The ITPro Podcast

Computer systems that can autonomously work on menial tasks have been the promise of technologists – and science fiction authors – for decades. While we’ve dabbled with the likes of robotic process automation and machine learning in the past, the arrival of advanced AI software has put these lofty ambitions back on the table.According to AI developers, new tools known as AI agents will free up workers as never before, with the ability to autonomously complete tasks based on pre-approved instructions and by contextually processing new data. What does all this mean for businesses, and how far can AI agents really go?In this episode, Rory is joined by Paul O’Sullivan, UKI CTO at Salesforce, to discuss the potential of AI agents in the workplace.

How much has your company invested in AI? Are you finding it a revolutionary technology, or still waiting for the promised gains to materialize?As businesses seek to unlock productivity gains from AI, investment in the technology has continued to rise. All across the world, firms are buying AI products, undergoing digital transformation in preparation, or even fine-tuning AI to suit their bespoke use cases.But how much of this is going to pay off? And what do you do if your AI project fails on its own terms?In this episode, Jane speaks to James Hodge, chief strategy advisor, EMEA at Splunk, to explore where we’re going wrong with AI.

International Women’s Day is here, a time for all those who care about women’s equality to celebrate the achievements of women both contemporary and historical and to focus on gender equality in our society.The tech sector still has a sizable gender divide, with only around one quarter of all tech roles held by women. Tech leaders need to enter into open dialogue over how to make tech careers more attractive to women and to empower women within their workforce.In this episode, Rory speaks to Elizabeth Barr, head of the Cisco Networking Academy in the UK, Ireland, and Nordics, to explore what International Women’s Day means in 2025 and how young women are entering tech.Women in tech think the industry has changed for the better, but there’s still more work to be doneWomen in tech are being forced out of work by the ‘motherhood penalty’The women returning to tech – and why they left“We are influencing generations to come”: Improving the picture for women in tech through cultural changesSupporting female founders in techThe company-wide benefits of mentorship in tech

February is the shortest month of the year – but that hasn’t stopped this month from being packed full of dramatic tech news.Microsoft has made waves with Majorana 1, a first of its kind quantum chip that the tech giant says could open the door to usable quantum computers in years, not decades as previously thought.Elsewhere this month, Sam Altman made a series of public rebukes of Elon Musk, following an offer by a Musk-led consortium to purchase OpenAI for over $97 billion. And could the tech sector be staring down the barrel of widespread ‘revenge quitting?In this episode, Rory is joined once again by Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to discuss some of the biggest news for February 2025.

The cybersecurity landscape gets more complicated every year, with emerging technologies such as AI and the shifting geopolitical landscape bringing extra chaos to any CISO’s desk.Though automated defense systems are a welcome feather in cap for any company, it’s not just the good guys who have access to the latest tools. Off-the-shelf frameworks to launch attacks are becoming more common and businesses can’t rely on any single service to be a silver bullet.What are the individual forces at play here? And how can security teams keep up?In this episode, Rory speaks with Kevin Mandia, founder and former CEO at Mandiant and current board member at cybersecurity firm Expel, and Dave ‘Merk’ Merkel, co-founder and CEO at Expel, to learn more about the current global cybersecurity landscape and what the future holds for security teams.Read more:State-sponsored cyber attacks: The new frontierThe new ransomware groups worrying security researchers in 2025Stopping cyber attackers from targeting the weakest links in securityStealthy malware: The threats hiding in plain sightWhy attacks against critical national infrastructure (CNI) are such a threat – and how governments are respondingWhy vendor breaches still haunt enterprise IT leadersLondon council claims it faces 20,000 cyber attacks per dayI love magic links – why aren’t more services using them?How to create a secure password policyMajority of firms using generative AI experience related security incidents – even as it empowers security teams

Years after first identifying the potential risks of AI systems, world leaders are having to balance concerns with an acknowledgment of the gains achievable through certain AI systems and nowhere is this more true than the EU.The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris has seen a number of high-profile announcements made on EU AI investments, on both a continental and regional basis. But it’s also highlighted the distance the EU has yet to go for true international AI competition – up against the likes of the US and China, can it continue to stand out? In this episode, Jane and Rory welcome Nader Henein, Gartner VP Analyst, Data Protection and AI Governance, to discuss the finer details of EU AI and how public-private partnerships balance with its strong legal requirements for the technology.Read more:UK and US reject Paris AI summit agreement as “Atlantic rift” on regulation growsUnraveling the EU AI ActThe EU just shelved its AI liability directiveA big enforcement deadline for the EU AI Act just passed – here's what you need to knowLooking to use DeepSeek R1 in the EU? This new study shows it’s missing key criteria to comply with the EU AI ActHow the EU AI Act compares to other international regulatory approachesUK regions invited to apply for ‘AI Growth Zone’ status

As the dust settles on DeepSeek, we’ve had the chance to see who walked away from the impact it had on the stock market unscathed.Apple and Meta did not undergo the same rapid stock shocks as Nvidia, Microsoft, and others in the immediate aftermath of the DeepSeek R1 launch – the latter has actually seen a healthy surge in the past few weeks. Why is this? And who actually wins thanks to DeepSeek?In this episode, Rory speaks once again to ITPro’s news and analysis editor Ross Kelly to analyze who stands to benefit the most from DeepSeek.Read more:Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has Silicon Valley flusteredThe DeepSeek bombshell has been a wakeup call for US tech giantsDeepSeek R1 has taken the world by storm, but security experts claim it has 'critical safety flaws' that you need to know aboutLooking to use DeepSeek R1 in the EU? This new study shows it’s missing key criteria to comply with the EU AI ActApple’s generative AI slumber is ending – Microsoft and Google should be on alertMeta Quest Pro preview: Meet Meta's 'laptop killer'

