Restaurant operations have changed. Data has replaced cash, technology touches every step of service, and disconnected systems now create more friction than progress. In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, Tom Seeker, Chief Technology Officer at Ziggi’s Coffee, explains why the connected kitchen has become the operational heartbeat of the modern restaurant.

Tom brings a rare perspective shaped by experience across the Navy, restaurant operations, and executive technology leadership. He breaks down how today’s kitchens are no longer collections of isolated tools, but living ecosystems where front-of-house, back-of-house, and back-office systems must work together in real time. When those systems fail to communicate, teams lose clarity, decisions slow down, and margins suffer.

Throughout the conversation, Tom shares how integrated technology changes the way restaurants operate at every level. From guest ordering to payment reconciliation, each interaction generates data that can either become noise or be transformed into actionable intelligence. The difference lies in whether leaders design their technology stacks to work as one environment rather than a patchwork of vendors and devices.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why the connected kitchen is now central to restaurant performance and scalability
2. How real-time data visibility replaces guesswork during busy shifts
3. Why too much data can slow teams down if systems are not integrated
4. How innovation labs help operators test, certify, and deploy technology with less risk
5. Why CTOs who understand the business model earn a real seat at the table

Tom also dives into his approach to innovation labs. Instead of changing systems blindly, his teams test multiple POS platforms, kiosks, sensors, and back-office tools together before rollout. This end-to-end testing uncovers conflicts early, reduces downtime, and helps operators avoid costly mistakes that often appear only after deployment.

“The connected kitchen today is the tech stack within the restaurant that impacts how things flow between front of house and back of house, and the ability for all of your electronics to communicate in a singular world and allow data to be intelligently gathered, manipulated, and displayed so you can act in real time.”

— Tom Seeker, Chief Technology Officer at Ziggi’s Coffee

This episode is not about chasing the latest technology trend. It’s about building clarity. When every system speaks the same language, teams act faster, stress decreases, and leaders gain confidence in their decisions. The connected kitchen becomes a strategic advantage that protects both guest experience and profitability.

If you lead technology, operations, or innovation in restaurants or multi-location environments, this conversation offers a practical framework for simplifying complexity and turning real-time information into better outcomes.

Listen, watch, or explore the full episode:

1. 🎧 Captivate Audio Feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/go-beyond-the-connection/
2. 📄 Episode Blog & Podbook: https://www.bigleaf.net/podcast-episodes/034-tom-seeker/
3. ▶️ YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSnAvj9VfOKQ2ISXOUIAc3Jse8S3eJIde
4. 📰 LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7313431647520006144

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Barnhills Buffet
2. Outback Restaurant Partners
3. Meguiar's
4. Shrimp Basket
5. Burton Golf
6. Earl Enterprises
7. Planet Hollywood
8. Brio
9. Bravo
10. Bertucci
11. Buca
12. Ziggy's Coffee
13. Olo
14. Chowie
15. Checkmate
16. Toast
17. NCR
18. POSitouch
19. Samsung

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Long John Silver's
2. Papa John's
3. Wendy's
4. Chili's

When everything is running smoothly, customers rarely think about their network. But behind every seamless experience is the work, care, and visibility that make reliability possible. In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, Bjørn Jensen, CEO and Founder of WhyReboot, explains why service excellence has become the defining advantage for technology leaders — and why the human connection still matters most.

Bjørn has spent two decades designing resilient networks for high-performance homes, professional gamers, traders, and organizations where uptime is non-negotiable. His perspective is clear: technology alone doesn’t build trust. People do. And the companies that blend technical precision with genuine partnership create loyalty that automation simply can’t replace.

Bjørn shares how his team approaches service as an extension of each customer’s IT department, offering direct access to experts who understand their environment without hold times, ticket escalations, or scripted interactions. That accessibility isn’t a perk — it’s the foundation of reliable experience. As he puts it, “People are always going to want to know there’s an actual human on the other end, even if you do make mistakes. What makes us successful is that people feel like we’re actually a part of their team.”

