Go Beyond The Connection

Your network can look fine on paper and still be one bad day away from trouble, because one connection is one point of failure.

Alex Duncan, Chief Solutions Officer at CTS Mobility, has been the person paged at 2 a.m., led enterprise wireline and wireless work at Verizon, and fixed deployments tripped up by everything from a misplaced adapter to an MRI machine. He joins host Steve MacDonald to explain why the single connection is on its way out and what to build in its place.

Along the way, Alex shares what he learned from large wireless rollouts, why satellite needs rules around metered data, and why he still asks what happens if an asteroid goes through the satellite.

• Why wireless earned its reputation on 4G, and what 5G, network slicing, and dedicated spectrum change
• How application steering helps wireless behave like the wireline circuit you trust
• Why satellite deserves its own role, and how to manage metered data
• Why customers want prescriptive, plug-and-play solutions even when every deployment is different
• How to avoid lock-in and cut costly truck rolls

“I think building in that future-proof and resiliency and consistency into your network is the most important thing that you can do as you're looking at wireless first.”

Alex Duncan, Chief Solutions Officer at CTS Mobility

Watch or listen to the full conversation at https://www.bigleaf.net/podcast/episode/044-alex-duncan.

Most IT teams are proud when they reach a proactive posture. Juliano Giannerini says that is not the finish line. In this episode, the Director of Information and Systems Security at Baker Construction explains what it actually takes to move from reactive firefighting to a predictive IT operation -- and why the difference is not just operational, but strategic.

Giannerini brings more than two decades of experience across highly regulated oil and gas environments and the high-growth, low-margin world of commercial construction. At Baker Construction, a privately owned firm operating across more than 25 states with nearly 10,000 employees and over 900 active job sites, he has led the IT function through a full maturity transformation: consolidating internet service providers, reducing annual mobility costs by $300,000, and projecting $1.3 million in savings over three years. His approach centers on one principle -- that IT leaders who understand the business and build genuine relationships across the organization earn a fundamentally different kind of influence than those who do not.

KEY LEARNINGS

• Why the reactive-to-proactive-to-predictive framework is the right way to measure IT maturity -- and what predictive actually requires
• How to reframe IT from a support function to a business technologist mindset that earns a seat at the table
• Why relationship-building is not a soft skill but the core competency of effective IT leadership
• How to make invisible IT work visible -- and why consistent application experience is the outcome worth translating into financial terms
• The hidden cost of point solutions and fragmented vendor decisions -- and how holistic architecture saves money at scale
• Why shadow IT and shadow AI are growing risks, and what a real governance response looks like
• What moving from a regulated industry to a low-margin construction business taught one IT leader about efficiency as survival

Most CIOs are still fighting to be seen as more than a support function. Erich Gazaui, Chief Information Officer at Papa, has a different frame entirely. For him, the role is not about keeping systems running. It is about architecting how information moves through an organization, who has access to it, whether it can be trusted, and how it ultimately shapes the decisions a business makes.

In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, Erich explains why systems without proper information governance are often worse than no system at all. He describes how spreadsheet-based workflows quietly age into stale assumptions that drive flawed decisions, and why having a person in a seat specifically designed to advocate for information access is what shifts the CIO from service provider to strategic mandate.

He also gets into the practical side of CIO value creation: how company-wide procurement visibility gives him levers to pull on cost and adoption, why he speaks fluent finance to earn trust with CFOs, and how his team approaches AI readiness and governance in a healthcare environment where safety and regulation are non-negotiable.

Listen now and hear how the CIO mandate is being redefined, one institution at a time.

