2024 15:22 - 30 minutes - 42.4 MB

Many thought that supply chain woes faded with pandemic concerns, but they’re back and with new dimensions. Analyst Mark Fontecchio returns to explore its cyclic nature and the challenges technological approaches are facing with host Eric Hanselman. Shippers and logistics firms are refocusing on digitizing core processes and data handling. ROI justifications have become critical gates to projects. Recent research and our Digital Infrastructure webinar have more details.

Ep. 153 - Smart cities

February 07, 2024 02:41 - 24 minutes - 56.4 MB

While visions of smart cities might conjure up flying cars and robot delivery, the reality is that many are leveraging digitization today with significant impacts on a smaller scale. Analyst Zoë Roth looks at what’s going on today and the potential for the future with host Eric Hanselman. Digital infrastructure is a key foundation, but effective data management is needed to develop the full potential of smart cities. Recent research and our Digital Infrastructure webinar have more details.

Ep. 152 - Cyber Insurance

January 30, 2024 17:47 - 31 minutes - 71.4 MB

The intersection of technology and financial markets in security is creating interesting dynamics. Analysts Thomas Mason, Dan Kennedy and Scott Crawford join host Eric Hanselman to dig into the complexities of cyber insurance and the technologies surrounding it. Insurers have struggled in the rapidly evolving information security market. Insurance is a key part of managing risk in any business, but the existential risk presented by attacks, like ransomware, has shifted those calculations.

Ep. 151 - Network Security in Cloud

January 23, 2024 21:52 - 25 minutes - 58.1 MB

Security in cloud-based infrastructure has different possibilities, but enterprises don’t always leverage cloud’s potential to improve security footing, particularly in networking. Quint Van Deman, senior principal within the office of the CISO at Amazon Web Services joins host Eric Hanselman to look at what can be done better to improve cloud security posture. There’s a lot more telemetry available and enterprises have to step beyond on-premises thinking to put it to work effectively.

Ep. 150 - Technology in media production

January 16, 2024 19:25 - 32 minutes - 73.3 MB

Technology’s impacts are felt in many areas, including podcasts! We pull back the curtain a little with producers Darren Rose and Kyle Cangialosi joining host Eric Hanselman to look at the transformations that are driving media production. Concerns about deep fakes are all the rage, but the realities of the technical capabilities are still progressing in their ability to deliver professional quality media. Our podcast is benefiting from AI-powered studio tools, too.

Ep. 149 - Metaverse and Gen AI Collide

January 10, 2024 20:13 - 29 minutes - 67.9 MB

It might seem like generative AI has eclipsed the metaverse as a buzzy tech topic, but the two are intersecting in ways that are impacting autonomous vehicles and wealth of pursuits beyond gaming. Ian Hughes returns to the podcast to explore what this interaction is creating today and where it’s headed. The complexities of the real world are difficult to recreate in training and simulation settings, but are critically needed, particularly those of unpredictable humans…

Ep. 148 - Media deals in the Premier League and NWSL

January 02, 2024 16:14 - 26 minutes - 59.7 MB

A set of significant deals in sports media rights have just closed and Richard Berndes returns to explore their impacts with host Eric Hanselman. There’s a shifting mix of free-to-air, pay TV and streaming providers competing for the rights to air games. The English Premier League just settled a four year deal with a record total valuation and the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League closed one at forty times its previous. All of this cash may be aiding gender parity in coaching pay, as well.

Ep. 147 - Chilling at the OCP

December 19, 2023 18:15 - 25 minutes - 57.8 MB

Increasing power densities in the devices that are populating datacenters are pushing their cooling capabilities to new technologies. Perkins Liu returns to dig into liquid cooling and progress at the Open Compute Summit with host Eric Hanselman. The OCP is working on extending its ecosystem efforts to liquid cooling as generative AI and other high performance computing uses look to leverage its greater capacity and sustainability. High powered GPU’s are driving direct to chip cooling.

Ep. 146 - Chiplets tackle semiconductor barriers

December 15, 2023 14:48 - 28 minutes - 64.9 MB

As semiconductor vendors wrestle with building more capable devices, they’re turning to innovations to manage cost, improve yields and get to market faster. Chiplets let them pull together the best capabilities from different processes and geometries and build better parts. John Abbott returns to discuss the benefits and where chiplets are being put to work with host Eric Hanselman. Driven by the efficiency and power demands of AI, they’re being used in next-generation GPU’s and processors.

