EnergyTech Podcast

What does it take to build an AI-ready data center? Recorded live from Inductive Automation's Data Center Discovery Day 2026, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Arlen Nipper, President and Co-Founder of Cirrus Link and one of the original creators of MQTT. The conversation explores why the Unified Namespace (UNS) has become the foundation for modern industrial data architectures, why context...

What happens when traditional IT networks collide with operational technology (OT) environments? Recorded live from the ENTELEC 2026 Conference in Galveston, Texas, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with James Rizzler of Cisco Systems to discuss the accelerating convergence of IT and OT, industrial cybersecurity, AI-driven threats, and the future of connected operations. James shares Cisco's per...

What happens after an alarm goes off? Recorded live at Inductive Automation's Data Center Discovery Day in Tysons, Virginia, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Brooks Corfage, Sales & Integrator Program Lead at iGear, to discuss how operational teams can close the gap between event detection and problem resolution. Brooks shares how iGear's Squeaks platform integrates with Ignition to he...

What has made ENTELEC one of the most respected organizations in the energy industry for nearly a century? Recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with ENTELEC Lifetime Member Richard Nation to discuss the history of the organization, the importance of industry mentorship, and how knowledge transfer remains critical as the energy sector embraces AI an...

What does the future of industrial data architecture look like? In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live from ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with MQTT co-inventor and Cirrus Link President, Arlen Nipper, to discuss the evolution of MQTT, the next generation of Sparkplug, and why a Unified Namespace is becoming the foundation for AI-ready indu...

In Part 8 of the Energy Tech Podcast Control Room Management miniseries, Mike Flores and Daniel Netto discuss one of the most important CRM topics for pipeline operators: internal communication plans and manual operations during SCADA outages. This episode covers what happens when SCADA visibility is lost, why PHMSA expects operators to maintain safe pipeline operations during full or partial outa...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, Mike Flores and Jeff Perry sit down with Suzette McDaniel, Executive Vice President of Global Business Development at AutoSol. Suzette shares her remarkable 32-year journey at AutoSol, from starting as a receptionist to becoming a senior executive in one of the most recognized companies in industrial aut...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at Inductive Automation's Data Center Discovery Day 2026 in Tysons, Virginia, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Benson Hougland, Vice President of Product Strategy and Marketing at Opto 22. The discussion explores how data centers are evolving into AI factories, the growing importance of edge computing, MQTT, Unified Namespace (UNS),...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Mike McCabe from Nazomi Networks to discuss the growing importance of OT cybersecurity in industrial environments. The conversation explores how industrial cybersecurity has evolved over the past decade, the increasing threat from nation-state actors, and why energy operators, manufa...

YouTube Description In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at Inductive Automation’s Data Center Discovery Day 2026 in Tysons, Virginia, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Travis Cox, Chief Technology Evangelist at Inductive Automation. The conversation dives deep into the future of industrial automation, Unified Namespace (UNS), edge architectures, AI-ready data, MQTT, Sp...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Stuart McCone, Founder and CEO of VideoSoft. Stuart shares how VideoSoft built ultra low-bandwidth video technology designed specifically for harsh industrial environments, remote infrastructure, and mission-critical operations. The conversation dives into: Real-t...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at Inductive Automation’s Data Center Discovery Day 2026 in Tysons, Virginia, Jeff Perry and Mike Flores sit down with Martin Villeneuve, President of Distech Controls. Martin shares how Distech Controls evolved from an open BMS innovator into a major player in the rapidly growing data center market. The conversation explores open protocols...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, Mike Flores sits down with Mike Tilman — an edge computing innovator and OT/IT integration expert with decades of experience in oil & gas communications, industrial networking, and data infrastructure. Mike shares his journey from early IT consulting in the oilfield to supporting large-scale edge com...

In Episode 7 of the Energy Tech Podcast Control Room Management (CRM) series, Mike Flores and Daniel Nieto break down one of the most critical — and often misunderstood — requirements in pipeline operations: point-to-point verification. This episode dives into how operators ensure that SCADA data can be trusted — from the field device all the way to the control room screen. When controllers lose t...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas, we sit down with Brandon Young, CEO of Midland Tower Construction. Brandon shares his journey from climbing 2,000-foot towers to leading a fast-growing infrastructure company supporting oil & gas, telecom, and data-driven operations across the U.S. We dive into how tower construction plays a critical...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026, we sit down with Lisa Clark, Manager of SCADA Solutions at Autosol, to break down how Unified Namespace (UNS), clean data structures, and modern SCADA architectures are reshaping oil & gas operations. SCADA is no longer just about screens and alarms — it’s becoming a critical layer for business enablement, data strategy...

In Episode 5 of the Energy Tech Podcast Control Room Management (CRM) mini-series, Mike Flores and Daniel Nieto (VP of Regulatory & Compliance at OpSite Energy) break down one of the most overlooked requirements in PHMSA Control Room Management regulations — providing controllers with adequate information and tools. Many operators assume this requirement only refers to SCADA screens, but the r...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026, we sit down with William Behn from Neeve to break down one of the most important shifts happening in industrial tech: 👉 The collapse of the traditional OT architecture — and the rise of Industrial SASE. As IT/OT convergence accelerates, legacy models like Purdue are being challenged by modern needs for data mobility, secur...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026, we sit down with Dale Peterson, founder of S4 Events and one of the pioneers in ICS and SCADA cybersecurity. With over 25 years in industrial cybersecurity, Dale breaks down a hard truth: 👉 Most OT systems are still insecure by design. We dive into: Why 80%+ of industrial systems remain vulnerable The concept of “insecure...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, recorded live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, we sit down with Lindi Sabloff, Founder & CEO, to discuss the reality of AI adoption in industrial sectors like oil & gas and manufacturing. While AI dominates headlines, Lindi breaks down a critical truth: most industrial companies are not ready for AI yet. We dive deep into: Why data quality and infra...

In this episode of the Energy Tech Podcast, we sit down with Avadine to explore Ignition-native Pump-Off Control (IPO) — a modern approach to well optimization built on the Ignition SCADA platform. We dive into how IPO is transforming traditional pump-off control systems by eliminating data silos, reducing costs, and enabling real-time optimization across thousands of wells. This episode also expl...

In Episode 4 of the Energy Tech Podcast Control Room Management (CRM) mini-series, Mike Flores and Daniel Nieto (VP Regulatory & Compliance at OpSite Energy) break down one of the most misunderstood topics in pipeline operations: Authority to Supersede. Can a manager override a pipeline controller during an abnormal event? What does the PHMSA Control Room Management rule (49 CFR 192.631 &...

The Energy Tech Podcast will be live at ENTELEC 2026 in Galveston, Texas at the Galveston Island Convention Center from April 6–9 — and in this episode we break down what to expect from one of the most important conferences in industrial networking, SCADA, and operational technology (OT). Hosted by Jeff Perry and Mike Flores from OpSite Energy, this episode previews the major technical themes expe...

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Energy Tech Podcast’s Control Room Management (CRM) mini-series. Mike Flores and Daniel Nieto (Regulatory Compliance, OpSite Energy) cover what they call the lynchpin of control room management: shift change and handover. If information gets lost during turnover, pipeline safety suffers. In this episode, we break down how to build a formal handover procedure (guided by...