Tech Talks Daily

Despite the acceleration of tech developments, it can often seem like consumer expectations outpace every industry. Whether outlandish or reasonable, consumers want intuitive, tech-enabled experiences in the here and now. It's all well talking about what's possible in 2030 or even 2050, but how much of that is readily available for us to use currently – what technologies are turning vision into reality? On this podcast, I enjoy exploring how those expectations transform areas you don't associate with tech, and a great example of this is car parks. For instance, it's not uncommon to pay for your parking space using a smartphone app. Today's guest takes that a step further and believes that today's cars do much more than get you from A to B, as integrated tech experiences are revolutionizing travel on our roads by making transport greener and more innovative while turning cars into smartphones on wheels. Peter O'Driscoll, Managing Director of RingGo, joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss the future of parking, mobility, and the automotive industry. We discuss the impact of the technological age with the increased prevalence of tech and easy accessibility and tackling the rising CX demands. We also talk about the knock-on effect reflected in car trends towards tech-enabled, sustainable transport, with one in five buyers looking to go electric, according to SMMT.

Nathan Howe, VP of emerging technology and 5G at Zscaler, once again joins me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast. Nathan discusses how AI and ML-based capabilities can secure and manage cloud infrastructure, sensitive data, and native applications deployed across multi-cloud environments. Lean-running IT and security teams are experiencing security alert fatigue with increasing exposure to real-time threats and often don't have the resources or skills to effectively investigate and respond to the mounting volume of threats. Nathan shares how to address these challenges by providing one-click root cause analysis to instantly identify the issues behind poor digital experience, freeing up IT and security teams from troubleshooting to focus on preventing attacks. On the topic of AI-powered phishing prevention, we talk about how to detect and stop credential theft and browser exploitation from phishing pages with real-time analytics on threat intelligence from 300 trillion daily signals. We also discuss AI-powered segmentation and how to simplify user-to-app segmentation to minimise the attack surface and stop lateral movement with AI-based policy recommendations. These are trained by millions of cross-customer signals across private app telemetry, user context, behaviour, and location. Finally, we discuss how to dynamically adapt security and access policies in real-time to maintain network integrity against rapidly-evolving cyber threats and how to accelerate mean time to resolution. All by putting impacted end users back to work in a matter of seconds by identifying root causes of poor user experiences 180 times faster, freeing IT from time-consuming troubleshooting and analysis.

More than one billion people use messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger to connect with businesses. This is proving to be a significant consumer behavior shift that requires businesses of all sizes to adapt quickly to their customers' rising expectations. Dan Levy, VP, Business Messaging at Meta, joins me on the Tech Talks Daily podcast to discuss the future of tech, the Metaverse, and business messaging. We discuss why conversational commerce looks set to be the next big thing in online shopping and why Facebook is doubling down on business messaging. We also explore how businesses can expect to meet these demands of having a fluid conversation across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. With one eye on the future, we also talk about how business-to-consumer messaging and business messaging will evolve with metaverse and the brave new world of Web 3.

Peter Coppinger, Co-Founder, and CEO at Teamwork, a Cork, Ireland-based project management platform, with hubs in Boston, Belfast, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. Started in 2007 by Peter and his fellow developer pal Dan, they now have a global workforce of over 350 employees. Their platform is used by over 20K companies worldwide, including Disney, Spotify, and Paypal. Peter joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share the story behind Teamwork which is currently the only scalable project management platform built for client work and founded by former agency owners. We discuss the importance of understanding the efficiency of your organization is key to unlocking the next level of success and avoiding burnout. We also discuss how businesses that deliver client work should work smarter, not harder, by getting organized and managing all of their work in one tool that scales with you as you grow. Finally, we explore how process drives efficiency and profitability and why it's the only way to confidently scale your business with the future of work, rise in remote work, and The Great Resignation.

New research shows automation demand surged in more than 90% of companies. With macroeconomic uncertainty — across markets, hiring, costs, and more — now firmly top of mind, CEOs and leaders across the business focus on efficient growth, cost savings, and increased productivity. As a result, companies are turning to automation more than ever to drive immediate value across all parts of the business, from technical to non-technical departments like sales, customer service, marketing, and commerce. To understand how IT is approaching these demands and some of the challenges businesses face, I invited Matt McLarty from MuleSoft to join me on Tech Talks Daily. Matt shares how organizations across every industry want to automate processes and customer experiences as quickly as possible. However, they'll impede true innovation if they try to go fast with the wrong tools and techniques. Matt discusses why it's vital that organizations become more adaptable to technological change, enabling them to build automation and connect data and applications in a holistic manner. As a result, organizations risk compounding rather than reducing their technical debt without a more composable approach. But we explore how when automation is done right; it fuels efficient growth.

Mobility programs often rely on carrier-provided devices or, if corporate-owned, represent a high CapEx burden. Internal IT resources have to deal with staging, MDM, help desk, and logistics, while repair shops and insurers are used to mitigate unforeseen device defects. This often leads to an outdated device inventory that's often a patchwork of different models and operating system versions resulting in security risks, sub-par staff productivity, cost spikes, accounting challenges, and problematic sustainability and DE&I situations. These are just a few examples of how enterprises face many challenges regarding mobile device management and maintaining employee satisfaction/productivity. Tillmann Schwabe, General Manager of Everphone US joins me on Tech Talks Daily in a conversation about overcoming these challenges, what's coming next, and the solutions available. We also discuss the circular economy and how device-as-a-service is the most sustainable solution for enterprises and how Everphone's model reduces each device's CO2 footprint by 120 lbs.