Every business has a bright future in the cloud, which is scalable and flexible to suit the needs of the modern enterprise. But rapid cloud adoption and data protection regulations, as well as emerging new regulations tied to AI, have been set on a collision course in recent years, with enterprises held to stringent regional laws that oversee how sensitive data can cross borders.One solution to this problem is sovereign cloud. But how do sovereign clouds actually work and how can firms such as OVHcloud with VMware by Broadcom help European businesses meet both their legal and customer obligations?In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, in association with Broadcom, Jane and Rory are joined by Laurent Blin, product marketing leader at OVHcloud and Martin Hosken, field CTO at Broadcom, to get to the bottom of rising sovereign cloud demand and suggest how businesses can embrace the cloud without compromising on their data sovereignty obligations.Read more:What is a sovereign cloud?

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen, so the saying goes, and that is certainly true of the final week of January 2025 with the widespread impact of DeepSeek.To say the Chinese large language model has caused an upset in the market would be an understatement. Within days of its release, it wiped more than a trillion dollars off the US stock market, and sent big tech into a public spiral.But where did DeepSeek come from? And what does it mean for the future of the AI sector?In this episode Jane and Rory are once again joined by Ross Kelly, ITPro's news and analysis editor, to explore the profound implications of DeepSeek.Read more:Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has Silicon Valley flusteredThe DeepSeek bombshell has been a wakeup call for US tech giantsDeepSeek accused of training its models on OpenAI’s contentStargate project: OpenAI, Oracle pledge support for $500 billion AI infrastructure drive

This episode was first published 12 July 2024.Every business will, at some point, be impacted by cyber attacks. Companies task security teams to prepare the first line of defense against cyber attacks, and most have plans in place for the damage they leave behind – be it data loss, encryption by ransomware operators, or large-scale service disruptions.But something that often goes unremarked upon in the wake of cyber attacks is the psychological, human effects of cyber attacks. When the dust settles, staff can be left with feelings of fear or shame, particularly those directly related to IT security.Who’s at risk of this harm? And what can leaders do to minimize the impact?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Parisa Bazl, head of user experience at data protection firm Commvault, to discuss the psychological harms that come with cyber attacks and what organizations can do to better support frontline IT staff.Read more:Why 'psychological safety' is so important for building a robust security cultureBuilding an incident response strategy in 2024The hidden cost of ransomware is more painful than many realizeWhy ransomware attacks happen to small businesses – and how to stop themThe end of ransomware payments: How businesses fit into the fightUK firms are failing miserably at data breach responsesData breach response: How to react when your business gets hitDell hacker claims they had access to systems for nearly three weeks

The Consumer Electronics Show has blown through Las Vegas, bringing – as always – a flurry of futuristic tech launches, promises, and some prototypes that will never see the light of day. But among the giant TVs and robotaxis, there were also some big moments for business tech.From the dependable rollouts of AI PCs to novel – and more powerful – devices, a number of announcements will have caught the eye of business leaders.In this episode, Jane and Rory talk to ITPro’s reviews editor Bobby Hellard, to explore some of the standout moments of CES 2025 and what it could mean for the year in business tech.

Anyone who works outside of a major city, or has ever tried to get work done while on a trip to a more rural location, knows that rural connectivity can be patchy. Despite the UK’s high population density and relative lack of difficult terrain, rural connectivity remains an uneven picture. Many rural businesses are still struggling to receive fiber optic cables, let alone leverage 5G signals to keep up with the demands of modern business.Is UK connectivity improving? And how far have we still got to go?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to David Happy, non-executive director at JET Connectivity and non-executive chairman for transport at Wales Fiber, and Colin Wood, innovation lead at Dorset Council, to better understand the state of rural connectivity in the UK.Read more:UK rural businesses set for broadband improvementsInvest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategyUK gov has ramped up broadband roll-outs to tackle 'hard-to-reach' areas in 2023BT and OneWeb succeed in "game changer" satellite connection trialThe battle for space broadband dominance is hotting upUK government to run Starlink trials in Snowdonia, Lake District

January is a time for planning, goal-setting, and looking to the future and here on the ITPro Podcast things are no different.While there are sometimes unexpected developments – take ChatGPT in 2022, for example – it’s nevertheless possible to tease out trends from the year gone by that can influence the new one.For this new year’s edition of the podcast, Jane and Rory are joined by Dr John Honchell, IT industry analyst at Future B2B, to unpick the top trends from this year that will shape 2025.FootnotesGenerative AI's cybersecurity potential is clear, but so far it's given hackers the upper handEnterprises are ramping up investment in private AI systemsVMware cuts ribbon on new Private AI offeringsWhat is a sovereign cloud?Sovereign cloud demand is “truly global” according to Oracle — and the company is well placed to capitalize on itOpenAI just raised $6.6bn in funding, but it drove a hard bargain – investors will be stopped from funding rivals

