Heavy Strategy

How far ahead should you plan, and what things belong in your strategic plan? Conventional wisdom holds that a 3-year planning horizon is “about right”–but in a period of rapid technical and geopolitical change (such as we're arguably in right now) does that go too far out, particularly when agile methodologies recommend shorter action plans... Read more »

It's all well and good to develop a technology strategy, articulate and document the strategy, and agree (supposedly) on that strategy. But what do you do when one or more of the tech teams act in apparent opposition to the strategy? John and Johna discuss why this happens and what questions you need to ask... Read more »

AI can impact an enterprise in several ways: making individuals more productive, making products and services more effective, and making it easier for customers and partners to do business. IT plays a critical role in enabling AI to have these impacts. On today’s sponsored Heavy Strategy, Cisco CIO Fletcher Previn explains how to locate AI use... Read more »

Most organizations have a long list of security holes in the form of unpatched systems and other known but unresolved vulnerabilities. Is it time to hit the big PAUSE button and fix, patch, or mitigate all of that before we resume deploying new systems (and their accompanying risks)? Join us as we tear into whether... Read more »

Is it actually possible to run a team without lying? Steven Gaffney, author of the book, “Just Be Honest”, joins Johna and John to talk about why being honest is harder than it sounds–and how (and why) to do it anyway. Steven spends his career advising science and technology leaders about how to be more... Read more »

IT and network leaders need more than uptime—they need to know what their networks cost, what they deliver, and how future changes will impact the business. That's where Netos comes in. CEO and founder Richard Foster joins Johna and John in a lively discussion to explore how Netos turns complex operational data into clear financial... Read more »

What do you do when your colleagues or senior leaders ask you to do something illegal? It’s hardly hypothetical; recent years have seen high-profile firings and convictions of CIOs and CISOs who’ve been ordered to break the law. John and Johna discuss steps that tech leaders can take if they’re put on the spot. Episode... Read more »

IT teams too often wrap a strategy statement around a basket of projects already in progress or known to be coming, rather than defining a strategy and then letting it spawn, guide, or absorb projects. On today’s Heavy Strategy we discuss whether IT teams have any alternative to this approach, given how much gets “thrown... Read more »

Someone needs to be scanning the horizon for the threats and opportunities that are distant for now–and they need to be able to turn that foresight into action. We welcome John Miranda of Intel for a lively discussion of how to look ahead, how to get folks to pay attention to the alerts you raise,... Read more »

Can AI and automation create a truly autonomous network, one that’s self-diagnosing and self-healing? Join Vitria CTO and Founder Dale Skeen and industry analyst Charlotte Patrick in this sponsored episode of Heavy Strategy to discuss the challenges–and limitations–of using AI to create autonomous networking. This discussion covers the “intelligence architecture” required to implement automation, and ... Read more »

AI Large Language Models (LLMs) can be used to generate output that the creators and users of those models didn’t intend; for example, harassment, instructions on how to make a bomb, or facilitating cybercrime. Researchers have created the HarmBench framework to measure how easily an AI can be weaponized. Recently these researchers trumpeted the finding... Read more »

Billy Joel had it right: It’s a matter of trust. Too often Operations, Engineering, and Architecture teams don’t trust one another–and nobody trusts leadership (and vice versa!). Special guest (and PacketPushers host) Scott Robohn joins us to talk about how to build trust, and the special role of an Operations Architect. Episode Guest: Scott Robohn, ... Read more »

It’s better to plan for your IT strategy than not. But sometimes circumstances arise such that the plan, no matter how well conceived, just doesn’t work any more. On today's Heavy Strategy, we explore how and why you should change a plan in the context of IT and business objectives. Sometimes this means small changes... Read more »

Recent events have driven home a simple fact: neither your devices nor your network services can be trusted totally, and they could all be turned against you, possibly fatally. Join us as we discuss the harsh realities of the evolving cybersecurity space, and how enterprise leaders in and out of IT need to change their... Read more »

This has been a big year for AI regulation, from the EU AI Act to the much hyped California SB1047, currently in limbo. With things bubbling along across the country, and at the federal level, and internationally, there’s a lot going on and IT folks should be keeping current and planning to meet a changing... Read more »

​​Some high-profile companies like Amazon are mandating all employees return to the office, full time. Justifications, when given, mostly revolve around productivity and innovation. We say, whoa there! The data don’t back up the idea that hybrid and remote work hurt productivity (kind of the opposite) or innovation, and the real justifications likely lie elsewhere.... Read more »

