To the public, elections can look relatively simple. However for lots of public sector organisations, there are weeks of preparation fraught with risk, excitement and a huge sense of purpose. 

Despite using paper ballots and lots of people-based processes on the day, technology and digital is key to delivering a successful election. 

There are so many technology areas to think about pre and post-election, from how authorities can protect election data, and how they prevent interference or rigging, to how social media usage can help voting and reduce “fake news”, and even how a new government might affect authority IT investment.

Here to help us through the minefield of information on this General Election Special is Softcat’s dream team, Paul Fleming – Advisory Lead for Public Sector, Radhika Rangaraju - Chief Strategist for Public Sector, and Kieron Newsham – Chief Technologist for Cyber Security.

Your host for this episode of Softcat’s Explain IT podcast is Helen Gidney, Softcat’s head of Architecture. Join us as we talk tech in simple jargon free language.

You can stream or download all episodes from every season on your preferred platform or at softcat.com. Have you got a burning question for the team? Please send us an email to [email protected]

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the year of AI, can we get even closer to having it right at our fingertips?

Helen Gidney, Softcat’s head of Architecture, and a team of experts discuss this fascinating question. 

AI is developing quicker than we can think and we’re seeing it pop up in our everyday lives more and more and in this episode we'll answer the big AI questions of the moment like, what is an AI laptop or AI PC and what can one do? How can it help customers in their work day? What could AI PC’s help us do in the future?

In today’s episode we’ll delve deeper, with the help of our expert guests Kelly Calver, Hybrid Workspace Sales Manager at Softcat, Carlos Bento Senior Technology Strategist at Microsoft and Carlos Fernandez Pilo Director, EMEA Enterprise & Commercial Channel Sales at Qualcomm Technologies Inc 

This podcast is released on the last Tuesday of every month. Alternatively, you can stream or download all episodes from every season on your preferred platform or at softcat.com. Have you got a burning question for the team? Please send us an email to [email protected]

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you know everything that’s going on in your organisation?

Today we’re talking about Observability. It isn't just a buzzword; it is the evolution of application and network performance monitoring into a seamless way to measure your full systems health.

As IT environments become more complicated, observability is crucial for pinpointing the root causes of issues, harnessing data and logs from every corner of your environment to ensure that your systems remain efficient, reliable, and customer-centric.

Hosted by Ashleigh Baker, guest host and Team Leader in Softcat’s Architecture Services, Ashleigh has the help of our experts, Tom Rowley – Chief Technologist for Networking and Connectivity, and Mat Ryer - Principal Engineer at Grafana Labs, we’ll get more observant on the topic!

This podcast is released on the last Tuesday of every month. Alternatively, you can stream or download all episodes from every season on your preferred platform or at softcat.com. Have you got a burning question for the team? Please send us an email to [email protected]

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the explosive growth of internet connected devices in our everyday world, from mobile phones to our cars and even our homes, we are generating massive amounts of data all the time. Traditional centralised infrastructures just can’t keep up with the pace of information. So how do we bring processing power closer to the source of this data to help us harness its insights? What is Edge Computing? What are the benefits of Edge Computing? What are the challenges with Edge computing and could customers use cloud instead of on-premise edge computing? 

As ever we'll answer these questions and more in simple, jargon free language. This episode is hosted by Helen Gidney, Softcat’s head of Architecture and features expert guests Gary Hawkins, Softcat’s chief technologist Hybrid Platforms, and Luke Price, Partner Technical Specialist at IBM.

This podcast is released on the last Tuesday of every month. Alternatively, you can stream or download all episodes from every season on your preferred platform or at softcat.com. 

Have you got a burning question for the team? Please send us an email to [email protected]

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this edition of Explain IT we're discussing how to power your SOC. No, we're not talking super powered footwear. SOC stands for Security Operations Centre, and it’s where cyber experts battle threats posed against your data day and night.

We know security is a key part of any business, to protect your best kept secrets, and to keep third parties out of your information. But with a massive lack of Cyber Security skills in the market and the cost of Cybercrime skyrocketing year after year, how do we use technology to bridge the gap and keep our companies safe?

In today’s episode we’ll pull back the curtain with the help of our expert guests Josh Bates, Softcat’s technologist for Microsoft Security; Paul Solomon, Softcat’s Head of Cyber Security Services, and Emma Boughton, Security, Compliance and Identity Specialist at Microsoft. The podcast is hosted by Helen Gidney, Softcat’s Head of Architecture.