It's now a Christmas tradition on the ITPro Podcast to look back at trends that were expected to dominate the year but then fizzled out.What predictions have gone the way of flying cars and the Metaverse? Which are delayed, perhaps permanently?In this episode, Jane is joined by Bobby Hellard, ITPro’s reviews editor, and Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to discuss three of the trends that failed to materialise this year: Intel’s AI dominance, a nuclear solution to data center energy problems, and generative AI taking our jobs.Highlights“They are going to rely on AI to solve the problem of the small modular reactors which they need to power the data centers that are running the AI all while the energy problem continues.”“I remember Pat Gelsinger coming back in January 2021 … this big, shattering news story, prodigal son returns. But if you look at that point there, they were so far behind in production for 10 nanometer process, AMD had caught up really quickly, and by the time Intel had got anywhere near developing that AMD were already on seven nanometer process … when it gets to developing AI, they're they're just so far behind they can't catch up.”“The potential reliance on AI tools in the future could actually have a detrimental impact on broader security teams and people entering the industry and the workforce. How reliant are they going to be if you're going through college, university now, and so much of the sort of industry narrative is around these tools, and you're you're using them, you're learning how to use them, you get into your first job, and then what's your level of expertise compared to a fresh graduate 10 years ago?”Related linksMicrosoft is using AI to get its nuclear projects approved in the USMicrosoft’s Three Mile Island deal is a big step toward matching data center energy demandsGoogle is going nuclearIntel targets AI hardware dominance by 2025Intel layoffs to hit 15,000 roles as falling revenue and poor returns on AI biteIntel CEO Pat Gelsinger announces retirementWhat do security pros want from generative AI?Median construction time for nuclear reactors

It’s the last week before Christmas but while everyone else may be winding up for the festive season, the news never sleeps. In this episode of the ITPro Podcast, Jane is joined by news and analysis editor Ross Kelly to look back at some of the biggest stories from the month of December.Included in this episode:The US charges 14 members of a North Korean IT worker scamIreland has become a ‘data dumping ground’, says Friends of the EarthIs virtual reality the next frontier in software development?Read more:Cyber firm KnowBe4 unknowingly hired a North Korean hacker – and it went exactly as you might thinkLawmakers clash over Irish data center industry growth amid environmental concernsUK warned about data center need, again“Significant concerns” raised over impact of data center growth on regional energy gridsWWDC 2023: Will Apple’s Vision Pro be a VR game changer?Why 2024 won’t be the year of AR, VR or any kind of immersive tech

This week, Google announced that it had made a major step forward in quantum computing with its new quantum chip Willow. The AI and search giant stated that it had successfully completed calculations that would previously have been impossible using its new piece of hardware.In doing so, Google has taken shots at existing supercomputer infrastructure and driven excited chatter on social media – as well as worried posts about how the end of encryption is just around the corner. But how significant is this breakthrough? And what does it mean for the future of quantum computing?In this episode, Jane and Rory recap Google’s Willow announcement and detail what its immediate and long-term implications could be.Read more:Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chipExplained: P vs. NPPreparing for the quantum revolutionUK government quantum investment welcomed by industryWhy experts are warning businesses to prepare for quantum now – or face critical cyber risks when it arrivesQuantum supremacy is here — so what?The quantum computing sector needs to cut the hype and focus on responsible developmentUK quantum computing ambitions need a 'pro-innovation' regulatory approach akin to AI

If one company can be said to have walked away the winner of the generative AI boom of the past few years, it’s OpenAI. The startup, which was founded as a non-profit with a mission to drive progress toward artificial general intelligence – aka a conscious machine – has led the pack of generative AI developers since it launched ChatGPT in 2022 and quickly became a household name.But in recent months, more and more questions have been raised about the viability of OpenAI in the long term. As some of the biggest companies in the world look to pin down AI return on investment, OpenAI is still laying out its exact profit model. Can it keep its AI crown? Or is it on a downward trajectory?In this episode, Jane and Rory look at the inner workings of OpenAI to understand how the company is faring amid strong competition and how it could perform in the next year.Please note: this episode was recorded prior to the announcement of the new 'ChatGPT Pro' tier.Read more:OpenAI could go bankrupt in 12 months if it doesn’t raise some serious cash – but is the Microsoft-backed AI giant too big to fail?OpenAI seeks $6.5 billion investment as costs continue to mountOpenAI just raised $6.6bn in funding, but it drove a hard bargain – investors will be stopped from funding rivalsEnterprises are ramping up investment in private AI systemsOpenAI tool previously thought 'too dangerous' for the public goes generally availableOpenAI launches $20 ChatGPT Plus in search of greater revenueAWS bet big on Anthropic in the race against Microsoft and OpenAI, now it’s doubling downAmazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic faces UK competition probe – here’s what it meansMeta’s Llama 3.1 promises to compete with closed source competitionOpenAI says ads aren't coming soon – if ever

November has come to a close, and the depths of winter are just around the corner. But that doesn’t mean events in tech are slowing down at all – nor that attackers are taking an early Christmas break.In the past month, we’ve seen a slew of cyber incidents, ranging from high-profile exploits of Microsoft vulnerabilities to a ransomware attack on a supply chain software company integral to high-street brands.Elsewhere, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has hailed the strides his company has made with using AI to generate internal source code – but how far can AI code really go, and does it put software engineers at threat of redundancy?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak once again to Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to unpack some of the most significant stories of November.Read more:Warning issued after SharePoint flaw puts entire corporate networks at riskBlue Yonder ransomware attack disrupts grocery, retail, and hospitality firmsBreached for years: How long-term cyber attacks are able to lingerHow IT leaders can respond to the evolution of ransomwareGoogle CEO says more than 25% of the company's code is now AI-generated – is this the future of software development?Gemini Code Assist Enterprise – Google wants to simplify code for allGemini Code Assist could be Google's secret weapon to challenge GitHub Copilot