Before Flowout was born in April 2021, they were just a friendly bunch of freelancers. Each of them with a startup story, a passion for bootstrapping products, and a love for Webflow. But this passion for launching new products led them to seek how they can help brands stand out on the internet. With a mission to help brands create unique and superior user experiences, they created Flowout, a business focused on all things Webflow. Today, Flowout is currently in full growth mode, successfully conquering the US market. From building a new SaaS tool, giving back to the community, and sharing free templates to gaining bigger clients with exciting projects. Ziga Fajfar shares his story and what differentiates Flowout from other Webflow companies. We also talk about the thriving tech startup scene in Slovenia. He also shares tips on successfully conquering the US market from Europe and the lessons they have learned in scaling Flowout and other ventures.

Polymer is a no-code Data Loss Prevention (DLP) platform that allows companies to monitor, auto-remediate & apply behavioral techniques to reduce the risk of insider threats, sensitive data misuse & leakage over 3rd Party SaaS platforms. It focuses on SaaS platform data security because that is a 'dark web' of sorts for organizations where data controls generally do not exist. Additionally, most SaaS applications' high collaboration focus makes it easy to lose or exfiltrate sensitive data. Data Loss Prevention is no longer a technical problem but a business risk, especially in a remote/hybrid work environment. In addition, information security resiliency is critical in the cloud-first infrastructure where the tech stack is no longer a clear set of boxes (like it used to be for on-premises tech architecture) but rather a mishmash of SaaS and an overlapping set of technology services. Often in infosec, teams view security as a 0 or 1 problem-either I am secured (check box) or I am not. As an ex-wall street bond trader, Yasir Ali looks at risk on a more probabilistic gradient. By deploying mitigating controls and nudging the workforce to behave responsibly, one can make any organization's information security posture resilient.

Jon Gregory started his career as a finance guy, working around the clock on algorithmic trading and high-frequency computing and squeezing in workouts in the company training room, which consisted of a bunch of metal weights. Surely, we can do something better, Jon thought. Using his degree in applied physics, Jon dedicated himself to making training more effective, efficient, engaging, and beneficial by transforming the traditional gym using 21st-century technology. And, just like that, Jon exchanged the trading floor for the weight room and created Vitruvian, one of the fastest growing connected fitness brands in the world, on a mission to disrupt human health and wellness. Delivering up to 440 lbs. of digital weight, the Vitruvian Trainer+ uses artificial intelligence to adjust its weight to individual users in real-time, loading and unloading the optimal resistance up to 50 times per second, all in a slim carbon fiber platform that can easily slide under a couch or bed. Jon joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share his startup story while also discussing entrepreneurship, technology, and how Vitruvian is revolutionizing the in-home gym and the future of the fitness industry.

PraSaga is a Swiss Foundation building the next generation of Layer One blockchain. Its technology solution is on a mission to solve many of the limitations that plague first-generation Layer One blockchains. The SagaChain™ successfully addresses lowering transaction fees and extensibility for supply chains and significantly lowers development costs. We've designed the next evolution of blockchain architecture. A Layer One blockchain achieves the promise that all blockchains aspire to. One that provides the highest level of resistance against attacks. Rewards its ecosystem of contributors. And most importantly, it scales in throughput as more resources are added to the network, providing the maximum possible increases in speed. Any additional information: Rich Phillips, Chief Product Officer of PraSaga, joins me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about all this and the recent announcement of SagaPython at Consensus 202

Women make up 64% of the 40 lowest paying jobs in the US despite being less than 50% of the overall workforce. Additionally, the pandemic pushed women's labor force participation rate to 1993 levels, and the US lost 11 years of progress toward parity throughout the pandemic. Katica Roy is a Gender Economist and CEO of Pipeline, a technology platform that uses AI to weed out unconscious bias and help companies create gender equity in the workplace by analyzing employee hiring, pay, performance, potential, and promotion data. Katica joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share story. We discuss how a recession might disproportionately impact women as they are typically the first to lose their jobs during a recession and the last to gain them back. Katica also shares how Pipeline found through its implementations that men receive promotions at a 21% greater rate than women, and the promotion gap doubles for Black women (men are promoted at a rate of 42% greater than Black women). I learn more about the steps companies can take to change inequitable systems in the workplace, including embedding equity into the employee lifecycle and creating workplace cultures that facilitate authenticity without retaliation. But also how Pipeline is using technology to help make the process easier.

What is the Metaverse? The metaverse is a persistent shared virtual environment where you, as an avatar, can meet and interact with other people and engage in a wide array of virtual activities. The metaverse can be used to work, play, learn, or all three — and its applications in the enterprise are limitless. The metaverse is a topic that is becoming impossible to ignore. It promises to present a virtual world and extended reality of possibilities for enterprises. Many believe that companies that master the metaverse can reap business benefits by exploiting the power of shared virtual environments. But what does this mean for the future of the workplace? Mike McDaniel, president of Modern Workplace at DXC, and Nathalie Vancluysen, DXC's Head of Extended Reality, join me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about all things virtual reality, extended reality, and the metaverse regarding businesses. In addition, we explore the different services, virtual environments, and how easily they can be deployed.

