Podcasts about principal analyst

The conversation around artificial intelligence has shifted. It is no longer a question of what AI can do, it is a question of where it belongs inside an organization and how to integrate it into the fundamental operating system of a business. Brian Bryson, principal technology analyst at MIT Technology Review, has been tracking that shift closely, and his conclusion is clear: AI is no longer a technology problem. It is a change management problem. As one of the most trusted voices in technology research and analysis, Bryson helps senior executives, policymakers, and business leaders cut through the hype, understand what is real, and prepare for what is coming next. MIT Technology Review reaches millions of influential decision makers across technology and business, and Bryson sits at the center of that conversation, connecting technical breakthroughs in AI, quantum, and energy to the real-world business implications that matter most to the leaders navigating them.On this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Podcast, we sit down with Brian Bryson, principal analyst at MIT Technology Review, to unpack how AI adoption is evolving from experimentation to enterprise integration, what the most forward-thinking organizations are doing differently, why the convergence of AI, quantum, and energy represents the next major investment thesis, and how MIT is repositioning itself around the most consequential technology forces of our time. Bryson also shares his personal reboot story that taught him why slower is sometimes faster, and why rebuilding from the foundation up is the only way to build something that lasts.

The Experience Strategy Podcast Hosts: Aransas Savas, Dave Norton, Joe Pine Featured articles: "Death of the Segment: Why Personas Are Killing Personalization" — SwiftERM "Your Personas Are Outdated. It's Time to Evolve Your Approach." — Audrey Chee-Read, Principal Analyst, Forrester Every other post on LinkedIn is announcing the death of something. Most of it is alarmist storytelling dressed up as insight. But under the noise, two recent articles — one from SwiftERM, one from Forrester — are pointing at a real problem: personas and segmentation, built for an earlier era of marketing, have become a drag on personalization in the era of AI. Dave, Joe, and Aransas trace where personas actually came from, why they got merged with segmentation, what AI changes about the math, and what should replace the persona as the stable determinant companies are still looking for. The answer Dave keeps returning to: situations. Key Ideas Personas were never built for marketers. Dave opens with the history. The persona originated around 1999–2001 as a design thinking technique to get engineers to think more like customers. It worked. Then it migrated into marketing and merged with segmentation, and the original purpose got lost. Segmentation is the search for a stable determinant. Companies need something they can count on to define a market — geography, demographics, lifestyle, generation. Stable determinants make markets identifiable, and identifiable markets are countable. But the stability is increasingly fictional. Customers are not stable. They want different things at different times. Joe's arc: mass market → segments → niches → markets of one → markets within one. Joe walks the progression from Henry Ford's mass market through Alfred Sloan's segments through the minivan that opened up niche thinking. Stan Davis's Future Perfect (1987) saw the path to markets of one. What comes next is the flip: multiple markets inside every customer. Joe on a business trip is a different market than Joe on a leisure trip with his wife, even though it is the same person and the same credit card. This is the situational markets argument. Dave's frame: situations can be the new stable determinant. Friday night with your wife is a context. Monday morning before work is a context. Travel in cold Chicago is a different context than travel in France. The behavior changes with the context, even when the person does not. The SwiftERM line that lands the case. "While your team is busy building a persona for Sarah, the 35-year-old yoga enthusiast, Sarah has already moved on. She isn't a persona. She's a dynamic stream of intent." She bought a yoga mat six months ago. For the last three days, her behavior shows interest in high-end supplements and weightlifting gear. The persona missed the shift. The window of intent closed before the system caught up. Bayesian thinking is the right math for this. Predictive analytics has historically used past behavior to predict future behavior — yesterday you watched a romance, so tomorrow you will too. The newer move is using context, not just history. Yesterday you watched a romance because it was Friday and you were with your wife. The probability updates with every new piece of information. AI makes this practical at scale for the first time. The Apple Watch and Netflix examples make it concrete. The latest Apple Watch update no longer just serves up the workout you did last. It serves up the workout you usually do on that day of the week. Aransas lifts Monday and Wednesday and the watch knows. Netflix recommends romance on Friday night because the pattern holds across the whole user base. Restaurants have understood this for a hundred years — they do not serve breakfast at nine at night because they read the context. Customers have the same AI you do. Joe's reminder at the end is the one that should make every CMO uneasy. Customers can now vibecode their own shopping experience. They can customize as easily as you can customize for them, and they will configure it for their own context every time. The companies that win are the ones whose offerings can flex to the customer's situation, not the ones with the most polished persona deck. A Word on "Moments" Dave makes a careful distinction at the end. Moments is the right idea, but 20 years of design thinking have loaded the term with retail-moment-one, retail-moment-two, retail-moment-three thinking — discrete and product-out, not organic and customer-out. Situations carry the meaning without the baggage. Memorable Moments Joe: "I might be multiple personas, but you never say there's a person, they're that persona. That's just wrong — morally, much less business-wise." Joe: "Dave has yet to find a situation in which talking about situations does not work." Dave's bathroom study: weather changed bathroom usage at French gas stations. It did not move the needle at Chicago train stations. Different situational markets. Aransas on the Paris Marathon: one toilet, a hundred urinals, 20,000 runners — half of whom needed to sit. A persona designed for one imagined customer, and the actual situation ignored. Joe on the American Girl Place men's bathroom stocking products that men do not use — because the company actually thought about who was walking in with their daughter. The Strategic Takeaway Companies need something they can count on. Personas have stopped being that thing. Aggregated situations — Friday night, business travel with kids, post-workout, end-of-quarter — are stable enough to plan against and dynamic enough to respect what the customer actually wants in the moment. AI no longer makes one-to-one a scary thing to attempt. The excuse is gone. The companies that move now will be the ones the customer feels actually understands them. Subscribe and Continue the Conversation Find the show on the Experience Strategist Substack, the podcast feed, and everywhere else. Article links in the show notes.

Small rural hospitals keep entire communities alive, and they're quietly running out of road. In this episode, host CCB sits down with Aaron McKenzie, Senior Strategist, and Eric Peabody, Principal Analyst at Taylor Design's Cove Studio, to unpack their 2025 ONEder Grant research into one of healthcare's most underfunded problems: strategic planning for under-resourced rural and community hospitals. Through interviews with hospital executives across the country, the team mapped a layered crisis of financial constraint, recruitment chicken-and-eggs, and the surprising importance of narrative continuity in long-horizon planning. Their response: four lightweight, AI-enabled tools designed to give overstretched facilities teams, and their local generalist architects, a real fighting chance. This is research that meets communities where they are today.

Are there positive findings in a new Bankrate housing market index report? Principal analyst with Bankrate, Ted Rossman joins the show to break down their findings. 