HPE’s annual European conference took place this week in Barcelona and the company’s focus is still firmly on AI. This is bolstered by its supercomputing credentials – El Capitan, the latest supercomputer to come online in the US, was awarded the title of fastest supercomputer just a day before the conference kicked off.In this episode, Jane sits down with Gerald Kleyn, vice president of customer solutions for HPC and AI at Hewlett Packard Enterprise at HPE Discover Barcelona 2024 to discuss what the real-world impact of these high-performance machines is and whether they hold any benefits for the average IT department.Read more:What is HPC really for?AI’s thirsty secretInside Lumi, one of the world’s greenest supercomputersHPE’s AI and supercomputing journey continues with new Cray and Slingshot hardwareEl Capitan powers up, becomes fastest supercomputer in the worldHPE Discover Barcelona 2024: All the news and updates liveIsambard-AI, the UK’s most powerful and sustainable supercomputer, is now up and running

What does it mean to be secure in your sector? While every organization has its own cyber security policies, numerous pieces of legislation also set out minimum requirements for security that firms must reach or else be held accountable through fines.The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act – which came into force in 2023 and applies from 17 January 2025 – aims to do just this for financial entities within the region. But what does being DORA-ready mean in practice? And how will the legislation add to the responsibilities of IT professionals?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to John Stevenson, Technical Director at Skybox, to better understand the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act and what it means for businesses.Read more:What is the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)?DORA and why resilience (once again) matters to the board‘Borderline irresponsible’ attitude to third party risks must change, says expertSupply chain attacks are still plaguing enterprises – here's why

It's that time of year when the clocks change and the nights draw in, the familiar starts to take on a new aspect as the shadows lengthen, and in the world of IT, trends that have been taken for granted are also starting to take on a new shape. As countries battle productivity problems, can they replicate the success of Iceland's four-day working week? Elsewhere, developers have started to question just how useful AI coding tools really are, and OpenAI has had another successful funding round – but is interest in the company starting to wain?In this episode, Jane is once again joined by Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to unpack the most interesting news that October brought.Read more:New four-day week trial kicks off for workers across UKIceland’s four-day working week trials have been a roaring success – economic growth spiked, workers were happier, and burnout plummetedThe benefits of a four-day week in techUK's four-day week trial ends, leads to reduced burnout and sick daysOpenAI just raised $6.6bn in funding, but it drove a hard bargain – investors will be stopped from funding rivalsOpenAI could go bankrupt in 12 months if it doesn’t raise some serious cash – but is the Microsoft-backed AI giant too big to fail?

It’s All Hallows’ Day, and we’ve still got Halloween on the brain. It’s that time of year when we tell the scariest stories we can – and for those in tech, there are none scarier than that of major cybersecurity incidents.In this episode, Rory and Jane talk to Solomon Klappholz, ITPro’s cybersecurity reporter, about some of the spookiest cyber incidents of 2024 and what businesses can learn from these ghoulish tales.FootnotesCrowdStrike CEO confirms update "defect" as the source of mass disruptionMillions of devices bricked and $5.4 billion in losses: The cost of the CrowdStrike outage continues to mountThe National Public Data breach exposed nearly three billion users – now the company has filed for bankruptcyNational Public Data breach: Lawsuit claims failed to protect billions of personal records23andMe's disastrous data breach just landed it a regulatory probe23andMe data breach response has been a public relations disaster as it blames customers for data breachThe 23andMe data breach is getting messier by the dayWorld Economic Forum warns of growing ‘cyber insecurity’ amid heightened threat landscapeSubscribeSubscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to The IT Pro Podcast on SpotifySubscribe to the IT Pro newsletterJoin us on LinkedInFollow us on YouTube

Every organization has to prepare for the future to the best extent possible, whether that means modernizing one’s infrastructure or adopting cutting-edge technologies like AI.In every sector, leaders are faced with the task of keeping their business up-to-date and competitive by integrating AI workloads within their environment. But getting a project underway and ensuring it delivers sufficient ROI can be a challenge. In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, in association with Dell Technologies, Jane speaks with Steve Young, SVP and MD for Dell Technologies in the UK, to explain how businesses can adopt AI smoothly and ensure their route to integration works in their own best interests.Read more:Find out more about Dell Technologies Forum Live and registerWhat is hybrid cloud?What is multi-cloud?Dell doubles down on Nvidia partnership with ‘AI factories’ and models at the edge

This episode was first broadcast 4 August 2023.As the economy has become increasingly dependent on data, companies have sought to make more profit from mining user actions such as through loyalty schemes or social media interactions.But individual rights also have to be respected, and businesses have to follow strict data protection procedures.Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) are one method for companies to securely search through data to derive value – for example, a bank could search through customer data to expose fraudulent activity without putting the personal information of all the customers involved at risk.This episode, Rory and Jane are joined by Ellison Anne Williams, CEO and founder of privacy-enhancing technology company Enveil, to discuss the dos and don’ts of data use, and how organizations can make use of PETs for enhanced data mining.For more information, read the show notes here.

