In this episode of Tech Innovators Spotlight, host Chad Merck and co-host Will Pollard are joined by Ed Keisling, Chief AI Officer at Progress Software, to explore what it really takes to make AI deliver value in the enterprise. Ed shares why the Chief AI Officer role is uniquely positioned to balance innovation and risk, why most GenAI projects struggle to show ROI, and how organizations can avoid chasing hype by focusing on sharp, well-defined problems. The conversation dives into Progress’s approach to AI as augmentation rather than replacement, the growing opportunity for small and mid-sized businesses, and how agentic RAG and Progress’s partnership with Microsoft are helping make AI more practical, scalable, and accessible. 

In This Episode You Will Learn:  

• Why many GenAI projects fail to deliver ROI and how to avoid common pitfalls 
• How agentic RAG helps ground AI systems in reliable, trusted data 
• Where AI is delivering real value today versus where experimentation is still ongoing 

Some Questions We Ask: 

• How has this current wave of AI been different from past technology disruptions? 
• Why do you think so many organizations struggle to succeed with AI initiatives? 
• Where do you think we are right now in the AI adoption and hype cycle? 

Resources:      

View Ed Keisling on LinkedIn  

View Will Pollard on LinkedIn  

View Chad Merck on LinkedIn  

 Related Microsoft Podcasts:   

• Microsoft Threat Intelligence Podcast   
• Afternoon Cyber Tea with Ann Johnson   
• Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Partners Podcast   

Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts at microsoft.com/podcasts 

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