Podcasts about meraki

In this week's episode, which is our second episode in English, we are joined by Yara Meraki – artist, entrepreneur, and founder of Hot Potato, a company that helps local businesses reach more people. Yara shares her journey from the snowy mountains of Syria to Kuwait, and eventually to Sweden. She has worked in marketing for several major companies and now runs her own business. Enjoy the episode! https://www.instagram.com/yara.meraki/ https://www.instagram.com/hot.potato.se/

Microsoft Build 2026 announced an end-to-end agentic AI stack. COMPUTEX Taipei confirmed heterogeneous AI infrastructure across ARM, Marvell, Intel, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA. Alphabet raised $80 billion. Cisco Live repositioned the network as the AI platform. Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman break it all down alongside earnings from Broadcom, HPE, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike, plus the token cost conversation, the edge AI push, and what Palantir and Oracle are saying about proprietary data as the real AI moat. The handpicked topics for this week are: Microsoft Build 2026 Announced an End-to-End Agentic AI Stack: Microsoft shipped MAI-Thinking-1, its first homegrown thinking model, alongside Scout, Microsoft IQ, Project Solara, and a Majorana 2 quantum update targeting a 2029 commercial timeline with claims of a 1,000x reliability gain. Pat describes MAI-Thinking-1 as likely better than Sonnet 4.6 in blind testing and delivering close to GPT 5.5 quality at a far lower cost. Scout is Microsoft's first autopilot agent, anchoring the M365 Agent Suite with Office Pilot Agent Mode and Agent 365. Microsoft IQ serves as the context layer, integrating M365, business data, boundary IQ, and web IQ with GitHub Copilot, Foundry, and Copilot Studio. Project Solara is a new Android-based platform built for agent-first devices across transportation, retail, and hospital settings. Microsoft also added 83 Unix commands to the Windows stack. Dan frames Microsoft's real play as distribution, not frontier model development, noting that the open model ecosystem being pulled into the platform will matter more to CFOs managing token costs at scale. (The Decode) The AI Stack Goes Multi-Silicon — COMPUTEX Taipei 2026 Confirms Heterogeneous AI Infrastructure: ARM's AGI CPU is in production with Google moving its TPU head node to ARM, and adding Oracle and ByteDance as new customers. ARM also introduced a new switch, the TT100, and put the 51T CPO switch on stage. Marvell received a trillion-dollar company endorsement from Jensen Huang, adding $90 billion in market cap on the comment alone. Intel announced disaggregated inference details and Xeon 6+ Clearwater Forest, its first 18A data center processor. Vista Equity and Cambium Capital announced a NeoCloud called Vector Core Compute, with Xeon 6 handling orchestration, Salmonova RUs handling decode, and Blackwell GPUs handling pre-fill. Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon announced the Dragonfly data center brand with Snapdragon C details coming at their June investor day. The WSTS raised the 2026 semiconductor TAM forecast by 90% to $1.51 trillion, with Pat noting the market could hit a trillion dollars if memory is excluded entirely. (The Decode) NVIDIA RTX Spark and the Edge AI Push: NVIDIA coordinated with ARM and Microsoft around the RTX Spark at COMPUTEX, with the shared message being that the future of Windows is here. Signal65's Ryan Shrout asked Jensen directly why NVIDIA wants to be in the PC business, given low margins and diminishing returns. Dan frames the answer in the context of devices increasingly becoming mobile data centers, capable of running models at much greater efficiency than cloud delivery. The edge AI conversation is also directly tied to token cost economics: as intelligence delivery moves closer to the device, the cost per token drops significantly. The jury is still out on whether NVIDIA will meaningfully disrupt the PC market, but its influence over OEMs like Lenovo and Dell that depend on it for data center gives it real leverage over SKUs. (The Decode) Token Economics and Frontier Model Cost Pressure: Dan and Pat discuss a substantive shift in how enterprises are thinking about AI consumption costs. Dan argues that "token maxing," the practice of defaulting to the most powerful frontier model for every task, has now effectively peaked, as bills have come due at scale. Companies paying for tokens in volume are starting to question whether they can afford the prices that frontier models actually cost to deliver. Pat pushes back, saying the dynamic is still present, but both analysts agree that the market is moving toward a model where token selection is matched to the job, with Microsoft's MOE approach and thinking models positioned to help CFOs manage that economics story. (The Decode) Continuum Goes Public at Highest Valuation for an AI Platform: Dan notes that Continuum, the Honeywell-spawned quantum company, went public this week at what he calls the highest valuation for an AI platform to date. He flags that IonQ will likely contest that characterization. The broader context is Microsoft entering the quantum conversation with Majorana 2 at Build, a name that has largely been absent from the quantum race, while IBM has received most of the attention. (The Decode) AI CapEx Has Outgrown Cash Flow — Alphabet's $80 Billion Equity Raise: On June 1, Alphabet announced an $80 billion equity capital raise, upsized to $85 billion, structured as $40 billion ATM, $30 billion underwritten, and a $10 billion private placement with Berkshire Hathaway anchoring. Pat frames the questions over CapEx returns as entirely dependent on whether you are an AI boomer or a doomer: if the payback comes, the raise is the right move. If it does not, the math doesn't close. Dan argues the investment is existential, drawing parallels to how infrastructure-first companies have always spent ahead of monetization, and notes that Google's equity is being used as a capital engine that may be more efficient than the debt markets right now. Both analysts flag the downstream implications for Broadcom, MediaTek, and Marvell given the TPU connection. (The Decode) The Network Becomes the AI Platform: Cisco Live 2026: Cisco launched Silicon One P200, the Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA and Spectrum X, AgenticOps, MCP-native automation, Cisco IQ, LiveProtect, and folded Astrix Security and Galileo into Splunk under one control plane. Pat identifies Cisco Cloud Control as the biggest announcement of the entire show, pulling together Catalyst, Meraki, Nexus, Firewall, and WebEx under agentic ops that run natively through MCP, with code running directly on smart switches that have x86 processors. Pat also credits Cisco for establishing Silicon One as a credible chip alternative for hyperscalers capable of taking on Tomahawk and Jericho. Dan frames the long-term opportunity as campus and branch enablement when industrial AI and robotics deployments accelerate, arguing that the numerator of AI's economic impact has barely started, as edge deployment spending has not yet begun. (The Decode) The Flip: Did Microsoft Build 2026 Effectively End the OpenAI Partnership? Pat argues the divorce decree has been filed. MAI-Thinking-1 was built with zero distillation from third-party models offering clean enterprise data lineage, with Maia 200 in production plus Anthropic chip supply, which signals vendor hedging. OpenAI is going all-in on AWS, which means you cannot be married to two people, and the full Build stack covering model, OS containment via MXC, agents via Scout and Agent 365, and context via Microsoft IQ removes every architectural dependency on OpenAI. Dan counters that Microsoft is hedging rather than leaving and predicts the partnership will run through the decade. Enterprise Copilot customers are explicitly showing in data that they demand GPT 5.5, internal benchmarks have not been independently validated, and Microsoft stands to make meaningful money from the OpenAI IPO. (The Flip) Broadcom Q2 FY26 Earnings: Broadcom posted revenue of $22.19 billion, a narrow miss depending on which consensus data set is used, with EPS of $2.44 beating estimates and AI semis at $10.8 billion. Hock Tan declined to raise the $100 billion full-year AI chip target, and the stock dropped 13% in premarket trading. Q3 guide came in at $29.4 billion. Pat calls the miss a timing issue driven by Google's multi-sourcing across Marvell, MediaTek, and Broadcom rather than a fundamental problem. Dan flags that Hock Tan opened the earnings call by accidentally reading from the 2025 print, calling it "not the best moment." Sell-side re-ratings held in the 500s across Jefferies, Mizuho, and Deutsche Bank despite the drop, with Futurum Equities having it at 600. (Bulls and Bears) Hewlett Packard Enterprise Q2 FY26 Earnings: HPE delivered revenue of $10.68 billion, up 40% year over year, and EPS of $0.79, up 100%. Juniper integration and AI servers both outperformed, and all FY26 guides were raised. The stock jumped 19% after hours before settling into a roughly 15% gain, with HPE up 68% over the last month. Pat frames HPE as a value play rather than a volume play, methodically targeting enterprise and sovereign cloud deals where it can maintain profitability, rather than competing for massive NeoCloud volume. Antonio Neri was clear on the call that the profitability pull-forward is a one-shot deal. Pat and Dan will both be at HPE Discover the week after next to interview Neri and the C-suite. (Bulls and Bears) Palo Alto Networks Q3 FY26 Earnings: Palo Alto posted revenue of $3.0 billion, up 31% year over year, beating the $2.94 billion estimate, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.85, beating the $0.79 to $0.81 range. NGS ARR reached $8.1 billion, up 60% year over year, including $1.6 billion from CyberArk and Chronosphere. RPO hit $18.4 billion, up 36%. Both FY26 revenue and EPS guides were raised. Adjusted FCF margin came in at 38.5% TTM, up 430 basis points. The stock jumped 11% immediately after hours, then drifted lower. Pat points to 2,200 platformized customers and 120% net retention as the most important metrics. Dan notes the SaaSpocalypse thesis continues to be wrong. (Bulls and Bears) CrowdStrike Q1 FY27 Earnings and the Proprietary Data Moat Argument: CrowdStrike posted revenue of $1.39 billion with EPS of $1.10 and ARR of $5.51 billion. Net new ARR of $255.8 million set a Q1 record, up 32% year over year. FY27 net new ARR guide was raised by $52 million to a $1.29 billion midpoint, and FY27 revenue was raised to $5.915 to $5.959 billion. A 4-for-1 stock split was announced effective July 2nd. The stock dropped 11% despite the beat after a 64% year-to-date run into earnings. Dan uses the results to make a broader argument against the software disruption thesis, referencing Palantir CEO Alex Karp daring customers to build without him using Anthropic or OpenAI, and Larry Ellison's argument that the real AI value unlock sits in proprietary enterprise data that is not accessible to frontier models. Enterprises with governed, secure, proprietary data will continue to need platforms like CrowdStrike regardless of what frontier models can do. (Bulls and Bears) Six Five Summit is coming. Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff will kick off the event. Register and stay current at sixfivemedia.com/summit. Watch the full video at sixfivemedia.com, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode.   The Decode Microsoft Declares Independence — Build 2026 Ships an End-to-End Agentic AI Stack (MAI-Thinking-1 + Scout + Microsoft IQ + Project Solara + Majorana 2) https://www.theverge.com/tech/941738/microsoft-build-2026-biggest-announcements The AI Stack Goes Multi-Silicon — Computex 2026 Confirms a Heterogeneous AI Infrastructure (ARM + Marvell + Intel ASIC + Qualcomm + RTX Spark); WSTS Raises 2026 Semi TAM Forecast 90% to $1.51T https://www.tomshardware.com/tag/computex AI Capex Has Outgrown Cash Flow — Alphabet's $80B Equity Raise Is the Largest in U.S. Corporate History; Berkshire Anchors $10B https://abc.xyz/investor/news/news-details/2026/Alphabet-Announces-Proposed-80-Billion-Equity-Capital-Raise-to-Expand-AI-Infrastructure-and-Compute-2026-b0myAMewCa/default.aspx The Network Becomes the AI Platform — Cisco Live 2026 Launches Silicon One P200, Secure AI Factory (with NVIDIA), AgenticOps, Astrix Security + Galileo https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/whats-new/index.html The Flip Did Microsoft Build 2026 Effectively End the OpenAI Partnership? MAI-Thinking-1 Beats Sonnet 4.6 in Blind Testing, Microsoft Claims GPT-5.5 Parity at 10x Cost Efficiency — Will MS Quietly Wind Down OpenAI Exclusivity by FY28, or Is OpenAI Still the Frontier Anchor Microsoft Needs?   FOR:  MAI-Thinking-1 beating Sonnet 4.6 in blind preference + GPT-5.5 parity at 10x cost efficiency is a frontier-model independence proof point https://www.latent.space/p/ainews-microsoft-build-mai-thinking Build 2026: Accumulating Evidence of Microsoft's AI Independence — EDN (June 4) — https://www.edn.com/build-2026-accumulating-evidence-of-microsofts-ai-independence/ Maia 200 in production + Anthropic-Maia chip talks signal Microsoft is hedging its inference vendor stack https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/01/26/maia-200-the-ai-accelerator-built-for-inference/ Microsoft canceled Anthropic's internal software licenses + pivoted to chip-supply pursuit — customer-not-competitor positioning https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/21/anthropic-microsoft-maia-200-ai-chip.html   AGAINST:  Enterprise Copilot customers explicitly demand GPT-5.5 — internal benchmarks don't replace the brand https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/release-notes?tabs=all MAI-Thinking-1 benchmarks haven't been third-party verified — Microsoft is the only source https://www.latent.space/p/ainews-microsoft-build-mai-thinking The MS-OpenAI partnership is contractual through 2030+ — unwinding it is impractical and expensive https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/04/27/the-next-phase-of-the-microsoft-openai-partnership/ Microsoft's actual strategic risk is OpenAI leaving, not MS leaving — Anthropic + OpenAI IPOs make OpenAI exit risk the real concern https://www.anthropic.com/news/confidential-draft-s1-sec Bulls & Bears Broadcom (AVGO) Q2 FY26 ACTUALS — Rev $22.19B (Narrow Miss) + EPS $2.44 (Beat); AI Semis $10.8B; Hock Tan Refuses to Raise the $100B Full-Year AI Chip Target — Stock −13% Premarket; Q3 Guide $29.4B https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/03/broadcom-avgo-earnings-report-q2-2026.html Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Q2 FY26 ACTUALS — Blowout: Rev $10.68B (+40%), EPS $0.79 (+100%); Juniper Integration + AI Servers Both Outperform; FY26 Guides All Raised; Stock +19% AH https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260601866494/en/HPE-Reports-Fiscal-2026-Second-Quarter-Results Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Q3 FY26 ACTUALS — Beat-and-Raise: Rev $3.0B (+31% YoY, Beat $2.94B), Non-GAAP EPS $0.85 (Beat $0.79-0.81); NGS ARR $8.1B (+60% YoY, $1.6B from CyberArk + Chronosphere); RPO $18.4B (+36%); FY26 Revenue + EPS Guides BOTH RAISED; Adj FCF Margin 38.5% TTM (+430 bps); Stock +11% Immediate AH, Then Drifted Lower https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/press/2026/palo-alto-networks-reports-fiscal-third-quarter-2026-financial-results CrowdStrike narrowly beats estimates on AI tailwinds, but stock falls 9% — CNBC (June 3) — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/03/crowdstrike-crwd-q1-2027-earnings.html  

Cisco is bringing AI agents into network operations with Cisco Cloud Control, AI Canvas, and Agentic Ops. In this demo, David Bombal is joined by DJ Sampath (SVP and General Manager, AI Software and Platform) to look at how Cisco is using AI to simplify complex network troubleshooting, infrastructure management, agent security, and observability. Instead of jumping between multiple dashboards, tools, teams, and tickets, Cisco Cloud Control brings network, security, observability, and infrastructure context into one interface. The demo starts with a simple real-world problem: why can't a phone connect to the network? From there, Cisco AI Canvas investigates the topology, calls the right agents, checks the wireless environment, moves into the firewall/security domain, and identifies the root cause: a site-to-site VPN tunnel issue caused by missing OSPF route exchange. You will see how Cisco is using MCP servers, topology agents, troubleshooting agents, firewall agents, and purpose-built models to help network engineers understand what is happening across Meraki, Catalyst, Firepower, Intersight, Splunk, Security, and other Cisco platforms. The video also covers the Unified Cisco Fabric app, which connects campus and data center environments with a firewall in between, plus Cisco's agentic security app for monitoring and controlling AI agents in the enterprise. DJ also shows how Cisco is thinking about token usage, runaway agents, agent observability, Splunk, Galileo, policy enforcement, and secure AI adoption. The interview also covers Cisco's work with OpenAI and Codex, including how frontier models, purpose-built Cisco models, MCP servers, APIs, Cisco data fabric, and real network data are being used to reduce hallucinations and make AI more useful for infrastructure teams. If you are a network engineer, cybersecurity professional, infrastructure engineer, or someone trying to understand how AI will affect networking, this demo shows where things are going. Thank you to ‪@Cisco‬ for sponsoring this video and my trip to Cisco Live! // DJ Sampath's SOCIAL // LinkedIn:  / djsampath X:  https://x.com/djsampath / David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - Coming up 01:05 - Is AI working? 02:55 - Cisco Cloud Control quick demo 09:38 - Cisco Cloud Control Summary 10:50 - Unified Cisco Fabric demo 12:38 - Agentic Security demo // Securing agents 15:25 - Agent Observability demo // Monitoring tokens 17:38 - Cisco Cloud Control in the real world 18:49 - Summary 19:22 - Cisco Cloud Control AI model explained 20:22 - Addressing hallucinations & false information 22:19 - Conclusion Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #cisco #ai #cybersecurity

Iscriviti al periodo di prova ad un euro al mese su shopify.it In questa puntata di Un passo al giorno scopriamo il significato di meraki, una parola greca che parla di passione, cura, desiderio e dedizione. Una riflessione per tornare a fare le cose con più presenza, rimettere anima nei gesti quotidiani e chiederci che cosa ci accende davvero.