Takeaways:

• The role of the CIO has evolved significantly, shifting from mere support to strategic partnership, emphasizing the importance of information architecture in business decision-making.
• Understanding the nuances of different departments is crucial for a CIO; it fosters internal alignment and enhances the overall efficiency of the organization.
• AI's integration into business processes is a hot topic, and companies must be ready to adapt while maintaining a focus on security and governance.
• Building strong relationships across departments can transform the perception of IT from a service function to a vital partner in achieving business goals.
• CIOs must be fluent in the languages of finance and technology to effectively bridge gaps between departments and drive successful outcomes.
• A proactive approach to innovation, balanced with necessary governance, can significantly enhance a company's ability to leverage new technologies effectively.

ChaChi Gallo, Vice President of Information Technology at Michels Corporation, joins host Steve MacDonald to explain what it actually takes to build a digital job site -- and why most organizations get the sequence wrong.

Michels is a Wisconsin-based infrastructure contractor building the foundational systems that power modern construction: fiber networks, energy infrastructure, and some of the largest data center projects underway in the country. ChaChi leads IT strategy across an environment that is distributed, unpredictable, and operationally demanding in ways that most enterprise IT frameworks were never designed to handle.

In this conversation, ChaChi makes the case that AI readiness is a construction project, not a software rollout. Before tools can deliver value, organizations need trusted data, governed processes, and connectivity that works in real job site conditions -- not ideal ones. He traces the 60 to 70 percent failure rate on AI deployments directly to sequencing: the data foundation comes last, not first, and everything built on top of it reflects that instability.

He also shares a practical lesson from visiting an AWS distribution center that reframed his team's assumptions about 5G, explains why satellite connectivity changed operations for Michels in ways that cellular never could, and draws a clear line between the kind of automation that belongs on a job site today and the kind that does not yet belong there at all.

His closing thought is the one that stays with you: technology is easy. It is the people who are hard.

Topics covered include building a data foundation for AI, why AI deployments fail, satellite connectivity for remote construction sites, autonomous networks and human oversight, wireless strategy for field operations, and IT leadership in relationship-driven industries.

• AI deployments fail when the data foundation is built last, not first
• Satellite connectivity is a genuine operational breakthrough for remote construction sites
• 5G is a tertiary backup in even the most sophisticated distribution environments -- not a Wi-Fi replacement
• Autonomous equipment belongs where conditions are controlled; human oversight is required everywhere else
• Technology is easy -- relationships and operational presence determine whether digital initiatives succeed

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Michaels Corporation
• Milwaukee PC
• Generac
• Google
• Oracle
• OpenAI
• Caterpillar
• Komatsu
• AWS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IThc0C7zdMw

Jim Basar, VP of Enterprise Business Group at Intwine Connect, LLC, explains how restaurants now rely on internet connectivity for point-of-sale systems, digital menu boards, guest Wi-Fi, delivery platforms, and connected kitchen systems. He shows how reliable connectivity supports revenue, customer experience, labor efficiency, food safety, and data-driven operations across locations. He also outlines how stronger connectivity strategies, blended carrier options, and dependable support partners help restaurant brands scale confidently in both urban and rural markets.

Restaurants are rapidly evolving into technology-driven environments where connectivity directly impacts revenue, efficiency, and guest experience. Jim shares how digital transformation across front-of-house and back-of-house operations is reshaping restaurant strategy. He highlights why resilient connectivity, hybrid carrier strategies, and proactive monitoring are essential for scaling modern restaurant operations and maintaining consistent performance across distributed locations.

Takeaways:

• The podcast delves into the transformative impact of technology on the restaurant industry, particularly highlighting the significance of a reliable Internet connection for operational efficiency.
• Jim Bessard's journey from an intern to the head of enterprise sales at Entwine illustrates the profound evolution within the tech-driven restaurant sector.
• The discussion emphasizes how the integration of IoT devices and cloud-based systems enhances the connected kitchen, thereby improving customer service and operational effectiveness.
• A critical takeaway is the necessity for restaurant owners to remain open and adaptive to new technologies that can significantly enhance their business operations and customer experiences.
• The podcast outlines how the increasing complexity of data management in restaurant chains necessitates innovative solutions and partnerships to ensure seamless connectivity.
• The conversation underscores the importance of proactive technology management, particularly with Internet connectivity, to mitigate potential operational disruptions in a competitive industry.