Video chat doesn't work as well for large groups or social situations. By letting participants move around the space and collaborate with others, GroupRoom gives individuals their freedom back. Three people on one side of the room can have a group conversation with a whiteboard or google doc etc completely separate from a group of two people on the other side. Chris Matthieu, founder & CEO of XRPA.NET, and Chris Fleck, Vice President and Technical Fellow at Citrix Systems, join Neil C. Hughes in a conversation about digital hybrid workspaces. We also discuss how businesses can leverage technology to re-enable those moments of serendipity in the workplace that are the lifeblood of every organization. About Chris Matthieu Chris Matthieu is the founder & CEO of XRPA.NET inc., a metaverse company. We build and market spatially-aware alternative communications platforms including: GroupRoom.io (2D digital twin virtual offices for digital hybrid workplaces) andMetaverses.io (3D metaverse platform allowing users to build, explore, and host their own metaverses). Prior to XRPANET, Chris co-founded Computes Inc. (a decentralized supercomputing platform company) which was acquired by MagicLeap and co-founded Octoblu Inc. (an enterprise IoT platform company) which was acquired by Citrix. About Chris Chris Fleck is Vice President and Technical Fellow at Citrix Systems. In this role he is responsible for Emerging Technology, IP, and driving innovation. Previously, Mr. Fleck was CEO and a founder of 14 South Networks, an IBM Spin-off and pioneer in the application of Blade Technology for the IT industry. He was a NYS Licensed Professional Engineer and has twelve patents issued, he graduated from NYU Poly and has an MBA from Union College

Scalefast is changing the way brands do direct-to-consumer eCommerce, by empowering them to regain the control and simplicity they need to create an exceptional shopping experience, directly from their online storefront. By joining forces through the Scalefast Commerce Cloud, brands can deliver localized and personalized direct-to-consumer shopping experiences while leveraging the volume and data of an entire brand ecosystem. Scalefast's modern approach to eCommerce has generated award-winning success for their clients and has allowed them to become the fastest-growing eCommerce platform in the U.S. Its full-stack enterprise solution brings together a cloud-based eCommerce platform, global business services and an international footprint of logistics, payment, tax and business partners. Amandine Soares shares her inspirational story with me on Tech Talks Daily. She's an absolute rockstar and pro on Scalefast's Air360 platform, a US analytics solution that helps reduce friction in the customer experience, increase conversions and improve loyalty.

Ryan Cloutier, CISSP and president of Security Studio joins me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about their mission to help simplify cybersecurity. In particular, Security Studio is passionate about working with underserved/under-resourced organizations like local governments and public educational institutions to improve their cybersecurity. Ryan discusses why public organizations like schools and local governments find themselves woefully unprepared for cyberattacks and how hybrid workplaces have affected them. We also discuss the importance of taking a holistic approach to risk assessments and simple steps that organizations (and individuals) can take to improve their cyber-resilience (or ability to recover from a cyber-attack). Ryan shares real-world examples of how cybersecurity risks in public institutions (on both sides of the pond) affect us all. For example, from recent FOI requests in the UK, just five government departments confirmed they have a data backup in place. The Department for Education (DfE) also confirmed it had lost or reported 116 stolen devices between September 2020 and September 2021.

Most CEOs have difficulty answering the most critical question in business: "Are we going to meet, beat, or miss on revenue?" Why? After more than $1 Trillion spent on ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence, spreadsheets, and collaboration software, there is no enterprise approach to revenue. As a result, there is no way for "Revenue-critical" people, processes, and systems to work together. Andy Byrne, CEO, and Co-Founder of Clari joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss how RevOps is a rapidly emerging concept in the UK. We talk about the importance of business unification and the end of siloed operations. Andy also shares how he put a deck on LinkedIn detailing his recommendations for how companies can not just thrive during the downturn but thrive and how it went viral. I also learned how Clari is helping companies including Zoom, Equinix, Atlassian, and Okta forecast revenue growth, manage operations efficiently, and how they have achieved a valuation of $2.6 billion.

Fehintolu Olaogun, the CEO of CredPal joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share his story. This consumer credit startup has offered BNPL infrastructure to African retail merchants since 2018 and has garnered interest insights in the niche. Fehintolu was just in DC last month at the Africa Fintech Summit, where his panel discussed embedded finance. For example, one exciting perspective he shares is that while BNPL is often regarded as a tool for impulse buying elsewhere in Africa, it's a necessity because many cannot afford upfront payment for essential items. Having served over 4000 merchants and now looking to scale across Africa, CredPal has a great vantage on BNPL and consumer credit in Africa.

Digital commerce expert Spryker recently released research into the grocery shopping habits of 2,500 UK consumers. The company found that 60% of UK consumers now order their groceries online, and 16% now do most of their food shopping via the internet. With the cost-of-living crisis shrinking consumers' budgets, shoppers at low-cost supermarkets are crying out for online services from the likes of Aldi and LIDL – with almost half (43%) of consumers keen to see their low-cost providers operate online. Other findings include: Spryker CEO and co-founder Boris Lokschin reveals more findings from the report with me as we explore the broader trends in the digital grocery space – such as checkout-less shopping and Q-commerce apps. About Spryker Spryker is a composable digital commerce platform that enables enterprises to future-proof their business and accelerate growth at any point in their commerce journey. Spryker's headless, API-first model allows companies to adapt, scale, and quickly go to market while facilitating a lower cost of ownership and higher return on investment. As a leading platform for Enterprise Marketplaces, IoT Commerce, B2B, and D2C, Spryker has empowered 150+ customers in more than 200 countries worldwide to differentiate based on how they sell best and is trusted by brands such as Aldi, Siemens, Hilti, and Ricoh. Gartner® recognized Spryker as a Visionary in the 2021 Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Commerce, just one year after it first appeared (2020), and it has also been named a major player in B2B e-Commerce by IDC. Spryker is a privately held technology company headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and New York, USA.