I've known Dan Lanning for 15 years.We've had a lot of conversations over that time. So going into this one, I didn't want to hit the same notes, didn't want to discuss the topics we've covered before and hoped to stick to my lone rule during interviews: "ask questions I don't know the answers to.”That wasn't easy, but it was a blast to prepare for and it started with something I was almost embarrassed I hadn't asked:“Why do you coach?”And honestly, everything flowed from there.If you've read this newsletter you know how much I respect Dan Lanning's DNA Traits: Connection, Growth, Toughness and Sacrifice. But not just because they offer clarity to anyone walking into their facility but because they offer a standard for those who join his program.Standards are easy to create but after completing my spring tour across the country, it is clear that they are not as easy to uphold. After talking with Coach Lanning on the latest Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth podcast, fueled by our founding sponsor 76—keeping you on the GO GO GO so you never miss a beat, my mind was racing in route to my favorite cafe on the West Coast, Meraki, and onto my laptop while boarding a flight up north to Seattle to see UW.Many people think that the Ducks win and retain players because they have resources, and yes they do. But they also have a group of returning players who love to learn from and follow their head coach. They know if they are willing to, as he says, “take the medicine” they will find tremendous growth.From journaling post game to training this off-season, the entire 360 degree process in Eugene is a blueprint for success. And now, the Oregon football process is player-owned and that is a reason why I think the Ducks can take the next step this fall and win the whole thing.My Key Takeaways* Coaching at its highest level is when you impact someone in a profound way.* Standards matter more when players own them.* Accountability has to be modeled, not just demanded.* Growth comes from self-awareness and reflection.* Obsession with improvement > obsession with praise. (personal favorite)* Relationships still drive everything inside the Ducks program.Hope you enjoy and thanks for the support along the way this spring. Am excited to share with you feature conversation's over the next month with head coaches and elite players across the nation. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter here at Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth and our YouTube page.Much love and stay steady,YogiY-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.y-option.com/subscribe

