The Tech Blog Writer Podcast - Inspired Tech Startup Stories & Interviews With Tech Leaders, Entrepreneurs And Innovators

Real Ice is a Wales-based company that has invented a revolutionary renewable energy-powered ice maker to replenish the polar ice caps that are melting as a result of global warming. The Real Ice machine, developed by recent Bangor University graduate Cian Sherwin, is a windpowered machine that pumps water from under the Ice to the surface, where it freezes rapidly and patches gaps in the sea ice. It also works to thicken the Ice, thus increasing the albedo effect, which is the ability to reflect the sun's energy back into space instead of being absorbed by the earth. Still in the prototype phase, the project plans to employ indigenous people of Arctic regions to own, maintain and operate the machines. At the same time, they earn carbon credits which can be sold to companies to offset their fossil fuel use. By combatting the effects of global warming and ice loss on traditional local communities, Real Ice also hopes to boost the development of Arctic regions experiencing the harsh negative effects of global w

Mansour Karam is the Co-Founder of data center network automation company Apstra, which was recently acquired by the networking giant Juniper Networks. With over a decade of experience in network automation and network solutions, Mansour currently works at Juniper as the VP of Products, helping clients deliver on their networking solutions and make the most out of their business with Juniper. Mansour discusses how automation is essential to minimizing costly mistakes and eliminating human error from mundane tasks in a hyperconnected data center. Mansour also elaborates on the two main areas where automation maximizes productivity in the data center. We talk about scaling capacity with output so that data center development is not inhibited and processing repetitive tasks, so developers have more time and bandwidth for crucial development. Mansour also explains how automation is essential to minimizing expensive mistakes and provides robust data sets for IT leaders to apply hyper-accurate insights in developme

Curve Health is an elderly care telemedicine platform that is installed directly into nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The company announced a $6m seed round in late 2020, and on May 6th, will announce national partnerships with facilities in Minnesota and California, bringing telemedicine access to the bedsides of hundreds of patients. The platform is peer-reviewed & proven by the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine to reduce unnecessary hospital transfers from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) by up to 80%. About Tim Peck Tim Peck is the founder of Curve Health. Before founding Curve, Peck earned his MD from NYU, then held a faculty position at Harvard Medical School and was the Chief Resident in the Emergency Department at Beth Israel Deaconess (BIDC). From there, Peck cofounded Call9, a company that was the forebearer to Curve Health and was responsible for changing the landscape of care delivery to nursing homes.

Assaf Morag and Ehud Amiri from Aqua Security join me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast to discuss finding from Aqua's 2021 Security Report, which assesses cloud infrastructure risks. During 12 months, Aqua Security conducted an in-depth analysis of Aqua Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) usage data and found that 40% of users had at least one misconfigured Docker API. But, overall, 84% of users were able to detect and remediate misconfiguration issues using CSPM, which would otherwise have gone unnoticed without manual involvement. Although cloud-native applications have many benefits, such as allowing more agility by giving more people access to define the environment, it means that many organizations are moving away from a centralized approach to security. Where once there was only a small, highly skilled team of security practitioners making all configuration changes, we now have a modern, decentralized approach. Indeed, a recent IDC survey showed that almost 80% of respondents had at least one clou

With nearly half of Americans currently working from home, and an additional 20% expected to remain that way in the future, the challenge of remote authentication has never been more important. Replacing passwords and updating software are no longer enough as lines blur between work/personal security posture and data subsequently becomes more at risk. Eric Brown, Senior Manager, Enterprise Identity & Access Management at SAIC, urges that with this change comes a need for organizations to recalibrate their approach to authentication. Eric shares his insights and advises how to secure identities while balancing a simplified user experience. He also discusses lessons learned with SAIC as the company transformed to a remote workforce – including key takeaways related to their multi-factor authentication platform for remote employees. About SAIC SAIC is a premier Fortune 500® technology integrator driving digital transformation. Their robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian, and intel