Sarah Larner, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Innovation, Wejo joins me on Tech Talks Daily. Sarah is responsible for the formulation and management of the strategic initiatives at Wejo. She has been at Wejo since 2015, playing an integral role in the organization's growth and success. Sarah shares her story and discusses the connected vehicle landscape across automotive and the marketplace. Wejo is a UK-headquartered company publicly listed on NASDAQ. It's also a global leader in connected vehicle data, revolutionizing how we live, work and travel by transforming and interpreting real-time vehicle data. The company enables smarter mobility by organizing 12 trillion data points from approximately 12 million vehicles and more than 59 billion journeys globally, across multiple brands, makes, and models, and then standardizing and enhancing those streams of data on a vast scale. Wejo partners with ethical, like-minded companies and organizations to turn that data into insights that unlock value for consumers. With the most comprehensive and trusted data, underpinned by leadership in data privacy, Wejo is creating a smarter, safer, more sustainable world for all.

Tally builds tools for DAOs. The company helps people join decentralized orgs and help user-owned communities make decisions together. Tally CEO, Dennison Bertram is an avid futurist, artist, and serial entrepreneur with a keen eye for the future of technology and its social impacts. He's also an early block-chain technologist, having founded the first Bitcoin Exchange for Czech Crowns (BuyBTC.cz), a technologically advanced physical bitcoin wallet (Aeternum Key-Vault), and a paypal like digital currency wallet (Terrawallet). Dennison joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss what are DAOs? How do they work and why should you care about them? He also shares the most interesting uses of DAOs right now and why he believes DAOs will replace corporations and become the dominant organizational form for human capital and creativity. Finally, Dennison also shares his tips on how to invest in DAOs without losing your money or becoming a victim of fraud.

Semtech's LoRa device-to-Cloud platform is a globally adopted long-range, low-power solution for IoT applications, enabling the rapid development and deployment of ultra-low power, cost-efficient, long-range IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services worldwide. Semtech's LoRa technology provides the communication layer for the LoRaWAN® standard, which the LoRa Alliance® maintains, an open IoT alliance for Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) applications that have been used to deploy IoT networks in over 170 countries. With the proliferation of LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard, the LoRa Developer Portal is a place to learn, connect, collaborate, and find resources to help accelerate your LoRa development process. Semtech is a founding member of the LoRa Alliance. Steven Hegenderfer, senior director of developer ecosystems at Semtech, joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss Semtech's LoRa Developer Portal. The portal allows developers of all levels to quickly build and test IoT devices connecting with LoRaWan. In addition, I learn how it aims to help developers bring their ideas to life and close the skills gap many companies are facing by offering resources for education and training purposes. This portal comes at a time when building IoT devices and solutions are more complex than ever before, and developers need additional resources to build and test device connectivity efficiently.

Shawn Vo is the CTO and co-founder of Axle, the all-in-one financial platform for modern freight brokers. Back in May, they completed a $10 million Series A round of funding led by Crosslink Capital. This financing follows a record year for Axle, during which volume grew 850% on their payments and financing platform. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Shawn spent seven years in financial technology, building software for fast-growing startups and consulting for the top 20 largest banks before starting Axle with his longtime business partner and friend, Bharath Krishnamoorthy. He is also member of the Forbes Technology Council, as well as an angel investor in fintech and developer tools. We discuss the importance of digital transformation initiatives, integrations and personalization in freight brokers' tech stacks. I also learn how moving toward open platform tools will benefit brokers so they can continue to build a tech stack that's personalized specifically for their back-end, data-driven processes.

Rachel Berry of eG Innovations and Richard Faulkner from the Conversant Group join Neil C. Hughes on the Tech Fusion Podcast. They discuss the importance of performance monitoring for Citrix deployments. Rachel shares where eG Innovations adds value to Citrix customers and how it relates to Citrix built-in tools. Richard shares more about the problems they solve for businesses at Conversant Group and how they work with eG Innovations. We also talk about what changes they have seen from Citrix customers' needs in terms of monitoring throughout the last year.

Pave is on a mission to improve access to credit for millions of people by building the world's best credit builder. They already have close to 500,000 registered users and are helping their members improve their credit health. But I wanted to learn more about the company's story, and this is where things got interesting. Co-Founder and CEO Sho Sugihara spent the first half of his life in Japan. He started his career working for The Big Issue to help the homeless by delivering magazines to newspaper vendors. Then, at 18, he went to Brazil to work for an NGO, helping underprivileged families keep their children in school through a state-sponsored microfinance and daycare program. These experiences opened his eyes to the power of financial inclusion. After university, he worked at McKinsey for three years to save up cash to finally start his own business before leaving to co-found Pave out of Entrepreneur First in 2017. Fast forward to 2022, we're seeing extreme income volatility and an unprecedented surge in energy prices and living costs. In times like these, Sho believes there are new opportunities to help consumers and businesses. As a result, they launched Fuse, a credit analytics B2B service that helps businesses make better lending decisions using our state-of-the-art analytics capabilities. Combining Open Banking data, Credit File data, and tangible outcomes data, the company can help enterprises to make the best affordability decisions with powerful insights. I invited Sho on the podcast to share his inspiring story and how it led to two products aimed at helping Pave solve the inefficiencies they see in the credit system faster and at a critical time.