Full Name

Jim Basar

Title

VP of Enterprise Business Group

Company

Intwine Connect, LLC

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-basar-91240a50/

Company Site

https://www.intwineconnect.com/

Most businesses treat internet connectivity like a utility — something that is simply there until it is not. BJ Olson and Ryan Bowden have spent their careers watching what happens when that assumption meets reality, and the cost is almost always higher than anyone expected.

BJ Olson is the Founder of twenty7 Technology Group, a technology solutions firm helping businesses design and deploy reliable, resilient connectivity strategies. Ryan Bowden is a Technology Consultant at twenty7 Technology Group, bringing more than a decade of experience managing connectivity across large-scale distributed retail environments. Together, they make a practical and direct case for why network resilience belongs in business strategy, not just the IT department.

• Why a single fiber connection is a liability, not a foundation — and what redundancy actually looks like in practice
• How combining fiber, 4G, 5G, and satellite into a single intelligent network eliminates most outage risk
• What downtime actually costs, including the delayed losses that show up weeks after the connection comes back
• Why modern wireless is no longer a backup option, and how unlimited high-speed wireless changes the planning conversation
• How centralized network visibility helps lean IT teams identify and resolve issues faster across multiple locations

If your business depends on staying connected — and every business does — this conversation is worth your time. BJ and Ryan bring real operational experience to a problem that gets treated as an IT concern right up until the moment it becomes a business emergency.

Guests

BJ Olson, Founder, twenty7 Technology Group

Ryan Bowden, Technology Consultant, twenty7 Technology Group

Series

Tech Trends

Episode Page

https://www.bigleaf.net/podcast/episode/038-bj-olson-ryan-bowden

Blog Post

https://www.bigleaf.net/blog/network-downtime-cost-business-resilience

BJ LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-j-olson/

Ryan LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-bowden/

Company Website

https://twenty7tech.com/

Healthcare modernization sounds straightforward until you look at what teams are actually working with. Faxes. CDs in the mail. Record sharing that is supposed to happen but often does not. Pricing that no one can explain upfront.

Falko Buttler, Chief Technology Officer at Lantern, has spent more than 20 years building technology inside that reality. In this episode, he explains why big system overhauls tend to fail in healthcare and why small, incremental changes are the safer and more effective path forward.

You will hear Falko cover:

1. Why friction in healthcare is often structural, not accidental
2. How fragmented data and inconsistent record sharing delay care and drive up costs
3. Why AI can process legacy inputs like faxes today, without waiting for the system to change
4. How continuous delivery improves quality rather than reducing it
5. Why technology leaders need to earn a seat at the table by tying their work to business outcomes

"Whenever you want to upgrade a system, the best way to go about it is to do it incrementally. Improve it in small chunks along the way until you eventually have everything improved. It's going to take a long time, but the friction is not as big." — Falko Buttler

Falko brings a grounded, practical perspective to a space where the gap between modern tools and legacy workflows is still very real. This episode is worth your time if you lead technology in healthcare or any regulated, high-stakes environment.

Listen now and go beyond the connection.

When construction leaders talk about productivity, forecasting, and growth, the conversation often centers on tools and applications. But behind every digital jobsite is a network that determines whether those systems deliver real-time visibility or break down under pressure.

In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, we sit down with Thomas Berrington, Chief Information Officer at French Brothers Homes, to explore how wireless connectivity and owned data have become the operational backbone of modern homebuilding.

Thomas brings a rare blend of operational and technology leadership to the construction industry. With a background in restaurant operations and data analysis before stepping into construction IT, he prioritizes initiatives that directly impact efficiency and the bottom line. At French Brothers Homes, he has helped transform the business from paper-driven workflows to cloud-connected execution in the field, enabling builders to manage significantly more homes with fewer administrative bottlenecks.

