Expedient: The Podcast

Ever wonder what powers your cloud workloads, protects legacy infrastructure, and keeps mission-critical systems running 24/7?

Join AJ Kuftic (Field CTO) and Ed Dzurko (SVP of Data Center Engineering) for a behind-the-scenes tour of our PIT2, one of our 15 state-of-the-art data centers in the United States. This is the first time we’re pulling back the curtain on the systems and strategies behind Expedient’s rock-solid colocation infrastructure.

What You’ll learn:

• Secure from the ground up: Biometric access, visitor logging & compliance-ready protocols
• 75,000+ monitoring points, redundant cooling, and environmental sensors in action
• Inside our dual-path power, UPS systems, and generator-backed grid
• How colocation fits into a hybrid model (63% of clients use both colo and cloud)

How AI is Evolving & What It Means for Your Business

Artificial Intelligence is evolving rapidly, and the emergence of reasoning models is changing how businesses interact with AI. Join us for an exclusive webinar where we break down the latest advancements, including DeepSeek, and explore how Expedient's AI platform enables seamless adoption, compliance, and flexibility as new models emerge.

If you're a CIO, IT manager, or cloud decision-makers, tune in to hear from AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient. Since the close of the acquisition, AJ has had hundreds of conversations with companies large and small looking to make the right choice for the next decade and beyond.

What You’ll Learn:

• AI Evolution & Reasoning Models: How do reasoning models differ from traditional chat AI, and why does it matter?
• Expedient`s AI Platform: Learn how we simplify AI implementation, ensure compliance, and provide flexibility as the AI landscape evolves
• Industry Thought Leadership: Gain insights from top AI experts on where the industry is headed and how your business can stay ahead

Founded in 1921, Utz Brands produces over 3.3 million pounds of snacks weekly, with revenue doubling in the past five years. With 13 manufacturing facilities across the U.S., Utz’s success relies heavily on a strong technology team and a resilient disaster recovery plan to maintain business continuity.

Join Tim Swingler, VP of Infrastructure & Security at Utz Brands, and AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient, for an insightful session on how Utz is transforming its disaster recovery strategy.

Discover:

• Key business, infrastructure, and staffing factors to consider when modernizing data centers
• Cost-benefit analysis: building vs. outsourcing disaster recovery services
• Critical vendor selection criteria for DRaaS solutions
• How to foster strong partnerships and trust with vendors

Gain valuable strategies to make informed disaster recovery decisions and ensure your organization remains resilient in the face of disruption.

Are you feeling uncertain about the future of your VMware infrastructure? Should you stay with VMware? What about Nutanix, KVM, OpenStack?

Wondering about making the right call for your organization? You’re not alone. With changes in Broadcom’s VMware licensing and direction shaking up the industry, businesses must navigate these choices strategically to stay competitive.

If you're a CIO, IT manager, or cloud decision-makers, tune in to hear from AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient. Since the close of the acquisition, AJ has had hundreds of conversations with companies large and small looking to make the right choice for the next decade and beyond.

What You’ll Learn:

• Understand where Broadcom and VMware are heading – What’s changed, changing and why it matters to your organization?
• Evaluate optionality through platforms like VMware, Nutanix, and others – from edge, to private, to hyperscale – How should you align your workloads to the platform that fits your goals?
• Leverage Expedient’s assessments for smooth transitions – Explore our proven tools and processes to simplify your decision-making
• Optimize costs for the future – Review strategies to reduce complexity and spend while ensuring high performance and flexibility

Take your hybrid cloud strategy to the next level with Expedient’s Hyperscale CTRL. This newly launched suite of managed public cloud services is designed to seamlessly integrate AWS, Azure, GCP, VMware, Nutanix, and more—helping you optimize workloads, reduce complexity, and control costs within one cohesive environment.

Join us for a deep dive into how Hyperscale CTRL streamlines your hybrid cloud operations with:

• Cloud Discovery & Migration – Place the right workloads on the right platforms through a holistic assessment
• Unified Management & Security – Leverage a common set of tools and policies for visibility, threat intelligence, and compliance across clouds
• Cost & Performance Optimization – Maximize ROI by strategically allocating resources and utilizing analytics-driven insights 

Hear firsthand from AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient, as we discuss best practices, technical architecture, and real-world success stories around Hyperscale CTRL.