He also digs into how reliability becomes a measurable business advantage when partners can make invisible performance visible. Tools like Bigleaf help WhyReboot show exactly how networks behave — which connection dropped, how optimization protected a call, how much uptime was preserved, and why an issue was the ISP rather than on-site equipment. That level of clarity changes conversations. It reduces frustration, builds confidence, and demonstrates real value long before a problem escalates.

Bjørn explains why simplicity matters just as much as sophistication. Customers don’t want to manage complex configurations or navigate multi-layer troubleshooting. They want systems that “just work,” supported by partners who listen, guide, and make their jobs easier. That philosophy underpins every WhyReboot design decision, from redundancy and failover strategies to proactive communication and lifetime service guarantees.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How reliability becomes a competitive differentiator when customers can see its impact
• Why service quality often matters more than technical specs in long-term loyalty
• How visibility transforms outages from stressful guesswork into confident action
• Why empathy, responsiveness, and transparency outperform automation alone
• How making support effortless generates referrals, repeat business, and sustained growth

Throughout the conversation, Bjørn emphasizes that service excellence isn’t a cost center — it’s a growth engine. Companies that invest in relationships, simplify complexity, and prove value through clear data cultivate trust that lasts. Whether you support residential networks, enterprise teams, or integrator partners, his insights reveal how reliability, visibility, and human connection come together to create a customer experience people remember.

Ready to see how service becomes your strongest differentiator?

Listen to the full conversation with Bjørn Jensen and explore how resilient design, proactive reporting, and human-first support set the foundation for smooth, dependable connectivity.

Explore more:

• Guest Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjornjensensr/ 
• Company Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whyreboot/ 
• Company Website: https://whyreboot.com/ 
• Service Excellence: Bjørn Jensen on Making Reliability the Real Competitive Edge
• Service Excellence: The Networking Industry’s True Edge 
• Turning Exceptional Service Into a Competitive Edge 
• Simplifying Reliability: The Power of Bigleaf Connectivity 
• Watch the YouTube Playlist of video episodes
• Watch the YouTube Shorts Playlist
• Subscribe to the LinkedIn Newsletter
• Listen on Captivate: Go Beyond the Connection
• Follow us on social: Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram

Takeaways:

• The podcast illuminates the significance of managed connectivity services in today's network landscape, illustrating how they enhance customer experiences.
• Julian Jaquez emphasizes that wireless connections are increasingly viable and can match the reliability of wired counterparts in modern infrastructure.
• Dave Idle discusses the competitive landscape among wireless carriers, highlighting ongoing investments that improve connectivity options available to businesses.
• The conversation underscores a critical transition from legacy copper services to resilient wireless solutions that support essential business operations.
• Both speakers advocate for organizations to embrace dual connectivity solutions, combining wired and wireless to ensure uninterrupted service and optimal performance.
• The imminent advancements in wireless technology are set to redefine connectivity standards, offering businesses unprecedented flexibility and reliability in their operations.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• BCN Network
• bigleaf Networks
• Verizon
• AT&T
• T Mobile
• Starlink

What if you stopped optimizing for today and started building from 2040 backward? That’s the challenge Claus Torp Jensen, Chief Technology Officer at the University of Texas Medical Center and Dell Medical School, brings to this conversation with host Steve MacDonald.

A technologist turned storyteller, Claus has served as a Chief Innovation Officer and advisor across industries. He believes the best technology leaders don’t just react to change—they prepare for it. In this episode, he explains how to anchor strategy in a clear future destination, then engineer the steps that make it real.

Together, Steve and Claus explore how future backwards thinking reshapes long-term planning for hospitals, networks, and people-centric innovation. Claus shares examples from his work designing a next-generation academic medical center, where the building itself becomes part of the care team. He discusses robotics and human collaboration, individualized therapies created at the point of care, and why waiting rooms may soon give way to functional lounges that onboard patients into follow-up programs.

