Artificial intelligence has made data more useful and accessible to businesses than ever, but if businesses want to get the most from their data they have to get it in a fit state to use.There’s a significant disconnect between IT specialists, CEOs, and other parts of the business when it comes to understanding what this means and how ready they are, however. Research from Informatica found 69% of IT teams rate their data quality as excellent or very good, barely half of business leaders say the same at 51%. The same survey found 57% of business professionals and 30% of IT workers don’t know what it means for data to be ‘AI ready’.In this special edition of the ITPro Podcast, in association with Informatica, we explore what data excellence is, why it’s important to companies, and how they can achieve it.
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Is all-photonics the future of networking?
The flow of data is core to businesses all around the world – how much can be transmitted, and at what speed, is a fundamental aspect of IT systems ranging from cloud computing to the frontier of AI models.In data centers, the tech sector is focused on reducing latency, improving bandwidth, and reducing energy consumption to improve AI performance and lower operating costs. But achieving these goals by shifting about current technology can only go so far. Increasingly, firms are looking to cutting-edge technologies and approach such as all-photonics networks, which use photons for all processes including data transfer and storage, rather than electronic components. How close are we to achieving this technology? And how could it benefit every business.In this episode, Rory is joined Chris Wright, SVP global engineering and CTO at Red Hat, to discuss the potential benefits of all-photonics networks and how they could upend current network architecture.
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Let’s talk about digital sovereignty
Digital sovereignty is an issue that has been bubbling away in the background of IT for some time but doesn’t often see the limelight. In this episode of the ITPro Podcast, we’ve decided to change that.From sovereign clouds to AI, Jane McCallion and Ross Kelly dig into what digital sovereignty is, how it’s being used, and its relationship with AI, cloud, and national data regulations.Highlights“The World Economic Forum describes digital sovereignty as the ability to have control over your own digital destiny andI think that's a really great way of describing it. And when you look at how the EU has positioned itself in recent years, that certainly is the key focus there – it's all about … maintaining control.”“You can't understate the impact of regulatory compliance in the EU – that's the huge driving factor, Microsoft, AWS, Oracle, Google Cloud, they wouldn't be bending over backwards if they didn't know the risks there. And for individual organizations as well as customers of these providers, they're the ones that are pushing for this because they're conscious of their compliance as well.”Related linksSovereign cloud services are now the “bare minimum” expected by customers, and hyperscalers are scrambling to meet demandWhat the new Microsoft Sovereign Cloud push means for European customersAWS says only Europeans will run its European Sovereign Cloud serviceWhat is a sovereign cloud?SAP wants to take data sovereignty to the next level with new 'on-site' infrastructure optionsHPE launches exclusive sovereign cloud offering for the channel
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August rundown: Are AI job losses a fantasy?
In a recent episode of the podcast, we discussed the potential for AI to actually replace developer jobs. This is a complicated issue, as one has to consider both the accuracy of outputs – how well LLMs can code – as well as what execs think it can do.Well, AWS CEO Matt Garman has weighed in this month, calling replacing devs with AI “the dumbest thing” he’s ever heard.Elsewhere in August, Cisco has engaged in a round of layoffs, despite healthy figures in its recent financial report. What does all this mean for tech jobs at large?In this episode Jane and Rory welcome back Ross Kelly, ITPro’s news and analysis editor, to explain why tech jobs have become such a hot talking point this August.
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Classic episode: How can we support CISOs better?
This episode was first published on 13/10/23.The role of chief information security officer is among the most important in any firm. CISOs shoulder a heavy burden, with responsibility for protecting their company’s data, infrastructure, and associated assets.As the tech stack has grown, so too has the pressure on those in the role. CISOs have to shepherd technologies including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and edge computing.Gartner predicts that nearly half of all IT leaders could leave their roles by 2025, and CISOs are subject to the same talent shortages as the rest of the sector amidst a constant need to maintain oversight of a growing IT estate.In this episode, Jane is joined by Andrew Rose, resident CISO for EMEA at Proofpoint, to expand on how to be an effective CISO, and how the role is changing.For more information:Work-related stress “keeps cyber security professionals awake at night”CISO job description: What does a CISO do?Gartner: Nearly half of cyber leaders to leave roles over mounting stressFighting the ‘always on’ culture that’s savaging mental health in cyber securityGartner urges CISOs to adopt new forms of trust and risk management for AIWhat is ransomware?What is business email compromise (BEC)?96% of CISOs without necessary support to maintain cyber securitySix generative AI cyber security threats and how to mitigate them
The ITPro Podcast is a weekly show for technology professionals and business leaders. Each week hosts Rory Bathgate and Jane McCallion are joined by an expert guest to take a deep dive into the most important issues for the IT community. New episodes premiere every Friday. Visit itpro.com/uk/the-it-pro-podcast for more information, or follow ITPro on LinkedIn for regular updates.
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