Payment Orchestration continues to be a hot topic in digital payments. It has become even more prevalent post-COVID-19 with increased demand from consumers for more digitized payment methods, combined with the push from merchants to drive global growth ambitions with efficient cross-border services. CellPoint Digital is a leader in payment orchestration and has a longstanding history of delivering payment orchestration services for brands in the air travel sector. One of the most complex markets from a cross-border payments perspective – it bosts Virgin Atlantic, Cebu Pacific, and Avianca (one of the oldest airlines in Latam) as its clients and has transformed their payment architecture. I invited Kristian Gjerding to share the company's story and explore how to navigate complex payments data with a payment orchestration's proprietary rules engine that can optimize existing payments relationships. We also discuss how they are on a mission to make life easier for organizations that take payments. For example, they don't have to renegotiate with payment providers and make system changes.

Quantinuum, the largest full-stack quantum computing company, recently revealed its quantum chemistry platform. InQuanto makes it easy for computational chemists to explore and experiment with quantum computing. This quantum computing offers a path to rapid and cost-effective development of new molecules and materials, which in turn, could generate novel answers to some of the biggest challenges we face in sustainability, climate change, drug discovery, and more. Quantinuum's quantum chemistry team developed InQuanto to support collaborations with partners such as BMW, JSR, Nippon Steel Corporation, and TotalEnergies. Through these collaborations, InQuanto has already led to the achievement of many firsts. I invited Jenni Strabley and Simon McAdams to share some of these and talk about the opportunities that Quantum computing will unlock.

Ben Coffin is a Solutions Marketing Manager for PHY and ORAN emulators at Keysight Technologies. Having spent the last decade in the test and measurement industry, Ben has spent his time in business development, product management, and systems engineering roles across the wireless communications space. Ben is also enthusiastic about telling stories about how the technology in the wireless world is advancing and how the bleeding edge finds root through research and industry and academic collaboration. In a nutshell, he's a perfect fit for the Tech Talks Daily podcast. Is it too early to be talking about 6G? We discuss 5G, 6G research, Open RAN, academic research on communications, research, and policy initiatives. We also explore how wireless communications will evolve how we communicate and the type of partnerships needed to exist (private/public, government) to make research in the wireless space successful.

When the pandemic hit, the need to touch as few things as possible to slow the spread of the virus meant QR codes took off quicker than Netflix stock. Now that we as consumers are programmed to scan them without a second thought, we find ourselves in a vulnerable situation. The FBI has even issued a formal warning about faked QR codes. In his new research, Len Noe, aka 'the Biohacker' and White Hat Hacker at CyberArk, has revealed three ways that any QR code can be spoofed to provide an attack vector. Crucially, Len's research has shown how mobile devices can be taken over and used to provide an attack vector in corporate environments to launch advanced attacks. Len discusses why we should be wary rather than blindly trusting forms. For example, a fake job ad containing a malicious QR code offers a perfect opportunity to send all that personal sign-up information straight to an attacker, not a prospective employer. We also discuss the importance of vigilance when installing new apps from a QR code. Len shares how he spoofed the Google Play Store to gain ultimate access to a user's phone – including reading personal messages and taking pictures with the camera. Finally, he shares how even scanning a rogue QR code to order takeout could result in your details getting phished. In one fell swoop, Len had access to a user's phone, leaving their GPS location and sensitive user information open to play with.

Moiz Janjua Built his first public website, a college news blog when he was 16. He started working as a freelance designer in 2014. He built a couple of indie mobile games for iOS and Android in 2016. His love and passion for design and problem solving paved his way in the startup world. In 2021 founded SplitTrip. Splittrip is a road trip-sharing app for verified university students. It provides a marketplace where verified Hosts with vehicles going on road trips offer extra seats to verified Riders. All participants equally share the trip cost, including the accommodation and fuel. I invited him on the podcast to share his story and how they raised their first pre-seed investment of £50,000 by delivering groceries door to door in a high-net-worth area in central London. I also learned how Splittrip is officially endorsed by Coventry University and one of 10 startups endorsed in 2021.

List Perfectly is an e-commerce solution for sellers to efficiently list and cross-post products on multiple major marketplaces and channels like Poshmark, Mercari, Instagram, Shopify, eBay, and more. The company was created by founders Amanda Morse and Clara Albornoz for sellers like them, who make a living from online sales, as a solution to the frustrating and laborious process of listing on multiple channels. However, there is an inspirational story behind the company. I invited co-founder Clara Albornoz on Tech Talks Daily to share how her arthritis prevented her from listing her products as a seller and how it inspired her to create something that would go on to save sellers an average of 80 hours per month. I learn how its member base has grown by over 600% and sellers have cross-posted over 20 million products using its software in the last year alone. We also discuss how they are leveraging technology to fulfill the company's sustainability-driven mission to keep products out of landfills.

Gen Z is transforming the way we consume. With a keen eye toward sustainability, they are influencing older generations to prioritize sustainability in their purchasing decisions. Aneesh Dhawan of Knit, joins me on Tech Talks Daily. The consumer insights startup appeared on my radar after learning it provides market data for Gen Z audiences and works with NASCAR, the Minnesota Twins, the San Antonio Spurs, and JBL Speakers, to name a few brands. Using the Knit platform, brands can upload questions and get 30-90 second "selfie" video responses from hundreds of Gen Z consumers in as quickly as a few hours. With their video analysis AI, brands can analyze hours of video feedback in minutes, helping larger brands rapidly learn more about what Gen Z audiences want. We discuss the three key 'takeaways' brands should keep in mind when looking to attract the attention of Gen Z'ers and what Gen Z data tell us about building thriving communities online.