This future-first mindset also applies to infrastructure. Claus outlines how generalized sensors paired with smart algorithms can simplify data collection while edge computing filters out noise so teams act faster on what matters. He argues that connectivity is no longer just business-critical—it’s mission-critical—and that healthcare networks must be engineered with double or triple redundancy across wired and wireless paths to ensure patient safety and operational continuity.

Yet technology alone isn’t enough. Claus emphasizes that leadership and storytelling are the glue that hold complex programs together. Knowing who your “chief storytellers” are—and empowering them to share the why behind the work—helps sustain culture and momentum over years of transformation.

“Nobody can predict the future, but you can prepare for it. Ask yourself, where do you want to be in 2040? It’s mind-boggling how it changes the conversation if you start with the future and then you try to go backwards.” — Claus Torp Jensen

• Start with 2040, then work backward. Define the end state first so roadmaps, standards, and budgets line up with where you need to be—not just what’s possible today.
• Design for blended teams and care. Plan spaces for people and robots to share corridors, build labs for individualized therapies, and turn waiting rooms into active engagement lounges.
• Build wide sensing with smart interpretation. Combine generalized sensors with specialized algorithms and edge computing to deliver faster, more accurate insights.
• Treat connectivity as clinical risk management. Engineer redundant paths and measure continuity, not just uptime, with clinicians and operations as partners.
• Lead with people and story. Identify storytellers who connect vision to daily work and make long-horizon change feel tangible.

If you’re responsible for networks, applications, or facility programs, this episode offers a practical way to prepare for what’s coming while improving reliability today.

🎧 Listen now, share it with your team, and subscribe to Go Beyond the Connection for more conversations with leaders building for resilience, performance, and human impact.

University of Texas Medical Center, Dell Medical School, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Six Sigma

• Claus Torp Jensen on LinkedIn
• The Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
• Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

• Full Episode: Future Backwards Thinking: How CTOs Should Build Today’s Technology Strategy
• Future Backwards Thinking: How CTOs Should Build Today’s Technology Strategy 
• Breaking the Box with Future Backwards
• The Network Is the Business
• Watch the YouTube Playlist of video episodes
• Watch the YouTube Shorts Playlist
• Subscribe to the LinkedIn Newsletter
• Listen on Captivate: Go Beyond the Connection
• Follow us on social: Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram

Links referenced in this episode:

• linkedin.com/in/chris-inkarvar

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Jack's Family Restaurants
• Legal Seafoods
• Panera

Wireless-first is no longer a provocative idea—it’s how modern enterprises move faster and stay resilient. In this episode, we unpack what changed and why treating wireless as a primary path gives you speed to value, stability under load, and freedom from construction timelines.

Our guest is Arvin Singh, Founder and CEO at NextGen Technology Advisory. After nearly two decades at Verizon leading global presales and 5G & edge innovation teams, Arvin now advises startups, telcos, and enterprise leaders on turning connectivity into measurable business outcomes. He explains how fixed wireless access and SD-WAN matured well beyond “backup,” what private 5G unlocks on campus, and how multi-mode designs reduce risk while simplifying operations for lean IT teams.

What you’ll learn

• Why wireless-first became proven for primary business connectivity across hundreds of thousands of sites
• How SD-WAN, application priority, and multi-carrier diversity harden uptime and protect critical workflows
• Where private 4G/5G, neutral-host, and satellite-backed options extend reach and control for industrial and remote operations
• Ways faster turn-ups shorten time to revenue, improve customer experience, and reduce acquisition costs
• How to pilot the right way: measure real app performance, not just a speed test, and translate results into business KPIs

“Put a business application on it and see for yourself the kind of performance, reliability, and resiliency these networks offer.” — Arvin Singh

If you’re still defaulting to wired-only assumptions, this conversation gives you a practical path to test, validate, and scale wireless-first with confidence. You’ll hear how leaders pair day-one fixed wireless with SD-WAN for stability, add wired where it makes sense, and use private cellular to isolate sensitive workloads. The result is a network that turns openings into on-time launches, protects payments and voice during busy periods, and frees IT from chasing circuit timelines. Start with a scoped pilot, define KPIs that matter to your business, and let the data guide your rollout.