It's just over twenty years since the dot-com bubble burst, leaving economic chaos and unemployment in its wake. In the years following, a little-known project – Google Maps – was in its early stages intending to create more user-friendly maps. At the same time, Gidi Cohen, CEO of Skybox Security, had a similar vision, only for the cybersecurity space. "In the same way Google Maps allows users to understand their terrain, location and how to interpret traffic lights, we are helping security teams make sense of their IT network topology." Through a network model approach to security, Skybox has become a trusted partner to large enterprises like P&G, Vodafone and Estee Lauder. Skybox helps these organizations to connect the dots and get better visibility into the threats that lie within their fragmented networks, decentralized, inconsistent configurations and change management processes, unsafe cloud, and network configurations. Gidi joins me on the podcast and talks about why it's important to understan

AllianceBlock is building the first globally compliant decentralized capital market. The AllianceBlock Protocol is a decentralized, blockchain-agnostic layer 2 that automates the process of converting any digital or crypto asset into a bankable product. Incubated by three of Europe's most prestigious incubators: Station F, L39, and Kickstart Innovation in Zurich. It is led by a heavily experienced team of ex-JP Morgan, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs investment bankers, and quants, AllianceBlock is on the path to disrupt the $100 trillion securities market with its state-of-the-art and globally compliant decentralized capital market. The first globally compliant decentralized capital market, recently announced that it secured funding under the $100M accelerator fund set up to boost the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem, the latest in a series of announcements made in the past week. It's been a huge few weeks for the DeFi powerhouse, which continues to cement its position within the burgeoning DeFi industry.

Ransomware threats are snowballing. Time and again we have witnessed that a ransomware attack on a single endpoint brings down the enterprise infrastructure just in a few seconds. Despite the hype around cybersecurity, there aren't credible solutions available to addresses the most fundamental reasons behind the majority of the cyber breaches – shared VLANs; excessive access granted by traditional firewalls/ VPNs; and legacy protocols over unpatched systems. While there are many security companies trying to prevent ransomware from getting into your network, Airgap's "Zero Trust Isolation Platform" is protecting organizations even if their perimeter is breached or if they have unpatched vulnerable servers inside their data center. Airgap's "Ransomware Kill Switch" is a potent ransomware response for the IT organization. Airgap can be deployed in minutes without any agents, forklift upgrades, or design changes. Ritesh Agrawal, CEO, Airgap, returns to the Tech Talks Daily podcast to talk about Ransomware trends.

Liav Chen, CEO and Co-Founder of Humanz joins me on the Tech Talks Daily podcast to talk about the AI-based influencer marketing platform with a twist. Over the years, advertising has migrated towards social media marketing, and today more than ever before, marketing tactics rely heavily on influencer endorsement and vise versa. Currently, this model suffers from influencer fatigue, and both marketers and influencers lack the ability to trust the data. There seems to be a river of 'dirty money' flowing from buying fake followers, having bots engaged with content, and more. Platforms like Humanz were created to make sure authenticity and real value are being measured and presented as part of any potential collaboration. Using Humanz's unique technology, based on two main sets of proprietary algorithms and big data analysis, influencer marketing's largest problems face a reckoning. It's a new level of targeting that taps micro-influencers, a vastly underutilized resource in the marketing sphere. Before co-found

Michael O'Hara, Group Managing Director of specialist IT distributor DataSolutions, joins me on the Tech Talks podcast. The company appeared on my radar when they recently announced that they are aiming to become the world's first carbon-neutral IT distributor by the end of 2022. As well as implementing measures to improve its own sustainability, the organization has also launched a "Techies Go Green" community to encourage and support partners and other businesses in doing the same. Michael discusses his ambitious growth plans for DataSolutions and talks about his decision to expand from Ireland into the UK market back in 2016 on the cusp of Brexit and how he has successfully built up the UK arm of the business over the last four years. In fact, the organization was recently awarded the title of Distributor of the Year at the Network Computing Awards 2020, showcasing its increasing influence and growth. Michael also provides insights into how the business has adapted throughout the pandemic and supports or