Luke and Jonathan compare notes on a number of skis they got on at the Blister Summit; confess some crimes; and offer one public service announcement.Note: We Want to Hear From You!Please share with us the questions, topics, or stories you'd like us to cover on GEAR:30. You can email us at: info@blisterreview.comRELATED LINKS:Parallel Mountain Sports, PalisadesGet Yourself Covered: BLISTER+Enter Our Weekly Gear GiveawaySee Our Blister Recommended ShopsCRAFTED Trip Report: Blister Summit & SLCCHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELS:Blister Studios (our new channel)Blister Review (our original channel)TOPICS & TIMES:Parallel Mountain Sports, Palisades (1:05)Hoji & Marcus Goguen: New BLISTER+ Members (3:10)Nordica Unleashed 106 (6:00)Dynastar M-Free 100 (11:46)Ellis Kanso 106 & Meraki 112 (18:51)Kastle Sublime 93 & Transcend 104 (26:15)Armada AntiMatter 100 & 114 (35:39)CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicCRAFTEDBikes & Big IdeasBlister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Better Life, Dr. Pinkston sits down with Stephanie Georges, a former Wall Street executive turned tech innovator. They explore the unique challenges women face over 50, the power of reclaiming your dignity during major life pivots, and how the Meraki Dignity Project uses AI to provide a personalized roadmap for health, career, and purpose. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: The "Superwoman Syndrome": Why women often prioritize caregiving over their own well-being and how to break the cycle of guilt. What is Meraki?: The Greek concept of pouring your soul and creativity into your work—and how to find that "flow" again in midlife. The Power of Agency: Understanding how honoring your own dignity allows you to make intentional, joyful choices. Demystifying AI for Personal Growth: How the Meraki platform’s ally, Sophie, helps users navigate transitions in health, finance, and relationships. The 30% Tipping Point: Why community and visibility are essential for women in environments where they have traditionally been marginalized. About Stephanie Georges Stephanie Georges is a Harvard-trained strategist with a 40-year career spanning investment banking and corporate leadership. As the co-creator of the Meraki Dignity Project, she is dedicated to empowering women 45 and older by providing evidence-based resources and a supportive community to navigate life's second act with confidence. https://www.merakidignity.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erin Gertner, vice president of the Partner Organization and SMB sales at Cisco Canada The Cisco 360 Partner Program launched in January after roughly eighteen months of co-development with the partner community. It represents one of the most significant overhauls to Cisco’s channel model in more than two decades – replacing the Gold/Silver tier structure with architecture-specific “Preferred” designations, consolidating multiple incentive programs into the new Cisco Partner Incentive, and fundamentally shifting how partner value is measured, from transaction volume toward capability depth and lifecycle engagement. Three months in, Erin Gertner, vice president of the Partner Organization and SMB Sales for Cisco Canada, says the Canadian response has exceeded internal expectations – including on metrics Cisco had set internal targets around, like the percentage of partners achieving Preferred status. The surprise wasn’t just the numbers. Partners, she says, have been telling Cisco they appreciate the accountability around technical certifications. The Partner Value Index requirement to maintain certification levels gave partner leadership internal cover to prioritize training investments they already knew they needed to make. On the end of Gold: Gertner acknowledges the market education challenge, but argues Preferred is actually a more accurate signal than Gold ever was – since Gold could historically be earned through volume in a single area, while Preferred reflects genuine architectural depth. On the incentive shift: the current structure remains 90% weighted toward the “land” motion, with 5% each for adopt and renew. The rebalancing is coming, the timeline isn’t confirmed, and Gertner’s advice to partners is consistent: start building adoption and managed services practices now, because it takes years, and waiting for the incentives to change is waiting too long. Read Full Transcript Hello and welcome to In The Channel from ChannelBuzz.ca, bringing news and information to the Canadian IT channel community for the last sixteen years. I’m Robert Dutt, editor of ChannelBuzz.ca, and as always, your host for the show. Cisco’s 360 Partner Program was a long time coming. Eighteen months of co-development with partners, significant changes to how Cisco recognizes, rewards, and incentivizes its channel, including the end of the Gold designation that partners have built their brands around for more than two decades. The program launched in January and we’re now at roughly the three-month mark, which means it’s a good time to ask: how’s it actually going? Erin Gertner is vice president of the Partner Organization and SMB Sales for Cisco Canada, and she was closely involved in rolling 360 out to the Canadian market. We get into what surprised her most about how Canadian partners have responded – and some of the feedback wasn’t what she expected. We talk about what the end of Gold actually means for partners who built their reputation around it, where the incentive math is landing, and what the shift towards rewarding capability depth and lifecycle engagement looks like in practice for partners of all sizes. There’s also a practical question at the heart of this. If you’re a Canadian partner who’s still figuring out how to position yourself in the new program, what should you be doing right now? Let’s get right into it. My chat with Erin Gertner. ROBERT DUTT: Erin, thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. ERIN GERTNER: Thank you for having me. ROBERT DUTT: 360, the partner program – long awaited, rolled out I’m going to say eighteen months or so ago, but has been live now for a quarter. How’s it going? What surprised you on the upside, and what’s been harder in getting the program out there than you expected? ERIN GERTNER: Yeah, it was a long eighteen months, but I’m glad we did it that way. I was telling somebody yesterday, I think we very intentionally took the hard road on evolving our partner program. As you’re well aware, our previous partner program had been in place for over twenty years, and was very beloved by our partners. And candidly, it was wildly profitable for many of them. So I think there was a lot of angst in the machine around changes, but there came a time where we really did have to go out and evolve our program as the market has changed. So we intentionally took the harder road, which was to co-innovate the program with our partners, versus us creating a program and pushing it out to the partner community. Early days, we got a ton of feedback from partners. We certainly made a few mistakes, but I really do think we did a great job listening to feedback from the partners and making adjustments where necessary. Obviously, the Canadian market is quite different from my peers in the US, as an example – same thing as EMEA and APJC. And it’s hard to make a program that fits for everybody. But I do think we’ve done a good job of creating a model, and having the ability to adjust a model that takes care of the majority of our partners. What surprised me the most was: we tried to take a really strategic approach in Canada. As I said to my team, my biggest fear at the end of this is that we have partners who say “I wasn’t ready” or “I didn’t know.” And we really operated with that in mind. So our goal was to have the majority of our partner community as ready as they possibly could be, earning either the same, if not more, with us. We did workshops with all of our partners. We enabled our distributors. We spent a really long time sitting in front of our partner community, helping them understand what investments they would need to make to be successful, as well as what would be the payoff on those investments. Some of the asks around training and other elements of the program did require investment from the partners. So we wanted to make sure we could demonstrate to them that there was a strong outcome – that there was profit to be made should they make those investments alongside us. The thing that actually surprised me the most is that our partner community in Canada is in very good shape in terms of being able to earn with us in the future. We had some metrics and some targets that we aspired to – a certain percentage of our partners achieving Preferred, for example – and we were able to exceed those metrics. But actually, the thing that surprised me the most is that a lot of our partners came back to us and said, “I like the accountability you have around our technical capabilities, because a lot of this does center around getting Black Belts, as an example.” And one individual said to us, “Behind the curtains, I don’t know if our team was spending as much time as they needed to on training and maintaining our certification levels. And this has really compelled our team to ensure that they are certified in all the right technologies, and we’re having better conversations with customers.” So I thought there would be a little more noise in the machine, and there certainly was at different points – we made those adjustments along the way – but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from the Canadian community. I think the team did a really good job of making sure we were hand-in-hand with our partners, because their success is so critical to us. We know if they’re not making money with us, they have choices in the market and they won’t continue to lead with Cisco. ROBERT DUTT: So to that point – CRN in the States surveyed partners heading into the launch and found about 40% were positive, about the same number were in the wait-and-see camp, and very few – I think it was about 7% – were actively unhappy with the way things were looking going into 360. Now that the program’s live and partners have actually had a chance to see their PVI and the incentives and how it all looks to them, have you seen the mood trend in Canada? Have you started to see those wait-and-sees move toward the positive camp, or what are you seeing in terms of that momentum? ERIN GERTNER: I mean, I think our big partners were sort of a no-brainer. A lot of them had a lot of the skills, depth, and capability that were going to be required to get them into Preferred in all the categories. So a few of them grumbled early on because they had to do a little bit more training and enablement, but they quickly hit the thresholds and they’re all in good shape. What we’ve actually seen is our distributors took a really strategic approach to our two-tier partners, and they’ve been running a lot of workshops and working hand-in-hand with some of our smaller partners. And we’ve actually seen quite a few new partners come on board because they have the ability to be specialized in certain architectures. For example, we’ve been recruiting more security partners, and the distis have done a great job of working alongside those security partners to help get them up and running. Because a piece of feedback we used to hear in our old program was: “It’s really hard to earn with you because we don’t want to be a network reseller. That’s not interesting for us. We’re a pure-play security partner and we’d like to continue to be a pure-play security partner. And just because it fits for you, it doesn’t fit for me.” I think this evolution of the program has allowed partners who are pure-play security partners, or great data centre partners, to come on board and start earning rebate pretty quickly, as well as get the designation so customers know that they are deeply skilled and deeply qualified in that particular architecture. ROBERT DUTT: From your comments a bit earlier, it sounds like partners who you expected to be hitting Preferred are hitting Preferred, and in some cases folks who you maybe weren’t expecting to hit Preferred are hitting Preferred – which is a nice little bonus. But as PVI becomes the engine of the new model, do you find that Canadian partners are generally landing where they expected? ERIN GERTNER: Yeah, for the most part. We do have a few partners who do a lot of business with us but are smaller – just have a few employees – and they’re very critical to our business because they serve some small subsegment of the public sector, for example. Those are the corner cases that we’ve been taking back to our global team, and they’ve provided some flexibility in how we treat those partners. Because again, when we looked at our partner landscape, we wanted to make sure everybody who plays a critical role in how we deliver our business for Cisco Canada was taken care of. For the most part, the program has fit the good majority of our partners in the Canadian landscape. For the ones where there are exceptions, or where the program doesn’t make full sense, we’ve been working with them in the background to try to figure out: can we help make an investment, or can we look at treating some of those partners in a bit of a different way to make sure they’re going to be successful with Cisco and continue to earn with Cisco? So some of that is still underway, even though the program has already launched. We’re still continuing to tweak it and take feedback. ROBERT DUTT: VIP was for so long the thing that partners watched most closely – the best indicator of where Cisco thinks we should be pointed. How is CPI, the Cisco Partner Incentive, actually landing now that it’s out there? Before launch, I think anytime you switch something like that, there’s always going to be the “what if we used to get X millions in rebates and now we get half of that?” Now that it’s live, how’s the math working out? And do you find partners are generally at least at parity with where they were with VIP? ERIN GERTNER: We haven’t gotten to a point where we’ve given anybody a check yet, because we’re still in the infancy of the program. But all the feedback I’ve heard from partners so far – and we have a few partners who sit on our advisory board, so they were early in testing out those calculators and have a really good sense of where they’re going to land – the majority of those partners have said they’re tracking to the same or better from a profitability perspective. Again, to your point around VIP, it’s always very clear where we’re leaning in and where we’re trying to go as a company based on the back-end rebates and the accelerators that follow alongside that. So I think our partners do have a good understanding of where they need to focus and what the outcome will be of that focus. So far the feedback has been very positive from the calculator, but I guess we shall see in a few months from now. ROBERT DUTT: Let’s talk about the end of Gold. It was such a standard for such a long time. It was well understood by partners and I think it was well understood by customers. Longview was one of the first Canadian partners to achieve Preferred in all five of the architectures, but they still flagged some concern with the fact that there’s not an easy way to signal that multi-architecture depth the same way that Gold used to in one easy packaging. For a Canadian partner that’s kind of built their brand around Gold or included that in their messaging, what’s the practical guidance in positioning their expertise to their customers now, especially looking across architectures? ERIN GERTNER: I think you said part of it in the question, right? The fact that they are the first, and that they are Preferred in all the categories, is actually better than Gold. I was talking about this to somebody yesterday. What is interesting about Gold – and I was actually on the sales side of our business for the majority of my career – there was always this perception that if you were a Gold partner, you were great at everything. And that was a market perception for a really long time. When in fact, when you pulled back the covers, you could be a Gold partner just by selling a lot of one thing. So we’ve actually embarked on a marketing campaign that’s been live for a few months now – I think you probably heard about it at Partner Summit – talking about some of the change in our branding. Now when customers are evaluating our partners, or when our account teams are evaluating when to bring in partners, the fact that it’s very clear which partners have the right expertise, the ones who have made the right investments and who’ve got really deep technical depth – that’s now very clear with Preferred status versus what used to be Gold. I think we still have some market education to do around what it means to be Preferred and the amount of investment that partners need to make to get into Preferred status in each of those architectures. There was quite a bit of chatter at some of the advisory boards about Gold going away and what they felt that meant to their business and their market. But I actually like where this program has gone because their expertise is very clear now, which wasn’t the case with Gold. ROBERT DUTT: Gold did have this great market perception of being good at everything. It was easy to capture in kind of one word, one concept. But your point there then is that it’s easier with Preferred to express where you’re good and the breadth of that. That’s an interesting takeaway for partners. The philosophy in the program has shifted even more so than in the previous shift – away from rewarding transaction volume, towards rewarding capability depth and lifecycle engagement. Sounds great conceptually, and I understand why it’s important, but for a partner whose business model has been built around those big infrastructure deals and landing them, what does that transition look like in practice? Is there a smooth ramp to getting that worked into the business, or is there potentially a cliff here?ERIN GERTNER: So it’s a multi-year journey to getting to a true place where our incentive programs are going to be aligned to full lifecycle. The intent of the program is to work with partners to build those skills and capabilities around lifecycle, adoption, managed services, and all the other things we’re asking them to build. But we know for some partners that is a multi-year journey, and that’s okay. When we look at our back-end rebate structure, we are taking a slower approach. On the surface, we’re asking partners to do all these things with us and come along for the ride – but we are still incenting them very heavily on hardware resale in the near term. We want to make sure they have a very clear path and that they do understand that we’re evolving the business and we’re evolving the way we incent for good reasons. We need to do that. Adoption – especially as software continues to be a larger portion of our overall business – and lifecycle becomes even more critical over time, as well as the renewal business. But we aren’t just flipping a switch. The intent of this program was never to punish, and it was never meant to save Cisco money. We talked a lot about how partners are so critical to our success – we want to make sure they are continuing to be very profitable with us. So we’re trying to take them on a longer-term journey and we’re not trying to make it hurt. ROBERT DUTT: The engagement metrics right now are sitting at 90% land and 5% each to adopt and renew. I think Tim Coogan has said that that will shift over time as the market dictates, but how fast do you see that coming? Should partners be building those adopt-and-renew muscles now in anticipation of the bigger shift, or is there still some runway there? ERIN GERTNER: I would say we need to get started now. Some of those certifications take a year or two, and building those practices – for partners who have historically sold hardware, building out an adoption practice – I mean, we did it, and it took us a couple of years to get that up and running. So building out those practices is really critical for partners. What’s interesting about this program is that we had partners asking us to shift away from paying solely on hardware, because they were saying, “You’re asking us to go out and do all this extra work with customers to help them deliver the outcomes they’re looking for. We should be incentivized around that as well.” So I would say: get started now. I don’t think I can speak to when our back-end programs are going to shift more to adoption and renew, because nobody has shared that with me. I’m not sure we even know – I think we want to see where our partners are on the journey. But I would say get started now. Get yourself in a place where that makes sense. And candidly, you’re going to yield better outcomes from your customers and better renewal rates if you’ve got a great practice around that. I was talking to a partner a few weeks ago who said, “We love the whole adoption motion. It has us having conversations we’ve never had with customers, and we’re much closer to the executives at our customer base because we’re talking about use cases and talking about whether we’re seeing success or whether we need to pivot. We’re having quarterly touchpoints and QBRs talking about whether or not what we sold them is working and they’re seeing value from it.” So I think it’s a good motion for partners to build regardless. It will drive a different level of engagement and conversation with their customers. When we’re going to fully incentivize around it, I’m not entirely sure – but I know it’s coming. Be ready, start building that expertise now. There’s hopefully limited downside to doing so. ROBERT DUTT: One of the things that analysts have noted about the program change is that it’s really a bet on skills first – that partner value is measured by what you can do, not how much you sell. That’s a big cultural shift, not just a programmatic one. Acknowledging that there are going to be some partners who are maybe a little bit behind the curve, and some who are ahead of you saying “what took you so long?” – how far along are Canadian partners in making that mental shift themselves? ERIN GERTNER: I can feel [they’re] pretty far along. I think it was a bit of a shock early on because we never had any accountability in our programs around maintaining certification levels and technical depth. But our best partners have great technical expertise and a really strong understanding of our solutions and what they can deliver to customers. And as I said earlier, some of the feedback we’re getting from partners is, “I’m glad you’re doing this – it’s holding us accountable to making sure we’re staying on top of the solutions.” Our portfolio has moved so quickly over the last couple of years. Our best partners are the ones who have great understanding of the technology and what it can deliver. So I think early on there was a little hesitation from some partners around that, but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in the last little while. ROBERT DUTT: Let’s talk about SMB. The Canadian channel in market skews toward small and mid-size, and this happens to roll into your line of work as well. I’m seeing two different takes on what 360 means for smaller partners. Tiffani Bova from Futurum warned that smaller or resource-constrained partners may be sort of specialized out of the ecosystem. But Cisco’s analysis with Techaisle argues that 360 dismantles the bias toward big partners. Those are two very different reads. I’m curious what you’re seeing in the market in Canada and what’s closer to the truth in practice. ERIN GERTNER: It’s so funny when you ask – we were joking about this yesterday on a call. When you ask one set of partners, they’ll say 360 was created for the big partners. And then you ask another set of partners, they’ll say 360 was created for the small partners. So it was really created for everybody. I think the distis have done a really good job of leaning in with some of our SMB partners and helping them figure out where they want to play and what they need to do to be successful. They also have a lot that they can bring to bear to some of the smaller partners – for example, they’ve got a really good EA practice, and they can help augment some of those skill sets that are required for the SMB partner. So if there is an SMB partner out there that wants to work with us, distis are really well equipped to help them get on board. And we’ve also got some incentives, programs, and specializations that are offered specifically for the SMB market. Still, a good majority of our business happens with our big partners, but also through that two-tier channel and distribution. And we need those partners to be successful alongside us. We’ve made a lot of investments to ensure that’s the case. Is it going to be perfect for everybody? Maybe, maybe not. But we certainly did craft the program to make sure that SMB would have an equal chance at success. ROBERT DUTT: One of the big promises of 360 is that managed services is now treated as a standard earning motion rather than kind of an exception to the rules. How’s that landing? Are you seeing Canadian MSPs that have their operational maturity and lifecycle engagement reflected in PVI, or is there still friction to be resolved there? ERIN GERTNER: I think it looks a little bit different, but we actually are seeing a lot of our partners go out and build Cisco Partner-Powered managed services, which I love. Due to the shift in 360, I was working with a partner a few weeks ago who’s building out a managed Meraki practice, and we’re also seeing a lot of partners starting to build up managed security with us as well. Going through the certifications can be a little bit cumbersome, but we’ve also made quite a few investments in our partners to help ease some of that transition – especially partners who are building really great, highly relevant managed services for SMBs or for any customer base. We’re trying to offset the cost or do what we can to help them through that journey, because I know in some instances it is a heavy lift. But the focus around managed services has actually been really good. Partners are getting thoughtful around where they can deliver value to their customer base, where there’s opportunity, and they’re coming to us proactively to build, which I love. ROBERT DUTT: One of the neat things about the program is the fact that Meraki CMNA and CMSS certifications now actually count towards Black Belt, and that’s an important part of the program. CMNA, CMSS – it feels like a big deal for SMB-focused partners. Are you seeing Canadian partners taking advantage of that pathway and getting represented better because they have those certifications? ERIN GERTNER: Again, everybody’s path looks a little bit different. I was just working with a small partner who’s going out and getting his CCNA and getting himself certified so he can improve his PVI score. And that’s been awesome. Having more technical people at our partners who know a lot about Cisco has been an interesting journey for them. He was sort of grumbling a little bit at the beginning doing it, and then he said [it was rewarding [? – unclear in audio**]], being able to have a little more depth to conversations when he’s sitting in front of a customer. So we’re seeing partners take all different types of paths to get to where they need to be from a certification perspective. But again, it is certainly holding them accountable and encouraging them to get more technical depth and capability into their organization, which ultimately will serve the customer better over time. ROBERT DUTT: The Secure AI Infrastructure specialization drove three times the enrollment of any previous specialization, from what I’ve read. What does that tell you about where partner investment is heading? Is there a risk that everyone rushes toward AI and neglects the bread-and-butter networking and security competencies? Or are we pretty much so well entrenched there that there’s the opportunity to build into the next thing and still defend the home base? ERIN GERTNER: I keep saying to partners: there’s no AI without a network. And when we left Partner Summit, I had three partners come up and say to me, “That was my biggest aha moment of this whole thing.” Even if you’re not selling Cisco servers – which we encourage them all to do – whatever you’re doing is built on the foundation of a secure network. So I love that people are gravitating more toward AI, because it does pull through. If I go back to the days of IP telephony, we used to joke when I was in the field, if somebody bought a phone, it pulled through PoE ports – I think AI is going to be the same opportunity for a lot of our partners. It’s going to pull through observability, it’s going to pull through security, it’s going to pull through networking. So I almost think those things very much go hand in hand together, versus standing on their own and being autonomous. ROBERT DUTT: Finally, if you’re a Canadian partner listening to this and you’ve been in the program and getting used to it for coming up on a quarter now – what’s the one thing you should be doing right now to position yourself as the program matures? What’s the one thing you can differentiate yourself by year end? ERIN GERTNER: That’s a great question. I think it’s going to end up being a few things. One: make sure you have a good understanding of the program and how it works. Because again, it was intended to make sure our partners are making money working with Cisco. Profitability is number one for us in the channel. We value our partners so much. I have a partner who always jokes, “The thing I love about working with Cisco is you guys always ask us about our profitability” – and we really do care deeply and immensely about the profitability of our partners. So to your point around VIP, you can always sort of tell where Cisco is going. I hope all of our partners have a pretty good understanding of where we are going – and if you don’t, reach out to us directly or to our distributors. If you follow the bouncing ball on that one, make sure you are leading with a secure networking conversation, and make sure whoever you’re working with has a lot of depth and knowledge in how to leverage the program and how to work within the confines of it. Go out there and be loud and proud of where you are with your PVI score and where you are focusing from an architecture perspective. We love that there’s a really large breadth of partners who are good at many things, or really good at one or two things – and that works for us. Again, if you need help to be successful, reach out to our teams, because we love working with our channel partners. ROBERT DUTT: All right. Erin, thanks for taking the time, and congratulations on getting the program out there, getting it launched, getting it established. Good luck on quarter two and beyond. ERIN GERTNER: Thank you. Thank you for the conversation. I really enjoyed that. ROBERT DUTT:There you have it – Erin Gertner from Cisco Canada. I’d like to thank Erin for her time on this one. A few things worth sitting with. The feedback from the Canadian partner community has apparently been more positive than even Cisco expected – including partners who said they actually appreciated being held accountable to their certification levels because it gave them internal cover to make the training investments they knew they should have been making anyway. That’s a more honest answer than most vendor channel chiefs would volunteer. The other thing I’d keep in mind: the incentive structure is still heavily weighted toward hardware resale in the near term – 90% land, 5% adopt, 5% renew. But Erin was pretty clear that the shift towards adoption and managed services is coming. The timeline just isn’t set. Her advice was simple: start building those muscles now, because it takes a couple of years to get an adoption practice up and running. Don’t wait till the incentives force your hand. If you’re enjoying the In The Channel podcast, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most podcast directories. Follow, subscribe, leave a rating and review if you’re feeling generous – it all helps. Until next time, I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, and I’ll see you in the channel.