Less than half of Gen Z have an account with a traditional bank revealing that non-traditional payment methods will dominate the future of digital banking. But Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer, and Global Head, Infosys Finacle, believes many countries across the globe are falling behind in developing the infrastructure needed for a fully cashless, digital banking system. Sanat joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss the pros and cons of a cashless environment. Sanat shares how going cashless will create ease and efficiency, but to do so, countries need to digitize every step of transactions, including opening accounts with digital documentation. This is costly and requires a profound change in infrastructure, posing a significant barrier for many countries. We also explore Blockchain security considerations. For example, Blockchain combats security concerns of digital payments by recording digital transactions, and Sanat believes this will not only curb fraud but also allow for cross-border transactions to increase exponentially. On navigating end-to-end digital adoption, Sanat shares his thoughts on improving digital adoption progress and continuing to build infrastructure for a cashless environment.

Left Lane Capital is a leading global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in high-growth internet and consumer technology companies that are fundamental to the lives of customers. The foundation of Left Lane's strategy is built on four main elements: specialization in internet-first businesses, proprietary sourcing at every level, deep data rigor and best practices, and a genuine philosophy around partnering with founders. Dan Ahrens (Managing Partner) joins me on Tech Tech Talks Daily to discuss Left Lane's second fund with $1.4 billion in commitments, how the firm is focused on growing the internet and consumer tech category by identifying and supporting category-defining companies, the market potential for consumer internet companies, and their recent investments in GoStudent, M1 Finance, iTrust Capital, and Tovala.

Logitech released the Logitech Pen in January, one of the first mainstream tech tools designed for and with students. The Pen is a USI stylus for Chromebooks, designed for learning, so students can unlock their full potential. Tech is not often built with kids in mind (but it should be). It's built for adult and consumer use. Children have smaller hands, different developmental needs, etc. Logitech took all this into consideration when designing the Pen, with students at the center every step of the way. Grace Lee is Head of Design for Logitech for Education. She is a leader in design who is passionate about creating user-centric education products that delight students and teachers. I invited her onto the podcast to learn more about the design process and discuss the development process of the Pen and what it can tell us about the future of tech design overall. We discuss how the future of learning (and life) is increasingly digital and why bridging the 'awkwardness' gap is so important. We also explore where tech can be a comfortable extension of our real physical selves to build confidence.

Dr. Usama Fayyad is Executive Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University. The Institute is a game-changing research center focused on researching and developing human-centric AI solutions that leverage machine technology to extend human intelligence. ​I invited him on Tech Talks Daily to learn more about their mission to solve core research problems centered on building real solutions in real contexts to make reliable and responsible AI that works effectively and cooperatively with humans. The world-renowned expert in AI and an industry leader joins me to discuss what the Institute will mean to the advancement of AI and experiential AI. We also talk about the development of AI talent, the creation of AI solutions for real-world problems, AI ethics, and the promotion of Responsible AI. Finally, I learned that he was the Global Chief Data Officer & Group Managing Director at Barclays Bank in London and the first person in the world to hold the Chief Data Officer title when at Yahoo!

Simon Blunn is SVP and General Manager for the EMEA region at WalkMe, a pioneer of the digital adoption sector. In a nutshell, digital adoption is the process of helping businesses make sure people – both staff and customers – are actually using any new technologies those businesses have embraced as part of their digital transformations. Simon is also a veteran of the enterprise IT industry more broadly, whose career has encompassed stints at the likes of HP and Cisco. Simon joins me on Tech Talks Daily to talk about what digital adoption is, why it's important to businesses, and how businesses can achieve true digital adoption. He also talks about WalkMe's recently-released Digital Adoption For Dummies guidebook. We discuss the centrality of digital adoption. Simon shares his belief that although digital transformation is essential to businesses in all industries, the technologies embraced during these businesses' digital transformations must be used and understood – this often isn't the case! Replacing legacy technologies with swanky new software may actually make things more confusing for businesses' staff, worsening their digital experience and driving down productivity. In short, achieving digital adoption is central to successful digital transformation. Simon also shares his view, if businesses want to retain and attract talent, an IT team that ensures a fuss-free digital experience is paramount. The pandemic-induced increase in home working means many staff are less concerned about whether their office has a coffee machine, and more concerned about whether they can easily use the applications and software necessary to do their jobs.

Ten years ago, Zach Supalla wanted to find a way to help his deaf father send and receive text messages. Specifically, he wanted to enable his dad's phone to flash when he got a text from his wife. What began as a personal mission turned into a global integrated IoT platform-as-a-service. Since its inception in 2012, Particle has grown immensely to be the most widely used IoT platform, making it easier for 8,500 others to bring their physical products online. Zach joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share his inspirational story. I learn how the founder wants to help you reprogram the world and how Particle empowers innovators to solve industry problems. Particle provides an integrated IoT Platform-as-a-Service that helps businesses connect, manage, and deploy software applications to connected devices, from edge to cloud and back. Over 240k developers and 160+ Enterprise customers are building on Particle, from fast-growing startups to Fortune 100 companies that are all building connected solutions to business problems.

At CES earlier this year, Vuzix unveiled Vuzix Shield, a revolutionary leap for enterprise AR smart glasses. They are lightweight, stylish, prescription-ready safety glasses and a powerful 8-core CPU combine to deliver a singular wearable experience. Vuzix's CEO, Paul Travers, rejoins me on Tech Talks Daily for a catchup on their many developments and milestones and to discuss how Vuzix's technology today is allowing people to connect themselves to the metaverse easily. We discuss how their smart glasses now support Microsoft Endpoint Manager to streamline device onboarding and provisioning for Microsoft Teams. We also talk about other strategic partnerships to address the future of the deskless workforce. About Paul Paul Travers is the founder of Vuzix and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1997 and as a member of our Board of Directors since November 1997. Before the formation of Vuzix, Mr. Travers founded both e-Tek Labs, Inc. and Forte Technologies Inc. He has been a driving force behind the development of Vuzix products. He is a nationally recognized industry expert with more than 30 years of experience in the consumer electronics field and 26 years of experience in the virtual reality and virtual display fields. He holds an Associate degree in engineering science from Canton, ATC, and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from Clarkson University.