This week, former Forrester Research Director, Jeff Clark, is back in the studio with our host Ian Truscott to discuss an article from Anthony McPartlin, Principal Analyst at Forrester, Agentic Prospecting: Seven Reasons The Hype Falls Short. Demand generation and prospecting have changed, with sales teams now armed with tools that allow them to run lead generation campaigns across LinkedIn and email, which was traditionally the role of marketing, but now this role is being handed to the robots, with agentic prospecting handling everything from deciding the ICP, buyer personas, to executing the campaign.  Picking 5 f'in' things from the article, as is the editorial policy of the podcast, Ian and Jeff discuss: Agentic Prospecting Assumes Signal Quality That Doesn't Exist The Assumption that Sales is a Numbers Game Accuracy is Fragile Due to Heavy Reliance On LLMs & External Data The Fallacy of End-To-End Autonomy Claims The Spam Problem Ian then joins Robert Rose in the virtual bar, The Rose & Rockstar, to discuss Robert's recent article from The Content Marketing Institute - Content-Led Marketing: The Essential Strategy for the AI Era. They discusses the evolution of marketing strategies from campaigns to content-led marketing, and the impact of AI and community building on brand storytelling. Enjoy! — The Links The people: Ian Truscott on LinkedIn  Jeff Clark on LinkedIn Robert Rose on LinkedIn Mentioned this week: Agentic Prospecting: Seven Reasons The Hype Falls Short Tuesday 2¢ - The Cost of the Easy Button Content-Led Marketing: The Essential Strategy for the AI Era Robert's podcast: This Old Marketing  Robert's newsletter: Lens, his websites, robertrose.net and seventhbear.com Rockstar CMO: The Beat Newsletter that we send every Monday Rockstar CMO on the web and LinkedIn Previous episodes and all the show notes: Rockstar CMO FM. Track List: We'll be right back by Stienski & Mass Media on YouTube Piano Music is by Johnny Easton, shared under a Creative Commons license The Miracles - Love Machine You can listen to this on all good podcast platforms, like Apple, Amazon, and Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailRod Scholl is the Founder and Principal Analyst at Epsilon FEA, an engineering services company he launched in 2008 to specialize in advanced numerical analysis and simulation-driven problem solving. With nearly two decades at the helm, Rod has built Epsilon FEA into a trusted partner for companies tackling challenging structural, thermal, and dynamic performance problems across a wide range of industries.Before founding Epsilon FEA, Rod spent over a decade at PADT, Inc. as a Specialist Engineer in Analysis. There, he led and executed FEA projects using the ANSYS toolset, supporting everything from early-stage R&D concept exploration to highly regulated FAA and DOT-certified analyses. Rod not only delivered simulations — he helped organizations implement FEA strategically, advising on licensing, training, internal resource development, and competitive advantage through simulation.Earlier in his career, Rod worked at Honeywell Aerospace, where he analyzed and redesigned turbine engine components using closed-form calculations, ANSYS FEA, and life prediction tools. His work resulted in improved component life, material cost savings, and enhanced manufacturability — grounding his simulation expertise in real-world hardware performance.Rod holds a BSME in Engineering Mechanics from Arizona State University and has built his career around one central belief: simulation is most powerful when it's applied with engineering judgment. Through Epsilon FEA, he continues to help engineering teams reduce risk, improve product performance, and make confident, data-backed decisions.LINKS:Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsilonfea/Guest website: https://epsilonfea.com/Aaron Moncur, host Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.usWatch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus 

This week's show is entitled, "Seven AI Agent Archetypes for B2B GTM" and my guest is Jessie Johnson, Principal Analyst at Forrester. Tune in as we discuss... AI isn't replacing marketers, it's reshaping what they do. The fear of being replaced is shifting toward a more useful question: what do I bring to this that AI can't? Not all AI agents are created equal. Forrester's seven AI agent archetypes give go-to-market teams a practical way to think about which type of AI they need and where it actually belongs in their workflow. Trust AI aggressively, but verify religiously. The teams winning with AI aren't the ones who set it and forget it…they're the ones who stay deeply in the loop, questioning outputs until the trust is truly earned and the sources are transparent. Listen Now | Watch the video HERE Matt interviews the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to acceleration@heinzmarketing.com. Sales Pipeline Radio was recently listed as one of 30 Best Sales Management Podcasts and Top 60 Sales Podcasts You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts! You can even ask Siri, Alexa and Google or search on Audible!  

The following article of the Sustainability industry is: 'From Gridlock to Growth: Latam's Power Sector Transformation' by Juan Pablo Londoño Agudelo, Principal Analyst, Americas Power Markets, Wood Mackenzie. 

Rajiv talks with Mike Ni (Constellation Research) about why AI makes old go-to-market playbooks less useful and why experience, judgment, and outcome thinking become the real edge. We break down enterprise-grade context, closed-loop learning, and what changes when humans start managing both people and AI agents.• LLMs commoditizing expertise while elevating experience and question quality• Aligning go-to-market work to outcomes as roles converge across marketing and sales• Humans becoming the bottleneck through constant review and context switching• Defining enterprise context through semantics, memory, and traceability• Replacing dashboards with learning loops and decision automation that improves over time• Comparing Meta's closed-loop AI ROI with Microsoft's slower enterprise payoff• Rethinking SaaS pricing as seat counts fall and value shifts toward decisions and platforms• System integrators pivoting from stitching apps to redesigning end-to-end AI-enabled processesYour best “proven” playbook might already be obsolete, and AI is the reason. From Park City, Utah, we sit down with returning guest Mike Ni, VP and principal analyst at Constellation Research, to unpack what happens when large language models commoditize expertise and the real differentiator becomes experience, judgment, and asking better questions. If you lead go-to-market, marketing, sales, RevOps, or product, the stakes are no longer incremental improvements. The pressure is to design for outcomes and build systems that learn faster than your competitors.We dig into why humans are suddenly the bottleneck in AI-enabled workflows, and how burnout shows up when people sit in the middle of automated flows doing nonstop review and context switching. That leads to a provocative shift: managers won't just manage humans, they'll manage AI agents too. To make that workable, enterprise AI needs more than a clever chatbot. It needs context you can trust: shared semantics, stateful memory, and decision traceability so inputs stay fresh, constrained, and permission-aware at execution time.We also break down “dashboards die, decision loops live”, why closed-loop learning makes ROI provable, and the tale of two cities between Meta's immediate AI payoff and Microsoft's more gated enterprise story. Then we get practical about SaaS pricing pressure as seats decline, plus how system integrators can move from integration tax to building unified systems of context while controlling token costs with the right mix of ML and generative AI.Mike Ni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelni/Mike Ni is the VP & Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, Inc., having previously served as the CMO of Openprise, CGO Coveo and CPO at Avangatel. Drawing on over 25 years of executive experience, Mike specializes in driving growth for SaaS companies and brings deep expertise in product strategy, go-to-market execution, and RevOps-enabled journey orchestration.  In his current role, he covers the fast-evolving Data-to-Decision Automation landscape. Mike also holds an impressive "trifecta" of degrees: a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Systems Engineering from Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard Business SchoolWebsite: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

In this Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work Podcast, Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst at Brandon Hall Group, joins Anastasia Tsimiklis, Chief Marketing Officer at Explorance, to explore why this is a defining moment for learning and development and what L&D leaders must do to prove their impact, earn their seat at the table, and drive measurable business outcomes. This conversation offers a sneak peek at Michael's keynote, "Performance or Irrelevance: The Moment of Truth for L&D and Talent," taking place at Explorance World 2026 in Boston, June 16-19 at Boston University.

Dani Johnson is Co-Founder and Principal Analyst at RedThread Research, and returns to the show to unpack how learning and development is being reshaped in real time. Drawing on new research, she offers a different perspective on the centralized vs decentralization org structure and staffing model, and instead argues for more intentional, decision-based design. Dani also shares why Learning and Development's pursuit of having a “Seat at the table” may be fading and why that might not be a bad thing. From the rise of workflow-based learning to the growing importance of data and change management, she outlines what it means to be tactically strategic. Linkshttps://redthreadresearch.com/redthread-summit-2026https://www.linkedin.com/in/dani-johnson/