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Erin Gertner, vice president of the Partner Organization and SMB Sales at Cisco Canada When Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told investors the campus and data centre refresh is at “the top of the first inning” of a multi-year, multibillion-dollar opportunity, it raised an obvious question for Canadian partners: what does that inning look like here? Erin Gertner, vice president of the Partner Organization and SMB Sales at Cisco Canada, says Canada is tracking with the global trend – and that the opportunity is being driven by a “perfect storm” of three converging forces: the largest last-day-of-support (LDOS) wave Cisco has seen in years, growing urgency around AI readiness, and increasing pressure around data sovereignty. The AI readiness gap is particularly striking. Only 7% of Canadian organizations say they’re fully prepared to deploy AI – down from 9% the previous year – while 96% say the urgency has increased. That tension is creating real opportunities for partners who can lead with outcomes rather than product. Gertner says the partners winning the biggest deals are those taking a consultative approach – running assessments, broadening the conversation beyond a like-for-like swap, and helping customers understand their full security and AI readiness posture. In one example, a security assessment nearly quadrupled the deal size compared to a straight hardware refresh. The conversation also touches on where vertical demand is hottest (financial services and healthcare are leading), how the Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA translates for mid-market partners, the role of data sovereignty in driving on-prem modernization, and what smaller MSPs should be doing to get in the game. Gertner’s advice to partners who haven’t started? Reach out to your Cisco partner account manager or distributor and get access to the PXP data – the opportunity is there, and Cisco wants to make it easy to find. Read Full Transcript Robert Dutt: Hello and welcome to In The Channel from ChannelBuzz.ca, bringing news and information to the Canadian IT channel community for the last 16 years. I’m Robert Dutt, editor of ChannelBuzz.ca, and as always, your host for the show. On Cisco’s most recent earnings call, CEO Chuck Robbins called the campus and data centre refresh the top of the first inning of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar opportunity. Double-digit growth in networking, six consecutive quarters. But that’s the global picture. What does the first inning look like in Canada? My guest today is Erin Gertner, VP of the Partner Organization and SMB Sales for Cisco Canada. Erin sees what she calls a “perfect storm” converging right now – a massive wave of aging infrastructure hitting last day of support, growing urgency around AI readiness, and increasing pressure around data sovereignty. We get into what Cisco Canada is seeing on the ground, where partners are finding the most traction, and what separates the ones winning those deals from the ones leaving the door open for somebody else. Let’s get right into it. My chat with Erin Gertner. Erin, thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. Erin Gertner: Thank you so much, and thank you for having me, Robert. It’s nice to see you. Robert Dutt: Nice to see you as well. It’s been a little while since Partner Summit when last we sat down, but I wanted to chat because of Chuck’s comments on the earnings call, talking about the top of the first inning on a multi-year, multi-billion dollar opportunity around campus refresh. Double-digit growth in networking for six consecutive quarters. That’s the global picture. I guess to throw it open, what does that top of the first inning look like from where Cisco Canada sits? Are we tracking with the US on this one? Are we still back in spring training? What does the Canadian opportunity look like in this moment? Erin Gertner: I think we’re seeing something very similar to what Chuck spoke about on the earnings call. We are seeing a multi-year, multi-billion dollar refresh cycle taking place here in Canada. And I think it is the perfect storm of three things coming together. One, we have a lot of aged infrastructure out there. Sometimes we call it last day of support, or LDOS. When we look in our portfolio, we’ve got the largest LDOS opportunity that we’ve had in many, many years this year and next year. We’ve been working with many of our partners as well as our account teams to start going out and pursuing those opportunities because we really do need to get in front of them. But we’re also seeing the dynamics of a few other things taking place. One is AI readiness. I think you probably heard in our earnings call, Chuck talk about the success that we’re having in AI. A lot of that today is really centred in the world of the hyperscalers. In our last earnings call, I talked about doing over $2 billion worth of infrastructure with the hyperscalers. So there’s this huge influx of demand around AI. But where we haven’t really scratched the surface is AI in the enterprise. The hyperscalers are very well prepared, but now we’re starting to see this big wave of enterprise deployment, or at least enterprises thinking about the use cases and the ROI, because it is a board-level conversation. And then lastly, and this is probably a topic you hear a lot about working in Canada, is around digital resilience and data sovereignty. You need a modernized, secure network in order to deploy AI, and the network is more critical than it’s ever been as you think about the role it’s going to play in the next few years. The ability to fuse together security into the network is really unique and core for Cisco and driving refresh. I often talk to partners about the LDOS opportunity, and we used to get the question a lot of, “Why would a customer upgrade?” or, “How do I have this conversation with a customer?” because their response is often, “It all still works. Why bother?” I think AI especially is really giving them that reason to modernize, because while their network may work, it wasn’t necessarily built to run the applications that they’re going to need today and in the future. So it’s a really compelling conversation, and we’re seeing huge uptake and demand in networking. Robert Dutt: You touch on the customer size, especially on the AI side of things. Looking across the Canadian market in terms of customer size, vertical, geography – is the refresh opportunity relatively evenly distributed, or is it concentrated? Where’s the heat at right now? Erin Gertner: It’s been interesting. All of our account teams, some of which are verticalized, others which are organized geographically, talk a lot about where they’re seeing refresh opportunity. A great example is what we’re hearing from financial services organizations. We had that long period of COVID, and then there’s been a ton of conversation around return to office. Our financial services team will tell you that there’s massive demand because if you listen to what the banks or insurance companies are doing, they’re asking people to come back to the office. Those networks, many of which were built in 2018 or 2019, can’t support the applications that are being driven in today’s world. They can’t even support the number of people they have anymore. [A lot of those organizations saw a boom.] So there’s a huge network refresh taking place right now in that specific vertical. We’re also hearing a lot about mission-critical verticals like healthcare, where uptime is hugely important and security and resilience are top of mind. But it’s really spread throughout. Many companies had a long period of time where they spent a good majority of their budget on work from home and getting people set up for different use cases. Now that we’re living in this hybrid world, or a lot of organizations are back to work, that’s putting a huge change in demand on what is being asked from the network, plus everything that’s happened from the AI perspective. Robert Dutt: You bring in a lot of different threads in terms of things that are driving this – AI readiness at the top of the list, aging infrastructure, data sovereignty, security modernization, probably a few more. What’s actually leading the charge in this moment for the conversations you’re having with Canadian partners and customers? I’m curious if one of those things is the leader and the others follow, or if there’s really a convergence where this is a big pile of conversation topics at the same time. Erin Gertner: I think it’s a big pile of conversation topics at the same time, and it also depends on the partner you talk to and how they’re approaching a customer. Every partner has got a really interesting and different approach, especially when it comes to AI, and I love that about our partner community. A lot of them are taking, for example, an advisory services-led approach, or they’re taking the approach of – I hate this expression, but it’s one that makes sense – eating your own dog food. I was with a partner last week and they were talking about a lot of the work that they had done to embed AI into their own workflows. Then they were taking their success out into the market and starting new conversations with customers they hadn’t historically had access to. All of that was leading to a network refresh conversation, because customers are excited about the opportunity with AI, and then the partner was able to embed the question around, “Well, are you ready? Do you have the right infrastructure in place?” The conversation often is bigger than that, and obviously security is a huge area of concern when it comes to AI. I think that’s where Cisco is very uniquely positioned to win in this space. We’re seeing a lot of our competitors try to bring network and security together, and we’re really the only organization who can truly embed network and security together and then traverse it from the campus to the data centre. Robert Dutt: To your point on dog food, I learned from a partner years ago that the way to phrase it is “drinking one’s own champagne.” Erin Gertner: Oh, I like that expression a lot better. Thank you for that. Robert Dutt: Let’s talk about the AI side of things. Cisco’s own AI Readiness Index showed that 7% of Canadian organizations feel they’re fully prepared to deploy AI, and that’s actually down a couple of points from 9% in 2024. 96% say it’s more urgent than ever. That’s a pretty big gap. How’s that tension showing up in the conversations that partners are having with their customers? Erin Gertner: I’ve spoken to a lot of partners in the last little while, and again, each are taking a very individual approach. I think leading with outcomes and that consultative mindset – and it looks very different for each partner – but they’re all trying to understand what outcome a customer is trying to deliver, or what is the ROI, or what is that metric that’s going to help move a CEO’s agenda forward, or help them understand how they can build a true business case to build out a full AI deployment. It’s hard, right? We’re going through our own transformation at Cisco. We’ve got a team of individuals who work with us internally building out our AI workflows, and even on my own team, we’re trying to do all these things to help our team adopt AI tools to make their lives easier and more efficient. You often hear that somebody’s job is not going to be taken by AI – it’ll be taken by somebody who knows how to use AI. It is even more critical than ever that organizations figure it out. A lot of our partners have deployed some interesting things for themselves or worked through really interesting consulting engagements where they have use cases they can take out to market and help customers build that business case for themselves. They need to start small, they need to define what success looks like, and I think many customers have a long road there, but there’s certainly hope that we’re headed in the right direction. Robert Dutt: Raj, the president of Cisco Canada, wrote an op-ed recently saying that Canadian businesses risk – I think the quote was – “Blockbuster-style failure” without having the right AI infrastructure. For a partner who’s sitting across the table from a customer who feels that urgency but hasn’t really started yet, what do you counsel that partner to advise the customer on? What’s the practical starting point? Where do you begin? Erin Gertner: It’s tough. Again, it depends what type of customer they are and what their use case looks like. But I think for that customer, it’s really leaning back to outcomes – what is going to demonstrate success for that organization? The last thing you want anybody to do is go out and deploy an AI application and see absolutely no success out of it. That will move that executive’s agenda back probably a couple of years. But we are also really encouraging partners to talk through: Are they ready? You can have the best use case out there, but do you have a good data strategy? Do you have a good security strategy? Have you thought about modernizing your network? Is sovereignty important to you? And if it is, do you want to start thinking about potentially building that on-prem, or taking a different approach than maybe what you have historically done, because there are new considerations being layered on top of all of that. Robert Dutt: Talk to me about the Secure AI Factory side of things. Tim Coogan called it the partner opportunity of this year. I’m curious how that translates practically for Canadian partners. Is this a play mostly for the big SIs, or are you finding mid-market partners who are finding a role in the AI infrastructure buildout? Erin Gertner: I think it’s a little bit of both. We’re having conversations around Secure AI Factory with some of our largest partners because it is really unique. Our relationship with NVIDIA is truly one of a kind, and we’re actually creating products together. I know everybody has done a great job of partnering with NVIDIA in the market, but our relationship with them is a little bit different. What I love about the whole notion of Secure AI Factory is the fact that it’s everything built together. We make it really easy. We’ve pre-built all the CVDs. We’ve essentially created a blueprint for partners and customers to go out and deploy an entire AI pod. That includes everything from networking to servers to security to observability. We can even include storage, even though we don’t make it – we’ve got a bunch of great storage partners. Is it going to work for a small customer being serviced by a small partner? Probably not. It might be outside the scope of what they’re doing. But for mid-sized customers who are running interesting workloads and they want them on-prem, and especially for bigger customers who want to scale and deploy really quickly, or partners who have a ton of depth and capability in that space, the Secure AI Factory is a great solution. Robert Dutt: For a Canadian partner who’s looking at this refresh opportunity, where are you seeing the most traction in terms of the technology stack? Is it campus switching, data centre modernization, Wi-Fi, security? What’s the entry point that’s helping partners produce pipeline right now? Erin Gertner: We’ve done a lot of work with partners. We’ve got a tool called PXP – I think you’ve probably had some exposure to it – but we’ve been doing quite a few workshops with our partners to help them understand where their opportunity is. PXP does a great job of being very data-rich and data-centric. As we go through the enablement with partners, it gives them a good sense of what their refresh opportunity looks like. Then we are trying to make sure we enable them around the broader conversation. You don’t want to just be refreshing a switch for a switch. Our best partners are taking that data and – again, to your question, some partners, let’s say their history was really in the data centre – data centre networking is probably their biggest opportunity because that’s where they’ve sold the most in the past. For more broad-scale partners, it could be a combination of two or three different things. What we’re really trying to coach them to do is take that opportunity and don’t refresh a switch for a switch. Help the customer understand what outcome they’re trying to achieve. Do they have the right security posture? What’s their Wi-Fi strategy? What’s their device strategy? We’re trying to help them take that data and broaden the conversation into something that’s more outcome-driven. Our best partners are doing an excellent job of that and building really big, interesting deals alongside their customers. Robert Dutt: In doing that, when you’re looking at the services layer, are there any particular areas that you find are especially productive? Assessments, design, migration, managed services post-deployment – where are partners getting the most return from focusing their energy? Erin Gertner: Consulting services has been a huge one. We’ve got a great assessment program and we have some partners who are doing a great job leveraging it and seeing a ton of success. I was in a partner QBR the other day and they were giving an example of having done a security assessment with a customer that significantly broadened the scope of the deal and helped the customer understand where they had some vulnerabilities in their current infrastructure. That deal almost quadrupled in size. Partners are doing a great job with that. What we’re really trying to encourage partners to do is make sure we’ve got an adoption plan for every software deal out there upfront, because we want to make sure anything our customers buy from our partners, they have a great experience with. If they aren’t doing a good job of adopting that and showing value all the way throughout the chain, we’re not going to see a renewal at the end. The other thing we’ve been talking a lot about with our leadership team is some of what’s happening in the industry right now with some of the shortages that are industry-wide. In COVID, we saw something similar happen – a lot of supply chain constraints. Then there was this really long ingest period that happened afterwards because customers just had so much technology. We are really encouraging our partners and our teams to make sure we’re leading with services, so there is an outcome attached to the end and there is a plan with the customer to consume the technology so they can get the most out of what they’ve bought from us. Robert Dutt: We talked a little bit about the big guys, the SIs, and the opportunity around AI Factory. For the smaller partner, that long-tail 15-to-20-person MSP that’s living in Meraki and maybe doing some security, is this a real opportunity for them, or is this fundamentally a larger VAR and SI play? Where it is accessible to that SMB-focused partner, what does the on-ramp look like? Erin Gertner: It’s absolutely accessible for that SMB partner. I also have the SMB part of our business, so this conversation is very close to my heart. Given the IT skills shortage that is very dominant in the Canadian market, we are seeing a lot of customers who don’t want to manage their own network. As customers grow – let’s say they were a very small customer four or five years ago and they chose more of a consumer-grade solution at that time – as they want to move into a more enterprise-type solution with security and all the other bells and whistles embedded in it, a lot of those customers are choosing not to manage that themselves. But they want to be in the same place as their competitors, because the expectation is they grow and scale just as fast, probably faster in fact, as a big company. A lot of those companies are born in the cloud, leveraging tons of cloud applications, so the way they create their foundation is even more critical than ever. We have a bunch of great small to mid-size partners who are doing awesome things in that space and growing pretty significantly, actually gaining a lot of market share because of their agility and their ability to manage something at a cost-effective price. Robert Dutt: You mentioned the importance of data sovereignty in the conversation. The federal government has launched a call for proposals for sovereign AI data centres of over 100 megawatts, and we’ve seen Cohere get a lot of federal backing for their data centre build. Is data sovereignty a driver in this enterprise refresh, or is it a parallel conversation that’s happening at the same time? Erin Gertner: I think it’s a bit of a parallel conversation, but it’s certainly driving a huge – not even refresh – just huge modernization effort. A lot of it is centred around Canadian organizations who are worried about data sovereignty, or who are worried that sovereignty requirements might hit them in the next few years. They’re trying to prepare themselves by building out new types of data centres on-premise – new data centres to support applications coming back on-prem. While maybe they haven’t built everything on-prem today, we are seeing a massive surge in companies starting to think about what that might look like. For customers who had almost all of their applications in the cloud previously, their data centre network didn’t necessarily support the low-latency, really high-bandwidth requirements that would come into play if they start putting mission-critical applications back on-prem. We are seeing a lot of customers starting to think about what they would need to build to support sovereignty requirements, or if they’re going to continue to live in a hybrid world – which, let’s be honest, the majority of Canadian organizations are probably going to live in that world, and that’s all good – the network they have today probably doesn’t support that in the way they’d like either. Robert Dutt: Let’s talk about what you’re doing to support partners through this process. What are the incentives, enablement resources, the programs that are particularly relevant to Canadian partners who are looking at this opportunity and going after it? Erin Gertner: I think we’ve been pretty declarative about wanting to be the critical infrastructure for the AI era. We’re doing a lot of enablement with our partners. We’ve aligned our incentives, both front-end and back-end, to this opportunity. We’re doing a lot of workshops to help our partners understand where those opportunities lie and help them understand how to go out and capture them. We’ve also been running a lot of demand generation alongside our partners around our AI strategy, what that looks like, as well as showcasing the innovation that Jeetu has put forward in our portfolio around network and security coming together, because I do think it’s a great story and one that maybe not everybody knew. Some people probably think we’ve still got two different platforms with Catalyst and Meraki, where the truth is those have come together in the last year. With our acquisition of Splunk, there’s a lot that’s been infused into the network. Jeetu has also done a fantastic job of creating a really innovative security portfolio, a lot of which is actually embedded into the network layer. So there’s been a lot of education that we’ve had to do with both our partners and our customers to make sure they’re able to go out and tell that story to the market. I think Tim Coogan said this best – our job is to create that innovation, and then our job is also to help enable our partners to go out and be an extension of our sales force and help them deliver value to customers based on that innovation. Robert Dutt: What do you see as separating the partners who are winning these refresh deals from those who aren’t? What are the best partners doing differently? Erin Gertner: Again, I think really leading with that outcomes-based conversation and not just doing a like-for-like refresh. The ones who are going out and really taking a consultative approach, they’re winning a lot more and they’re winning much larger deals. I was on with a partner yesterday who was showcasing some of the work they’d been doing around AI and sharing with us some of the success they had just recently had, and they’re winning amazing deals by taking a very consulting-led approach. What we have seen in the past from certain partners is they go in and focus very much on that refresh opportunity, and then they almost leave the door open for another partner to come in and have a conversation around networking, observability, and all the other aspects around that critical infrastructure. So the best partners are the ones who are leading with the whole portfolio. I know we’re going to talk about 360 as well, but we’re really trying to incentivize our partners to build a lot of skills and technical depth around our solutions, and the ones who are really good at being able to tell the story of how our whole portfolio comes together – that “One Cisco” story that we often talk about – they’re the ones who are winning the most. Robert Dutt: If I’m a Canadian partner listening to this and I haven’t really started leaning into that refresh opportunity yet, what should I be doing about this on Monday morning when I show up to work? And looking further out, we’re in the top of the first – what do you see the second and third innings looking like here in Canada? Erin Gertner: Firstly, reach out to us. However you engage with Cisco, whether it’s through one of our distributors – who are amazing and have access to all of our tools – or reach out to your partner account manager at Cisco. We can provide all the training required on how to have the right conversation, as well as access to all the data you need to help you figure out where you should start and which customers are due for a refresh or have a refresh opportunity in the next six months. We can make it really easy for our partners to know where to spend their time and get a pretty fruitful payoff, both on the front-end and the back-end with us. What do I think the second and third innings might look like? I think we’re still really at the infancy of that. We’ve seen a few customers go down the refresh path – probably our largest customers have gone down the refresh path. Some of them have modernized networks or they’ve gotten to where they think they need to be to support AI applications. But I do think we’re going to see some of our smaller customers start to catch up. I also think we’re still really at the infancy of the success of AI. We talk a lot about the role of agentic AI and how that’s going to proliferate through organizations in the future. I don’t know that many customers have figured that out yet today. There are some who are really at the edge of innovation and who’ve done an amazing job with that, but it isn’t mainstreamed yet. As agentic AI really starts to roll out, the demands on your network and the demands around security especially become even more complex and even more critical. I think that’s going to be the next wave. A lot of companies have done a good job of finding one or two use cases, maybe small ones, that have delivered value for them in AI. But there are very few organizations – and we talked about it through the AI Readiness Index – very few organizations who have really found tremendous value from AI today, but they will in the future. Robert Dutt: I think you’ve done a great job of setting up the game for Canadian partners here. Good luck with the rest of the ballgame, and thanks so much for taking the time. Erin Gertner: Thank you. Robert Dutt: There you have it, Erin Gertner from Cisco Canada. I’d like to thank Erin for her time on this one, and thank you for listening. A couple of things that stood out to me. First, how strongly the consulting and assessment-led approach is paying off. Partners who are going in and helping customers understand the full picture – security, AI readiness, network modernization – aren’t just winning deals. They’re winning deals that are three and four times the size of a like-for-like refresh. And the other is something Erin said that I think is worth sitting with: there’s no AI without a network. Simple statement, but it reframes the entire refresh conversation for partners who aren’t sure where AI fits into what they do. If you’re enjoying In The Channel, you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and most podcast directories. Follow, subscribe, leave a rating or a review if you’re feeling generous. It all helps. Till next time, I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, and I’ll see you in the channel.