Listen and Learn More

• 🎧 Watch the full episode and read the recap
• ▶️ YouTube Playlist
• 💬 Follow the LinkedIn Newsletter
• 🔗 Subscribe to the Captivate Feed
• 
  

Takeaways:

• The evolution of wireless technology necessitates a paradigm shift towards wireless-first network strategies.
• Businesses must embrace the reliability of wireless networks to enhance operational efficiency and customer experiences.
• With the advancements in 5G technology, wireless connections can now serve as primary communication channels for various applications.
• Leveraging customer experience is crucial for business success and can be significantly improved through effective wireless connectivity.
• The integration of multiple network modalities, including wired, wireless, and satellite, can enhance connectivity resilience and performance.
• Testing fixed wireless connections with business applications is vital to understanding their potential and capabilities in real-world scenarios.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Verizon
• NextGen Technology Advisory
• Pepperdine
• Stanford
• McKinsey
• Big Leaf Networks

When AI is everywhere, the teams that win don’t start with tools. They start with clarity. In this episode, Michael Parlotto, Vice President of Emerging Technologies at InComm Payments, shares a practical way to cut through hype and ship outcomes your board and your customers can feel.

Michael leads Go Studio, InComm’s innovation center. His work pairs disciplined discovery with fast, user-centered prototyping and a futures practice that protects launches after day one. In plain language and real examples, he explains how to frame the right problem, test ideas quickly, and design for resilience so products work even when networks don’t.

• A simple, repeatable sequence that moves from problem framing to design thinking to futures signals
• Why diverse data and low-fidelity prototypes reduce rework and improve adoption
• How voice-led inputs can outperform typed prompts by capturing richer intent
• How to design for offline and edge conditions so apps keep working in the real world
• A board-ready way to rank big bets by impact and effort

“First, focus on the problems and the situations that you’re solving for.” — Michael Parlotto

If you’re being asked to “add AI” while also proving measurable value, this conversation gives you a clear path forward. You’ll hear how to find the real friction, align teams on a few high-value bets, and build safeguards that keep your launch from being copied or derailed. You’ll also learn how to connect architecture decisions—like offline modes, edge processing, and secure synchronization—to customer experience and business outcomes.

 Watch the conversation, share it with your product and engineering leaders, and subscribe for more executive-level insights on building reliable, resilient digital experiences that actually move the needle.

📖 Read the companion articles and more:

• Watch the episode and check out the podbook
• How Innovation Centers Navigate AI Hype and Deliver Real Results
• Problem Framing That Drives Real ROI
• Delivering AI on Resilient, Secure Networks

•  Watch the YouTube Playlist of video episodes
• Watch the YouTube Shorts Playlist
• Subscribe to the LinkedIn Newsletter
• Listen on Captivate: Go Beyond the Connection
• Follow us on social: Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram
• Learn more about Bigleaf Networks

AI is transforming every part of business—from customer experiences to internal operations—and the networks that power it have never mattered more. In this episode, Joel Mulkey, Founder and Board Member at Bigleaf Networks, explains why resilient connectivity is now a strategic necessity for AI-driven organizations.

Joel shares the story of how a failed attempt to help a local church build internet redundancy sparked the idea for Bigleaf. His mission: make enterprise-grade reliability simple, accessible, and automatic. From that vision came a cloud-based tunnel architecture that reroutes around outages in real time while keeping sessions stable. It’s a system designed to work seamlessly, even when no one’s watching.

He walks through how Bigleaf’s adaptive monitoring continually measures circuit health ten times a second to deliver the best possible user experience—without IT teams needing to touch a thing. That means calls stay clear, video meetings don’t stutter, and mission-critical applications keep running smoothly even when individual connections falter.