SingleStore recently launched the 'Data Intensity Index' tool to help companies understand how data-intensive their applications are. Using five variables, the Data Intensity Index gives you an assessment of what kind of data infrastructure an application will need to deliver the best user experience. This 3-minute assessment, spread over 10 questions, aims to understand how data is used by the application and calculate the intensity score. Shireesh Thota joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share the story behind the tool and the problems they set out to solve. I also learn more about the data intensity assessment and what it means if you have a high or a low score. We discuss why data-intensive applications need a modern data infrastructure and the five critical components that impact application performance

Ariel Camus is the Founder and CEO of Microverse, an online school that helps anyone become a high-paid, international software developer. The best part? The program costs $0 until you get employed. They are the first ones to scale peer-to-peer model (no other school/university has been able to do it). Microverse has also raised over $17M+ and was part of the Y Combinator 2019 Batch. Thousands of people from over 100 countries apply to join Microverse every month, and hundreds of remotely-employed alumni from Colombia to Nigeria are making 3-10x their previous salary working for companies like Microsoft, VMware, Huawei, and Globant. Before starting Microverse, Ariel was the Co-Founder and CEO of TouristEye, a mobile app for planning trips and discovering new things to do while traveling. He grew the app to 1M users in 180+ countries before selling it to Lonely Planet in 2013. After the sale, Ariel worked as a Senior Product Manager of Lonely Planet's website, with over 150 million unique visitors per year. Ariel joins me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast to discuss the instant solution to the massive shortage of software engineering talent and why ignoring the solution will make the problem even worse. We also discuss how remote hiring can help tech companies build a more diverse workplace. Finally we explore the future of work and the wider investment opportunities in the new world of remote work.

Have you ever wondered what happens when Elon Musk X.com by, Zoom.com by ZOOM, as well as Prime.com, Podcast.com, Tube.com, Author.com, and others by Amazon? These are just a few examples of the tens of thousands of domain names today's guest has sold over the years. Andrew Rosener is an industry-leading Domain Broker, Domain Investor, Digital Asset Investor and pioneer in domain name valuation methodology. He has completed more than $500 Million in domain name transactions and has been involved in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since 2013. The industry leader in third-party escrow services, Escrow.com, has recognized Andrew and his firm, MediaOptions.com, as the #1 or #2 Domain Broker in the World since 2013 when they began the Award. He has also won and been nominated for many other awards, including Domain Name Hall of Fame and Domain Investor of the Year. Furthermore, Andrew Rosener is the creator of the Rosener Equation, an algorithm that determines the full objective end user or retail value for premium generic .com domain names. "My job is to create liquidity for an illiquid asset," says Andrew. Join me and Andrew in conversation about why he believes domains are the original NFT - connecting the future and the past. Have you ever wondered what happens when Elon Musk X.com by, Zoom.com by ZOOM, as well as Prime.com, Podcast.com, Tube.com, Author.com, and others by Amazon? These are just a few examples of the tens of thousands of domain names today's guest has sold over the years.

Trend Micro is a global cybersecurity leader on a mission to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, their cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. The platform delivers a range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. In addition, the global threat research team delivers unparalleled intelligence and insights that power cybersecurity platform and help protect organizations worldwide from 100s of millions of threats daily. But I wanted to learn more about how they are helping organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. Kevin Simzer. Chief Operating Officer, Trend Micro, joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share how they are using technology to make the world a safer place. As COO, Kevin is responsible for all field operations, including global sales, marketing, business development, strategic alliances, and corporate development. Kevin has held various roles since joining Trend Micro, including CMO, Global Alliances, and Corporate Development & Strategy. Before joining Trend Micro, Kevin held a number of executive positions including COO, general manager, chief marketing officer (CMO) and VP engineering for security pioneer Entrust (now Entrust-Datacard) where he was part of the founding team. Before starting Entrust, Kevin began his career working in several product development positions while at Nortel in engineering, developing next generation networking technology. Kevin has held a number of board positions with Entrust, the Queen's University High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory, and has also served on the board of Certes Networks, an innovative cloud network security specialist.

Donna Loughlin is the Founder of LMGPR and is best known for her work with futurists and innovators. She has launched more than 500 companies taking them from stealth to market leaders since forming her agency in 2002. She is also the host of BeforeItHappened, a leading narrative podcast featuring visionaries and the moments, events, and realizations that inspired them to change our lives for the better. Donna joins me on Tech Talks Daily to share her inspirational story as a woman in tech and insights gained from the evolution of Silicon Valley. I also learn more about how she launched a public relations firm with the sole purpose of helping visionaries tell their story to the world—almost 20 years ago. Two decades later, her podcast takes a deep dive into a singular lightbulb moment that inspired the visionaries to push forward and change our lives. We also talk about the global tech skills shortage and what we need to do to ensure we attract more women in STEM.

Wireless charging applications are almost endless, from powering IoT applications like smart retail, building automation, smart home, digital advertising, touchless appliances, and industrial sensors. Ori Mor co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Wi-Charge, joins me on Tech Talks Daily. The Israeli-based start-up is the first company to bring wireless charging from exciting potential to actual commercial deployments. Wi-Charge's patented infrared wireless power technology safely and efficiently delivers several watts of power to client devices at room-sized distances. It frees end-users from being tethered to wires or limited usage due to power constraints and gives product designers the power they need to usher in the next generation of mobile smart devices.