Shall AI kill marketing? Sounds like a hackneyed question, yet it’s on any marketer’s lips these days. Thomas Husson, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, covers the intersection of marketing, technology, and consumer behaviour from his base in Paris. In a wide-ranging conversation, he cuts through the European Gen AI paradox, the persistent CMO-CIO divide, the gap between POC enthusiasm and production reality, and the thorny question of what AI actually means for the next generation of marketing professionals and CMOs. His answers are measured, occasionally blunt, and consistently grounded in Forrester Research data. AI Will Not Threaten the Existence of Marketing But It Will Reshape It Beyond Recognition Thomas Husson believes that Marketing will be changed profoundly. But he doesn’t believe in the death of Marketing. Photo: Thomas Husson at Paris Retail Week, in late 2023 My first question was the obvious one: are CMOs going to be made redundant by artificial intelligence? Thomas Husson’s response is categorical, and worth stating plainly at the outset. It’s a blatant ‘No’. The role will change. The how will change. But the existence of marketing as a discipline is not, according to him, in question. “Marketing is still going to be about understanding your customer, defining a brand strategy, and delivering the brand promise through customer experience.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research Unclear prospects, obvious pressures That said, Husson is not naive about the pressures building on marketing organisations. Some tasks will be automated; that much is not in dispute. The real questions are which tasks, how quickly, and whether automation of a task necessarily kills the job around it. His answer to that last question is no, at least not in any simple mechanical sense. “Jobs will evolve for sure. New jobs will be created. Most jobs will change. The way we work will change. The way we work with agencies, with external partners, the processes, the workflow. It is the shape of work that is being reshaped, not work itself,” he added. For those expecting a more dramatic verdict, Husson’s framing may feel anti-climactic. But it reflects what Forrester Research data actually shows, and it points to the most important practical challenge for AI and CMOs alike: managing a profound transformation without either catastrophising or sleepwalking through it. AI Will Not Kill Marketing according to Forrester’s Thomas Husson, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The European Paradox, Overhyped and Exciting at the Same Time Forrester Research produced a result that initially looks contradictory, Husson stressed in our interview. Fifty-five percent of European B2B marketers consider generative AI overhyped. Yet 81% of European frontline marketers describe themselves as enthusiastic about it. How can both be true simultaneously? Husson explains the split without difficulty. At the decision-maker level, scepticism is entirely rational. AI is inescapable at conferences, in vendor pitches, and in media coverage. “There is AI fatigue. And more importantly, some of the vendors are indeed over-pitching, and the productivity gains they promise are not happening,” he stated. The gap between the pitch and what we actually experience in the field is wide enough to breed genuine frustration. Saving Time and Working Differently But the people actually using these tools, often through shadow AI channels their organisations have not officially sanctioned, are discovering something different. They are saving time and are doing their jobs differently. They are finding capabilities they did not expect. “In the short term, everything is overhyped, including the number of job losses. In the longer term, things are underestimated, because AI will be linked to other technologies, and yes, it will reinvent many things.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research This is a precise restatement of Amara’s Law. Roy Amara, former president of the Institute for the Future, observed that we tend to overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate its long-term impact. The quote is frequently misattributed to Bill Gates, but Husson is careful to restore proper credit. He applies it directly to the AI and CMOs conversation: the short-term noise is drowning out a more important long-term signal. When asked how long “long term” actually means in an era of accelerating AI development, Husson was specific: probably closer to five to seven years than to ten or fifteen, but still not tomorrow. From POC to Production, Europe’s Real AI Problem The Forrester Research State of AI Survey 2025 contains a figure that deserves more attention than it typically receives. European organisations lag behind their non-European peers in production use of generative AI: 62% versus 72%. The gap is not in experimentation. It is in execution. Regulation is the explanation most commonly offered, and Husson dismisses it with characteristic directness. The AI Act is a genuine consideration, but it is not the primary cause of Europe’s production deficit. It functions, he argues, as a double-edged excuse. Pioneers claim it prevents them from moving fast enough, while cautious organisations invoke it to justify not executing at all. Neither position holds up to scrutiny. A Deep Cultural and Organisational Divide The deeper issue is organisational and cultural. American and Chinese firms tend to think global from day one; European firms, particularly larger ones, still default to a market-by-market approach. France first, then the UK, then Germany. The ambition is calibrated differently. There is also a structural challenge around funding and the capacity to scale. That said, France, the UK, and Germany lead adoption among European countries in the Forrester Research data. The problem for these leading markets is not whether they are using generative AI. Twenty-eight percent of European B2B marketing decision makers cannot clearly identify where to apply it. They have the tool. They lack the strategy. “It’s not AI for the sake of AI. How do I use AI to serve my marketing objectives? That is the question. The only one.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research Husson advocates for small, targeted AI projects with transparent return on investment as a way to build momentum and demonstrate results. When pushed on whether that risks staying permanently incremental, he conceded the point readily. “If you only do small targeted projects, it’s going to be incremental and it’s not going to be bold enough. You need to align it with a vision and a roadmap.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research Measuring Productivity Honestly Productivity is the dominant driver of AI adoption in the Forrester Research State of AI Survey 2025. It is also, Husson suggests, the metric most subject to vendor inflation. In Forrester Research’s modelling, a 50% conversion factor is applied to vendor productivity claims. If a tool saves an hour, the realistic productivity benefit is approximately 30 minutes of additional output. This is not a marginal adjustment; it halves the headline figures that vendors routinely publish. “You need to apply a discount to the pitch of vendors when they say you’re going to get 40, 50, 80, 100% productivity gains. There are productivity gains, but they are not as high as one would expect.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research There is also a motivational dimension that is rarely modelled. When work becomes easier to produce, it can also become less engaging to produce. The cognitive effort that used to drive focus and satisfaction is partly removed, with consequences for quality and commitment that no vendor presentation accounts for. AI and CMOs, Who Is Actually in Charge? The CMO-CIO divide is a perennial theme in marketing technology discussions. Forrester Research data suggests the gap at the strategic leadership level has narrowed, partly as a result of post-COVID collaboration. But at team level, the tensions persist, and the data on AI governance is striking. CMOs account for only 8 to 10% of AI strategy leadership in organisations. In the vast majority of cases, the deployment of AI is being driven by CIOs and CTOs. Husson understands the logic: data governance, security, scalability. These are real concerns. But he believes the outcome is a mistake. “It is the exact same mistake that happened with digital transformation. AI has to be at the service of, first, the client, and consequently the business functions that serve them. There is too big a disconnect between a secure, scalable AI platform and marketers’ needs.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research The structural consequence of this dynamic is predictable. When CIOs control the tools and CMOs do not have what they need, shadow AI flourishes. The more tightly the CIO locks down the official platform, the more widely teams proliferate unofficial solutions. It is a cycle that widens governance risk while creating the illusion of control. The MarTech landscape compounds this problem. According to data Husson cites, 2,500 new AI solutions were added to the market in a single year while 1,211 pre-AI-era tools were removed. Evaluating this landscape requires cross-functional expertise that neither CMOs nor CIOs possess in isolation. The case for genuine collaboration, rather than the polite coexistence that currently passes for it in most organisations, has never been stronger. Jobs, Agencies, and the Students in the Room The survey data on jobs is sobering. Fifty-seven percent of European frontline marketing decision makers believe AI adoption will lead to job reductions in their teams. Sixty-eight percent say new roles will be created. The gap between those two numbers is the space where real anxiety lives. For a wider perspective on AI’s job impact, including Forrester Research’s US forecast, see our earlier piece: AI Job Impact in the US: the Apocalypse Can Wait. For a longer-range view of how generative AI is reshaping roles, see also: GenAI Impact on Jobs. Contact centres and basic marketing task execution are already seeing measurable impact. Agencies are under visible pressure. But Husson returns consistently to the distinction between task automation and job elimination. Most job losses are not yet directly attributable to AI; the picture requires nuance rather than alarm. On new roles, the honest answer is that specifics are difficult to name in advance. Twenty years ago, nobody was hiring community managers. The jobs that will emerge from the current transformation will be as hard to predict precisely as that one was. What Husson does say is that working with agents, managing their outputs, and understanding their limitations will become core competencies rather than specialist skills. “Teach them the basics of marketing, those won’t change. Infuse a lot more of traditional social sciences: ethics, emotion, anthropology. These dimensions will gain importance. Curiosity. And they have to use these tools, to learn how to use them so they can develop their own critical thinking.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research There is irony embedded in this advice that Husson acknowledges implicitly. Digital roles are likely to bear the earliest impact of AI-driven automation precisely because they are already the most digitised. The analogue parts of marketing, which seemed most vulnerable to digital disruption, turn out to be more resistant than expected. AI is a continuation of digital transformation, not a departure from it. There is also a structural problem this conversation surfaced that neither party resolved entirely. If organisations are reducing entry-level hiring to cut costs, and those entry-level roles were the traditional training ground for the next generation, then the iterative learning process that produces senior expertise is being severed. AI can teach many things, but the social dimension of learning alongside a colleague over time is not easily replicated. B2B Marketing, Ahead of the Curve A widespread assumption holds that generative AI enthusiasm in marketing is largely a B2C phenomenon. Husson disputes this firmly. B2B marketers, in his assessment, are actually ahead of the curve in several areas, particularly content generation, personalisation, and sales support through complex multi-stakeholder buying processes. What B2B is also discovering is that the sharp distinction between rational B2B decision-making and emotional B2C engagement is less solid than commonly assumed. When a buying group is making a decision with significant professional consequences, emotion is not absent; it is differently structured and, in some ways, higher-stakes. “It’s not the ‘human plus AI blah blah blah’ we hear all the time. It needs a more nuanced approach. At the end of the day, AI is about replicating the human brain, but we don’t really know how the human brain works. We don’t know how consciousness works. So I would take a pinch of salt and take a step back before making any definitive judgment.” Thomas Husson, Forrester Research The Long View I ended by asking Husson how he uses AI in his own work. His answer was practical: summarising the relentless volume of content published daily on AI, filtering what is genuinely new from what merely repackages existing ideas. Behind him on the video call was a photograph taken in Thailand, of Buddhist monks. He smiled at the mention of it. “It’s a good reminder that not everything is digital and not everything is about technology. It’s about real life.“ For AI and CMOs, that is perhaps the most useful frame of all. The technology is real, the disruption is real, and the urgency is real. But so is the inertia of organisations, the pace of culture change, and the irreducible complexity of how human beings actually make decisions, form relationships, and build trust. Amara’s Law is not a reason to wait. It is a reason to plan carefully, act deliberately, and resist the temptation to mistake announcements for outcomes. Forrester Research reports cited in this article The AI CMO: Growth Accountability Gets Next-Level — Mike Proulx et al., April 2026 The State Of CMO/CIO Collaboration For 2026 — Thomas Husson et al., January 2026 Generative AI Adoption In European B2B Marketing Organizations — Christina Schmitt et al., December 2025 About Thomas Husson Thomas Husson is Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, based in Paris. He covers marketing strategy, brand management, mobile marketing, and the intersection of technology and consumer behaviour across European markets. His research addresses how CMOs and marketing organisations navigate digital transformation, AI adoption, and the evolving relationship between brands and customers. Forrester Research analyst profile: forrester.com About Forrester Research Forrester Research is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world, founded in 1983 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It serves business and technology leaders across marketing, IT, and customer experience, providing data, analysis, and frameworks to guide strategic decision-making. The data referenced in this article draws on two primary Forrester Research publications: the Forrester Marketing Survey 2025 and the State of AI Survey 2025, both covering Gen AI adoption and its organisational implications across European and global B2B markets. Forrester Research website: forrester.com The post AI Will Not Kill Marketing appeared first on Marketing and Innovation.