Are you confident in your organization's ability to respond to a cybersecurity incident?

This session will guide IT decision makers through the critical components of building a resilient strategy, from choosing the right technologies to seamless implementation and rigorous testing protocols. Discover cost-effective approaches to ensure your plan is sustainable and scalable, and learn how to integrate these practices into your broader resilience efforts. Whether you're starting from scratch or refining an existing approach, this webinar will equip you with practical insights and actionable steps to transform your disaster recovery planning into a strategic advantage.

Listen now to:

• Uncover best practices and innovative DR strategies with VMware, Nutanix
• Learn how to enhance your company`s resilience against evolving threats
• Gain valuable insights and practical approaches to fortify your disaster recovery strategy

In Providing Resilience: How PacketWatch and Expedient Transform Incident Response, AJ Kuftic from Expedient hosts cybersecurity veteran Jeff Lennon of PacketWatch to tackle the complexities of modern incident response. With over 25 years in tech and deep experience in cybersecurity, Jeff brings valuable insights into how PacketWatch, an MDR provider partnered with CrowdStrike, elevates threat detection and response through advanced tools like full packet capture (FPC) and constant threat hunting.

They delve into the essential steps of incident response, beginning with rapid identification, classification, and containment of threats. Jeff explains common cyberattack types, including ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and zero-day vulnerabilities, each demanding unique approaches. The duo emphasizes the necessity of proactive preparation, such as tabletop drills, to ensure companies can respond quickly and effectively when a breach happens. Jeff further illustrates the vital integration of disaster recovery with incident response, noting that simply restoring from backups can reintroduce threats if attack origins aren’t thoroughly isolated.

A key takeaway from the conversation is the need for resilient systems that enable businesses to "respond, recover, and rebuild." This episode is packed with insights for IT leaders seeking to enhance their incident response and disaster recovery strategies, empowering them to not just react but build resilience against evolving cyber threats.

In this episode, AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient, and Doug Theis, Sales Director of National Strategy, break down the key takeaways from VMware Explore 2023. As Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware reshapes the virtualization landscape, many organizations are reevaluating their cloud strategies and infrastructure choices.

Join us as we dive into exclusive data from the event, where 45% of respondents are considering alternative hypervisors, while 41% plan to stay with VMware. AJ and Doug discuss the growing frustration over VMware’s new licensing model, the emergence of alternatives like Nutanix, and the future of VMware’s Cloud Foundation platform.

Whether you're a VMware user looking to optimize your current environment or exploring new solutions, this episode offers expert analysis, real-world customer stories, and practical advice on navigating these pivotal industry shifts.

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding VMware’s new direction and the impact of Broadcom’s acquisition.
• Insights from VMware Explore attendees on workload migration and cloud strategies.
• Expert analysis on the future of VMware, alternate hypervisors, and the risks of transition.
• How Expedient is helping organizations optimize workloads and make informed decisions about their cloud futures.

Nutanix solutions play a pivotal role in addressing modern enterprise challenges.

Join us for a live comprehensive discussion featuring two distinguished experts in IT transformation: Harsha Kotikela, Director of Product and Solutions Marketing at Nutanix, and AJ Kuftic, Field CTO at Expedient. This session will delve into the innovative approaches Nutanix and Expedient employ to solve customer challenges, including seamless migrations from VMware to Nutanix platforms.

Topics will include:

• Increasing operational efficiency
• Simplified disaster recovery
• Alignment with business goals
• Innovation and agility

Attendees will gain valuable insights through real-world success stories, highlighting the strategies and outcomes achieved through these migrations. Whether you are considering a migration or looking to optimize your current infrastructure, this webinar offers expert guidance to drive your IT initiatives forward.

As IT landscapes evolve, the need for flexibility and a diverse set of infrastructure options becomes paramount. If you're an IT leader aiming to increase the adaptability and resilience of your IT infrastructure, this webinar will help you understand why Nutanix is a crucial component of the modern technology stack that allows for increased performance, scalability, and diversity. 

Join Anthony Jackman, SVP of Strategy & Innovation, and AJ Kuftic, Principal Product Strategist, for a discussion about how Nutanix solutions provide unmatched flexibility, allowing you to meet your unique infrastructure needs with confidence and ease. Learn how we ensure your workloads are secure, efficient, and readily adaptable to evolving business requirements.