Ep. 145 - The Big Picture on AI, water and datacenters

December 06, 2023 15:48 - 22 minutes - 52.9 MB

Many aspects of technology are interlinked with energy, but there are even more complex interactions that are in play. Our annual Big Picture reports are out and Veronica Retamales Burford and Nick Patience join host Eric Hanselman to explore the connections between water, both its use in datacenters and the issues caused by flooding and drought, energy, with its generation and consumption, and the demands and uses of AI. spglobal.com/bigpicture

Ep. 144 - The Technology Demand Indicator

November 28, 2023 16:46 - 30 minutes - 69.2 MB

Vectors have an important property - they have both scale and direction. A new research product, the Technology Demand Indicator, offers this perspective in evaluating tech trends. Research Director Liam Eagle and Analyst Malav Parekh join host Eric Hanselman to discuss how it was developed and where it can be used. The panels, built from the 451 Alliance, generate insights that can provide direction. To learn more about the 451 Alliance, visit: 451alliance.com

Ep. 143 - AI security approaches

November 22, 2023 17:31 - 28 minutes - 65.4 MB

There are significant concerns about the security of the various publicly accessible generative AI tools that are available. Many organizations have enacted outright bans on their use for fear of exposing sensitive data. There’s a path to access the benefits of these tools while managing the risk and Steve Riley, field CTO for Netskope, joins host Eric Hanselman to explore it. Starting with role-based controls and moving in to more specific shades of access can simplify security policies.

Ep. 142 - Customer experience shopping extravaganza

November 15, 2023 15:11 - 27 minutes - 64.1 MB

As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, customer experience becomes an even more critical part of retail. Sheryl Kingstone returns to discuss data from recent studies with host Eric Hanselman. Customers are expecting better integration of their online and in-person experiences and effective blending of digital capabilities is needed to keep from missing out on potential revenue. Digital infrastructure has to extend into stores, alongside a full complement of payment options.

Ep. 141 - Fintech trends, futures and Money 20/20

November 07, 2023 18:23 - 25 minutes - 58.2 MB

There’s been rapid expansion in financial technologies and its adoption. Research director Jordan McKee joins host Eric Hanselman to look at trends and highlights from the Money 20/20 conference. Where cryptocurrencies played an outsized role in previous years, practical uses of blockchain capabilities have taken their place. Concerns about generative AI’s negative impacts on fraud overshadowed benefits. Open banking initiatives stand to create new opportunities, as well as a few risks.

Ep. 140 - The Great Data Migration

October 31, 2023 13:49 - 29 minutes - 67.4 MB

With the ebb and flow of workloads to and from cloud, data doesn’t get the attention it should as a critical resource. Research director Henry Baltazar joins host Eric Hanselman to discuss the need for better data intelligence and results from the recent Voice of the Enterprise study. Gaps between data and storage infrastructure and the applications using it can lead to problems with application performance or increased costs with egress or retrieval fees. Better planning can prevent pain.

Ep. 139 - 5G in IoT

October 25, 2023 14:22 - 29 minutes - 67.9 MB

The excitement for 5G has waned after its initial rollout, but there is great promise that many of its capabilities will be put to work in Internet of Things applications. Rich Karpinski joins host Eric Hanselman to explore insights from the 5G Americas conference and look at impacts in the 5G and IoT markets. There’s a lot of 4G inertia to overcome and the 5G ecosystem and related investment is still building. 5G deployments are growing unevenly. Much more is to come, but the question is wh...

Ep. 138 - Technology in depth

October 19, 2023 15:13 - 21 minutes - 50.4 MB

So many of our perspectives on technology are driven by end user studies and numbers can be informative, but there can be much more to the story. The in-depth interviews that are part of much of the study work we do can offer nuance and Amy Hedrick, who manages this process, discusses the insights with host Eric Hanselman. The real world thoughts on current technology and its transitions can aid planning and decision making. Join the 451 Alliance for more: https://www.451alliance.com/

Ep. 137 - Impressions of AI in Society

October 12, 2023 15:14 - 25 minutes - 59.3 MB

While the surge of interest in the last few months around generative AI might make this all seem new, we’ve been tracking attitudes about AI for a number of years and see interesting transitions in thoughts and perceptions of respondents. Sheryl Kingstone and Alex Johnston return to the podcast to explore trends in attitudes about AI with host Eric Hanselman. Strong generational differences exist in sentiment and a surprising uptick in the number of people using it and the frequency of use.

Ep. 136 - AI and datacenter challenges at HCTS

October 03, 2023 22:16 - 29 minutes - 66.9 MB

Generative AI is creating many challenges in the infrastructure that supports it. Nick Patience and Dan Thompson return to discuss these impacts and what they’ll be talking about at the Hosting and Cloud Transformation Summit with host Eric Hanselman. Significant increases in power demand are creating a “Virginia Paradox” with local grid impacts. The shift from training to massive amounts of inference could only exacerbate things. Join us at HCTS to hear more! https://www.spglobal.com/hctsny

Ep. 135 - Hosting and Cloud Transformation Summit is back!