US equity futures rose, reversing earlier declines, helped along by late-market gains in Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc. shares slid in post-market trading alongside Microsoft Corp., keeping alive lingering concerns over artificial intelligence spending. We heard from Maribel Lopez, Lopez Research Founder and Principal Analyst. She spoke to Bloomberg's Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts. Plus - Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged, but revealed a deepening division over the outlook for policy amid increased uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Four officials voted against the decision, including three who objected to language in their post-meeting statement that suggested the central bank would eventually resume cutting rates. In what will be his last press conference as Fed chair, Jerome Powell said he intends to remain at the central bank as a member of its Board of Governors. We heard from Jeanette Garretty, Robertson Stephens Chief Economist. She spoke to Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this executive conversation, Marcus Law is joined by Dan Nadir, Chief Product Officer at Theta Lake, and Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, to explore how generative and agentic AI are creating entirely new categories of governance risk.The discussion covers why monitoring isolated prompts and outputs is no longer enough, and why organizations need forensic-level analysis of interaction patterns over time. From behavioral drift and intent detection to the growing complexity of agentic AI, this conversation sets out what enterprises need to be thinking about — and doing — right now.Topics Include:why only 58% of organizations have a proactive AI governance strategyhow traditional DLP systems miss subtle data probing and intent-based riskswhat behavioral drift looks like in practice, how agentic AI blurs the line between human and machine accountabilitypractical steps CIOs and CISOs can take in the next 60 to 90 days.

Podcast: Tech Transformed podcastGuest: John Newton, Chief Innovation Strategist at HylandHost: Dana Gardner, President and Principal Analyst at Interabor SolutionsEnterprise leaders rushing to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations often think the biggest challenge is the technology itself. In reality, the issue is much closer to home. It's in the piles of unstructured enterprise data spread across documents, systems, and repositories.In the recent episode of the Tech Transformed podcast, John Newton, Chief Innovation Strategist at Hyland, sits down with host Dana Gardner, President and Principal Analyst at Interabor Solutions. They discussed how enterprises can unlock the full value of enterprise AI by addressing fragmented information and building stronger governance frameworks.Their conversation highlights that unstructured data is not an obstacle; it is the foundation for next-generation AI-driven productivity. As Newton stated, “The opportunity to truly use AI and use it effectively in your organisation really depends on that unstructured information.”For companies looking to adopt AI on a large scale, the real work is in organising and contextualising their internal knowledge.Is Unstructured Data the Hidden Fuel for Enterprise AI?Most enterprise data does not sit neatly in structured databases. Instead, it exists in contracts, reports, emails, videos, policies, and operational documents, creating a vast amount of unstructured content.The enormous amount of such unstructured data ends up creating a challenge for AI projects that rely solely on foundation models. Large language models (LLMs) may be trained on public data, but they cannot inherently access proprietary business intelligence.Newton argued that enterprise AI must therefore be built around internal knowledge systems. “Foundation models can't train on your internal information,” he explained. “What you really want is that information to be part of the AI when you're answering questions, doing research, or executing business processes.”This change requires organisations to rethink how information flows across the enterprise. Instead of isolated systems—CRM platforms, ERP databases, content repositories—companies need an interconnected information structure that connects multiple sources in real time.Such a structure enables AI systems and AI agents to find the right data at the right time. This also improves decision-making, automation, and operational intelligence.How to Reorganise Chaotic Unstructured Data?If unstructured data is the fuel, curation is the engine that drives effective AI. Newton emphasised that an enterprise data strategy must start with mapping, organising, and cleaning information assets. The aim is to reduce noise and increase clarity.“I like to look at things from a signal-to-noise perspective,” Newton says. “Curation is the key to removing uncertainty in the information.”The method could typically comprise a combination of several enterprise technologies such as content management platforms with business process management (BPM) and AI agents and LLMs.A pairing of the above strategies is aimed at helping enterprise data become more valuable. Enterprises can implement AI models to automate workflows, enhance knowledge discovery, and speed up processes across departments—from finance and manufacturing to customer operations.Importantly, Newton noted that this work also allows flexibility in the AI ecosystem. With a solid information foundation, companies can use open-source models, hyperscaler services, or internal AI deployments without tying themselves to a single vendor.In other words, an enterprise AI strategy should first focus on data readiness, not model selection.Key TakeawaysUnstructured data is the foundation for effective enterprise AI.Data curation improves AI accuracy and reduces information noise.Connecting enterprise systems enables AI to deliver real-time insights.AI guardrails help manage security, compliance, and data governance.AI automation boosts employee productivity by reducing repetitive work.Chapters00:00 Unlocking AI's Potential with Unstructured Data05:20 Signal to Noise: The Clarity Challenge11:21 Guardrails for AI: Balancing Control and Flexibility14:41 Harnessing the Enterprise Context Engine17:48 Real-World Applications: Case Studies in AI20:37 Curation: The Key to Effective Automation22:21 Future Business Value: Productivity and BeyondFor more information, please visit hyland.comTo stay updated on B2B Tech front and centre, follow EM360Tech:YouTube: @enterprisemanagement360LinkedIn: @EM360TechX: @EM360TechFollow Hyland on all its major platforms:YouTube: @HylandAILinkedIn: HylandX: @Hyland#UnstructuredData #EnterpriseAI #DataCuration #AIGuardrails #LLMs #AIAutomation #FragmentedData #InformationManagement #SignalToNoise #EnterpriseContext #TechTransformedPodcast #Hyland #B2BTech

It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Dave Kieffer, Principal Analyst & Matt Winn, Principal Analyst, The Tambellini GroupIn this episode, recorded LIVE from the Ellucian Live 2026 conference in Denver, Colorado,YOUR cohost is Nandini Khedkar, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy & Research, EllucianYOUR host is Dr. Jodi BlincoListen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Elvin Freytes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Joe Sallustio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠● Join YOUR EdUp community at ⁠The EdUp Experience⁠We make education YOUR business!P.S. Want access to the only intelligence platform built exclusively from presidential conversations in higher education? Join EdUp Leadership!

