Edge of IT

As teams experiment with new tools and leaders push for AI-first thinking, many organizations are discovering that AI for AI's sake is just not cutting it. 

In this episode of Edge of IT, Jonathan Gough sits down with Demetrios Brinkmann, founder of MLOps Community, to explore the growing tension between personal AI use and organizational AI adoption. Together, they unpack why AI ROI remains so difficult to measure, where value is actually showing up today, and why simply layering AI onto existing processes can create more friction than progress. Jonathan and Demetrios also dig into the deeper questions emerging beneath the surface: how governance must evolve alongside capability, why coding agents and support workflows are becoming early proving grounds, and what it means to build with “forward compatibility” in mind as models, costs, and infrastructure continue to shift.

If you’re trying to understand not just what AI can do, but how to adopt it without losing trust, clarity, or strategic direction, this episode is for you.

First question: Are you designing an AI workload?

Second question: Are you ready to respond when your team asks you to scale it? 

As more small AI use cases emerge, organizations are feeling pressure to scale, and big questions are being raised from technical, operational, and cost perspectives. In this episode of Edge of IT, Jonathan Gough speaks with Robbie Jerrom, Principal Technologist for AI at Red Hat, and Josh Minthorne, Director of Cloud, DevSecOps & Automation at Pellera, about what it takes to “raise” AI from an early win into a scalable, governed workload.

Robbie, Josh, and Jonathan share personal stories from the trenches, navigating the inevitable challenges that come with scaling AI workloads. They unpack why demand is so hard to predict, why startup times and GPU requirements can surprise you, and how internal adoption can spike fast enough to break systems. So, if you’re wondering how to adapt, this episode outlines the next steps your team needs to take to get back on track.

Careers aren’t built on effort alone. They’re shaped by who sees your work, who speaks your name, and how you communicate when it matters most.

In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough speaks with Leslie Belicka, North America Channel Sales Manager at HPE, and Emily Martin, Executive Vice President of Hybrid Platforms at Pellera, to uncover the unwritten rules of career success in enterprise technology. Drawing from decades of lived experience, they explore the key differences between sponsorship and mentorship, the importance of tailored communication, and why embracing the phrase “I don’t know” can be a surprising leadership superpower.

While the conversation highlights challenges and triumphs of women in tech, the insights shared are universal, offering lessons for anyone looking to navigate complexity, build credibility, and advance their career in dynamic environments.

Ransomware attacks aren’t a question of “if” anymore- they’re a question of “when.”

In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough is joined by Andrew Miller, Lead Principal Technologist at Everpure (formerly Pure Storage), and Darren Gourley, who leads Pellera’s work on data protection and recovery as Senior Director, Solution Engineering, Storage. Together, they reframe how businesses should think about ransomware, recovery, and resilience. In the past, data protection and recovery were mostly about backing up information. But today, as ransomware attacks grow more sophisticated, recovery isn’t just about restoring data, it’s about restoring business continuity, protecting trust, and minimizing operational disruption.

What does a legendary Olympic hockey team have in common with today’s IT organizations?

In the Season Three premiere of Edge of IT, Jonathan Gough sits down with Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, alongside Pellera CEO Greg Berard, to explore what real leadership looks like under pressure. 

From the rink to the office, this conversation unpacks why talent alone is never enough, and why trust, accountability, and culture are the true drivers of long-term success. Mike reflects on the mindset behind the Miracle on Ice, while Greg shares how those same principles translate into building and scaling high-performing teams. 

Whether you’re leading a company or a team, let this episode be your reminder that success isn’t accidental — it’s built collectively.

Find the Mike Eruzione Team Shop online store HERE and use PELLERA10 for a 10% discount on merchandise.

Are you asking the right questions about IT? Struggling to answer tough questions about ROI, leadership, and cybersecurity? Welcome to Season 3 of The Edge of IT—your go-to podcast for actionable insights at the intersection of technology and strategy.

This season, host and Pellera Chief Scientist Jonathan Gough dives into the critical topics shaping IT today, including AI innovation, cybersecurity challenges, and strategic leadership. With a lineup of industry leaders and frontline experts, this season is packed with real-world perspectives to help you lead, invest, and act with confidence.

If you’re ready to get to the strategic core of IT that will shape how you lead, invest, and act, click follow and never miss an episode!

What happens when four tech experts sit down for an unfiltered conversation about the state of enterprise AI? You get the Pellera Roundtable, of course.

To close out another exciting season of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough is joined by three of Pellera’s brightest minds: Dave Santeramo, Network and Security Leader; Roy Bales, Principal Technical Advisor (Southeast); and Darren Livingston, VP of Engineered Solutions. Together, they dive deep into the current state of AI maturity and adoption in enterprises, offering candid insights and actionable advice.

In this episode, the team breaks down the most underestimated challenges in AI today, from behavioral friction to governance gaps. They explore why your biggest blocker to progress is probably not your model and uncover surprising areas where most organizations are overspending and how to course-correct for better ROI. 

If you're leading AI strategy, or trying to make sense of it all, this conversation is your reality check and your roadmap.

What if you could get whatever you needed in 30 minutes without waiting or even having to step foot outside your door? It may sound like science fiction, but Walmart is making it a reality. In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough sits down with Precia Carraway, Senior Manager of Autonomous Delivery at Walmart, to explore one of the boldest logistics programs in retail: drone delivery. Precia brings deep expertise and vision to how Walmart is transforming last-mile delivery and solving real-life problems for communities across the U.S. Tune in to learn what it takes to fly hundreds of thousands of deliveries and what the future holds for autonomous logistics.

AIOps isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a game-changer for modern enterprise operations. In this episode of Edge of IT, host Jonathan Gough is joined by Chris Bailey, Director of Product Management at IBM, and Manoj Khabe, VP of Observability, AIOps, and FinOps at Pellera Technologies, for a deep dive into how agentic AI is transforming enterprise operations from the ground up. Discover how AI reduces alert fatigue, increases system resilience, and empowers teams to focus on mission-critical work. From unifying data across siloed tools to automating root cause analysis and incident resolution, this conversation explores real-world examples of AIOps in action and what it means for the future of IT.

Value can be calculated in a few different ways. So when the big boss starts asking, “Where’s my return on AI?” it’s best to come prepared. In this episode, Christian Thilmany joins Jonathan Gough for a much-needed check-up on AI. As Senior Director of AI Strategy at Microsoft, Christian shares his experience: what works, what doesn’t, and why so many teams still aren’t seeing the ROI they were promised. Together, Christian and Jonathan trace the evolution of AI, unpacking the critical points that often lead to failure—from model drift to hallucinations, and even when models get a little too eager to please. Then, the conversation turns to the future: the rise of Shadow AI, the risks of “vibe coding,” and the promise of Model Context Protocol (MCP), a potential game-changer that could standardize how AI connects across systems. If all the AI hype has left you wondering what’s missing from the conversation, this episode delivers the nuanced take you’ve been waiting for.