September 29, 2023 10:57 - 23 minutes - 54.3 MB

For over 15 years, the Hosting and Cloud Transformation Summit has been a forum for sorting out the complexities of digital infrastructure and this year it’s back in person and in New York City on October 10th. Brian Partridge and Kelly Morgan join host Eric Hanselman to talk about the latest in edge computing and M&A activity in the datacenter world. Both areas are undergoing tremendous change and you can find out more about HCTS here: https://spglobal.com/hctsny

Ep. 134 - Observability and new operational models

September 19, 2023 19:22 - 25 minutes - 58.3 MB

Managing complex application environments successfully requires not only insights into both application behavior and the infrastructure that’s supporting them but also the ability to correlate all of that data. Analyst Mike Fratto returns to the podcast to explore observability, an approach to effectively managing new application patterns that steps beyond traditional methods. From the cloud native world, it’s gaining wider traction and simplifying operations with observability pipelines.

Ep. 133 - Digital infrastructure roundup

September 12, 2023 16:54 - 32 minutes - 74 MB

The last month has seen larger players in digital infrastructure make the case for their views on how it should be built and what’s needed to embrace generative AI. Jean Atelsek, Melanie Posey and Henry Baltazar return to the podcast to look at what was pitched at VMware Explore, Google Cloud Next and other recent industry events. Access to data is a key decision point, but many are still wrestling with cloud operating models. Fundamental questions on managing compliance concerns loom large.

Ep. 132 - Are AI datacenters a thing?

September 05, 2023 21:03 - 24 minutes - 56.2 MB

The explosion of interest in generative AI is impacting many things, including datacenters, with some identifying a new beast in the AI datacenter. Analyst Dan Thompson returns to sort out what’s real and what’s “AI washing”. There are increasing demands being placed by AI and power densities in datacenters have already been increasing. More efficient design, liquid cooling and better air handling may hold off the need for magic sauce to meet AI’s needs today, but the future is uncharted.

Ep. 131 - Mixed up M&A markets

August 30, 2023 20:09 - 21 minutes - 50.1 MB

The last few quarters of the merger and acquisition markets have not been great, but the few green shoots of spring have turned into a blossom or two. The winds are blowing both hot and cold and analyst Melissa Incera returns to explore what these lumpy conditions are creating with host Eric Hanselman. Emerging markets, such as private 5G are getting active, strategic acquirers are getting their pencils out, but private equity is still wrestling with the realities of higher interest rates.

Ep. 130 - Has cloud gotten boring?

August 22, 2023 18:20 - 26 minutes - 61.7 MB

As the idea of cloud moves into its third decade, do we still need to be thinking about cloud as a special concept in technology infrastructure? On the one hand, cloud technologies have become better understood and might even be considered boring, but it’s also the place where the latest technologies are available on demand. Research director Melanie Posey returns to the podcast to sort out how we should be thinking about what has become a reasonably mature resource with host Eric Hanselman.

Ep. 129 - Semiconductors in the AI age

August 16, 2023 19:18 - 24 minutes - 56.2 MB

In one of the faster swings of the technology pendulum, semiconductors are back in a very bright spotlight. John Abbott returns to discuss the phoenix-like rise of high-performance silicon devices, like GPUs, with host Eric Hanselman. New architectures aim at challenges presented by generative AI and large language models (LLM). Performant access to larger volumes of data is pushing levels of integration and chipset approaches. The ecosystems to support them are ever more critical.

Ep. 128 - Supply Chain Digitization and Sustainability

August 08, 2023 13:55 - 25 minutes - 59.5 MB

We’ve talked about supply chain challenges, but the shift to greater levels of digitization holds huge potential to not only reduce costs, but improve sustainability. Analyst Mark Fontecchio returns to explore the challenges to achieving these gains with host Eric Hanselman. Data sharing across the industry faces resistance without a clear model for who benefits. Digitization is gaining traction in optimizing routes and improving performance and might open the door to electric vehicles.

Ep. 127 - Vector databases in AI

August 01, 2023 19:19 - 21 minutes - 49.2 MB

While it’s not often acknowledged, much of the progress in technology is underpinned by the idea that “everything old is new again” and vector databases, a concept that is many years old, are having a moment in generative AI. Analyst James Curtis joins host Eric Hanselman to dig into why this powerful idea has become so valuable in large language models and other aspects of AI. While it’s possible to overlay vector functions on a traditional database for data access, it may not be advisable.

Ep. 126 - LATAM datacenter markets

August 01, 2023 19:09 - 23 minutes - 53.5 MB

An impact of expanding digitization is growth in demand for datacenter capacity. In Latin America, that’s impacting markets across the region in a variety of ways. Analyst Pedro Schweizer joins host Eric Hanselman to explore the different dynamics in play. There are different trajectories across the region, defying any attempt to treat it as a monolith. São Paulo, Santiago and Querétaro may be the centers of activity, but opportunities are being driven by growth and subsea connectivity.

Ep. 125 - Attitudes about AI

July 17, 2023 17:13 - 24 minutes - 55.8 MB

We’ve been tracking attitudes about AI since well before the current generative AI explosion and the shift in expectations is dramatic. Returning guests Sheryl Kingstone and Alex Johnston join host Eric Hanselman to explore differences by demographic and discuss practical aspects of AI that will have significant impacts. Model coordination is key and organizations have to consider where their training data is coming from and what they need to accomplish while addressing societal concerns.

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