Premiered on Proton Radio 15.03.2026 • LIKE, SHARE, REPOST • ↻ 01. @shapeless_lab - Deeper [@lowandmidrecords] 02. @julianliander - Meraki [@lootrecordings] 03. @at-one & @atjazz - The Word Is [Atjazz Record Company] 04. @mattoliver_music, @tognimusic - A Distant Memory (@carycrank Remix) [@movement-recordings] 05. @quiqui - Life Always Finds a Way [@movement-recordings] 06. @robbabicz - It's All Inside [Kelch] 07. @lloyd-barwood - The Sound of the Universe (Original Extended Mix) [@strippedmusicmgmt] 08. @guxjimenez, @kurtcaesar - 369 Code [@movement-recordings] 09. @newjackson - The Night Mail (@simonvuarambonRemix) [diviine] 10. @djedus - Neon Wave [@strippedmusicmgmt] New episodes every 3rd Sunday at 15:00 EST | 20:00 GMT on Proton Radio / www.youtube.com/@protonradio and available for streaming on demand at www.protonradio.com/shows/768/snapshotb

Elmero Strauss gesels oor die Meraki Wellness Empowerment Foundation en die belangrike rol wat die organisasie speel om vroue te ondersteun en te bemagtig. Die inisiatief fokus op die bou van selfvertroue, welstand-opleiding en professionele ontwikkeling binne die skoonheids- en welstandbedryf. Deur praktiese geleenthede en ondersteuning help hulle vroue om hul volle potensiaal te ontdek, hulself te ontwikkel en volhoubare geleenthede en inkomste vir hul toekoms te skep.

Efter en kämpig vinter börjar vi känna vårens vindar och loppen uppenbarar sig i horisontent. Närmast är Hyrox Singels Pro för Tobias i Köpenhamn, men det pratar vi inte så mycket om då Kristoffer inte bryr sig om Hyrox. Istället fokuserar vi på upptrappningen till Bålsta Stadslopp den 26 april där formen ska uppenbaras. Tobias har fått tre naggande goda pass från Frida Michold att köra de kommande veckorna. Dessutom har vi fått leverans av skor från uppstickaren 361 i form av arbetshästen Meraki 7 och fartdåren Furious Future 2.0. Senarenämnda skor ska sitta på fötterna under loppet och testas sparsamt fram till domedagen.

Nwabisa Plaatjie, Tour Manager for the Festival Enterprise Catalyst and Festival Dramaturg for the Meraki Dance Festival collaborations joined Clarence live in studio to promote the upcoming Jazzart’s Meraki Festival. Views and News with Clarence Ford is the mid-morning show on CapeTalk. This 3-hour long programme shares and reflects a broad array of perspectives. It is inspirational, passionate and positive. Host Clarence Ford’s gentle curiosity and dapper demeanour leave listeners feeling motivated and empowered. Known for his love of jazz and golf, Clarrie covers a range of themes including relationships, heritage and philosophy. Popular segments include Barbs’ Wire at 9:30am (Mon-Thurs) and The Naked Scientist at 9:30 on Fridays. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Views & News with Clarence Ford Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays between 09:00 and 12:00 (SA Time) to Views and News with Clarence Ford broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/erjiQj2 or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/BdpaXRn Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiren Sekar of Samsara talks about what they do; data, AI and unification; improving driver safety; and cutting costs whilst boosting engagement.    IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:   [3.19] An introduction to Kiren, his background, and why supply chain is a big opportunity to make an impact. "What's always motivated me is solving hard technical problems that have big impact in the world." [07.16] How the Samsara founding teams' vision, that sensors and software could impact the world of physical operations at a global scale, led them to establish Meraki and ultimately Samsara. [11.23] An overview of Samsara, and how they helped DHL cut asset-related costs by approximately 49% and put a clear focus on driver safety. "We saw, across the industry, that keeping folks safe out on the road was becoming a bigger and bigger challenge, and the cost of accidents was getting higher and higher." [15.40] The role of habits in change management, and why leading consumer apps have played a key role in Samsara's product design. "Strava, Duolingo… There's really effective ways these apps can change habits. Gamification, leaderboards, friendly competition, rewards… We've built those types of experiences into our product." [18.44] The ideal customer for Samsara. [20.59] From safety to efficiency, the common challenges Samsara customers are looking to solve, and why digitization is their critical opportunity. "We now have a digitally native set of leaders at many of these companies. They have all the cutting edge technology in their personal life… and they want to be at the forefront." [25.36] What the discovery, solution development, onboarding and integration process looks like with Samsara, and why being flexible and fast-to-value is key. [29.51] How the Samsara platform allows teams to run all operations from one place, and the big benefits to unification. "It starts with unified data. Historically there were technologies for driver safety, GPS tracking, compliance, digital documents – and they were all siloed… You end up with fragmentation and complexity. It doesn't work, and it doesn't scale." "Collaboration is a fundamentally human thing. But it's really inhibited when each person has a different view of the world." [34.33] How Samsara Intelligence leverages AI to drive impact for customers. [38.55] A case study exploring how Samsara helped Mohawk improve driver safety and reduce miles driven, and how the technology changed their relationship with drivers. "It translates to bottom line savings and increases driver engagement, which turns into lower turnover and vacancies." [40.50] The future for Samsara, and why data is helping them build solutions that were previously impossible. "There are still so many unsolved problems in the world of operations. And we're still in the early days of how technology can improve safety, efficiency and sustainability." RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:   Head over to Samsara's website now to find out more and discover how they could help you too. You can also connect with Samsara and keep up to date with the latest over on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X (Twitter), or you can connect with Kiren on LinkedIn. Check out our other podcasts HERE.

Kiren Sekar (CPO @ Samsara) joins us to deconstruct the "Innovation Engine" behind Samsara, and how this system drives real-world impact and ROI across their products. We explore Samsara's decade-long compound product strategy and the mechanics of accelerating feedback loops in an era where the primary bottlenecks shift from code generation to customer feedback and absorption of change. Kiren details how their data flywheel expands the aperture of what is possible to build and we dive into the system of customer-driven innovation: advisory boards, “spark sessions” to test hypotheses and gain unfiltered feedback. Plus we talk about the power of embedding engineers in frontline environments (from truckyards to construction sites) to cultivate “taste,” customer empathy and trigger non-linear ideas. ABOUT KIREN SEKARKiren Sekar is the Chief Product Officer at Samsara (NYSE: IOT), where he has helped lead the company from a hardware-hacking startup in a basement to a global leader in Connected Operations with over $1.5B in ARR. An early leader at Meraki (acquired by Cisco for $1.2B) and an Apple veteran with multiple patents, Kiren specializes in the rare intersection of hardware, massive-scale data, and AI. He is the architect of a platform that now processes trillions of data points for the industries that keep the world running—trucking, construction, and logistics. This episode is brought to you by Retool!What happens when your team can't keep up with internal tool requests? Teams start building their own, Shadow IT spreads across the org, and six months later you're untangling the mess…Retool gives teams a better way: governed, secure, and no cleanup required.Retool is the leading enterprise AppGen platform, powering how the world's most innovative companies build the tools that run their business. Over 10,000 organizations including Amazon, Stripe, Adobe, Brex, and Orangetheory Fitness use the platform to safely harness AI and their enterprise data to create governed, production-ready apps.Learn more at Retool.com/elc SHOW NOTES:Real-world ROI The Intersection of Bits and Atoms: How Samsara supported customers through a once-in-a-century snowstorm using real-time AI insights (3:59)The Practicality Filter: Why low-margin, high-utility businesses are the best "BS detectors" for product builders (9:25)Deconstructing the compound product strategy: 10 years of feedback loops, scaling empathy, and technical capabilities (10:53)Accelerating your innovation flywheel, customer and product feedback loops (14:39)The New Bottleneck: Why writing code is no longer the constraint, and how to optimize for customer absorption of change (19:58)The Data Flywheel: Leveraging trillions of proprietary data points to solve new problems and expand your innovation engine into new capabilities (23:36)Embedding engineers in customer problems: Why there is no substitute for engineers seeing the frontline environment firsthand (29:56)How customer empathy and "taste" amplify the benefits of AI coding agents (33:26)Building a system of customer-driven innovation: Utilizing Advisory Boards and "Spark Sessions" to turn 10,000+ customers into co-creators (37:40)Rapid fire questions (47:50)This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today is Monday, February 16, 2026. Welcome to In Case You Missed It, our weekly five-minute rundown of important channel news stories that might have flown under the radar last week. In this edition: Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins says we're in the early stage of a multi-year, multi-billion dollar campus refresh opportunity as customers look to redesign their networks for growing AI tasks. Palo Alto Networks completes its deal to purchase CyberArk for $25 billion, adding crucial identity management capabilities to its security stack. Global sovereign cloud technology spend will jump by more than 30% this year according to Gartner as geopolitical tensions stoke a desire for companies and regulators to insist that data stays close to home. Emerging networking service vendor Meter introduces former Meraki channel leader Pete Atkins as its global partner leader.

Stephanie Georges is a seasoned executive and strategist with four decades of experienceguiding organizations through disruption, reinvention and large-scale transformation. A Harvard Advanced Leadership InitiativeSenior Fellow, she is now co-creating The Meraki Dignity Project - a women's movementdedicated to restoring dignity, including an immersive AI-enabled platform for women over 50navigating key life transitions with intention.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jason Eubanks on Building Oracel: Raising $30M in 28 Hours to Disrupt the $236B Go-To-Market Tooling Market with AI-Native Sales AutomationJason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Oracel, discusses how the company raised $30 million in just 28 hours—oversubscribed at $40 million—by solving a critical problem in the go-to-market industry. With a $236 billion market opportunity and only a "desert of innovation" since the late 1990s, Aurasell is building an AI-native platform to intelligently automate sales workflows and consolidate the 12-15 fragmented tools that plague modern sales teams. Jason shares how his experience scaling revenue from $1M to $100M+ across five startups—including Twilio (IPO), Meraki (acquired by Cisco for $1.2B), and Harness—directly informed the founding vision of AurasellEpisode Timestamps- 00:00 - Introduction and Jason Eubanks joins the podcast- 00:26 - Why Oracel raised $30M in 28 hours despite initial $40M oversubscription- 01:24 - The "desert of innovation" in go-to-market tooling since the late 90s- 01:42 - History of CRM evolution from mainframe to cloud to niche products- 03:12 - Founding vision: One intelligent GTM sales platform to replace them all- 03:39 - How pain as a CRO across five startups led to Oracel's creation- 05:58 - The X-Ray productivity assessment revealing tool sprawl inefficiencies- 07:59 - Sellers spending 28% of time selling and 70% on manual tasks- 09:03 - First principles AI-native approach with whiteboards in the kitchen- 09:29 - Five key personas: SDR, seller, IC manager, executive, ops team- 12:18 - AI-native architecture: multimodal interface, lakehouse, and 10,000 agents- 14:39 - Unified data model importance for contextualized AI automation- 15:45 - Current hat wearing: product focus and 50% building go-to-market engine- 18:43 - Platform features and customer experience design philosophy- 19:05 - Three wow moments per persona as success metric- 20:39 - Onboarding experience: automatic territory building and customer choice- 21:40 - 10,000 agents discovering ICP, personas, and competitors automatically- 24:07 - Automated account research and value hypothesis creation- 25:34 - Outbound prospecting content generation with propensity scoring- 26:32 - Outbound sequencer integration and email platform plugins- 27:00 - AI voice dialer coming in three weeks with closed-loop automation- 28:47 - What's missing: deep marketing and customer success automation- 30:49 - Ideal customer profiles: startups and enterprises with tool sprawl- 31:30 - Solution for heavily customized legacy systems coming in December- 34:24 - Dynamic change detection layer solving technical debt- 36:23 - Jason's career arc from BMC Software through Harness- 37:09 - Why: helping go-to-market operators solve problems he experienced- 39:55 - Meraki's disruptive cloud-managed network architecture- 41:51 - Three constants: great product builders, important problems, massive markets- 43:22 - Intrinsic motivation as foundation for hiring and culture- 45:31 - Hiring from first job onward to assess character and values- 51:24 - Understanding why someone wanted to work at 14 years old- 53:21 - Importance of formative years for work ethic and intelligence- 55:46 - AI adoption culture: using own product and building agents internally- 56:36 - All employees use AI daily across PMs, engineers, and operations- 59:25 - Ask AI features: analytics dashboards, data enrichment, natural language-

