Will Amazon's return-to-office mandate be a success, or will Andy Jassy's employees slap on a return label? Reed co-founder Mark Ridley and Dr Andrew MacLaren, Associate Professor of Team Communication at Heriot-Watt University,  join Tom to talk all about the points for and against office vs remote work - and why hybrid might be not the perfect middle ground.

What does Jassy's order mean for remote workers who won't relocate? Will other companies benefit from a new flow of talent? And just how do you structure your firm to take advantage of remote workers? Here's a hint: Look to how you planned your cloud infrastructure.

As well as their professional qualifications, Mark and Andrew are co-hosts of the Teamcraft podcast. You can find their own episode on virtual teams here.

GitLab's guide to an all-remote workforce, discussed in the show, can be found here, and the company handbook here.

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LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

What effect will a protectionist President have on the global tech sector? Professor Grant Neeley discusses Donald Trump's stance on tech issues from AI to immigration, and what we can expect from his historic second term.

The incoming President is critical of regulation, but has spoken out against Big Tech. He is anti-China, but pro-TikTok. He wants tariffs on global imports, but expects lower prices.

What form will these contradictory stances take in government? And who will be brave enough to take a top job in a White House where tenure can only last for days? Grant talks about all this, and more.

Become a member of Computing today at www.computing.co.uk

LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

Acquiring new companies is a popular way to grow quickly, but it brings a host of technical challenges: from finding the right company, to due diligence, and finally integrating their systems. 

In this episode Ardonagh Advisory CTO Tom Clark discusses the role tech leaders must play at every stage of the process  to smoothly bring new companies on board.

Become a member of Computing today at www.computing.co.uk

LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

BT consumes about 1% of the UK's total power, a massive amount for a single company. In this episode Tom talks to Clare Schramm of BT's "internal hyperscaler," the cloud services division, about how they are reworking software, hardware and partnerships to slash energy use.

Clare talks about how and why BT has written sustainability metrics into all of its commercial tenders; how vendor relationships are changing as a result; and discusses the use of observability tooling to monitor efficiency.

We apologise for the late posting of this episode, which was due to a bereavement. Ctrl Alt Lead will return to its regular fortnightly schedule going forward.

Become a member of Computing today at www.computing.co.uk

LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

Culture is one of the most difficult things to build, even for engineers. In this episode, Admiral's Chief Engineer Pankaj Kane talks about how he built an engineering-led culture, and why he's made sure to remain separate from it.

Instilling a culture through one of the UK's largest insurers was no easy task, so Pankaj launched it using a common vision: a North Star. Plus, he shares his advice for how other IT leaders can do the same.

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LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

IoT sensors are common in infrastructure, but strangely rare in stately homes - where the predictive maintenance piece, at least, makes them incredibly well suited. Oxfordshire's Blenheim Estate, though, uses hundreds of sensors. I talked to Head of Innovation David Green about the organisation's modern approach.

David explains how and why Blenheim invested in a massive sensor network, and how the Estate is evolving its use of sensors to track visitors and improve their experience around the site. As with all things IT, it all comes back to data.

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LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

IT professionals are perfectionists under pressure in a changing industry: a combination that leads to exhaustion, stress and burnout. In this episode, head of IT Jeremy Cooper tells Tom how he overcame the problem, and how he tackles it in his team.

Jeremy talks candidly about his own experiences of burnout - from what caused it, to how it affected him and how he learned to address it; as well as why IT professionals are so prone to it, and how you can learn to spot it in others and in yourself.

Missing audio: An internet issue caused an intermittent audio dropout from 17:30-18:00. Please see a transcript of the missing audio below:

Tom: Yeah, your LinkedIn famously says 'Average crossfitter.'

Jeremy: Yeah.

Tom: Okay, so that's great advice. The other question I have is, "How do you combat burnout in the short term?" What you've said is great, but it could take some time to show results. If they need something they can do on the day, what can they start doing?

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Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

Drowning in documents hundreds of pages long, the legal sector needs a safe, transparent way to speed up the way it works. Is generative AI, trained and prepared on legal data, the answer?

In this episode Tom talks to Bruna Pellicci, CIO at Magic Circle law firm Linklaters, about how technology is changing the legal space and how her company built its own AI helper.

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LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

The National Grid was built on infrastructure laid in the 1950s. Now, as the UK's energy sector changes, CIO Sarah Milton-Hunt and her team are replacing that legacy with modern tools to last the next 70 years.

Sarah talks about the factors affecting the modern utilities sector, like datacentre growth and the move to renewables, and how digital and AI are "key" to handling a less certain energy network.

Become a member of Computing today at www.computing.co.uk

LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG

Labour has won a thumping majority in the 2024 general election. Mark Ridley, fractional CIO and technical co-founder of Reed.co.uk, joins Tom to talk about what it means for the tech sector.

What did Labour promise in its manifesto - and more importantly, what did it leave out? Tom and Mark talk about where the new government is likely to focus its energy in the coming months and years, from AI regulation to NHS digitisation, as well as their own hopes for the future.

Become a member of Computing today at www.computing.co.uk

LinkedIn: @computing-- / Tom Allen

Twitter: @Computing_News / @Tom_CTG