Analysis paralysis is a huge problem in IT – we “study” and “evaluate” and “keep on our radar” but then all too often have a choice and a need to act thrust upon us, and need to switch modes fast. How do we try to get more mileage out of the studying to get leverage... Read more »

Startup Alkira has built a Network as a Service (NaaS) offering that extends from on prem to public cloud and multi-cloud. Today’s sponsored episode of Heavy Strategy digs in to Alkira’s capabilities in multi-cloud networking, security, automation, and cost transparency. Guest Manan Shah, SVP of Product at Alkira,  explains how Alkira simplifies network management, enhances... Read more »

In this episode, John and Johna share the findings from the recent [Next] conference that most inspired them: How to project-manage an 18-year effort to put a drone on Titan, why AI algorithms need to consider the factor of time, how to train robots, and why effective storytelling is an essential tool in a technology... Read more »

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good… it’s a challenge that architects and strategists often face. They may design a “perfect” architecture or strategy, only to see it overwhelmed by the realities of implementation. John Burke and Johna Johnson discuss the questions to ask to ensure that devotion to the perfect doesn’t... Read more »

Cisco CIO Fletcher Previn visits Heavy Strategy to talk about how to create a technology culture, what it's like being “customer zero”, and other challenges and tribulations of running IT from inside one of the world's largest tech companies. Episode Guest: Fletcher Previn, SVP & Chief Information Officer, Cisco Fletcher Previn has over two decades... Read more »

Network veteran Russ White joins the Heavy Strategy team for a rousing discussion on why protocols fail, how much complexity is too much, why “premature optimization is the root of all evil” (Donald Knuth) and why architects should always remember to think about state. Episode Guest: Russ White, Senior Architect, Akamai Technologies For the last... Read more »

The low-code/no-code movement means business users who aren’t programmers can create software. This capability might make these citizen coders more efficient and productive, but could also pose risks due to a lack of formal training in software development and security. Is citizen coding a boon or bane to business? Johna Johnson and John Burke discuss... Read more »

AI seems to be changing everything, including your IT infrastructure. Do you have a strategic plan for your AI infrastructure? Today we discuss the merits and challenges of cloud computing, on-premises solutions, hybrid models, and edge computing along with the importance of low latency for real-time AI applications and the potential of edge computing in... Read more »

To borrow a phrase first used in a military context, no tech strategy survives its first contact with real users. Today’s Heavy Strategy explores common mistakes executives make when developing and executing a technology plan. They include poor communication, making assumptions, not understanding a system’s architecture or dependencies, and more. Co-hosts Johna and Jerry draw... Read more »

When choosing vendors, what strategy should you employ: big rock, best-in-breed, or ecosystem? The big rock approach consolidates vendor relationships around a few strategic partners. Best-in-breed focuses on selecting top solutions from various vendors. The ecosystem model combines elements of both. Today’s conversation explores all three models and also highlights the importance of integration, the... Read more »

Should enterprises ditch Microsoft because of security concerns? Microsoft’s numerous vulnerabilities and questionable responses make it a significant risk for continued use. At the same time, Microsoft’s strong integration and utility in enterprise environments make it attractive for continued use. Johna Till Johnson and John Burke debate. They also weigh considerations including the challenges of... Read more »

The evolving role of IT in business is the topic of lively discussion between co-hosts Johna Johnson and John Burke.  Johna argues that IT should align with business goals, acting as an executive assistant, while John believes IT should take a proactive leadership role, driving innovation and framing business problems. They explore the challenges IT... Read more »

This is Greg's last Heavy Strategy episode before he heads off to retirement. He gives us his final pieces of career and life advice, opinions on private equity, and a Cookie Monster quote. We also briefly introduce John Burke, the new Heavy Strategy co-host. Farewell, Greg. Thank you for all the great debates. Episode Transcript... Read more »

Asking questions is a critical skill whether you're an outside consultant or on an internal IT team. In today's episode, Greg and Johna review what kind of questions to ask and how to ask them. They discuss the ‘Five Whys,' identifying points of invariance, discovering unknown unknowns, and watching out for landmines. They also cover... Read more »

To be an effective technologist in a corporation, your efforts need to be aligned with the business strategy of your organization. In today's episode, Johna and Greg show you how to do this, even if your organization has no written business strategy. They explain how to “read the tea leaves” to tell if your organization... Read more »