It’s not every day that cybersecurity marketing professionals get to speak to one another, compare notes, and come up with innovative solutions for getting their voices heard.Despite being a cornerstone of the tech industry, cybersecurity is in need of constant marketing on its behalf. Developers need individuals willing to enter the boardroom to advocate for their product and cybersecurity marketers have to arm themselves with the right storytelling skills to get their message across.The Cybersecurity Marketing Society describes itself as a community for cybersecurity marketers to network, share skills, and learn from one another – but what does this mean in practical terms?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Gianna Whitver, co-founder & CEO at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, and Maria Velasquez, co-founder & chief growth officer at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, to discuss their work in the sector and the realities of running a podcast all about cybersecurity marketing.Read more:https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/https://cybersecuritymarketingsociety.com/podcast/How AI is transforming businesses in the tech channelMandiant exec thinks AI could boost diversity in cybersecuritySecurity and marketing are the top software spending priorities for 2023

To fully embrace the benefits of the cloud, businesses have to distribute existing workloads across hybrid and/or multi-cloud environments. While the benefits of this digital transformation are undeniable, it’s not a process without its challenges.This can be particularly true for firms with sprawling environments, perhaps as the result of mergers and acquisitions over the years, or those looking to get data in the right shape to be used for machine learning or AI.How can businesses reconcile these problems at scale? And what are the specific steps to success when it comes to cloud consolidation?In this episode, Rory speaks to Rajesh Naidu, SVP, chief architect, and head of data platform & data management at Expedia, to discuss the challenges of cloud migration and how converging workloads can help with AI adoption.Read more:How Expedia Group used platform convergence to harness the efficiency of generative AIHow to prepare and prioritize workloads for cloud migration“The tech guys want to move to the cloud, the finance people want the savings”: IT leaders feel ‘rushed’ to the cloud – here’s why slow and steady wins the raceConsolidate to simplify application security: Why this is a business imperativeWhy 'shadow SaaS' is becoming a major blind spot for enterprise security teamsStructured vs unstructured data managementWhat is machine learning and why is it important?What is generative AI?

When it comes to the companies leading the way in AI development, Salesforce might not be the first name that springs to mind. The veteran CRM provider launched its flagship ‘Einstein’ AI in 2016, which relied on traditional machine learning methods to improve customer experience, but hasn’t sought to go head-to-head with major AI developers.With several years of generative AI hype at its back, the company is trying to carve a out a place for itself as the purveyor of trusted AI tools that live up to the hype – put simply, automated software that helps us work less, and reap more rewards.How has the company sold this vision so far at its annual conference, Dreamforce 2024? And is it likely to succeed given the vicious competition in the space?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, live from Dreamforce in San Francisco.Read more:Salesforce wants to show what “AI was always meant to be” – Dreamforce 2024 is its chance to do itSalesforce CEO wants to “break the hypnosis" coming from major AI vendors in scathing critique of Microsoft Copilot“Values drive value” for Salesforce Ventures as AI investment ramps upSalesforce may have had its ‘ChatGPT moment’ with AI agents – and it will take a lot to knock the company off its perchHigh wire acts, Microsoft Clippy, and DIY AI at Dreamforce 2024Dreamforce 2024: All the news and announcements as they happened

How much do you know about open banking? The practice allows companies to share choice information with third parties for the benefit of businesses, but it has yet to be taken up by every bank on the market.NatWest is a frontrunner in this regard. Its Payit service allows businesses to process customer payments quickly and easily, all alongside the ability to securely share customer data with added data insightsBut how does Payit work? And what are its standout benefits?In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, in association with NatWest, Jane and Rory are joined by Mark Brant, chief payments officer at NatWest Group, to explore the upsides and inner workings of NatWest Payit.https://www.payitbynatwest.com/itproPayit terms and conditions apply. Visit https://www.payitbynatwest.com/legal-hub. Your business must be based and trading in the UK with a turnover above £2M. You must be 18 years or older. Fees apply.

Energy usage in data centers is an increasingly Hot Topic, particularly with AI applications becoming more popular and widely used.While some organizations have talked up their commitment to renewables, such as solar or hydro, others have this month started to discuss a different, perhaps more controversial low carbon path.Elsewhere, a new rebellion against home working is beginning – and this time it's not CEOs or ministers leading the charge.In this episode, Jane is once again joined by Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to discuss the biggest stories of the past month.

When people talk about the environmental impacts of data centers, normally the discussion focuses on energy usage. It’s something we’ve talked about at several points this year already, with reference to growing efforts to house AI workloads in green data centers that run on renewable energy to reduce their carbon impact.But while we can generate nearly limitless amounts of green energy, there is a decidedly finite amount of water in the world – and unfortunately, most data centers need vast amounts of fresh water to cool hardware. Without care, big tech could push already drought-stricken communities to breaking point.In this episode, Jane and Rory unpack the growing problem of data center water use, how operators can tackle this, and how it will exacerbate environmental tensions in the near future.Read more:Data center water consumption is spiraling out of controlGoogle data centre soaks up a third of Oregon city's water supplyWhat is a green data center and why are they attracting big investment?Data center waste energy to heat homes in 'UK-first' schemeOVHcloud just open sourced its data center liquid cooling system — here’s whyAWS plans to be 'water positive' by 2030Microsoft lays out water-positive plans for next decade

What’s the biggest cybersecurity threat your business faces right now? Hopefully, an answer springs to mind, along with a list of the solutions you have in place to keep attackers at bay. But ask yourself this: do your employees know? And if the worst did happen, how confident are you that your workforce would know exactly how to respond?Cybersecurity education and training is one of the cornerstones of any enterprise security strategy, keeping companies looped in on the latest attack methods and helping employees foster a security-first mindset.But how receptive are employees to the various training methods, how can training keep up with new advancements such as AI, and where do vendors such as your managed security service provider fit into the mix?In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, in association with Proofpoint, Jane and Rory are joined by Kevin Leusing, EMEA chief technologist at Proofpoint. Together, they discuss how firms can best use cybersecurity education and training to protect their workforce against the latest threats.Read more:https://bit.ly/proofpoint-cyber-awareness-kit2024 State of the Phish2024 Voice of the CISOWhy social engineering is such a problem and how your business can protect itselfOrganisations could soon be using generative AI to prevent phishing attacksNearly half of EMEA data breaches were due to internal blunders in 2023

