Edge of IT

What if the biggest cost driver in your AI strategy isn't the model, but the data underneath it?

In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough sits down with Vrashank Jain, Director of Product Management at Dell, and Brad Miller, Data and AI Sales Leader at Pellera, to unpack what Jonathan calls "the data layer tax": the hidden cost organizations pay when their data isn't ready for AI.

Together, they explore why the AI bottleneck has shifted from compute to data quality, how a disorganized data layer can double or triple your cost per query, and what context engineering actually looks like in practice. They also get into how to frame data investment for executive buy-in, why business acumen may matter more than coding skills, and where leaders should start if they know their data layer isn't ready.

If you want to get more out of AI without burning budget on bloated context windows, start here.

Enterprise networking currently faces an interesting quandary: Do you use AI to improve your network, or does your network need to improve to support AI? And between the two, where should you start? 

In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough is joined by James Robertson, VP & Head of Field CTO & CISO at HPE, and James Bowick, Director of Solutions Architecture, Network & Network Security at Pellera Technologies, to unpack what's really changing beneath the surface of enterprise networking. Together, they explore how the network has evolved from carrying traffic to carrying business intent, security context, and the next wave of AI-driven decisions.

From the security challenges of east-west traffic to data sovereignty and managing decades of technical debt, this episode breaks down where modern networking stands and where leaders should start.

Nobody gets breached by a chatbot. They get breached because of the data the chatbot has access to.

In this episode, Jonathan Gough is joined by Tunde Oni-Daniel, Deputy CTO at OneMain Financial, and Niko Zivanovich, who leads Pellera's Cybersecurity practice in the West, to unpack why every AI and security conversation inevitably becomes a conversation about data governance, identity, and access. 

Together, they explore how threat actors are weaponizing AI to find vulnerabilities, scale attacks, and move faster than traditional defenses can keep up. The conversation makes one thing clear: Organizations can’t afford to rely on patch-and-monitor thinking alone. They need to know where their critical data lives, who has access to it, and how to stress-test their defenses before an attacker does. 

From offensive security and automated defense to governance, tagging, and identity hygiene, this episode is a clear reminder that the organizations best positioned to benefit from AI are the ones that get the fundamentals right first.

In the Season 4 premiere of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough welcomes back Emily Martin, Executive Vice President of AI Strategy at Pellera, for her third appearance on the show. Together, they unpack why AI adoption feels so overwhelming right now, and why the answer isn't a better roadmap, it's a better operating model.

Emily breaks down the framework she uses with clients: AI as a feature, a product, and a factory, not a ladder to climb, but a consumption management model that shifts with what an organization actually needs. They also dig into the increasingly tricky world of tokenomics and model selection, and why the smartest AI decisions have less to do with the technology and more to do with who's in the room.

If you're wondering where your organization stands on the road to an AI factory, or whether that road even ends, this episode is for you.

To learn is to iterate: ask a question, get an answer, and immediately ask another. If you work in IT, you know this. If you listen to Edge of IT, you're about to watch it come to life. 

Host and Pellera Chief Scientist Jonathan Gough is back for Season 4, and with technology moving faster than ever, keeping pace with the bleeding edge takes the kind of relentless questions this podcast is ready to ask.

This season is all about building for a future no one can fully see. Together, we’ll explore how the sharpest leaders, strategists, and technologists are making the right calls right now. The calls that are unlocking competitive advantage, measurable ROI, and unparalleled innovation.

Each episode brings you candid conversations with the people closest to the work, packed with actionable insights. So if you're ready to hear the questions fueling the next wave of curiosity, follow us and don't miss an episode. 

What if you had to design IT infrastructure that cannot, under any circumstances, fail? If that question hits close to home, chances are you work in a high-stakes environment, and this episode was made for you.

Jonathan Gough sits down with Jim Forrester, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Vice President of Information Technology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, to explore how healthcare IT leaders modernize mission-critical data infrastructure without compromising care. Jim shares how his team approaches modernization decisions across imaging, system recovery, and data architecture, balancing cost, technical debt, and clinical need at every turn. From the concept of a "minimum viable hospital" to a storage overhaul that delivered 6x faster imaging performance, this is a story about what it means to modernize when the stakes aren't measured in just downtime. They're measured in lives.

Whether you work in healthcare or another high-stakes industry, the principles Jim's team lives by are ones every IT leader should have front of mind.

AI tools are entering the enterprise from every direction, creating a massive challenge for compliance leaders. The real issue isn’t just selecting the right tools; it is understanding what data the tools touch, what risks they introduce, and whether they can scale responsibly.

In this episode of Edge of IT, Jonathan Gough is joined by Michael Corrigan, CIO at World Insurance, and Sean Colicchio, Global CISO at Pellera, to explore a practical approach to AI governance, tool evaluation, and enterprise scale. Michael shares how his team manages technology and cybersecurity while integrating roughly 50 acquisitions a year, using repeatable playbooks, onboarding, and clear data processes to reduce friction. Sean adds a security-first perspective, unpacking why effective AI governance starts by following the data.

Together, they explain how strong governance frameworks can help organizations move faster, scale smarter, and thrive in the rapidly evolving enterprise landscape.

Innovation does not have to start with unlimited resources. For Daymond John of ABC’s Shark Tank, it starts with the power of broke.

In this special episode of Edge of IT, recorded live from Pellera’s West Tech Summit, Jonathan sits down with entrepreneur, investor, and bestselling author Daymond John to explore risk, trust, and innovation under pressure.

From building FUBU in his mother’s kitchen to evaluating hundreds of founders on ABC’s Shark Tank, Daymond shares why success is rarely about having the perfect idea. It’s about understanding the problem, surrounding yourself with the right people, managing your downside, and doing the work before asking others to believe. Together, Jonathan and Daymond connect those lessons to enterprise technology today, where AI is moving fast, pressure is high, and leaders are being asked to make smart bets without perfect certainty.

A chatbot is easy to launch. A chatbot that earns trust, improves experience, and proves ROI? That is where things get interesting.

In this episode, host Jonathan Gough explores what it really takes to build AI agents that people actually want to use. Joining him are Matt Grayson, CIO and IT Division Manager at APWU Health Plan, and Theo Pajaczkowska, Advisory & Design Managing Principal for Data & AI at Pellera. Together, they unpack how Matt’s team, in collaboration with Pellera, built a successful virtual agent on IBM WatsonX Assistant and watsonx AI to improve the self-service experience for members navigating health insurance questions during open enrollment.

Operating in the highly regulated healthcare space, Matt shares how his team balanced user experience with governance, while Theo adds her valuable perspective on Pellera's outcome-driven approach for designing vendor-agnostic AI solutions. So if you want to build AI that people use, trust, and come back to, start here.

As AI accelerates, many organizations are realizing that the old rules of strategy no longer hold any weight.

In this episode of Edge of IT, Jonathan Gough is joined by Kree Govender, SMB Canada Lead at Microsoft, and Jonathan Real, Solution Architect at Pellera Technologies, to explore what AI readiness looks like when change is constant. Together, they unpack why long-range roadmaps are breaking down, and why the organizations pulling ahead are the ones creating adaptable strategies, faster feedback loops, and better paths from idea to execution.

The conversation also digs into how to encourage AI experimentation without losing control. From shadow AI and psychological safety to governance, guardrails, and data readiness, Kree and Jonathan offer a look at how leaders can move faster with AI while still staying secure.