While the tech industry's teams have seamlessly evolved into remote and hybrid-based work operations - what's still missing when it comes to how companies operate as cohesive cultural units working in this disrupted fashion? And within a business setting - how do you define trust and empathy in tech companies? These are just a few topics I explore with today's guest. Chris Williams, Chief Operating Officer for Interaction Associates, joins me on Tech Talks Daily Podcast. Interaction Associates is best known for introducing the concept and practice of group facilitation to the business world in the early 1970's. For over 50 years, IA has provided thousands of leaders and teams with practical, simple, and effective programs, tools, and techniques for leading, meeting, and working better across functions, viewpoints, and geographies. We explore how leaders can take concrete steps to build trust and empathy in the workplace - especially virtually and what sort of technology and protocols come into play. Finally, we discuss how it can impact building trust and empathy and what can be done to optimize technology to make and sustain connections for teams vs disrupt them?

The quality and quantity of food we depend on are at risk — from weather extremes and scarcity of cropland to supply-chain dysfunction and war. Consumers are demanding more nutritious and sustainable food. Governments are mandating that growers use less water and energy to produce crops. Innovation in agriculture has exploded with so much hype and promise. But how can we move away from hype and toward agtech solutions for producing more nutritious, sustainable food at scale? AgriFORCE is an agtech IP development company also listed on NASDAQ that aims to facilitate resource-conservative, high-yield food production for consumers while creating sustainable, long-term jobs for local communities. The AgriFORCE vision is to be a leader in delivering plant-based foods and products through advanced and sustainable AgTech solution platforms that make positive change in the world—from seed to table. Whether it's reshaping greenhouse design to harness the power of the sun, reimagining ways to capture the full nutrient value of crops or reigniting the passion and purpose of the next generation of growers through education and support, AgriFORCE is on a mission to break down the siloes of a fragmented industry and forging a better way to feed the planet. These are just a few of the topics I discuss with Ingo Mueller in today's episode of Tech Talks Daily.

I recently discovered a company called Topia that is leveraging technology to help communities bring people together to build stronger and more meaningful connections through shared experiences. Daniel Liebskind joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss how companies can use the metaverse today to create value for their prospects, customers, and community. In addition, we explore the ethical considerations of the evolving internet and how to prevent dystopian outcomes. Finally, we discuss how different technology trends converge into systems and paradigm shifts and how people can prepare, gain skills, and shape their expectations for the future

Have you heard? From angry Adele fans to broken robot vacuums, millions were hit by the suspension of services that use Cloud. Robot vacuums ceased sucking, WiFi cameras stopped watching, and eager Tinder daters were left unable to "swipe right" on their smartphone apps. These are just a few of the many recent news stories that highlight how Cloud technology is everywhere. Cloud is widely seen as helping deliver value to customers through innovation, improved resilience, and positive sustainability impact. But it also has its imperfections. Can Cloud fail us? Should you be investing in Cloud skills? And is it time to remediate Cloud? These are just a few areas I explore with today's guest. Alina Timofeeva is a multi-award-winning Principal at Oliver Wyman who helps major organisations adopt Cloud so they can deliver on their business ambitions in a safe and cost-effective way. She was recognized by 7 industry awards only in 2021, including Cloud Professional and Digital Leader. Outside of work Alina actively gives back to the community, through mentoring immigrants and women of diverse cultural and social backgrounds - so we can all look at our failure as an opportunity, instead of a setback. Her recent TEDxTalk "Fail but never give up" was watched by over 500 000 people and translated into 20 languages globally.

Over the last year, we have seen a rapid increase in the number of cyberattacks on cloud environments, with breaches having potentially disastrous consequences. The rise has even led to CISA releasing guidance and legislation on how to improve cloud security. However, the issue of securing cloud environments does not have to be as complex as it is sometimes made out to be. Far too many breaches result from organizations relaxing their security settings on cloud resources or simple cloud misconfigurations. Therefore, what extra security checks and training should organizations be implementing to reduce the risk of breach? Gadi Naor, VP of Software Engineering, Cloud Security at Rapid7 joins me today on Tech Talks Daily to discuss why cloud security does not need to be such a complex problem as once thought. In addition, we discuss which sectors are most vulnerable to cloud misconfigurations and how data breaches in the cloud can result in further attacks, for example, social engineering attacks. We also talk about how organizations have helped contribute to the rise in attacks, including relaxing security settings and deploying unencrypted instances on the cloud. Finally, discuss what organizations can do to ensure that cloud misconfigurations are resolved.

Dr. Robert Blumofe (Bobby), EVP and CTO of Akamai Technologies, discusses where the bar has been set for digital transformation at the enterprise level and how organisations globally can keep pace with those setting the gold standard. We also discuss how those lagging in their digital journey can catch up without exposing their security infrastructures to risk. We talk about the pivotal role that Zero Trust plays in defending against increasing cyber-attacks in the new world of work. Finally, we explore why the centralised cybersecurity model underpinned by a centralised technology stack is no longer effective against cyber threats that increasingly originate from the edge of a network. Akamai is a cloud company that helps companies build, deliver, and secure digital experiences. The company has more than 8,000 employees worldwide and, in 2021, generated $3.5 billion globally. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 use Akamai's products and services, and its customers include the likes of Lufthansa, Airbnb, and Honda.