Cybersecurity teams face a constant battle of ensuring their company is shored up in the right places. Facing down increasingly sophisticated and persistent threat actors, there’s every reason to focus on one’s perimeter to shield oneself against external threats.But insider threats – attacks carried out from within an organization’s environment – must also be part of any business’s security strategy. When the call is coming from inside the house, either via a hacker who’s secretly gained access or in the form of a disgruntled employee, security teams need to be ready to clamp down hard.In this episode, Jane and Rory welcome back Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to discuss the scale of these insider threats.Read more:Why you should always be wary of insider threatsNorth Korean insider attacks are skyrocketing – dozens of US firms didn't spot the hacker in their midstCyber firm KnowBe4 unknowingly hired a North Korean hacker – and it went exactly as you might thinkShould your business worry about North Korean cyber attacks?State-sponsored cyber attacks: The new frontierThe Verizon data breach that exposed 63,000 employees is a reminder of how a simple mistake can have costly implicationsPreventing deepfake attacks: How businesses can stay protectedHow Intel's FakeCatcher hopes to eradicate real-time deepfakesAI threats: The importance of a concrete strategy in fighting novel attacksWhy I think the Scarlett Johansson OpenAI scandal shows the danger of AI-generated voice content

Quantum computing is an exciting field of research that promises to revolutionize computing as we know it. Relying on quantum mechanics to process calculations much faster than conventional physics would allow a normal computer to, quantum computers could drive rapid breakthroughs in fields such as medicine or machine learning.But what are the specific ways in which quantum computing can help businesses and the world? And how long will it take for quantum computers to become widely used?In this episode, Rory speaks to Graeme Malcolm, CEO at M Squared Lasers and co-chair of the UK Quantum Technology Leadership Group, to unpack some of the immense potential of quantum computing including in the fight against climate change.Read more:What is quantum computing?The quantum computing sector needs to cut the hype and focus on responsible developmentUK government quantum investment welcomed by industryWhy quantum computing might be much closer to becoming a reality than we thinkWhat is the ‘steal now, crack later’ quantum computing threat?How quantum computing can fight climate changeUK government ramps up quantum funding in bid to drive commercial viabilityGoogle's greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed in the last five years – and soaring AI energy demand is the main culpritMicrosoft's AI-fueled data center rush caused carbon emissions to surge by 29% in 2023 — and now the tech giant could miss critical sustainability targets

For many, August has been all about getting away on holiday – stepping back from your desk, and putting on your email out of office. But others have spent the past month focused on how to ensure workers work longer hours and physically turn up to do their 9-5 on company soil.Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google, has got into hot water over his claims that companies should ditch remote work schedules if they want to succeed. Schmidt even suggested that his former company was lagging in the generative AI race as a result of its focus on work-life balance.Also this month, companies competing in that very race have been closely watching the brewing California AI Bill, which seeks to improve the safety of publicly available AI models. How might these companies fare in the wake of the new laws?In this episode, Jane and Rory welcome back Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to explore the past month’s developments.

We're on summer break for the next two weeks, but we'll be back at the end of the month for the rundown and back at full speed throughout September and beyond.Thanks for listening!

Almost any business these days needs its own network to function – whether it’s for internal comms, interaction with the internet, or for controlling complex environments such as smart factory floors, business networks keep the wheels spinning at an enterprise level.But promises and delivery haven’t always lined up in the networking space, with the likes of 5G and gigabit broadband coming in later than planned and developments such as widespread, real-time edge computing emerging as more important than they might have been expected to be.In what directions are business networks headed, and which growing trends should we expect to define enterprise connectivity in the coming years?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Kerry Baker, lead industry analyst North America at Ookla, to explore the current network picture for enterprises.Read more:What are private 5G networks and can they transform the workplace?Why businesses are turning to private 5GOfcom approves 5G mmWave, but what are its benefits?What is 6G and how far are we from rollout?UK government to run Starlink trials in Snowdonia, Lake DistrictSpaceX given FCC nod to provide Starlink Wi-Fi to moving vehiclesNokia and Google score breakthrough in Android 13 network slicing

The IT outage that left passengers stranded, self checkouts non-functional, and IT professionals worldwide with an enormous headache dominated the news in July. The cost for those affected and the companies involved – CrowdStrike and Microsoft – is still being counted.In this episode of the ITPro Podcast, Jane is joined by ITPro’s news editor Ross Kelly to discuss what happened on 19 July, as well as news of Google’s attempt to buy cloud security outfit Wiz falling through and Japan finally winning its war against floppy disks.FootnotesGlobal IT outage caused by faulty CrowdStrike update could take ‘days and weeks’ to resolve, experts warnGlobal IT outage: CrowdStrike CEO confirms update "defect" as the source of mass disruptionMillions of devices bricked and $5.4 billion in losses: The cost of the CrowdStrike outage continues to mountIt's been two weeks since CrowdStrike caused a global IT outage – what lessons should we learn?Why the Wiz acquisition makes perfect sense for GoogleGoogle will need to find a new cloud security champion as Wiz backs out of $23 billion acquisitionHow cyber attacks damage mental healthCrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor linked to Linux crashes, too • The Register

While the private sector makes a lucrative target for threat actors, the public sector is also under constant threat of cyber attacks.In October 2023, the British Library was hit by a major ransomware attack and the founder and CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Ciaran Martin told the BBC that recent attacks on the UK’s National Health Service were not surprising given its outdated systems and cyber policies.But what might these updates look like? And on a national level, what can be done to protect the public sector from further attacks?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Jonathan Lee, public sector lead at Trend Micro, to discuss the attacks targeting the public sector and what can be done to stop them.