Equinix, Inc., the world's digital infrastructure company®, has announced the availability of Equinix Fabric Intelligence, an AI-native operational layer to manage network infrastructure. Fabric Intelligence enables enterprises to deploy AI-powered networking across their operations, a shift from legacy software-defined networking design to simplify the complexities of today's AI workflows. Powering the Equinix Distributed AI Hub, Fabric Intelligence introduces smart automation for deploying, optimizing and maintaining global infrastructure, giving organisations a more resilient, efficient and adaptive backbone for their AI workloads. "The whole concept of AI is to make processes faster, and manual processes for network monitoring and management are difficult, if not impossible, to scale effectively," said Jim Frey, Principal Analyst at Omdia. "Our research shows 93% of organizations agree that network automation will be essential for keeping pace with future change, and 88% also agree that AI itself will be required for effective network automation. With Fabric Intelligence, Equinix is providing enterprises the AI-driven control plane for deploying, activating, and managing multi-cloud networking, to help them meet the scale and automation needs of the distributed AI era." AI thrives in dynamic, connected environments, but many enterprises rely on slow, rigid legacy network architectures that were never designed for the speed and complexity of today's intelligence systems. As AI adoption continues to accelerate, traditional network operations teams are struggling to keep up. Manual workflows can create bottlenecks, long deployment cycles hamper growth, and visibility gaps compound the challenge. AI demands real-time, adaptive networking—driving a shift to AI-assisted network operations that interpret telemetry and respond dynamically. The result is a widening gap between the speed of AI and the networks expected to support it. Fabric Intelligence automates how AI workloads connect and operate across clouds, data centres and edge environments. It provides organisations with a smarter way to manage the complexity of AI by automating how their connections are set up, adjusted and maintained across these distributed environments. As a result, distributed systems run reliably without constant manual effort, freeing teams to focus on strategic business priorities, such as building new AI capabilities and scaling operations. "All enterprises are focused on leveraging AI to transform their business, but most lack the infrastructure needed to deploy it at scale in ways that drive their growth," said Jon Lin, Chief Business Officer at Equinix. "As agentic AI matures and inferencing applications proliferate across the enterprise, networking infrastructure needs to be faster and more flexible than ever before.Fabric Intelligence turns infrastructure from a constraint to a competitive advantage by enabling our customers to spend less time managing complexity and more time moving their business forward." Fabric Intelligence provides a suite of AI-native solutions enabling enterprises to design, deploy and manage their infrastructure using intuitive tools like natural language, automated agentic workflows and powerful predictive insights. Combined with Equinix's global infrastructure of 280 high-performance data centers in 77 metros around the world, Equinix is helping to accelerate enterprise adoption of AI tools and next-generation infrastructure. Earlier this year, Equinix also joined the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF), the open foundation driving the transparent and collaborative evolution of agentic AI, as a Gold member. This commitment will help build an open, secure and infrastructure-ready foundation for the global autonomous economy. Fabric Intelligence, part of the Equinix Fabric® portfolio with more than 4,400 customers worldwide, is made up of the following components: Fabric Super Agent An AI superagent that helps customers au...

Despite billions being spent on AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Google Workspace, most employees still aren't ready to use them effectively: and it's becoming a productivity problem.In this interview, JP Gownder, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester, breaks down the findings from Forrester's second AIQ report: "AIQ 2.0: Employees (Still) Aren't Ready To Succeed With Workforce AI."JP explains what AIQ, the AI Quotient, actually measures, why the numbers have barely moved year-on-year, and why the gap between AI deployment and employee readiness is actively hurting organisations rather than just slowing them down.Key topics covered:

In this episode, we discuss digital screens and audio, connecting in-store exposure to purchase, attribution challenges, retailer infrastructure investments, and shopper experience considerations. EMARKETER Vice President & Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano hosts Gabi Viljoen, Vice President & Head of eCommerce at Nestlé Health Science and Austin Leonard, Vice President and General Manager of DG Media Network.   Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-screens-shelves-signals-retail-media-s-in-store-opportunity-behind-numbers-special-edition © 2026 EMARKETER

In today's podcast episode, EMARKETER Vice President & Principal Analyst, Sarah Marzano, examines what's holding in-store back, what it will take to overcome these constraints, and where the most meaningful opportunities lie as retailers work to scale the next stage of retail media. Get more insights like these with our free, industry-leading newsletters covering advertising, marketing, and commerce. Sign up at emarketer.com/newsletters Follow us on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/emarketer/ For sponsorship opportunities contact us: advertising@emarketer.com For more information visit: https://www.emarketer.com/advertise/ Have questions or just want to say hi? Drop us a line at podcast@emarketer.com For a transcript of this episode click here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/podcast-in-store-unlock-retail-media-s-next-stage-behind-numbers-special-edition © 2026 EMARKETER

In this special episode, Pete is joined by Holger Mueller, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, live from the annual Zoho Day 2026 analyst event and update in Austin, Texas! Drawing on decades of watching Zoho grow from early cloud pioneer to fully integrated “ecosystem,” Holger breaks down what makes Zoho's horizontally and vertically integrated stack so distinctive, and why its people-first culture and homegrown talent strategy show up so clearly in its products and customer relationships.  Pete and Holger dive into the noisy “SaaS is dead” narrative and cut through the hype around AI agents, cloud, and data. They unpack why back-end modernization and elasticity still matter, why all‑in‑one suites are back in vogue, and how integration gaps quietly sabotage ROI in HCM, payroll, and benefits. From orchestration and data lakes to edge computing and mobile‑only HR, they explore how frontline employees, real‑time payments, and smartphones at the “edge” are reshaping how work gets done  Holger argues HR must lean into technology, get closer to IT and data governance, and use AI to turn static policies and PDFs into conversational, employee-friendly experiences, while protecting trust, security, and compliance.   Connect with Holger: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/holgermueller/ X: https://x.com/holgermu BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/holgerbsky.bsky.social Constellation Research: https://www.constellationr.com/  Connect with the show: LinkedIn:  http://linkedin.com/company/hr-payroll-2-0 X: @HRPayroll2_0  X: @PeteTiliakos  X: @JulieFer_HR BlueSky: @hrpayroll2o.bsky.social YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HRPAYROLL2_0  WRKDefined Podcast Network: https://wrkdefined.com/podcast/hr-payroll-20  Thank you to our marquee sponsors for powering the HR & Payroll 2.0 podcast forward!  G-P ‘Globalization Partners': https://www.globalization-partners.com/ OneSource Virtual: https://hubs.ly/Q03YFNR90 Zoho: https://www.zoho.com/press.html Thank you to our ‘wizard behind the curtain' and show producer Ryan Kielma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kielma/

In this special episode of Mainframe Voices, we explore how open source is helping people discover, enter, and grow their careers on the mainframe. Our guests share how contributing to open source projects on IBM Z has given them hands‑on experience, visibility, and a community that supports their professional journeys.Featuring: •Steven Dickens – CEO and Principal Analyst, Top 3 Global Technology Industry Analyst, Advisor to Tech Vendor Executives •Sarah Julia Kriesch - Senior Lead, Mainframe Architect & Open Source Evangelist - zCloud @Kyndryl•John Lovett - Head of Education & Customer Engagement for the Mainframe Software Division @Broadcom Inc.•Junior Tamekem Tadiffo - IBM Z Student Ambassador•Marcus Davage - Lead Product Developer@BMC Software•Hunter Johnson - Product Marketing Engineer@Beyond Code(Broadcom)You will hear how open source has: - Lowered the barrier to getting practical mainframe experience - Helped contributors build portfolios they can share with employers - Created mentorship and networking opportunities across the global ecosystem.The Mainframe Connect podcast includes the I Am a Mainframer series, Mainframe Voices, and other content exploring relevant topics with mainframe professionals, sponsored by the Open Mainframe Project, a Linux Foundation initiative.#MainframeVoices #MainframeConnect #OpenMainframeProject #LinuxFoundation #Mainframe #OpenSource #IBMZ

In this Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work Podcast, Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Analyst, sits down with Peter Mulford, Chief AI Officer and Head of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation at BTS. Together, they explore where organizations truly stand on their AI journeys, why so many are leaving value on the table, and what it actually takes to drive meaningful, measurable ROI from AI, not just incremental productivity gains.

In this episode of The Story of a Brand, host Rose Hamilton, CEO of Compass Rose Ventures, sits down with Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, for a thoughtful and strategic conversation about the forces reshaping modern retail. The discussion draws on Rose's experience as an operator inside brands like The Vitamin Shoppe and Nutrafol, where Forrester's research often informed critical boardroom decisions. Throughout the episode, Rose and Sucharita unpack how retail strategy has evolved—from marketplaces and DTC to retail media and AI—and why leaders today must think beyond growth tactics to understand leverage, channel strategy, and long-term enterprise value. Key moments from the episode include: * Why brands should approach marketplaces strategically and consider the sequencing of channels when building long-term value * The importance of "e-control"—protecting pricing, distribution integrity, and brand presentation across marketplaces * How retail media networks are becoming structural components of retailer economics * What leaders should understand about AI and generative AI in retail today—and where the hype exceeds reality * Why the most effective research blends data with narrative to create conviction and drive decision-making This episode offers an inside look at how data-driven insight shapes the biggest strategic decisions in retail and commerce. Join us in listening to the episode to hear Rose Hamilton and Sucharita Kodali explore the patterns, shifts, and lessons that continue to influence how brands build durable growth in a rapidly evolving marketplace. For more on Sucharita Kodali and Forrester Research visit: https://www.forrester.com/bold/ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave The Story of a Brand Show a rating and review.  Plus, don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify.  Your support helps us bring you more content like this!