Firing the wrong person, mistakenly rebooting core switches in a massive network, not passing the CCIE exam– today we talk all about failure. For this conversation, we're joined by fellow Packet Pushers Kyler Middleton and Ned Bellavance, hosts of the Day Two Cloud podcast. We swap stories, discuss response and prevention, and talk about accountability,... Read more »

Don't call it remote work. Today Johna and Greg dive into distributed work– the future where there is no office vs. remote, there are just asynchronistic workers and their computer screens. Leaders have to move beyond “management by walking around” or “onboarding by shadowing.” They need to carefully select their ecosystem of tools (and tools... Read more »

Why are some executives still insisting on Return to Office policies? Does it improve culture and productivity like they swear? Or is it more about the devaluing of a massive asset on their books: Commercial real estate. If the value of commercial real estate drops, companies have less to leverage for loans and– perhaps more... Read more »

Right now we're in the first generation of edge architecture. We won't even really know how to define it until we're past it. Greg and Johna discuss the operational milieu in which the edge is forming: Vast numbers of IoT devices, increased remote computing capabilities, questions around cloud operational costs and efficiency, and vendors jostling... Read more »

Welcome to a crossover episode with the Day Two Cloud podcast! AI has been around forever; AI is emergent. AI is just data analytics; AI hallucinates. AI doesn't have many business use cases; AI is already being used by your employees. Today, Greg and Johna from the Heavy Strategy podcast join Day Two Cloud to... Read more »

In today's episode Greg and Johna spar over how, when, and why to regulate AI. Does early regulation lead to bad regulation? Does late regulation lead to a situation beyond democratic control? Comparing nascent regulation efforts in the EU, UK, and US, they analyze socio-legal principles like privacy and distributed liability. Most importantly, Johna drives... Read more »

What does having a tech strategy actually do for an organization? In today's episode, Greg and Johna highlight how a good tech strategy benefits a company: creates a foundation of first principles, reduces bias in vendor decisions, better allocates human resources, kills bad ideas, sunsets projects, and makes meetings a little more enjoyable and harmonious.... Read more »

Exactly who should be on your technology strategy team? From inside your organization, who should represent the areas that come into play: Business, development, operations, etc? And what about outsiders–what kind of external consultant do you want for your strategy team? Do you even need one? Johna and Greg cover it all in today's episode.... Read more »

It's rare for strategists, executives, and technologists to all get on the same page in order to create, execute, and adjust an organization's tech strategy, much less do it well. But it is possible. Johna and Greg discuss their experiences of seeing through some consultants' smoke and mirrors, honestly evaluating an organization's capability to implement... Read more »

AI and automation are hot topics in telco, but not all projects are created equal in terms of the bottom-line value. We dive into how to calculate total value, and discuss why the area of assurance looks set to generate the most value. We provide key questions to ask when considering what AIOps to add... Read more »

Welcome, trailblazers and visionaries! Today, I’m thrilled to unpack a treasure trove of wisdom that zooms into the exhilarating realm of strategy architecture and the craft of sculpting strategy roadmaps on a shoestring budget. The Thrill of Resourcefulness In this episode, my esteemed co-host Johna and I dove headfirst into a challenge that plagues countless... Read more »

Hosts Greg Ferro and Johna Till Johnson reflect on the technological advancements of 2023 and discuss the trends for 2024. In this wide-ranging conversation, they chat about the rise of AI, tech consolidation, and the impact of automation on infrastructure. They also explore the geopolitical impact on supply chains, the move away from Chinese manufacturing,... Read more »

Johna and Greg discuss service-oriented networking and the challenges of defining and delivering network services. They explore the negative impact of siloed organizational structures on service delivery and the importance of continuous adaptation in infrastructure management. They debate the perception of services by users, using metaphors like sidewalks and electricity, and the importance of defining... Read more »

The difference between training and education is signficant and technology industry often conflates these terms. They are vastly different ways to providing learning and we dive into why we need more education and less training. The post HS061 What is IT Training or Education appeared first on Packet Pushers.

The difference between training and education is signficant and technology industry often conflates these terms. They are vastly different ways to providing learning and we dive into why we need more education and less training.

Powering data centres is big deal in current decade. Massive increases in consumption and scaling of off-prem clouds has exceeded the capacity of civilian power grids while cloud operators are reluctant to sign thirty year supply agreements so that more power plants can be built. Enter power micro-generation where too large DCs needs too small... Read more »