CloudSphere helps organizations simplify cloud management by automating governance, minimizing security risks, and managing costs from a single platform. Keith Neilson, Technical Evangelist for the company, joins me on the Tech Talks Daily Podcast. The IDC forecasts worldwide spending on cloud services will surpass $1 trillion in 2024. Keith shares why securing and governing multi-cloud environments is a top IT challenge facing enterprises as cloud adoption accelerates amid the pandemic. I learn how this challenge has driven demand for CloudSphere's solution, which helps organizations simplify cloud management/avoid costly breaches. We also discuss the immense cloud governance gaps enterprises experience that ultimately leaves sensitive data vulnerable to breaches. Keith shares how CloudSphere recently released research which found that 32% of enterprises experienced unauthorized access to cloud resources, and another 19% were unaware if unauthorized access occurred. Keith also discusses why having visibility

Ken Fine is the new CEO of Heap, the leading analytics platform helping product, marketing, and customer success teams craft exceptional digital experiences that convert and retain users. Grabbing hold on a company that's outperformed on ARR expectations in the last year and raised $191.1M over nine funding rounds, he's fully prepared to propel Heap even further ahead. And, he's got some friends in high – and unconventional – places to thank. I wanted to learn more about Ken's story and how he was influenced by his time in the Navy as an engineer designing and constructing submarine propulsion systems. Here in 2021, Ken shares his vision for the future of Heap, building on his 20 years of experience leading growth-stage B2B SaaS companies. Ken discusses the crucial importance of companies investing in data systems – especially when looking to scale. He also shares more about the principles he lives by and how those will manifest in Heap's product offerings, in turn guiding him in cementing the company's posit

Rich Waldron is CEO and co-founder of Tray.io. He believes strongly in democratizing the use of software and data for anyone – not just for engineers. He helped create Tray.io to lead the low-code general automation movement so that any business user can have the power to integrate their tech stack and automate mission-critical business processes by themselves. About Tray.io The Tray.io General Automation Platform democratizes automation and integration so anyone can easily turn their unique business processes into repeatable and scalable workflows that evolve whenever business needs change. Unlike iPaaS solutions, which are expensive, complex, and code-intensive, Tray.io's flexible self-service platform makes it simple to build integrations using any API and connect enterprise applications at scale without incremental costs. Process innovation is today's competitive advantage since companies can no longer differentiate on their tech stack alone. The promise of SaaS led to an avalanche of siloed point solutio

When watching the latest summer blockbuster movie, you might think that the industry is at the cutting edge of technology. But behind the curtain, Hollywood is actually clunky and slow to change, and nowhere is this more evident than in the IP acquisition process. Around 50% of all entertainment is based on existing IP (novels, articles, biographies, memoirs, etc.)—this number is closer to 80% in television. Yet, the process of finding and buying the rights is analog and outdated—a person would have to find the source, spend weeks or months identifying the various rights holders, then negotiating the option rights. With Every network launching a streaming service, there is a voracious appetite for new content. 700+ new shows launched last year. But did you know, in order to launch even one show, it typically takes 80+ story ideas at the top of the funnel? Cue Story Scout—an online marketplace that curates IP, pre-negotiates all the rights, and allows studios and independent producers to find and option ideas

Daniel Gold is the co-founding partner of Future Energy Solutions. A serial entrepreneur obsessed with helping customers solve their pain points. He's transformed FES from a Florida lighting startup into an industry disrupter and global operation. FES has multi-billion dollar financial backing and has generated over $200M in energy savings for thousands of customers, including Hilton, Ford, Burger King, Taco Bell, Best Western, and Chevrolet. But where did it all begin? I sit down with Daniel in a relaxed conversation where he shares his inspiring startup story. I also learn how he created the "Gold Initiative" which offers businesses a complete LED Lighting Installation at no up-front cost, 15 years of free maintenance, no credit agreement, and no catch. Daniel shares how he knew business owners and managers are cash-strapped, and that's why he's endowed FES with the offer of a cost-free way for them to make major capital improvements, save money over time and become more sustainable. Here in 2021, FES is an