Blair Pleasant, President and Principal Analyst at COMMfusion, spoke with Moshe Beauford of Technology Reseller News during the Enterprise Connect conference about the major technology trends shaping enterprise communications and collaboration. Pleasant noted that artificial intelligence has become one of the dominant themes across the communications industry, influencing everything from contact center automation to collaboration platforms and customer engagement tools. Vendors are rapidly introducing AI capabilities designed to improve productivity, automate routine tasks, and provide deeper insights into communications data. “AI is becoming embedded across the communications stack, and organizations are now looking at how these capabilities can improve both employee and customer experiences,” Pleasant said. The conversation also explored how enterprise buyers are navigating a crowded and rapidly evolving market. With a wide range of cloud communications providers, collaboration platforms, and AI-driven tools available, organizations must carefully evaluate solutions that align with their long-term communications strategies. Pleasant emphasized that industry events such as Enterprise Connect provide a valuable opportunity for enterprises, service providers, and technology vendors to evaluate emerging solutions and better understand where the communications market is heading. As enterprises continue modernizing their communications environments, Pleasant highlighted the importance of strategic planning and thoughtful technology adoption to ensure that AI and collaboration tools deliver measurable business value. Learn more about COMMfusion: https://www.commfusion.com/

Today's episode of the Punk CX podcast features Justin Robbins, Founder & Principal Analyst at Metric Sherpa, Inc and a newly minted author. Justin joins me to talk about his new book called: More Than A Motto: Reignite Your Purpose, Rediscover Your Joy At Work. We discuss the highlights from the book, including the leadership blind spot, that burnout is a system outcome, not a personal failure, why purpose breaks without rhythm, and the RHYTHM model. This interview follows on from my recent interview – The split personality disorder plaguing many brands – Interview with Ping Wu of Cresta – and is number 576 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Nate Elliott, Principal Analyst at eMarketer, joins Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi to talk through what's actually happening with AI adoption in marketing and commerce. He shares a practical view on how many consumers actively use AI tools, why usage stats are often misleading, and why most AI influence on shopping still happens outside chatbots. The group also digs into GEO and AEO, agency and CMO priorities, and the growing debate over content licensing and the health of the open web. Takeaways Only about 15–20% of US online consumers use AI tools weekly, despite AI touching nearly every digital experience. Most AI-influenced commerce happens through research and discovery, not direct purchases inside chatbots. GEO feels like SEO in 1998, full of experimentation, aggressive tactics, and unclear measurement. CMOs are focused more on internal AI productivity gains than flashy external AI activations. Agencies may reach near-universal AI usage internally, but that does not mean AI replaces 95% of marketing output. The health of the open web is critical to AI platforms, making content licensing a long-term strategic issue. Chapters 00:00 Nate Elliott's background and role leading AI research at eMarketer 07:30 How many consumers are actually active AI users 11:50 AI and commerce: direct transactions vs influence 14:40 GEO and the Wild West phase of AI search optimization 18:30 What CMOs are prioritizing in their AI strategy 23:20 Agencies, AI adoption, and the 95% marketing debate 26:00 AI disclosure, creative production, and labeling concerns 32:00 Content marketplaces and whether Google will pay publishers 38:00 Reddit, AI optimization, and measurement challenges 44:00 Agency rebates and media transparency 47:30 Amazon becomes Fortune's number one company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quantum security has gone from being a theoretical idea filed away for some unknown future date to an urgent requirement driven by quantum computing advances and government and industry guidance. The thought of nation-state adversaries with a quantum computer that can conduct harvest-now-decrypt later attacks and forge digital signatures makes the threat more real than ever to executives, who have started to ask security leaders, “Are we quantum safe?” With Q-day estimates now within 10 years and moving ever closer — and with NIST deprecating existing asymmetric algorithm support in 2030 (and disallowing it entirely by 2035), as well as the increasing nation-state threat — what should security leaders be doing now? Sandy Carielli, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss why technology leaders must work together to prepare for Q-Day. Addressing quantum security requirements is not just a job for the security team. Security, infrastructure, development, emerging tech, risk, and procurement have roles to play in executing a holistic quantum security strategy. Sandy will cover their report, which security leaders should use, to gain executive buy-in and build and execute a quantum security migration plan with stakeholders across the organization. Segment Resources: https://www.forrester.com/report/technology-leaders-must-work-together-to-prepare-for-q-day/RES191420 https://www.forrester.com/blogs/create-a-cross-functional-q-day-team-or-suffer-a-hard-days-night/ In the leadership and communications segment, The Cybersecurity Reckoning: How CISOs Are Preparing for an Era of AI-Driven Threats and Quantum Disruption, Should I stay or should I go?, Are Legacy Metrics Derailing Your Transformation?, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-434

Quantum security has gone from being a theoretical idea filed away for some unknown future date to an urgent requirement driven by quantum computing advances and government and industry guidance. The thought of nation-state adversaries with a quantum computer that can conduct harvest-now-decrypt later attacks and forge digital signatures makes the threat more real than ever to executives, who have started to ask security leaders, "Are we quantum safe?" With Q-day estimates now within 10 years and moving ever closer — and with NIST deprecating existing asymmetric algorithm support in 2030 (and disallowing it entirely by 2035), as well as the increasing nation-state threat — what should security leaders be doing now? Sandy Carielli, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss why technology leaders must work together to prepare for Q-Day. Addressing quantum security requirements is not just a job for the security team. Security, infrastructure, development, emerging tech, risk, and procurement have roles to play in executing a holistic quantum security strategy. Sandy will cover their report, which security leaders should use, to gain executive buy-in and build and execute a quantum security migration plan with stakeholders across the organization. Segment Resources: https://www.forrester.com/report/technology-leaders-must-work-together-to-prepare-for-q-day/RES191420 https://www.forrester.com/blogs/create-a-cross-functional-q-day-team-or-suffer-a-hard-days-night/ In the leadership and communications segment, The Cybersecurity Reckoning: How CISOs Are Preparing for an Era of AI-Driven Threats and Quantum Disruption, Should I stay or should I go?, Are Legacy Metrics Derailing Your Transformation?, and more! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-434

Quantum security has gone from being a theoretical idea filed away for some unknown future date to an urgent requirement driven by quantum computing advances and government and industry guidance. The thought of nation-state adversaries with a quantum computer that can conduct harvest-now-decrypt later attacks and forge digital signatures makes the threat more real than ever to executives, who have started to ask security leaders, "Are we quantum safe?" With Q-day estimates now within 10 years and moving ever closer — and with NIST deprecating existing asymmetric algorithm support in 2030 (and disallowing it entirely by 2035), as well as the increasing nation-state threat — what should security leaders be doing now? Sandy Carielli, VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss why technology leaders must work together to prepare for Q-Day. Addressing quantum security requirements is not just a job for the security team. Security, infrastructure, development, emerging tech, risk, and procurement have roles to play in executing a holistic quantum security strategy. Sandy will cover their report, which security leaders should use, to gain executive buy-in and build and execute a quantum security migration plan with stakeholders across the organization. Segment Resources: https://www.forrester.com/report/technology-leaders-must-work-together-to-prepare-for-q-day/RES191420 https://www.forrester.com/blogs/create-a-cross-functional-q-day-team-or-suffer-a-hard-days-night/ In the leadership and communications segment, The Cybersecurity Reckoning: How CISOs Are Preparing for an Era of AI-Driven Threats and Quantum Disruption, Should I stay or should I go?, Are Legacy Metrics Derailing Your Transformation?, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-434