When it comes to some of the tech world’s most impressive offerings, high performance computing, also known as supercomputing, often rises to the top of the list. Referring to powerful systems used to crunch the most complex calculations or run incredibly demanding workloads, it’s a rapidly expanding field backed by significant investment.But what is high-performance computing really for? Where does exascale computing fit into the mix? And where might it be headed?

Every business will, at some point, be impacted by cyber attacks. Companies task security teams to prepare the first line of defense against cyber attacks, and most have plans in place for the damage they leave behind – be it data loss, encryption by ransomware operators, or large-scale service disruptions.But something that often goes unremarked upon in the wake of cyber attacks is the psychological, human effects of cyber attacks. When the dust settles, staff can be left with feelings of fear or shame, particularly those directly related to IT security.Who’s at risk of this harm? And what can leaders do to minimize the impact?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Parisa Bazl, head of user experience at data protection firm Commvault, to discuss the psychological harms that come with cyber attacks and what organizations can do to better support frontline IT staff.Read more:Why 'psychological safety' is so important for building a robust security cultureBuilding an incident response strategy in 2024The hidden cost of ransomware is more painful than many realizeWhy ransomware attacks happen to small businesses – and how to stop themThe end of ransomware payments: How businesses fit into the fightUK firms are failing miserably at data breach responsesData breach response: How to react when your business gets hitDell hacker claims they had access to systems for nearly three weeks

This classic episode of the ITPro Podcast was first published on 14 July 2023.When you consider the roles that hold influence over business decisions and operations, which come to mind? Doubtless, the CEO and CFO, as well as the COO if you have one. The CMO may also be there – but what about the CIO or CTO?The advent of cloud computing, bring your own device (BYOD), and increasing cyber security threats were all supposed to coincide with CIOs finally having their seat at the table. ITPro has published articles on exactly this trend.But it seems that in some areas, this shift is stalling or even reversing. In this episode, Jane and Rory are joined by Anthony Byrne, EY partner leading technology practice for the UK and Ireland to discuss what’s behind this regression and the changing role that CIOs must play.Read more:What is BYOD?Majority of CIOs plan to expand their IT teams despite shrinking budgetsWhy people management skills are key to being a CIOHow CIOs and CTOs can collaborate more effectivelyIT Pro Podcast: Are chief metaverse officers here to stay?Protecting CIOs' IT budgets is "paramount" in maintaining business growthWhy business leaders – not technologists – make the best CIOs

June has been a month filled with tech conferences. ITPro has covered events including HPE Discover, Splunk .conf24, Snowflake Data Summit, Cisco Live, Pegasystems Inspire, and Pure Accelerate, all held in Las Vegas, amid a busy season for the industry.But throughout the many hours of these events, with tens of thousands of attendees and swathes of product announcements, what have been some of the standout moments and recurring themes?In this episode, Jane and Rory welcome back Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to explore the past month’s many events.Read more:Generative AI is the name of the game again at HPE Discover, but don’t mistake it for a repeat of 2023Finally, an HPE AI solution that offers something for the channelSplunk expands its AI Assistant in observability, security pushExclusive: Splunk will play a key role in Cisco's AI plans, claims former CEO"Our job is not to screw up”: Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins vows to make Splunk ‘better’ following acquisitionDell doubles down on Nvidia partnership with ‘AI factories’ and models at the edgeDell Technologies doesn’t know where AI is headed – but it might be the honesty its partners needSustainable AI is key to Pure Storage — and Pure Accelerate 2024 will make that mission clearHow HPE plans to combat generative AI’s 'dirty secret'How Nvidia took the world by storm

With the generative AI gold rush continuing at speed in enterprise IT. Ranging from chatbots to AI training services, every provider is looking for that killer use case that makes it indispensable for AI.At HPE Discover 2024, the story has been no different. In collaboration with Nvidia, the company believes it has something unique to offer its enterprise customers.In this episode, recorded live at HPE Discover 2024 in Las Vegas, Jane speaks to Mohan Rajagopalan, general manager for Ezmeral Software at HPE, to explore the benefits of enterprise AI and the specific routes he sees for beneficial AI adoption.Read more:Exclusive: HPE CEO Antonio Neri says "simplicity of experience" key to AI innovationFinally, an HPE AI solution that offers something for the channelHPE’s drive for enterprise AI dominance continues with new Nvidia partnershipHPE talks up AI’s role in boosting server businessHPE Discover 2024 live: All the news and updates from the day-two keynoteHPE Partner Growth Summit 2024: What can we expect for the channel?Everything you need to know about HPEWhat is HPE GreenLake?