Sanjit Biswas is one of the rare founders who has scaled AI in the physical world – first with Meraki, and now with Samsara, a $20B+ public company with sensors deployed across millions of vehicles and job sites. Capturing 90 billion miles of driving data each year, Samsara operates at a scale matched only by a small handful of companies. Sanjit discusses why physical AI is fundamentally different from cloud-based AI, from running inference on two- to ten-watt edge devices to managing the messy diversity of real-world data—weather, road conditions, and the long tail of human behavior. He also shares how advances in foundation models unlock new capabilities like video reasoning, why distributed compute at the edge still beats centralized data centers for many autonomy workloads, and how AI is beginning to coach frontline workers—not just detect risk, but recognize good driving and improve fuel efficiency. Sanjit also explains why connectivity, sensors, and compute were the original “why now” for Samsara, and how those compounding curves will reshape logistics, field service, construction, and every asset-heavy industry. Hosted by Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital

Viatel Technology Group has achieved Cisco Premier Provider Status, marking another significant milestone in its partnership with Cisco. Following a rigorous audit process, Viatel also achieved Cisco Powered Service designations in Meraki Security & SD-WAN and Meraki Access. Cisco Powered Services is an elite designation for partners that have demonstrated their expertise in delivering outcomes built on Cisco technologies. To be designated as Cisco Powered, services must be organised into a structured portfolio with the requisite personnel, certifications, and technology to guarantee the highest level of quality and expertise. This achievement follows Viatel's success in securing three other key Cisco specialisations earlier this year: Customer Experience Specialisation, Cisco Select Integrator, and Environmental Sustainability Specialisation. Sheila Greaney, Cisco Partner Account Manager, commented: "Viatel's attainment of Premier Provider Status reflects their unwavering commitment to delivering best-in-class solutions. The audit highlighted a knowledgeable and professional team that demonstrated excellent teamwork. From their comprehensive onboarding and detailed ticketing system to their vibrant marketing, Viatel's dedication to the customer experience is evident. With a customer first ethos and an exceptional Net Promoter Score, Viatel is setting the benchmark for excellence in the Irish market." Eilish O'Connor, CTO, Viatel Technology Group, added: "Achieving Premier Provider Status is the latest chapter in our Cisco success story. Viatel has been a pioneer in the field of Cisco SD-WAN networking, deploying hundreds of sites across nationally and internationally. Our team of certified Meraki specialists delivers a fully managed service that allows organisations to maintain secure, high-performance connectivity while they concentrate on their core business." See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

Anil Varanasi is the co-founder and CEO of Meter, which provides full-stack networking infrastructure as a service for businesses. Since founding Meter with his brother Sunil in 2015, Anil has been playing a distinctly long game in one of the most entrenched markets in technology, betting on vertical integration, business model innovation, and a multi-decade time horizon. In this conversation, he unpacks Meter's origin story, from four-plus years of heads-down R&D, and shares how his unconventional approach to planning, management, and pace keeps him excited to run the company for decades. In today's episode, we discuss: Why Anil thinks in 25-year horizons How operating in a monopolistic market shaped Meter's approach Why Meter scrapped a year of OS work during the R&D phase How Meter is rethinking networking's business model Surviving COVID, Apple's M1 transition, and “a thousand bad days” Anil's contrarian views on planning, OKRs, and management How founders can build companies they'll want to run for decades Where to find Anil: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilcv/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/acv Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast References: ADT: ⁠https://www.adt.com⁠ Alex Honnold: ⁠https://www.alexhonnold.com⁠ Alex Tabarrok: ⁠https://x.com/ATabarrok⁠ ⁠alarm.com⁠: ⁠https://www.alarm.com⁠ Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): ⁠https://a16z.com⁠ Apple: ⁠https://www.apple.com⁠ Bloomberg: ⁠https://www.bloomberg.com⁠ Bryan Caplan: ⁠http://www.bcaplan.com/⁠ Cisco: ⁠https://www.cisco.com⁠ Coca-Cola: ⁠https://www.coca-colacompany.com⁠ George Mason University (GMU): ⁠https://www.gmu.edu⁠ Intel: ⁠https://www.intel.com⁠ Julia Galef: ⁠https://x.com/juliagalef⁠ Martin Casado: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincasado/⁠ Meraki: ⁠https://meraki.cisco.com⁠ Meter: ⁠https://www.meter.com⁠ Michela Giorcelli: ⁠https://x.com/M_Giorcelli⁠ Nicholas Bloom: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bloom-stanford/⁠ Raffaella Sadun: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffaella-sadun-3a182225/⁠ Sanjit Biswas: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjitbiswas/⁠ Sunil Varanasi: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunil-varanasi-662a01253/⁠ Tyler Cowen: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-cowen-166718/⁠ Twitch: ⁠https://www.twitch.tv⁠ Timestamps: (01:27) Meter's unusual timeframes (04:06) “We don't do OKRs” (06:32) How to plan without planning (08:31) Track your unhappy customers (11:43) How Meter's journey began (15:02) Dissecting the 2010s SaaS boom (17:06) The networking industry trap (21:44) Meter's first roadblock (22:07) Why Shenzhen accelerated Meter's progress (26:29) The process to get a sales-ready product (31:02) Why you should own the full stack (32:45) The surprising thing you should innovate (35:03) Avoiding the one-trick pony trap (37:39) The secret to finding an excellent market (43:48) How COVID's constraints propelled growth (48:25) Why founders need to know their customers (49:34) Why Meter didn't sell via traditional channels (51:44) You need “seller-market fit” (54:51) The danger of meta-work (56:25) Decoupling management from authority (1:02:17) When the person is the problem (1:05:05) The inherent value of going slowly (1:09:41) Running a company for as long as possible

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, guest host Pragya sits down with J'Nai Zugates and Stephanie Thorpe, the co-founders of The Meraki Way, an integrative healing method designed for high-achieving, burned-out women who are done being dismissed by traditional healthcare. They break down how unresolved trauma, chronic stress and years of self-abandonment show up as autoimmune issues, long COVID symptoms, chronic pain, hormonal chaos and relentless fatigue. You will hear how Stephanie walked away from expensive medications and infusions that were not fixing the root cause, and how J'Nai went from being told she would never run again to completing a marathon after long COVID and multi-system damage. Together they explain how functional lab testing, somatic work, energy healing, holographic memory resolution, epigenetics and nervous system regulation can work as one framework. If you feel misdiagnosed, gaslit or stuck in symptoms no one takes seriously, this conversation gives you a grounded, science plus spirit path back to your own body. achieving women reduce inflammation, balance hormones and reclaim sustainable energy without sacrificing their ambitions.   Key Takeaways: Chronic symptoms like fatigue, pain, autoimmune flares and long COVID complications are often the body's response to years of unresolved stress, trauma and self-abandonment, not random bad luck. The Meraki Way treats health like a bank account. Everything from ultra-processed foods to toxic products to suppressed emotions pulls from your balance, while sleep, real food, sunlight, community and nervous system regulation deposit back in. Functional testing for hormones, gut health, food sensitivities and stress markers gives hard data that your brain and body are overloaded, and it also proves the impact of healing work when you retest. Holographic memory resolution and somatic work help locate the moment the nervous system froze during trauma, update the brain's story and release pain, insomnia and chronic stress patterns that standard labs cannot explain. Epigenetics shows that unhealed trauma can travel through generations. Working with mind plus body tools can shift patterns for you and your family line. High-achieving women often burn out because they carry everyone's problems. A core practice of The Meraki Way is giving those problems back energetically and learning that “no” is a complete sentence. Their 90 day framework combines functional protocols with intuitive tools like human design so clients leave not only healthier but with a clear blueprint for how they are wired to live and decide. Connect With J'Nai and Stephanie  : Website. https://merakifunctionalreset.comLearn about The Meraki Way, their 90 day program and sign up for the free Meraki Walk nervous system reset practice. Email: meraki.sacred.healing.co@gmail.comReach out to share your story, inquire about working with them, or ask questions about functional testing, holographic memory resolution, long COVID recovery and nervous system regulation. They support high achieving women and sensitive leaders who are tired of being told it is all in your head and are ready for data driven, soul aware healing. Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PM - Send me a message on PodMatch DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik  Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed are the personal opinions of the guest and do not reflect the views of the host or Healthy Mind By Avik™️. We do not intend to harm, defame, or discredit any person, organization, brand, product, country, or profession mentioned. All third-party media used remain the property of their respective owners and are used under fair use for informational purposes. By watching, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer.  Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it has become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty, storyteller, survivor, wellness advocate, this channel shares powerful podcasts and soul-nurturing conversations on: • Mental Health & Emotional Well-being• Mindfulness & Spiritual Growth• Holistic Healing & Conscious Living• Trauma Recovery & Self-Empowerment With over 4,400+ episodes and 168.4K+ global listeners, join us as we unite voices, break stigma, and build a world where every story matters. Subscribe and be part of this healing journey. Contact Brand: Healthy Mind By Avik™Email: join@healthymindbyavik.com | podcast@healthymindbyavik.comWebsite: www.healthymindbyavik.comBased in: India & USA Open to collaborations, guest appearances, coaching, and strategic partnerships. Let's connect to create a ripple effect of positivity. CHECK PODCAST SHOWS & BE A GUEST: Listen our 17 Podcast Shows Here: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/healthymindbyavikBe a guest on our other shows: https://www.healthymindbyavik.com/beaguestVideo Testimonial: https://www.healthymindbyavik.com/testimonialsJoin Our Guest & Listener Community: https://nas.io/healthymindSubscribe To Newsletter: https://healthymindbyavik.substack.com/  OUR SERVICES Business Podcast Management - https://ourofferings.healthymindbyavik.com/corporatepodcasting/Individual Podcast Management - https://ourofferings.healthymindbyavik.com/Podcasting/Share Your Story With World - https://ourofferings.healthymindbyavik.com/shareyourstory  STAY TUNED AND FOLLOW US! 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Shoutout to our sponsors, its Green Wednesday, which means you need to stock up on all your Meraki and smoke before the Biggest Munchie Holiday of the Year!!! Swing through NOBO on Lincoln St for a great deal & quality smoke! Today's episode starts off with a BIG announcement from CB in the intro. From there, we sit down with 3 excellent guests to talk #FWClassicCHS as well as some Holiday/Thanksgiving dishes. The perfect roadtrip podcast for those headed to visit family this week.Thank You Chef Chris Shepherd, Food & Wine Editor Hunter Lewis & Chef Carrie Morey for taking the time out of your busy schedule to goof off with us! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stoned-appetit--3077842/support.

In this next Cozy Earth-sponsored episode of The End in Mind, I dive deep into one of the most overlooked parts of business growth — the energy and consistency behind your marketing and lead generation.I share how social media still works (even with 100 followers), why most businesses fail when they cut marketing first, and how to keep your pipeline full through genuine connection and consistent action.From daily lead generation practices to balancing multiple marketing channels, I give a behind-the-scenes look at how Meraki builds long-term growth through strategy, storytelling, and energy alignment.If you've been wondering how to reignite your marketing, this episode will help you see that success isn't about doing more — it's about showing up with the right energy and data-driven focus.*Special Offer from Cozy Earth: Black Friday came early!- Use code ‘MERAKI' to save 40% sitewide!- Try Cozy Earth risk-free with their 100-Night Sleep Trial and 10-Year WarrantyPerfect for gifting (or keeping for yourself)!*Loved this episode?*DM me on Instagram @meraki_media_management to share your biggest takeaway or ask your marketing questions. Don't forget to tag your Cozy Earth favorites if you order — Bailey already approves! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it really take to build an AI-ready network in 2025? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Vikas Butaney from Cisco and Ali Tehrani from Presidio to unpack the biggest announcements from Cisco's Partner Summit and discuss how their collaboration is helping enterprises modernise networks for the AI era. Together, we explore how businesses can move faster, strengthen security, and simplify operations while adapting to a world of continuous data flow and intelligent automation. Vikas shares how Cisco's strategy is built around three customer imperatives: AI ready data centers, future proof workplaces, and digital resilience. He talks about how Cisco is weaving these priorities into new innovations such as secure routers with five times the throughput, Wi Fi 7 access points, and unified dashboards that bring Catalyst Center and Meraki together for a single view of the network. He also introduces AI Canvas, a multiplayer workspace that allows NetOps and SecOps teams to collaborate in real time, showing what it looks like when AI becomes part of the operational fabric rather than an add on. Ali joins the conversation with the partner's perspective, explaining how Presidio brings Cisco's architecture to life through the last mile of execution. He describes how the Cisco Unified Branch initiative uses AI workflows and branches as code to deliver zero touch rollout across thousands of sites. By combining automation, golden configuration templates, and telemetry driven SLAs, Presidio helps customers reduce deployment times from weeks to minutes while maintaining consistent performance and security. Throughout our discussion, we compare AI for networking, where AI helps to run and optimise the network, with networking for AI, which provides the infrastructure to power high volume AI workloads. We talk about how Cisco is building security directly into the network with Access Manager, simplifying IoT segmentation, and preparing for a post quantum world. This episode offers a clear, inside look at how Cisco and Presidio are shaping the next generation of secure, intelligent networks. So, how ready is your organisation for this new era of AI driven connectivity?   You said: Please also insert these links Press Release: Cisco Supercharges its Secure Enterprise Network Architecture for the AI Era Blog: Unlocking the AI Era: How Cisco is Delivering on its Vision for a Secure, Simplified, and Scalable Network Blog: From Fragmented to Future-ready with Unified Branch: Powering IT in the AI Era   ChatGPT said: What does it really take to build an AI ready network in 2025? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Vikas Butaney from Cisco and Ali Tehrani from Presidio to unpack the biggest announcements from Cisco's Partner Summit and discuss how their collaboration is helping enterprises modernise networks for the AI era. Together, we explore how businesses can move faster, strengthen security, and simplify operations while adapting to a world of continuous data flow and intelligent automation. Vikas shares how Cisco's strategy is built around three customer imperatives: AI ready data centers, future proof workplaces, and digital resilience. He talks about how Cisco is weaving these priorities into new innovations such as secure routers with five times the throughput, Wi Fi 7 access points, and unified dashboards that bring Catalyst Center and Meraki together for a single view of the network. He also introduces AI Canvas, a multiplayer workspace that allows NetOps and SecOps teams to collaborate in real time, showing what it looks like when AI becomes part of the operational fabric rather than an add on. Ali joins the conversation with the partner's perspective, explaining how Presidio brings Cisco's architecture to life through the last mile of execution. He describes how the Cisco Unified Branch initiative uses AI workflows and branches as code to deliver zero touch rollout across thousands of sites. By combining automation, golden configuration templates, and telemetry driven SLAs, Presidio helps customers reduce deployment times from weeks to minutes while maintaining consistent performance and security. Throughout our discussion, we compare AI for networking, where AI helps to run and optimise the network, with networking for AI, which provides the infrastructure to power high volume AI workloads. We talk about how Cisco is building security directly into the network with Access Manager, simplifying IoT segmentation, and preparing for a post quantum world. If you want to learn more about Cisco's announcements and vision for the AI era, check out these resources: Cisco Supercharges its Secure Enterprise Network Architecture for the AI Era Unlocking the AI Era: How Cisco is Delivering on its Vision for a Secure, Simplified, and Scalable Network From Fragmented to Future Ready with Unified Branch: Powering IT in the AI Era This episode offers a clear, inside look at how Cisco and Presidio are shaping the next generation of secure, intelligent networks. So, how ready is your organisation for this new era of AI driven connectivity?   Tech Talks Daily is Sponsored by NordLayer: Get the exclusive Black Friday offer: 28% off NordLayer yearly plans with the coupon code: techdaily-28. Valid until December 10th, 2025. Try it risk-free with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