Welcome to another episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, featuring the legendary Ray Wang. In this memorable conversation, Christopher and Ray dive deep into the latest developments shaping the world of technology, business, and careers. From dissecting recent tech earnings from giants like Apple, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft to sharing insights from Davos and contemplating the implications of AI for the future of work and entrepreneurship. This episode delivers high-caliber analysis and practical takeaways for anyone navigating today’s rapidly evolving landscape. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go. Lessons from Davos and the New Economic Realities Returning from a bustling Davos, Ray Wang shares his observations on how global leaders and executives are tackling an era defined by uncertainty, rapid technology adoption and a relentless pursuit of efficiency. One of Ray's core takeaways is the prevailing theme of “margin compression,” where even the world's largest corporations are working harder than ever just to achieve modest growth. Companies are now measured by their ability to scale exponentially, as illustrated by India's ISRO launching rockets at a fraction of NASA's cost, fundamentally altering competitive dynamics across industries. Ray explains that the rise of AI turbocharges this transformation by opening up “infinite possibilities.” Companies no longer just compete on physical or financial assets, but on their ability to harness vast data resources, quickly innovate and make sharp strategic choices about what problems to solve—and, crucially, what not to do. Privacy challenges, especially for companies like Apple, arise in this new era, making it difficult to deliver world-class AI solutions while maintaining rigorous data protection standards. Both Christopher and Ray emphasize that managing growth, inflation and investment are more complex than ever, with the U.S. outpacing much of the world in GDP growth, yet operating in a global environment rife with policy and market uncertainties. AI, Tech Earnings, and the Rise of the New IPO Era The conversation pivots to the massive investment and exuberance surrounding generative AI and tech infrastructure. Ray points out that while there are fears about overbuilding capacity or creating a circular funding loop among AI companies, there is still significant real opportunity. The current phase has seen enormous capital pour into building data centers and scalable AI platforms. Landmark IPOs from OpenAI, Databricks and others are expected to reshape the tech landscape. Despite market fluctuations and some outsized reactions to earnings, the fundamentals for big tech remain robust. Companies like Apple have solidified their status as luxury brands, even as others like Tesla and Meta retool and pivot to sustain long-term relevance and unlock new revenue streams such as robotics and energy. At the structural level, venture capital itself is in flux. Many VC firms have become indistinguishable from private equity, constrained both by too much and too little available capital relative to the demands of today's tech startups. The gap between small angel, family office, or solo GP funds and the mega funds has widened so much that the “middle” has all but disappeared. It is now entirely possible for one-person companies, through the leverage of AI and autonomous agents, to achieve scale and revenues previously thought impossible. Ray predicts it is likely we will see a single founder build a billion-dollar annual revenue company within the next five years, echoing the democratization and disruption that generative AI promises. Building Legendary Companies and Careers in the Age of AI Christopher and Ray close their discussion by exploring what all these rapid changes mean for leaders and individuals. For CEOs and entrepreneurs, the formula for thriving is clear but audacious. Leaders must design their companies to be fully autonomous and authentic, constantly reinventing their business as if they were attempting to disrupt themselves. Boards need to be stacked with people who grasp the new fundamentals: margin compression, exponential scale, and infinite possibilities brought by AI. Combining domain expertise with technical agility is more critical than ever, as the fusion of seasoned judgment and lightning-fast, innovative execution is where breakthroughs occur. On a personal level, Ray stresses that knowledge and execution are becoming commodities, rapidly automated by advances in AI. To stay relevant, individuals must become “macro analysts,” adept at synthesizing big ideas and patterns, deeply immersed in experimenting with new technologies and surrounded by others who are passionate about their own crafts. The traditional playbooks for career building, education, and even family strategies are being rewritten in real-time. The U.S. faces global competition for talent and innovation, and entrepreneurial energy is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or New York. The nature of immigration, investment and even educational choices must be reconsidered for new generations. In a world where the location and structure of opportunity are shifting, only those who embrace change, foster diverse collaborations and pursue purpose will continue to define the next era of legendary achievement. As both Christopher and Ray reflect, living and leading like Rob Burgess—embracing boldness, curiosity and authenticity—remains the path to being truly legendary in this rapidly changing world. To hear more from Ray Wang and his updates on the world of Tech and AI, download and listen to this episode. Bio R “Ray” Wang (pronounced WAHNG) is the Founder, Chairman, and Principal Analyst of Silicon Valley based Constellation Research Inc. He co-hosts DisrupTV, a weekly enterprise tech and leadership webcast that averages 50,000 views per episode and authors a business strategy and technology blog that has received millions of page views per month.  Wang also serves as a non-resident Senior Fellow at The Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. Since 2003, Ray has delivered thousands of live and virtual keynotes around the world that are inspiring and legendary. Wang has spoken at almost every major tech conference. His ground-breaking bestselling book on digital transformation, Disrupting Digital Business, was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2015.  Ray's new book about Digital Giants and the future of business titled, Everybody Wants to Rule the World will be released July 2021 by Harper Collins Leadership. Wang is well quoted and frequently interviewed in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar, CGTN America, Bloomberg, Tech Crunch, ZDNet, Forbes, and Fortune.  He is one of the top technology analysts in the world. Links Follow Ray Wang! Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Constellation Research | DisrupTV We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

In this episode, Jim McDonald welcomes back Martin Kuppinger, Principal Analyst at KuppingerCole, to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of identity in 2026. With Jeff Steadman away, Jim and Martin dive deep into the intellectual challenges posed by AI agents and the limitations of traditional non-human identity frameworks. Martin explains why organizations are feeling a sense of disillusionment with AI and how a capability-based identity fabric approach can help manage the complexity. They also explore the balance between security and business enablement, the rise of workload identities, and what to expect at the upcoming European Identity and Cloud Conference (EIC) in Berlin.Connect with Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkuppinger/KuppingerCole: https://www.kuppingercole.comEuropean Identity and Cloud Conference (EIC) (don't forget to use our discount code idac25mko): https://www.kuppingercole.com/events/eic2026Connect with us on LinkedIn:Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.comTimestamps00:00 - Welcome back to 2026 and EIC preparations02:48 - The shift from future potential to current AI agent challenges03:12 - Understanding AI disillusionment and the lack of control in regulated industries05:19 - Security as a business enabler vs progress prevention09:55 - Why AI agents should not be classified simply as non-human identities11:43 - Complex relationships between humans, agents, and delegated tasks15:17 - Self-service identity for knowledge workers and AI productivity18:40 - The risks of decentralized agent creation and "shadow" AI21:58 - How AI is being baked into identity products beyond role mining26:55 - Using usage data to reduce over-entitlements34:10 - The Identity Fabric: A capability-based approach to IAM40:33 - Vendor rationalization and the flexibility of the fabric47:19 - Previewing EIC 2026 topics: Wallet initiatives and consent52:44 - Final advice: Curing symptoms vs addressing causesKeywords:IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Martin Kuppinger, KuppingerCole, IAM, AI Agents, Identity Fabric, EIC 2026, Non-Human Identity, Workload Identity, ITDR, IGA, Cybersecurity

It was hoped the fall of Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad would usher in a period of stability, unity and perhaps - eventually - democracy.But now the country enters a new and unpredictable phase as President Ahmed Al-Sharaa tightens his grip on power.In the north-east of the country the Kurds were the West's key ally against Islamic State.Now their control in the region is collapsing after days of fierce battles with government forces. A tentative ceasefire is in place but the fallout is far from clear, including the fate of thousands of ISIS prisoners and their families who were in Kurdish-controlled camps.Regional powers like Turkey and Iran, as well as China, Russia and the West are also jostling for influence.Could these developments finally bring a period of calm and stability in Syria or just open the door to new dangers?In this episode of The Fourcast, Jackie Long was joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum and Lina Khatib, Principal Analyst at geopolitical foresight company ExTrac.

Iran's latest wave of protests—sparked by currency collapse and rapidly shifting into anti government unrest—has been forcefully suppressed by a highly layered security apparatus. In this episode, our hosts Sean Corbett and Cristina Varriale are joined by Lewis Smart, Principal Analyst from Country Intelligence's MENA team, cut through conflicting narratives to explain why the regime remains intact for now, how elite cohesion and information control has shaped events, and which indicators matter for future instability. They also examine external pressures, including sanctions and U.S. force posture, and assess how Iran's nuclear ambitions intersect with domestic unrest to shape the country's next moves.

Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc open the first episode of 2026 with a clear-eyed look at the retail news shaping the year ahead. Holiday sales landed largely as expected. Online sales grew faster, but at a decelerating pace, reinforcing the continued centrality of stores—particularly as click-and-collect represented a meaningful share of holiday fulfillment. The hosts also dig into sector-level performance, noting continued softness in big-ticket home categories alongside strength in apparel, beauty, and sporting goods.Attention then turns to structural stress in retail. The looming Chapter 11 filing of Saks Global underscores the limits of debt-heavy consolidation strategies and the difficulty of rationalizing oversized store portfolios. Steve outlines why store closures, vendor confidence, and new leadership will be critical to any successful reorganization. The news segment closes with a sobering look at U.S. job growth, which has slowed sharply, particularly in retail and manufacturing. While unemployment remains low, constrained labor supply and weak hiring momentum raise important questions for 2026.From there, the episode shifts to a wide-ranging discussion with The Analysts, this time featuring Simeon Siegel, Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners, and Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester. Reflecting on 2025, both describe a year marked by cognitive dissonance: record retail spending alongside low consumer confidence and wildly uneven outcomes. Rather than a simple “K-shaped” economy, Simeon argues that execution matters most, pointing to stark performance differences between retailers selling similar products to similar customers.The Analysts explore where market share is truly shifting, why off-price and value leaders continue to gain ground, and how e-commerce growth is normalizing as the channel matures. Sucharita explains why physical retail remains resilient in the U.S., while Simeon adds that rising friction—fees, returns, and fulfillment costs—has dulled some of e-commerce's original advantages. The conversation also tackles tariffs, AI, and technology hype. The episode concludes with Steve and Michael's perspectives on Amazon's surprising new physical retail stores plans and a possibly big Supreme Court ruling on tariff policy. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sarah Marzano, Principal Analyst for Retail and Commerce Media at EMarketer, the go-to forecasts, data, and insights provider for marketing, advertising, andcommerce professionals.Follow Sarah on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahzmarzano/Follow EMarketer on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emarketer-inc/Follow EMarketer online at: http://emarketer.comLearn more about Sarah's research report “Retail Media Networks: Trends, Benchmarks, and Leadership in 2025” here: https://www.emarketer.com/content/retail-media-networks-trends-benchmarks-leadership-2025Sarah answers these questions:What led you to develop this new report on retail media networks. What were you hearing in the industry that made you believe this might resonate in terms of thought leadership?Your report highlights *strong strategic conviction but uneven operational maturity* across RMNs. Where do you see the biggest disconnect between ambition and enablement today—and what's driving that gap?Any thoughts on how organizations can choose a model that will drive success?Fewer than half of surveyed RMNs have cross-functional KPIs, and fewer than one-third tie incentives to merchandising teams. What's preventing incentive alignment, and what does “good” look like?Measurement and reporting ranked as *the most pressing challenge* for RMNs—especially proving incrementality. What innovations or methodological shifts do you expect will actually move the industry forward?Survey respondents anticipate future growth from a mix of in-store, onsite, and offsite channels. What formats or surfaces do you see emerging as the *next big accelerators* of RMN revenue?Respondents believe zero-click search and agentic AI will be *the most disruptive forces* shaping retail media over the next three years. How should brands and RMNs prepare for this shift?RMNs say that next year, their top priorities will shift toward *tech modernization, data infrastructure, and off-site media acceleration.* What will separate the networks that actually deliver from those that simply aspire?How do interested professionals learn more about this research report?CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comSheCOMMERCE Website: https://shecommercepodcast.com/Rhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.

OBGYN shortage continues to plague Peace Arch Hospital with maternity patient diversions (0:34) Guest: Dr. Adam Thompson, President of the Doctors of B.C. Maduro's capture: Did the U.S and Venezuela have a back-door deal? (8:59) Guest: Louise Blais, former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the U.N. Why Venezuelan oil production won't replace Canada's industry (23:41) Guest: Michael Spyker, Principal Analyst at HTM Energy Partners B.C.'s property values down in latest assessment; what does this mean for the housing market? (40:19) Guest: Andy Yan, Urban Planner - and Director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest: Michael Spyker, Principal Analyst at HTM Energy Partners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special December episode of Mainframe Voices, leaders and contributors from across the Open Mainframe Project community share what they are most thankful for this year. From new career opportunities and open source collaboration to supportive teams and personal milestones, our guests reflect on the moments that made 2025 memorable in the mainframe world.Featuring: •Steven Dickens – CEO and Principal Analyst, Top 3 Global Technology Industry Analyst, Advisor to Tech Vendor Executives •Billie Jean Simmons – Software Developer for zDevOps, IBM Wazi, and Cloud IDE; Zowe Explorer Squad Lead •Len Santalucia – CTO Mainframe, AI, Cloud, Analytics, Mobile, Security; IBM Champion and Chairperson of the Linux Foundation Open Mainframe Project •Elliot Jalley – Senior Principal Product Manager, Open Mainframe Project Ambassador •Germanas Šamrickis – Senior Software Engineer at Rocket SoftwareThe Mainframe Connect podcast includes the I Am a Mainframer series, Mainframe Voices, and other conversations with mainframe professionals, sponsored by the Open Mainframe Project, a Linux Foundation initiative.#MainframeVoices #MainframeConnect #OpenMainframeProject #LinuxFoundation #Mainframe #Gratitude #Community

In this episode of RETHINK Retail, Top Retail Experts unpack how much customer expectations have accelerated and expert tips for retailers trying to compete across stores, apps, loyalty programs, and connected channels. Join Emily Pfeiffer, Principal Analyst of Commerce Tech at Forrester and Roopi Crowley, Managing Director of Strategic Retail at T-Mobile for Business, as they explore: - The future of loyalty programs - Dynamic pricing and personalized offers - Collecting and leveraging customer feedback - Using connectivity and data to drive smarter merchandising Learn how to turn customer expectations into opportunities.

This week's guests are my two DAT iQ colleagues: Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics, and Dean Croke, Principal Analyst. This is our annual end of the year podcast where we revisit our predictions from last year, discuss the major issues of the current year, and take our best guesses as to what will happen next year.  We did not do that well in our annual predictions for 2025 - we all expected dry van spot rates to increase by anywhere from 3 to 12% when in fact they dropped by more than 2%.  Tariff uncertainty and weak demand were noted as the primary culprits.  Ken aptly described 2025 as "a long protracted sigh." Dean expressed the surprising influence of social media on regulatory policy, as a questionable TikTok video led to an executive order and strengthened FMCSA policy regarding English language proficiency and CDL standards.   This led to predictions that 2026 will bring a gradual recovery mainly due to the exodus of capacity rather than any increase in demand.  The conversation concludes with predictions for 2026 dry van spot rates, with forecasts ranging from an increase of 3% to 10% by the end of the year.  Let's see how we do! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

MSP events are experiencing a notable shift, with a growing preference for smaller, localized gatherings over traditional mega-conferences. Jessica Davis, Principal Analyst at Omdia, highlights that this trend is driven by factors such as increased travel costs and a desire for more meaningful community interactions. Research indicates that MSPs are increasingly seeking value from events that foster peer connections and provide insights into vendor roadmaps, particularly in the realms of cybersecurity and automation. The acquisition of Channel Pro by Cyber Risk Alliance further underscores the industry's focus on cybersecurity, as it aims to integrate channel and cybersecurity insights.The analysis of 352 global channel events reveals that many MSPs are prioritizing local roadshows, which allow for easier access and more personalized engagement. The pandemic has also influenced this shift, as MSPs are eager to reconnect in person after extended periods of remote interaction. Davis notes that while larger events like IT Nation and Kaseya Connects have their place, the saturation of the event landscape has led to a dilution of value for attendees, prompting a reevaluation of which events are worth the investment of time and resources.In addition to the primary focus on event dynamics, the episode discusses the varying approaches vendors take to measure return on investment (ROI) from these events. While some vendors rely on gut feelings or anecdotal evidence, others employ systematic methods to assess lead generation and engagement quality. This disparity in measurement practices highlights the need for vendors to adopt more data-driven strategies to justify their event expenditures.For MSPs and IT service leaders, the evolving landscape of events presents both challenges and opportunities. As the industry transitions into what is termed MSP 3.0, there is a clear need for MSPs to align their event participation with their business goals, focusing on those that offer relevant insights and networking opportunities. Understanding the financial motivations behind events and seeking out vendor-neutral gatherings can enhance the value derived from these engagements, ultimately supporting better decision-making and growth strategies.