Have you got a burning question for the team? Please send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI has been making headlines for a while now, and this year we’ll see more and more businesses adopting it to improve their performance and efficiency. But how do we ensure that AI is used in a responsible and ethical way? How do we avoid the risks and pitfalls that come with such a powerful technology? And how do we stop AI from getting out of control?

Podcast host Helen Gidney, Softcat’s Head of Architecture, along with a team of experts are here to answer these questions and talk tech in simple jargon free language.

In this episode we get the help of our expert guests Arran Speding, Softcat's AI specialist lead, and Rebecca Gorman, CEO of one of our good friends Aligned AI.

Any questions? Please send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part two of our Tech Predictions for 2024! You can hear part one, here.

In the past twelve months, Explain I.T has generated over 20,000 unique downloads and covered an array of topics.

In the present, we have a collective group of Softcat technologists here to share their thoughts on tech. 

And in the future, Explain I.T will have a new presenter; Helen Gidney, Softcat's very own Head of Architecture. 

So, along with Dean Gardner, Softcat's Technology Director, join Helen along with a whole host of tech experts as they look ahead to the key innovations and challenges we might see in 2024. 

As ever, we're here to Explain I.T as we talk tech in simple, jargon free language, all brought to you by Softcat.

Also featuring on this episode are:

Gary Hawkins - Chief Technologist - Data Platforms

Kieron Newsham - Chief Technologist - Cyber Security

Jack Lewis - Chief Technologist - Digital Workspace

Tom Rowley - Chief Technologist - Networking and Connectivity

Richard Lamacraft - Chief Technologist - Microsoft

Adam Harding - Head of OCTO

Ask questions, send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This episode was produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past twelve months, Explain I.T has generated over 20,000 unique downloads and covered an array of topics.

In the present, we have a collective group of softcat technologists here to share their thoughts on tech. 

And in the future, Explain I.T will have a new presenter; Helen Gidney, Softcat's very own Head of Architecture. 

So, along with Dean Gardner, Softcat's Technology Director, join Helen along with a whole host of tech experts as they look ahead to the key innovations and challenges we might see in 2024. 

As ever, we're here to Explain I.T as we talk tech in simple, jargon free language, all brought to you by Softcat.

Also featuring on this episode are:

Gary Hawkins - Chief Technologist - Data Platforms

Kieron Newsham - Chief Technologist - Cyber Security

Jack Lewis - Chief Technologist - Digital Workspace

Tom Rowley - Chief Technologist - Networking and Connectivity

Richard Lamacraft - Chief Technologist - Microsoft

Adam Harding - Head of OCTO

Ask questions, send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our team of experts are here to talk tech in simple, jargon free language, and today is no exception, although we do come with a twist.

Today we are covering the automotive industry and how it continues to modernise by innovating, designing and building the now and future transportation that positively impacts all of us.

What challenges and pressures face the industry? The level of technology advancements over the years appears to be driving so many global initiatives such as electrification, AI and edge. But why is this the case? 

To provide insights, answer these questions and to ignite the engines, we have a pit crew that is the envy of many. Please welcome Softcat's very own sales leader in the transport and automotive space, Chris Reynolds. Bryan Ross from our partners at VMWare, and an incredibly special guest from our good friends at Jaguar Land Rover, Mike Skaife.

This podcast is hosted by Dean Gardner, Softcat's Technology Director.

Ask questions, send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This podcast is produced by The Podcast Coach.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dean Gardner, Softcat's Technology Director, hosts another episode of Explain I.T. Another team of experts are here to talk tech in simple, jargon free language.

Are you open to AI? Yes, we are, but not in the sense of OpenAI who appear to have performed a fire rehire and resign strategy in less than a week. We are open to AI in the sense that it's now part of every conversation.

But to what degree will we use AI? How will it impact our everyday lives? And what are the risks and what are the possibilities to answer those questions? And also open to AI is our very own Arran Speding, Softcat's AI specialist, and two amazing guests from our friends at Nvidia. Jon Jenner and Ross Verrall.

Ask questions, send us an email to [email protected]

Make sure you follow the ExplainIT podcast in all the usual places and join us on a fascinating journey through the wonderful world of tech. You can also find out more anytime you like at Softcat.com

This podcast is produced by www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.