Key Learnings:

• Tunnel-based architecture preserves sessions while rerouting instantly.
• Adaptive monitoring turns wireless connections into enterprise-grade options.
• Prioritization keeps interactive traffic stable under heavy load.
• AI workloads raise the stakes for uptime and session persistence.
• Seamless failover eliminates the human scramble during outages.

Mulkey also challenges one of the most persistent myths in networking—that wireless is inherently unreliable. He explains how intelligent monitoring and adaptive steering have redefined what’s possible: “With 5G and low-earth-orbit satellite systems, you can combine multiple wireless networks to achieve throughput and resiliency once limited to fiber.” This shift allows businesses in rural areas or multi-location operations to enjoy the same reliability once reserved for major urban centers.

As AI adoption accelerates, the cost of downtime grows. Joel breaks down how data-driven systems and machine learning models rely on stable sessions, whether running in the cloud or on local clusters. When an IP address changes mid-process, critical workloads can fail—causing hours or even days of lost productivity. Bigleaf’s tunnel-based design prevents that by maintaining consistent connectivity no matter what happens upstream.

He also shares why network resilience is as much about people as technology. From his earliest entrepreneurial lessons to leading a company that now serves thousands of organizations, Joel’s people-first philosophy has remained constant. “I’m most thankful that what we were able to hold on to is how we treated our team, where we recognized their value and treated them like people.”

This episode isn’t just for network engineers—it’s for every leader who understands that connectivity and productivity are inseparable. Whether you’re running AI workloads, managing distributed teams, or supporting customer-facing operations, resilience is now a business-critical advantage.

Hear the founder’s perspective on how adaptive networking is redefining uptime, wireless performance, and the future of AI connectivity. Watch the full episode, explore the recap, and subscribe for more conversations with leaders shaping how technology supports business outcomes.

Links:

• 📺 Watch the YouTube Playlist of video episodes
• ▶️ Watch the YouTube Shorts Playlist
• 📬 Subscribe to the LinkedIn Newsletter
• 🎧 Listen on Captivate: Go Beyond the Connection

💬 Follow us on social: Linkedin | Facebook | Instagram

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Bigleaf Networks
• Cisco
• Comcast
• Starlink
• Verizon

How do you design IT systems that survive every disruption—from leadership turnover to world-changing crises?

Thomas Dewar, Chief Information Officer at Acupath Laboratories Inc., joins host Steve MacDonald to explore what sustainable technology really looks like inside healthcare. With decades of experience spanning 9/11, digital transformation, and COVID-19, Tom reveals how clear data, empathetic leadership, and practical cloud strategy keep mission-critical operations running when it matters most.

Early in his career, Thomas replaced stacks of handwritten lab reports with automated dashboards that sparked better decisions. Today, he leads with the same principle: make information simple enough to inspire smarter questions.

• Design systems that outlast you. Sustainability in IT means simplicity, documentation, and shared ownership.
• Validate before you automate. Trustworthy AI and analytics depend on verified, reproducible data.
• Protect uptime through planning. Migrate incrementally to the cloud while maintaining service continuity.
• Architect for anywhere operations. Cloud redundancy enables seamless collaboration—even from home.
• Lead with empathy. Understanding real workflows helps technology earn adoption, not resistance.

From laboratory logistics to enterprise resilience, Thomas shares a playbook for CIOs who want stability without stagnation. His story connects human insight with technical precision—a model for how IT can stay both dependable and transformative.

Listen now to learn how empathy, validation, and structure create IT systems built to endure.

Links:

📝 Blog / Podbook: https://www.bigleaf.net/podcast-episodes/025-thomas-dewar/

▶️ YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSnAvj9VfOKQ2ISXOUIAc3Jse8S3eJIde

📰 LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7313431647520006144

🎙 Captivate Feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/go-beyond-the-connection/

Links referenced in this episode:

• acupath.com
• linkedin.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Acupath Laboratories
• Microsoft Azure
• Leakin Watts
• Lotus