AVANT Technology Insights

Picking the right balance between cloud technologies and on-prem solutions can be a major challenge. In this episode, Ken Presti speaks with Howard Shaw, director of technical strategy & engineering at SHI, about best practices to navigate Hybrid IT. 3:42 Key Factors 6:26 Is Hybrid an Interim Strategy? 10:00 Cost vs. Performance 14:39 Sorting through Options

Zoom's projected $14.7 billion acquisition of Five9 is clearly a game-changer for this technology space. In this episode, AVANT's Ken Presti hosts Forrester analyst Jay McBain for a thought-provoking analysis of the underlying strategy.

The Work-from-Anywhere model has inspired the rapid emergence of the Digital Workspace. In this episode, Scott Kinka of EvolveIP discusses the opportunity to differentiate your company, the lessons of Covid, how IT is changing, and more.

With a ransomware attack happening as often as every 11 seconds, Thrive's Dave Sampson tells Ken Presti how companies need to plan for prevention, response, and recovery. Don't let your company become the next victim. Here's some hands-on advice!

The Verizon DBIR is a bellwether of what's happening in IT Security. Our guest, Verizon's Chris Novak, covers the main takeaways of the report, and also explains how paying off ransomware just might get the victim into legal trouble.

New technologies are driving much more than stronger value propositions. They are driving the next industrial revolution, according to Bryn Norton, VP of IT Solution Sales at Lumen Technologies. In this episode, Bryn and Ken Presti discuss how to plan, navigate, and maximize success in the new paradigm.

IT Security is an ongoing fight between good guys and bad guys. In this episode, Ken Presti talks to Adam Burke, VP of Sales at Quest, about best practices for defining risks and fending off attacks -- especially along three very important vectors.

When it comes to leveraging technology for the betterment of your company, Digital Transformation is the strategic underpinning that makes good things happen. In this episode, Ken Presti talks to Advocate CMO Chad Doiron about how to get the most impact for your technology dollars.

Cybersecurity is a fundamental necessity for every company. The fact that there is a security labor shortage adds an extra layer of complexity. In this episode, Ken Presti and Matthew Toth, president of C3 Technology Advisors, discuss how to maximize your company's defenses at a time when staffing is such a challenge.

Cloud computing may be the default technology option to many IT executives, but, in many cases, a hybrid approach may be your best option. Ken Presti interviews Greg Moss, CEO of CloudAdvise, in this episode.

As the business world continues to ride the wave of a dangerous global pandemic, how has the past year impacted management from a relationship standpoint? In this episode, Ken Presti speaks with AVANT's Bana Qashu about lessons learned while managing through Covid-19.

Artificial Intelligence has become a key component to maintaining solid customer satisfaction. In this episode, Ken Presti speaks with Amir Hameed of RingCentral about how this development impacts businesses and raises the bar for success. Sentiment analysis, analytics, and the future of AI are among the main topics.

The rush to a work-from-home business model began just about a year ago. In this episode, Ken Presti talks with LogMeIn's Sid Castle about what we've learned from the experience, new approaches to technology, and how the much-anticipated hybrid work model is likely to evolve.

AVANT's new State of Disruption Report is a market research document that measures the rates at which new technologies are displacing older ones. In this episode, Ken Presti outlines the details of this free report with AVANT CSO, Alex Danyluk.

UCaaS and CCaaS both represent a chance to leverage software tools toward higher effectiveness and customer satisfaction. In this episode, Ken Presti tackles this topic with Greg Franzen of Vonage, who examines this opportunity and its impacts on the sales process.

Disaster Recovery as a Service, commonly known as DRaaS, has emerged as a critical IT component in the midst of hacks and other risks that can take down your business. In this episode, Ken Presti talks to Dante Orsini of iland about how DRaaS services have gained market traction, and how enterprise decision-makers can plan, implement, test, and get the most out of their DRaaS solutions.

A major breach captures world attention. Then there's ransomware, the effects of Covid-19, the emergence of SASE, and a whole lot of other IT security impacts. In this episode, analyst and author Richard Stiennon explores these topics with Ken Presti in advance of Stiennon's upcoming release, "The Security Yearbook 2021."

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is the new frontier of security and networking. In this episode, Dave Nuti, head of channels at Open Systems, walks us through how this approach to technology might raise your company to a higher level in the age of the cloud.

Some tools are so ingrained in the professional human psyche that they can essentially force their way into environments built around competing products. In this episode, Ken Presti discusses this phenomenon with 8x8 CTO Bryan Martin, who shares his views on how companies can most effectively navigate this trend.

Post-Covid? Or maybe mid-Covid. Whatever your views, Scott Kinka of EvolveIP talks to Ken Presti about five IT considerations your competitors hope you'll forget.

Customer experience has emerged as a key component of the sales offer. In this episode, Geoff Chretien of Genesys tells Ken Presti about the critical role of enhanced communication leveraging artificial intelligence and a host of other capabilities.

The move back to the office brings about a range of new challenges. In this episode, Kevin Thomsen of Zoom Video Communications offers some real world options for a safe transition.

While closing the deal is the focal point of Sales, getting your foot in the door is the all-important first step. In this episode, Ken Presti talks to Ray Ruecker, author of the book, "How to Score from 1st Base (in Sales)."

Backup and Disaster Recovery get no respect -- at least not until bad things happen. In this episode, Ken Presti interviews AVANT Director of Engineering, Niko O'Hara, about how to build and execute a solid plan for backup and DR, providing high functionality without breaking the bank.

Workforce Optimization and Speech Analytics are factoring heavily into the future of CCaaS. In this episode, Ken Presti speaks with Ryan McCormick of Five9 about how all this impacts plans made by today's enterprise decision makers.