When Cisco announced it would be buying Splunk, doubts were raised over the company's future within its new home.Splunk .conf24, the company's annual conference, was a proving ground to see if these fears were well founded. According to ITPro's intrepid features editor, however, Splunk's brand is as strong as it ever was, with both Cisco's CEO and Splunk's GM offering reassurances that neither company's customers or partners will suffer in the wake of the acquisition.In this episode of the ITPro Podcast, Jane talks to Rory about his experiences attending the conference, where Splunk sits in Cisco's strategy, and if we're likely to see a .conf25.Splunk knows what it’s worth – .conf24 showed Cisco does tooExclusive: Splunk will play a key role in Cisco's AI plans, claims former CEOSplunk .conf24 live: All the news and announcements from the Las Vegas conference"Our job is not to screw up”: Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins vows to make Splunk ‘better’ following acquisition

One of the most unexpected things to happen in May was a sudden outage at the Australian pension fund UniSuper.After days of confusion and concern that the fund may have been hit by a cyber attack among its customer base, it emerged that Google Cloud had accidentally deleted UniSuper’s entire cloud subscription. We dive into what lessons businesses can learn from this freak event.Also in May, OpenAI trumpeted its goal to unlock so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI) through new advancements. But is such a thing even possible, and who would it benefit?

As the tech sector creates data at greater rates than ever before, using more cloud and on premise workloads, it’s more important than ever that firms consider their sustainability strategy and carbon footprint.Until the world has achieved net zero energy, every watt that goes into powering hardware and software adds to overall global emissions, with data center growth accounting for more and more global energy demand. Renewable energy and greater efficiency help with this but are not silver bullets.Breakthroughs in AI and quantum computing have put extra strain on data centers and thrown a spanner in the works when it comes to improvements in energy efficiency across the sector. In this episode, Jane and Rory discuss what the tech sector is doing to counteract this and whether the benefits of this new era can outweigh its carbon cost.

As enterprise AI becomes more widely adopted, businesses are being forced to examine whether their architecture is up to the task. The feverish hype around AI in the public cloud that started in November 2022 has given way to greater investment in open ecosystems for AI and smaller models run at a business’s edge.From chatbots stored on a laptop for offline use to AI handling data produced by sensors in smart manufacturing, there’s a huge range of ways to use AI at the edge. But where is customer demand when it comes to this new frontier for this technology, and how has their understanding of AI architecture changed since this time last year?In this episode, recorded live at Dell Technologies World 2024, Rory speaks to Dermot O’Connell, senior vice president for EMEA services at Dell Technologies, to learn more about the changes in approach to enterprise AI and how businesses can prepare themselves for the technology’s adoption.Read more:Dell Technologies World 2024 live: All the news and announcements from day-two"The big obstacle isn't anything technical": Dell CTO John Roese on why companies are failing on AI adoptionDell Technologies expands AI ecosystem with Microsoft, Hugging Face supportDell doubles down on Nvidia partnership with ‘AI factories’ and models at the edgeWhat is 'multi-cloud by design'?Google shows off new smaller generative AI tools and an AI agent on your phone

The LockBit ransomware group recently suffered another major blow at the hands of international law enforcement, as the UK’s NCA revealed the name and face of the group’s long-sought-after leader.Dmitry Khoroshev, known as ‘LockBitSupp’ on the dark web, was unmasked by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) while the US Department of Justice announced a 26-count indictment against him.While this is a significant development in the fight against the group, what does it mean for LockBit in the long term and could it have lasting impacts on the ransomware landscape?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to speaking to Solomon Klappholz, staff writer at ITPro and our resident expert on all things cyber security, to get us up to speed on the LockBit situation and explore what it means in more detail. Read more:LockBit mastermind unmasked by law enforcementLockBit could be done and dusted after NCA operation gained access to admin environments, source code, and affiliate infoFebruary rundown: LockBit takedown and ChatGPT woesLockBit rises from the ashes, but will it pack the same punch as before?The 'Big Three’ ransomware groups are losing their grip on the industry as gangs begin to fracture, study showsALPHV leak site seized by law enforcement as decryption tool releasedQakbot forced offline, but history suggests it probably won’t be foreverThis ransomware variant has now been used against 500 targets — here's what you need to knowWhat are the different types of ransomware?What you need to know about the new NCSC ransomware guidance“Security has to work together”: Cyber collaboration as a mission at CPX 2024The end of ransomware payments: How businesses fit into the fight

Some experts will tell you the first step in adopting AI is making sure your data is in order. But what about your skills? When it comes time to put AI in the hands of their workforce, leaders need to know that they’ll be able to hit the ground running and unlock productivity benefits without delay.Achieving this will involve investing in AI skills – but where should businesses begin and how far-reaching does this AI training need to be?In this episode, Jane and Rory speak to Arun ‘Rak’ Ramchandran, president and global head of consulting and GenAI practice at Hexaware, to explore how businesses can ensure their internal AI skills can meet growing demands and challenges.

April has been a month of both highs and lows. At the start of the month, AWS was ordered to pay $525 million in damages, after it was found to have infringed US patent law through some of its core cloud offerings.The month has also seen a high-profile cyber incident – a ransomware attack against Change Healthcare in which personal information was stolen.All of this has unfolded against the backdrop of more innovation in the AI space, with the launch of Llama 3 and news from Google Cloud Next having buoyed market interest.In this episode, Jane and Rory speak once again to Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to explore some of the month’s most notable news items.Read more:AWS fined $525 million after US court rules Amazon S3 storage, DynamoDB services infringed patentsChange Healthcare hit with second ransomware attack of 2024UnitedHealth Group admits to paying ransom after Change Healthcare cyber attackCitrix vulnerability behind Change Healthcare cyber attack, CEO claimsMeta's Llama 3 will force OpenAI and other AI giants to up their gameJust how open are the leading open source AI models?