For Thomas, the digital jobsite is not about adding more software. It is about ensuring that data is connected, accessible, and actionable across trade partners, inspectors, office teams, and customers.

Key learnings from this episode:

1. Why data ownership is foundational for breaking down silos and improving forecast accuracy
2. How real-time operational visibility allows builders to scale without proportional increases in staffing
3. Why downtime creates a “whipsaw effect” across construction schedules
4. How wireless-first network design, mixed-carrier strategies, and redundancy protect uptime in undeveloped environments

Thomas also explains why construction should be viewed as a project management business powered by data. When real-time updates stop flowing, communication gaps quickly cascade into delays, cost overruns, and customer frustration. By contrast, resilient wireless connectivity enables continuous visibility across projects, allowing leaders to aggregate data at scale and make faster, more confident decisions.

If you lead IT, operations, or digital transformation in construction, this episode offers a clear blueprint for aligning connectivity strategy with measurable business impact. The wireless backbone of the digital jobsite is not optional. It is the foundation for scalable growth.

1. The Digital Jobsite: The Wireless Backbone of Modern Construction
2. How Wireless Connectivity for Construction Jobsites Enables Scalable Growth
3. Why Data Ownership in Construction Forecasting Drives Smarter Growth
4. Wireless-First Network Design for Construction: Building Resiliency Into the Jobsite
5. The Digital Jobsite: The Wireless Backbone of Modern Construction | Thomas Berrington | Go Beyond
6. The Digital Jobsite: Real-Time Data and Wireless Scale | Thomas Berrington Go Beyond the Connection
7. Why Data Ownership Drives Forecast Accuracy
8. Designing Reliable Connectivity for Jobsites
9. Go Beyond: The Digital Jobsite - YouTube

When restaurant leaders talk about speed, reliability, and guest experience, the conversation often stops at applications and devices. But behind every digital kitchen is a network that determines whether those systems deliver or break down under pressure.

In this episode of Go Beyond the Connection, we sit down with Chris Demery, Chief Technology Officer at Blaze Pizza, to explore how the digital kitchen has become the operational and revenue backbone of modern fast-casual dining.

Chris brings a rare blend of experience across military leadership, restaurant operations, and enterprise technology. Having worked with brands like Domino’s, Bloomin’ Brands, P.F. Chang’s, and now Blaze Pizza, he has seen firsthand how disconnected systems create friction for both guests and operators, and how integrated, real-time data changes everything.

At Blaze Pizza, the digital kitchen is not just about efficiency. It is the command center where marketing promises, operational execution, and guest expectations converge. Chris explains why predictability matters more than raw speed, especially as off-premises orders continue to grow, and how restaurants must rethink performance metrics when the majority of their “tables” now exist outside the four walls.

Throughout the conversation, Chris breaks down how technology leaders can earn a true seat at the table by speaking the language of operations and finance, not just IT. He also shares how Blaze Pizza evaluates technology investments, builds business cases for franchisees, and uses real-time insights to protect top-line revenue.

1. Why the digital kitchen has become the epicenter of restaurant operations
2. How real-time data enables predictable speed of service across dine-in and off-premises orders
3. What it takes for technology leaders to earn trust with operations, marketing, and finance teams
4. How integrated systems reduce guest friction and protect revenue at scale
5. Why network resiliency is now a business requirement, not just an IT concern

Whether you are a restaurant technologist, an operator, or a business leader responsible for growth and guest experience, this conversation offers practical insight into how connectivity, data, and execution intersect inside today’s digital kitchen.

Listen to the full episode to hear how Chris Demery is helping Blaze Pizza deliver consistent, predictable experiences in a fast-changing dining landscape.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. P F Chang's
2. Domino's Pizza
3. Woolman Brands
4. Lemon Brands
5. Bloomin Brands
6. CKE
7. Blaze Pizza
8. NCR

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