Dr Mark van Rijmenam is the founder of Datafloq and Mavin. Datafloq is the one-stop source for emerging tech, offering C-level Executives information, insights, knowledge, and opportunities to drive innovation with data. The international keynote speaker is also the author of 3 best-selling management books. I wanted to learn more about his mission to educate people and organizations about how the future of work will revolve around data, decentralization, and automation. In doing so, they could gain a deep understanding of emerging technologies, including big data, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, and how they will change the future of work. We live in exponential times and simply having a digital strategy focused on continuous innovation is no longer enough to thrive in a constantly changing world. Van Rijmenam discusses how big data, blockchain, and AI will change collaboration and enable a networked society. The organization of tomorrow will look fundamentally different than today's organization. T

Plivo provides easy and affordable APIs for businesses to develop powerful voice and messaging applications. Applications built over Plivo seamlessly integrate across web and telephony, including Mobile, PSTN, VoIP, and Gtalk. But where did it all begin? Venky B shares the story behind Plivo and how they serve thousands of innovative businesses in more than 190 countries, such as IBM, GoDaddy, PagerDuty, Deckers Brand, etc., through SMS and Voice APIs.  I learn more about how the company's founders all met over GitHub, and the team signed its first paying customers before they had a commercial offering. Venky recommends launching early, iterate with few anchor customers to build a product marketing fit, and charge as early as you can. For startup founders, Venky B offers the following advice. Debt Funding: This was a no-brainer for Plivo, and other companies should consider this route as there is no dilution and helps with short-term investments. Entrepreneurship: Venky has guided the company to hold out from

Anker Innovations, a global leader in mobile charging and consumer electronics, recently announced two products under the AnkerWork product line, including the PowerConf C300, Smart AI-enabled HD webcam, and the PowerConf S500 Portable Conference Speaker. For many, working from home has been a dream come true, but it also brings its unique challenges; distracting pets, family, poor lighting, and power and cable management issues, to name a few. AnkerWork products have been designed to help address many of these issues, while providing portable solutions and can be easily used in the home, the office, and on the road. Adam Weissman joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss Anker's decision to enter the B2B tech space at this moment in time, along with his vision of how the future of work will center on flexibility and mobility. We also talk about where the hybrid work model is heading, how future AnkerWork product offerings will be equipped to address the future of work, and what AI technology can play a strong

O2 and Virgin have almost 40 million customers between them, so it will be a huge challenge to bring their records into one platform. Of course M&As have become increasingly common in the telco industry in recent years, and tongues continue to wag about potential activity involving both BT and Nokia over the next few months. Data solutions provider Sagacity work with leading telcos, so I invited Harry Dougall, CFO and founding partner at on the podcast to discuss the typical challenges companies face when merging. We explore some of the mammoth data tasks that could make or break M&As, such as joining all the data together in a unified format. A merger of this scale often takes years, especially if customer information is spread across siloed departments. We talk about the importance of checking for accuracy and records that need to be merged (if somebody was a customer of both organizations). We also discuss how making decisions about which packages are appropriate for which type of customer, where t

Several years ago, Liberty Mutual developed a "Technology Manifesto," a six-page document that explained where they were going and what needed to change as part of their transformation journey. It laid out the tools needed to compete in the marketplace and a picture around the types of technology skills employees needed for roles in the future. Eric Drobisewski is the Senior Architect of Fortune 100, Liberty Mutual Insurance. Eric has more than 20 years of enterprise IT experience spanning many technology verticals, including Telecom, Network, and Cloud services. As a Senior Architect, he's responsible for more than 40,000 systems across the globe in a highly virtualized environment with a goal of modernizing a significant portion of those workloads for public cloud platforms. Over the past several years, Eric's focus has been on Liberty Mutual's enterprise cloud strategy, strategic enablement, DevSecOps and Infrastructure as Code practices, and driving containerization as the company's core compute fabric.