Today, I talk to Chad Sheridan, Chief Innovation Officer at NetImpact Strategies about:- How to measure value in the federal context- The balance between delivering features and technical debt- Why switching from project to product thinking matters- The value in leveraging cloud for agencies- How to lean on peers and overcome other technology leadership challengesAs former service delivery chief for the USDA, Chad recently moved to work at NetImpact Strategies to advise a number of agencies on what we’re about to talk about today. That is, creating and measuring value in the federal context, switching from project to product thinking to nurture innovation, the cloud’s value for agencies, and how to lean on peers to overcome the challenges that inevitably come with the territory of technology leadership.

Network Disrupted

Season 1, Episode 8: "How can I nurture innovation at a federal agency?" with Chad Sheridan, Chief Innovation Officer, NetImpact Strategies

Today, I talk to Thomas Sweet, VP in IT Solutions at GM Financial, about: - How he’s turning his QA organization into a unified engineering team - The value of certifications and metrics - Specific tactics he uses to drive continuous learning - Why he doesn’t want GM Financial’s Cloud Centre of Excellence (CCoE) to return his team members Tom’s got a real focus on lifting people up in the workplace. I want to give credit where credit is due, so I’d like to thank our friends at Linux Academy (or, rather, A Cloud Guru), for introducing us. Tom gets into the tactical weeds explaining how he’s doing what he’s doing, which is really valuable, so thanks for that Christophe.  Note: Tom’s opinions are his own and do not represent those of GM or GM Financial. P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.  P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 7: "How do I up-skill my team for digital transformation?" with Thomas Sweet, VP in IT Solutions @ GM Financial

Today, I talk to Anshuman Awasthi, Director of Infrastructure Engineering @ [Leading Retailer Whose Name I Can’t Say], about: - Why his team chose to adopt SD-WAN before its relative popularity - How he leveraged vendor partnerships to tailor emerging solutions - How Anshu’s company determined requirements for the emerging technology - What securing traffic in this new world looked like for Anshu’s team My guest is the Director of Infrastructure, Engineering at a publicly traded, leading retailer based in CA whose legal team won’t let me say their name. But they do furniture really well. Anshu’s company was an early adopter of SD-WAN, before its value was as defined, so we talk about how and why they did that. Find Anshu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anshumana/Or read his Forbes column here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/people/anshumanawasthi/#53b78c831ec4P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 6: "How did they adopt SD-WAN so fast?" with Anshuman Awasthi, Director of Infrastructure, Engineering @ Leading Retailer

In this episode, I talk with Vishal Gupta, CTO @ Unisys, about:- The value AI actually has (and doesn’t have) in an enterprise setting- Low-hanging fruit for which an organization can use AI (specifically in the realm of improving customer experience and classifying devices for policy application)- Common data-collection misconceptions enterprises have- Bonus: how Unisys is equipping its employees career security through skills trainingVishal is the CTO of Unisys, the IT company we’ve known for over a century. Since he started in 2018, Vishal has been focused on helping Unisys’ customers apply analytics in practical ways, and on enabling his organization to attract, engage, and retain talent. We talk about both things in the episode.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 5: "Is AI a dirty word?" with Vishal Gupta, CTO @ Unisys

In this episode, I talk with Juha Holkkola, CEO @ FusionLayer about:- The networking reality at many large organizations- Automation strategy mistakes he sees organizations making- The best IP address management (IPAM) tools most organizations cling to- His advice for effective automationJuha is the co-founder and CEO of FusionLayer, a DDI company focused on helping large customers automate their infrastructure. While a bit different than my typical guest, Juha – like me – talks to a large number of IT leaders. He therefore understands where widespread holes (and, conversely, opportunities for improvement) exist.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 4: "How do I measure an automation strategy?" with Juha Holkkola, CEO @ FusionLayer

In this episode, I talk with Jon Macy, Director @ Cerner about: * How he balances single customer requirements and popular requests * How he engages with the business * The business-focused platform-as-a-service that he’s effectively built for the organization * What he thinks makes a valuable technology partnership  Jon is focused on building enduring architectures and systems at Cerner, and it shows in the way he talks about his role and challenges. It’s both reassuring to listen to, and certainly helpful to others on a similar path. P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.  P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 3: "How do I interpret business requirements?" with Jon Macy, Director @ Cerner

In this episode, I talk with Mathew Chase, VP of IT at Ellucian about:- How to architect for broader business requirements- What IT’s position in the business really is- Shadow IT and the different ways technology is rolled out in organizations- Being vulnerable and confident as an IT leaderMat’s story is a relatable one, as his company continues to integrate IT into more of the business’ strategic goals. Enjoy this one.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 2: "Is there one right way to roll out new technology?" with Mathew Chase, VP of IT @ Ellucian

In this episode, I talk with David Markwell, SVP of Information Technology at Loblaw, about:- Technology’s responsibility to the business- How to move from supporting technology projects to driving overarching business objectives- Loblaw’s forward-looking investments in the cloud, SD-WAN, and more- The way David grew from being a ‘technology leader’ in Loblaw to a leader, point blankI think David’s approach is so thoughtful, and so customer-, business-, and employee-focused. There's a lot to learn from that and to be proud of. Enjoy this one.P.S. Know who I should speak to next? Drop me a line at andrew [at] networkdisrupted [dot] com.P.P.S. Short on time? I send detailed episode summaries to my email subscribers. Add yourself to the list if you’d like.

Season 1, Episode 1: "How can I enable my organization?" with David Markwell, SVP of Technology @ Loblaw

Technology leaders making sense of network disruption.

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Network Disrupted

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