We're back with another Cozy Earth x The End in Mind episode! In this week's solo, I'm diving into one of my favorite (and most misunderstood) topics: influencer marketing.After years of working with brands and creators through my agency, Meraki Media Management, I've learned that the secret to influencer marketing isn't about follower count — it's about relationships, alignment, and collaboration.I'm sharing:- What to do when you don't have a big budget for influencers- How to build authentic relationships that lead to long-term partnerships- Why collaboration always works better than transaction- And how to protect yourself (and your brand) with clear communication and contractsWhether you're a business owner ready to collaborate with creators or a marketer building your next campaign, this episode will give you a real behind-the-scenes look at how influencer marketing works, and how to make it feel aligned.*Special Offer from Cozy Earth: Black Friday came early!- Use code ‘MERAKI' to save 40% sitewide!- Try Cozy Earth risk-free with their 100-Night Sleep Trial and 10-Year WarrantyBecause comfort fuels creativity — and these are the softest sheets and pajamas ever!cozyearth.com | Code: MERAKI*Loved this episode?*DM me on Instagram @meraki_media_management to share your biggest takeaway or your Cozy Earth favorites, and tag me when you order — I want to see what you picked! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special solo series, I'm kicking off the first of four episodes with Cozy Earth — one of my absolute favorite brands!As I record wrapped in their unbelievably soft bamboo pajamas and sheets, I'm diving into the first Unspoken Marketing Secret every entrepreneur needs to know: storytelling.I talk about how sharing your real experiences builds trust, creates connection, and turns casual followers into lifelong clients. I share stories from my years in marketing — from pitching major PR features to helping online entrepreneurs find their voice — and how the right story can open unexpected doors for your business.Whether you're new to marketing or scaling your next big idea, this episode will remind you that authenticity always converts!*Special Offer from Cozy Earth: Black Friday came early - Use code ‘MERAKI' to save 40% sitewide!- Try Cozy Earth risk-free with their 100-Night Sleep Trial and 10-Year WarrantyWrap the ones you love (including yourself!) in luxury!cozyearth.com | Code: MERAKI*Loved this episode?*DM me on Instagram @meraki_media_management to share your favorite takeaway or how you're bringing more storytelling into your marketing, and don't forget to tag me if you grab your Cozy Earth favorites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artist: Sultana (Russia) Label: The Magic Sun Genre: Organic House Release Date: 21.11.2025 Download: https://go.protonradio.com/r/rlH0RVyLFYZ2M The Tribe of the Sun VA gathers a constellation of artists, each offering a unique lens on the sun tribe. Anatolian Sessions, Sultana, ÜNAM, Mutul, Think City, Martin Omelka, Paloma Del Cerro, Inessa, Catatonique, Maricha, Meraki, Mada.Mada, GRILLÔ, Tribu Oro, Dvniel, Manu Ela, Purpura, Tomy Velez, Galo Llorente, Anastasis Sarakatsanos, and Bako Bakraman come together in a journey that shifts between punchy rhythms and night sun soundscapes, organic grooves and emotional depths - always carrying the magical vibration of The Magic Sun. This is an invitation to explore, feel, and celebrate the energy of the sun from every angle. Sultana is a DJ and Producer based in Moscow, known for her captivating Downtempo, Organic House, and Deep House music. She discovered her passion for music in 2015, crafting a unique sound that blends ethnic melodies with a refined style. Sultana's music resonates emotionally while maintaining dancefloor energy, making her performances true journeys through sound. The Magic Sun: https://www.facebook.com/themagicsunmusic Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/themagicsunmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themagicsun.music Sultana: www.facebook.com/sultanaamusic Soundcloud: @sultana_music Instagram: www.instagram.com/sultana.music CONTACT (DHM): Email — deephousemoscow@hotmail.com Follow us: www.facebook.com/deephousemsk/ www.instagram.com/deephousemoscow/ vk.com/deephousemsk/

In this conversation, the speakers delve into the importance of emotional differentiation and somatic therapy in parenting, particularly in the context of co-parenting and parental alienation. They discuss how understanding one's emotions and boundaries can lead to healthier relationships with children and ex-partners. The conversation emphasizes the significance of self-trust, agency, and the need for repair in relationships, both with oneself and with others. The speakers also highlight practical resources and strategies for parents to navigate these challenges effectively.Key TakeawaysEmotional differentiation helps in recognizing what emotions belong to us.Somatic therapy reconnects individuals with their bodies for healing.Creating safety in parent-child relationships is crucial for emotional health.Boundaries teach others how we want to be treated.Repairing relationships starts with self-awareness and self-trust.Self-sacrifice in parenting should be intentional, not a default.Children absorb the emotional dynamics of their parents' relationships.Communication and consent are key in navigating co-parenting challenges.Repair can happen within ourselves, not just through verbal communication.Resources like workshops and books can support parents in their journey.Chapters00:00 - Understanding Emotional Differentiation02:46 - The Importance of Somatic Therapy05:47 - Navigating Parent-Child Relationships08:58 - The Role of Boundaries in Co-Parenting11:58 - Repairing Relationships: Self and Others15:05 - The Power of Self-Trust and Agency17:49 - Creating Safety in Parenting21:04 - The Journey of Somatic Healing23:52 - Resources for Parents26:53 - Final Thoughts and ReflectionsIf you wish to connect with Lawrence Joss or any of the PA-A community members who have appeared as guests on the podcast:Email - familydisappeared@gmail.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/lawrencejoss(All links mentioned in the podcast are available in Linktree)Vivian Meraki's Website: https://www.vivianmeraki.com/⁩Please donate to support PAA programs:https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=SDLTX8TBSZNXSsa bottom partThis podcast is made possible by the Family Disappeared Team:Anna Johnson- Editor/Contributor/Activist/Co-hostGlaze Gonzales- Podcast ManagerConnect with Lawrence Joss:Website: https://parentalalienationanonymous.com/Email- familydisappeared@gmail.com

In this conversation, Lawrence Joss interviews Vivian Marrake, a somatic trauma-informed coach, who shares her insights on somatic therapy and its transformative power in healing emotional pain, particularly in the context of parental alienation. Vivian discusses her personal journey through divorce and how somatic practices helped her reconnect with her body and emotions. The conversation emphasizes the importance of acknowledging one's feelings, building resilience, and the role of co-regulation in parenting. Vivian provides practical tools for parents to support their children in navigating their emotions and developing self-trust.Key TakeawaysWhen someone starts to see you and hear you, it shows us that we matter.Somatic therapy can be a life-changing experience.The body holds our experiences and reactions before our mind does.Resilience is about how quickly we return to our center.Co-regulation is a powerful tool for parents.It's okay for children to feel their emotions.Children need to learn that they are the experts on themselves.The silver bullet for healing is often within us.Acknowledging our struggles is the first step to healing.Building resilience involves softening and reconnecting with our bodies.Chapters00:00 - The Importance of Acknowledgment02:45 - Introduction to Somatic Coaching05:54 - Understanding Somatics08:58 - Personal Journey to Somatic Healing11:52 - The Power of Somatic Practices15:05 - Navigating Parental Alienation17:57 - Building Resilience Through Somatics20:54 - Co-Regulation and Parenting23:57 - Practical Tools for Parents27:08 - Empowering Children Through Somatic Awareness29:59 - Living the Somatic ExperienceIf you wish to connect with Lawrence Joss or any of the PA-A community members who have appeared as guests on the podcast:Email - familydisappeared@gmail.comLinktree: https://linktr.ee/lawrencejoss(All links mentioned in the podcast are available in Linktree)Vivian Meraki's Website: https://www.vivianmeraki.com/⁩Please donate to support PAA programs:https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=SDLTX8TBSZNXSsa bottom partThis podcast is made possible by the Family Disappeared Team:Anna Johnson- Editor/Contributor/Activist/Co-hostGlaze Gonzales- Podcast ManagerConnect with Lawrence Joss:Website: https://parentalalienationanonymous.com/Email- familydisappeared@gmail.com

In this solo episode of The End in Mind, I dive into something I've been noticing (and living through) in business: the shift toward becoming a multifaceted entrepreneur.We're in a season where your personal brand and your business brand can't be separated anymore — they need to fuel one another. And the skills that make you stand out aren't just nice-to-have add-ons; they're often the deciding factor when a client chooses to work with you.I share how I've seen this unfold in my own business, Meraki, and why bridging your unique skills is critical for building offers that actually sell in today's market. From the evolution of social media management into full-scale campaign strategy, to longer corporate sales cycles, to building a team that grows with you — this episode unpacks what it really takes to adapt and scale.If you've been feeling the pressure to “do more” or the confusion of shifting client expectations, this conversation will give you clarity and remind you that:- The market is evolving — and so should your offers- Clients don't want to be pushed; they want to be understood- Scaling requires both foresight and supportThis episode is for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and anyone who knows they're capable of more but isn't sure how to bridge their skills into an offer the market actually wants!*Loved this episode?*Share it with a fellow entrepreneur and DM me on Instagram to tell me your thoughts — I'd love to hear your perspective! And if you found it valuable, leaving a quick review helps The End in Mind reach more listeners who are ready to grow with purpose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Meet Angie HERE Meet Penelope HEREIn this episode of 'Designing Success from Study to Studio,' host Rhiannon Lee, founder of Oleander and Finch Design Studio, delves into the world of property styling with guest Angie, a thriving property stylist and interior designer from Meraki Property Styling and Interior Design in Melbourne. Angie shares her journey from starting with basic stock to now styling high-end homes, emphasizing the importance of pricing, quoting systems, cash flow, and industry networking. The conversation covers the challenges of competitive pricing, the role of technology and AI in the industry, and the dynamic nature of property staging. Listeners also gain insights into the practical steps and mindset shifts required for success in property styling, highlighting the importance of relationship-building with real estate agents, efficient quoting processes, and adapting to industry trends. Rhiannon and Angie's candid discussion provides valuable lessons for both emerging and seasoned designers looking to navigate the complexities of the property styling industry.00:00 Introduction to Designing Success00:54 Meet Angie: From IKEA to High-End Homes01:48 A Funny Story: How Angie and I Met04:32 The Reality of Property Styling05:09 The Fast-Paced World of Property Styling10:46 Challenges and Strategies in Property Styling19:24 The Impact of AI and Technology in Property Styling20:23 Time-Saving Tools and Business Growth37:01 Navigating AI in the Industry37:34 The Human Touch in Interior Design39:49 Marketing Strategies for Property Stylists41:12 Building Relationships with Real Estate Agents43:04 Challenges and Realities of Property Staging46:23 The Importance of Professionalism and Quality54:45 Running a Business: Expectations vs. Reality57:20 Continuous Learning and Adaptation01:05:24 Wrapping Up and Future PlansThanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business. Grab more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finchLike Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don't teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship essential to having a successful new business in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own successTHE FRAMEWORK ( now open) https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations. ...

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In this Meraki Unboxed podcast, Cisco and Meraki are converging to deliver unified networking solutions. The episode covers the transition between brands; the impact on customers and partners; and how a strong, collaborative culture drives continued success during change. Our guest, Cisco Networking Specialist Jeff Perlmutter, shares practical sales strategies, the roles AI and innovation play in the networking portfolio, and advice for building authentic relationships in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Check out the episode now!HostSammy Brenner, Virtual Sales Leader, Cisco MerakiGuestJeff Perlmutter, Cisco Networking Specialist, Cisco MerakiJeff Perlmutter is a tenured Cisco Meraki networking specialist with over a decade of experience helping enterprise customers across the Bay Area rethink how they approach networking. He brings a mix of technical expertise and practical insight to every conversation and is passionate about helping customers navigate change, simplify complexity, and get the most out of their technology investments.  

Kiren Sekar is the CPO of Samsara, a company that brings real-time visibility, analytics, and AI to physical operations. Before Samsara, Kiren was an early leader at Meraki, which was acquired by Cisco for $1.2B. In this episode, he walks us through Samsara's origin story: from hardware hacking in a basement to scaling a cross-industry IoT platform. He shares how early customer feedback loops led to the company's first product, why starting with the mid-market was a deliberate choice, and how Samsara kept a startup mindset even as it scaled. In this episode, we discuss: Lessons from Meraki's acquisition by Cisco How Kiren hires for intrinsic motivation Why Samsara was built for operations industries The early hardware prototype and the Cowgirl Creamery insight Building broad vs. niche from day one The shift from founder-selling to a scalable sales motion Organizing product teams around revenue vs. experience How Samsara uses LLMs and AI today What Kiren learned from longtime co-founder Sanjit Biswas Where to find Kiren: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirensekar/ Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson References: Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/ Clay: https://www.clay.com/ Cowgirl Creamery: https://cowgirlcreamery.com/ IBM: https://www.ibm.com/ Meraki: https://meraki.cisco.com/ Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/ Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ Samsara: https://www.samsara.com/ Sanjit Biswas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjitbiswas/ Uber: https://www.uber.com/ Timestamps: (01:27) Meraki's growth and acquisition by Cisco (03:25) The "evaporating" exit strategy from Meraki (04:42) Identifying the IoT market gaps (07:38) The early keys to success at Samsara (09:39) What does quality mean to Kiren? (10:54) Building a customer-centric roadmap (17:34) Early customer research and the failed fridge monitoring idea (20:57) How a cheese producer helped create Samsara's first prototype (28:06) Balancing depth and breadth in customer profiles (33:45) Developing customer trust to build feedback loops (40:27) How “ease of use” became a growth secret (44:23) Pricing strategies and market positioning (51:51) How Meraki influenced Samsara's GTM strategy (57:19) Helping customers navigate change management (1:00:48) How Samsara's team evolved during rapid growth (1:04:03) What AI means for an IoT giant

Send us a textTim and Chris dive into the month's most significant tech developments, exploring antitrust rulings, emerging AI security threats, and the financial sustainability of the AI industry.• Google avoids having to sell Chrome in federal antitrust ruling but is barred from exclusive distribution contracts• Cybercriminals deploy "S1ngularity Attack" using LLM prompts to steal credentials from 2,100 GitHub accounts• Cisco reintroduces dedicated wireless certification track with focus on Wi-Fi 6/7 and Meraki technologies• Google Cloud introduces "agentic IAM" services to manage AI agent identities and improve MCP security• Zscaler CEO creates controversy by suggesting customer logs are used for AI training before company clarification• Avaya offers voluntary exit packages to all employees, suggesting potential acquisition or restructuring• OpenAI increases projected spending through 2029 by $80 billion to $115 billion totalShare this episode on social media and tell a friend about the podcast if you enjoyed it. You can find us on all platforms @Cables2Clouds.Purchase Chris and Tim's new book on AWS Cloud Networking: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Advanced-Networking-Certification-certification/dp/1835080839/ Check out the Fortnightly Cloud Networking Newshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1fkBWCGwXDUX9OfZ9_MvSVup8tJJzJeqrauaE6VPT2b0/Visit our website and subscribe: https://www.cables2clouds.com/Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cables2clouds.comFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cables2clouds/Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cables2cloudsMerch Store: https://store.cables2clouds.com/Join the Discord Study group: https://artofneteng.com/iaatj

Heyyyyy Meraki Gang!!!! Today's episode is all about dating. I've decided to jump back in the dating pool. Im sure there will be more dating episodes so that I can keep you all updated with my love life. This will be an interesting journey. If you have any pointers for me let me know. The dating pool was scarce. But let's have some hope.   Meraki- to do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself in your work.   FOLLOW Instagram: @MerakiLifePodcast

On this week's holiday episode.. we cover it all. Dog StuffDrama between restaurant & content creatorEstPhest Begins! Phish is in TownCB's headed to the Hotel California in Baja MexicoThanks to our sponsors NOBO Cannabis, Meraki, Flower Union & Fat Grams for the supplies for a perfect weekend. Let's celerbate what's left of this country & it's dignity! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stoned-appetit--3077842/support.

Heyyyy Meraki Gang!!! I'm backkkk....AGAIN! Lol. I promise to be more consistent and I want you all to hold me accountable with these episodes. We now have video!! So go subscribe to my youtube channel. Welcome as we navigate through life doing everything the Meraki way...   Meraki-to do something with soul, creativity, or love; to pit something of yourself in your work.   FOLLOW Instagram:@MerakiLifePodcast

Recap the highlights of Cisco Live 2025 San Diego in this episode of Meraki Unboxed. From exciting product announcements to the growing impact of AI on the Cisco portfolio, we explore how innovation and customer focus took center stage.  Tune in for insights into the event's dynamic culture, networking opportunities, and what's next for Cisco and its partners.HostSammy Brenner, Virtual Sales Leader, Cisco MerakiGuestsRachel Greene, Inside Sales Director, Cisco MerakiMike Yin is the Global Solution Engineering Director of Secure Network at Cisco. He is an experienced and successful technical sales leader with a proven track record in both startups and established companies. Having joined Meraki in 2012, Mike held sales engineering leadership positions in the biggest growth markets and propelled the business to over 60x revenue growth. Then, as the global SE leader, Mike helped establish Meraki as the primary platform for Cisco Networking and transformed the industry through cloud and simplicity.  Mike is passionate about building a team culture that thrives on a sense of purpose in helping customers achieve their own mission. The team paved the way for many best practices such as demo mastery, API and ecosystem, and MEDDPICC adoption. This has not only resulted in astronomical revenue growth, but also a sustained world-class renewal rate.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Catch up from Cisco Live:: https://cisco.com/Announced at Cisco Live: https://www.cisco.com/?socialshare=video-livestream  Powering the future of secure AI infrastructure: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2025/m06/cisco-powers-secure-infrastructure-for-the-ai-era.html  Unveiling secure network architecture to accelerate workplace AI transformation: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2025/m06/cisco-unveils-secure-network-architecture-to-accelerate-workplace-ai-transformation.html  Transforming security for agentic AI era, further fusing security into the network: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2025/m06/cisco-transforms-security-for-the-agentic-ai-era-further-fusing-security-into-the-network.html  Powering AI-ready data centers, from hyperscale to enterprise: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2025/m06/cisco-powers-ai-ready-data-centers-from-hyperscale-to-enterprise.html  Cisco 8000 Secure Routers: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/products/networking/sdwan-routers/cisco-8000-secure-routers/index.html  Cisco C9350 Series Smart Switches: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/products/networking/switches/c9350-series-smart-switches/index.html  Cisco C9610 Series Smart Switches: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/products/networking/switches/c9610-series-smart-switches/index.html  Blogs:Cisco New Family of Cisco Smart Switches From AgenticOps to Assurance Meet the Cisco Deep Network Model Redefining Branch Networking Wi-Fi for the AI EnterpriseExpanding the Edge of Possibility

Send us a textWhen automation fails, it fails spectacularly—and at scale. The recent Google Cloud outage that took down over 54 global services for more than seven hours demonstrates this perfectly. A simple error—blank fields in automated policy updates—cascaded into widespread failures affecting millions of users worldwide. This episode dives deep into what went wrong, how it happened, and what it means for cloud resilience in the AI era.We also explore Cisco's dramatic pivot at Cisco Live 2025, where they've committed to refreshing their entire hardware stack and integrating AI throughout their ecosystem. Their new LLM called Deep Network suggests a future where networking infrastructure makes intelligent decisions autonomously. We discuss whether Cisco can deliver on these promises and what the unification of their Meraki and Catalyst lines might mean for customers.The Ultra Ethernet Consortium has finally released their 1.0 specification, establishing a comprehensive standard for high-performance computing environments. This 600+ page document marks a significant milestone in creating viable alternatives to InfiniBand for AI workloads. Meanwhile, Network-as-a-Service pioneer Meter secured $170 million in Series C funding, raising questions about the actual size and sustainability of the NaaS market.On the cybersecurity front, we examine two concerning developments: the mass exodus of leadership from CISA during heightened threat conditions, and a novel zero-click vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Copilot that can expose sensitive data without any user interaction. This "Echo Leak" vulnerability demonstrates how AI systems that automatically scan content create entirely new attack vectors that organizations must defend against.Join us for a fast-paced discussion about these pivotal developments in cloud computing, networking technology, and cybersecurity. What does all this mean for your infrastructure strategy? Listen and find out.Purchase Chris and Tim's new book on AWS Cloud Networking: https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Advanced-Networking-Certification-certification/dp/1835080839/ Check out the Fortnightly Cloud Networking Newshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1fkBWCGwXDUX9OfZ9_MvSVup8tJJzJeqrauaE6VPT2b0/Visit our website and subscribe: https://www.cables2clouds.com/Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cables2clouds.comFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cables2clouds/Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cables2cloudsMerch Store: https://store.cables2clouds.com/Join the Discord Study group: https://artofneteng.com/iaatj

Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert for the week is a remote code execution vulnerability in open-source XDR platform Wazuh. In tech news, we dig into several announcements from Cisco Live US including: unified management of Meraki and Catalyst gear, new switches, an AI Assistant for the Meraki dashboard, a Deep Network Model LLM,... Read more »

Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert for the week is a remote code execution vulnerability in open-source XDR platform Wazuh. In tech news, we dig into several announcements from Cisco Live US including: unified management of Meraki and Catalyst gear, new switches, an AI Assistant for the Meraki dashboard, a Deep Network Model LLM,... Read more »

Take a Network Break! Our Red Alert for the week is a remote code execution vulnerability in open-source XDR platform Wazuh. In tech news, we dig into several announcements from Cisco Live US including: unified management of Meraki and Catalyst gear, new switches, an AI Assistant for the Meraki dashboard, a Deep Network Model LLM,... Read more »

What does it take to future-proof the modern workplace? In this episode, I speak with Thomas Rowley, Chief Technologist for Networking and Connectivity at Softcat, about the real-world challenges of managing a high-density office and how the company turned to Cisco to create a more intelligent, responsive environment. As more employees returned to the office, Softcat began to notice a hidden problem. Rising CO2 levels were affecting the comfort and productivity of their teams. Rather than treat it as a facilities issue, they tackled it head-on with technology. Working with Cisco, they rolled out a combination of access points, collaboration tools, and Meraki sensors that transformed their workspace into a data-informed, adaptive environment. But this story isn't just about devices. It's about inspiration too. A visit to Cisco's Experience Center opened Softcat's eyes to what was possible, not just in terms of hardware, but in how unified tech strategies can drive better decisions. That visit ultimately sparked the idea for their own internal innovation space, showcasing how operational excellence can become a cultural value, not just a technical outcome. Thomas also shares insight into the evolving role of connectivity in hybrid work, how Softcat supports over 1,500 salespeople with scalable IT solutions, and why the partnership with Cisco continues to shape their global ambitions. From sustainability to scalability, this episode offers a practical look at how two leading tech firms collaborate to solve problems that many businesses are only just beginning to understand. If your office still treats infrastructure as an afterthought, this conversation might change your mind. Are your workplace systems ready to handle both people and performance?      

“The AI-powered enterprise is here—and it demands a network that can keep up.” — Aruna Ravichandran, SVP, Cisco In a conversation recorded live at Cisco Live 2025 in San Diego, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, sat down with Aruna Ravichandran, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Cisco's Enterprise Connectivity and Collaboration division. The discussion centered on Cisco's major announcements aimed at future-proofing enterprise networks to meet the growing demands of AI, automation, and increasing security threats. Ravichandran explained that Cisco is preparing for a massive transformation in the global workforce—one where AI agents will soon outnumber human workers. With billions of devices and agents expected to be actively communicating, Cisco predicts massive increases in both east-west and north-south traffic, pushing legacy networks to their limits. To meet this challenge, Cisco launched a suite of new solutions including: AI Canvas: A collaborative dashboard powered by a Cisco-trained large language model (LLM), offering cross-domain data visibility, telemetry integration, and AI-driven diagnostics. Integrated with a conversational AI assistant, it enables NetOps teams to resolve complex network issues in seconds instead of days. Agentic Ops: A new paradigm using AI to simplify network operations, empowering NetOps professionals to do more with shrinking budgets. Smart Switches and Secure Routers: Featuring dual CPU architecture (one for networking and one for security), these devices are post-quantum ready and built to support Cisco's Hypershield initiative. Wi-Fi 7 Access Points: A first in the industry, offering high-performance wireless connectivity for AI-heavy environments. Live Protect: A breakthrough feature enabling live patching of switches without downtime, reinforcing Cisco's three-layer security model across infrastructure, connectivity, and applications. Unified Management: Merging the Meraki and Catalyst dashboards into a single control plane to streamline administration. Ravichandran emphasized that all new technologies are backward compatible, ensuring customers can modernize without disrupting ongoing operations. However, she strongly encouraged enterprises still relying on aging infrastructure—like CAT 9200 and 6K series—to begin refreshing now to leverage these capabilities. Finally, Ravichandran reinforced Cisco's strong commitment to its partner ecosystem, noting that the company has built extensive enablement plans for channel partners to capitalize on this refresh wave. For more, visit: https://www.cisco.com #AIinNetworking #CiscoLive2025 #NetworkRefresh #AgenticOps #SecureNetworking #WiFi7 #TechReseller #CiscoAI #SmartInfrastructure #TechnologyResellerNews

Chef and Owner Julian joins the crew on this weeks episode. He discusses his journey, passion, family, and current posture of restaurants. The vibes are great at Meraki but the food is better. Make sure you visit @merakigrayson and subscribe to all channels. www.asquaredpodcast.com@merakigrayson @iamdjaron @cornbreadmoviereview @asquaredpodcast

Sanjit Biswas is the Co-founder and CEO of Samsara, the fleet management and safety platform.At the time of publication, Samsara is a public company worth over $26 billion, and we unpack how exactly they went from zero to run rating at over $1.5 billion in revenue in ten years.We get into using AI to impact the physical world, how Samsara uses AI internally, and how their products prevent over 200,000 deaths per year.Sanjit has built two unicorns, and he shares everything he's learned along the way, including what most founders and investors get wrong about hardware, thinking customer-first instead of product-first, how to know when you have product market fit, mastering sales as a technical founder, and how to spend more time with your customers.We also talk about getting his high school online in the 90's, and the research project that turned into Sanjit's first company, Meraki, and its $1.2 billion dollar sale to Cisco in 2012.Thanks to Bolt for supporting this episode. Help them break a world record for the largest hackathon (up to $1m in prizes): https://bit.ly/ThePeelBoltHackathonTimestamps:(4:26) Samsara: Helping the world of physical operations(8:44) Preventing 200,000 deaths per year(11:19) AI opportunities in transportation(14:43) Samsara's internal AI tools(16:58) What people get wrong when building hardware(19:04) Starting Samsara customer-first instead of product-first(22:23) Find adjacent products for your customers(26:28) How to know you have product market fit(34:52) How to spend more time with customers and build feedback loops(43:00) 70-20-10 framework for allocating capital(45:07) Importance of selling new products to existing customers(49:15) Revisiting the product roadmap based on new technology(50:38) Why Sanjit credits focus to hitting $1B revenue in nine years(53:41) Learning to love sales as a technical founder(57:06) Getting his high school online in the 90's(1:01:46) The research project that turned into Sanjit's first company, Meraki(1:04:01) Importance of asymmetric risk when starting a company(1:05:41) Early days of Meraki taking off(1:09:19) Surviving and doubling during the financial crisis(1:16:00) Cisco acquiring Meraki for $1.2B(1:18:15) Meraki's post-acquisition integration(1:20:48) Differences between 1st and 2nd company(1:24:19) Almost starting an renewable energy company(1:25:52) The power of small teams(1:28:49) One-shotting Bill Gates' biography at 10-years oldReferencedSamsara: https://samsara.com/Meraki: https://meraki.cisco.com/Arduino: https://www.arduino.cc/Raspberry Pi: https://www.raspberrypi.com/Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Drive-Making-Microsoft-Empire/dp/0887306292No Priors Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@NoPriorsPodcastFollow SanjitLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjitbiswas/Follow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

In this Humans of Meraki episode, Helen Fream takes us on her dynamic Cisco journey—from designing the popular Meraki e-learning program to championing mentorship and leading Women of Meraki. With humor and heart, Helen shares how she's created opportunities, mastered public speaking, and pursued her love of sustainable fashion. You won't want to miss this uplifting conversation, full of insights on inclusion and growth and making bold moves in the workplace!Embark on the Meraki FIT journey https://community.meraki.com/t5/Meraki-FIT/ct-p/merakifitHostSammy Brenner, Virtual Sales Leader, Cisco MerakiGuestHelen Fream, Instructional Designer – Join & Connect Enablement Hfream@cisco.comHelen is a Learning & Development professional with a strong background in instructional design, program management, and digital learning solutions. Throughout her career at Cisco, she has built global onboarding initiatives and created impactful learning experiences for diverse audiences. Known for her creativity, organization, and cross-functional collaboration, she is also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, having led the ERO Women of Meraki, as a sustainable fashion enthusiast, and as a dedicated Toastmaster!