MTMG's IT Roundtable

AI is being bolted onto everything right now — but does adding intelligence actually help your customers, or just hide the mess underneath?

Kabir Roy, a UX and CX product leader with two decades of work spanning global names like BlackRock and Ford, joins Paul Knittle to unpack the AI experience gap: why companies keep repeating the feature-piling mistakes of the early 2000s, and how to tell whether a client needs a new AI tool or just a simpler human touchpoint.

He shares a painfully familiar customer-service story, the hard lesson from taking his own idea to Shark Tank India, and why the next evolution isn't UX or CX but what he calls AIX. A practical listen for any leader deciding where AI belongs — and where it doesn't.

Key Events

🎯 00:00 Welcome & Guest Intro

💡 02:00 When Good Tech Fails Users

🦈 04:20 His Shark Tank India Journey

⚠️ 07:45 The AI Experience Gap

🤖 10:00 Fighting a Support Bot

🤝 13:20 Add AI, or Simplify?

🚀 18:50 The Rise of AIX

Tip worth stealing:

Before adding AI to anything, ask why you actually need it. Bolting intelligence onto a complex system just amplifies the complexity instead of removing it — reduce the friction underneath first.

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Aisling Mooney spent 15 years navigating infertility before finding her own answer in research her doctors had never heard of - a simple switch in medications and timing that worked straight away.

In this episode she tells Tara how that sent her to teach herself Python, index over half a million peer-reviewed papers and trials, and whittle them down to 25,000 core articles for Fertally, the platform she founded.

She also explains why a master's in psychoanalysis shapes how she builds: pacing, white space, and keeping cognitive load light when the data is heavy. Plus the rating matrix that keeps humans in the loop with the AI, why she is upfront about every AI-generated summary, and the annual habit behind the novel she wrote.

📌 Key Events

🎯 00:00 Welcome & Guest Intro

🎨 01:00 Lunch with Dorothea Tanning

🧬 04:00 Fifteen years, one protocol

🔍 09:00 From 500,000 papers to 25,000

🧠 12:00 Psychoanalysis meets system design

🤖 16:00 Practical AI workshops in Wexford

💡 Tip worth stealing: Do one thing every year that scares you. Aisling's habit is deliberate - one year it was writing a novel. Twenty publishers said no. She counts it anyway, because the point was doing the frightening thing, not selling it.

🎵 Music: Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie. Aisling's pick for the first song on the playlist of her life, and she explains why: a constant sense of urgency, test the idea now, drop it fast if it's bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I

📝 Worth a look: Fertally - sign up for early access to the platform Aisling built. https://fertally.com/

🔗 Connect with Us:

🌐 The show: https://rosierewired.com/ · MTMG: https://www.mtmg.eu

💼 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/rosie-rewired/ · https://www.linkedin.com/company/mtmg-eu

📧 Suggest a guest or come on the show: [email protected]

Mike Onystok, Founder and CEO of HonestStok, joins Paul to make the case for a TSD built on relationships and radical transparency. He breaks down his crawl, walk, run model for bringing new advisors into the channel with minimal investment and their existing relationships, and explains why he keeps MDF, SPIFFs, and backend bonuses out of the vendor conversation so the customer always gets the right solution. From the School of Hard Knocks to a 20-year channel career, Mike shares why attitude and aptitude beat pedigree, and why white-glove, roll-up-your-sleeves support is what turns a dormant advisor into an active one. A candid look at where the channel is heading as agnostic advisory hits its tipping point.

📌 Key Events

🎯 00:00 Welcome & Guest Intro

🛠️ 01:32 School of Hard Knocks & Leadership

📈 07:20 Crawl, Walk, Run Explained

🤝 12:30 Vendor Neutral & Staying Honest

🔑 22:00 Reactivating Dormant Advisors

💡 Tip worth stealing: Keep short-term incentives out of the recommendation. Mike refuses to let MDF, SPIFFs, or backend bonuses steer which vendor lands in front of a customer — put the right solution in place the first time and you build a 10-year customer instead of a churn risk.

📚 Books: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell — Mike ties the channel's agnostic-advisory moment to Gladwell's idea of a tipping point about to break wide open. https://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624

🔗 Connect with Us:

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📧 Suggestions or want to appear on a future episode? Email: [email protected]

💡 Need expert help to maximize your IT investments? Reach out: [email protected]

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OSHEAN is the nonprofit most Rhode Islanders have neverheard of — even though its fiber, cybersecurity, and cloud connections underpin more than 160 of the state's hospitals, universities, libraries, and municipalities. In this MTMG IT Roundtable, CEO Dave Marble breaks down the member-first model that let his team treat a Providence free clinic's IT like abar rescue, and explains why running a 400-gig research link and a parish school's email on the same network has made complexity a team sport. He also gives a clear-eyed read on quantum computing and Q-Day — the moment a quantum machine could crack today's encryption — plus the post-quantum moves IT leaders should be making now. If you're weighing OMC26 on November 12–13, it's a grounded lookat where technology is actually heading, minus the hype.

3. Key Events Timeline

🎙️ 00:00 — Welcome & Guest Intro: Dave Marble, CEO of OSHEAN

🌊 00:51 — The Nonprofit Nobody's Heard Of: What OSHEAN Actually Is

🤝 04:05 — Members Over Margins: A Free-Clinic IT Rescue

🧩 10:35 — OMC26 & Why Complexity Is a Team Sport

🔐 18:40 — Quantum, Q-Day & the Race to Post-Quantum Crypto

4. Notable References

💡 Helpful tip from Dave Marble: Q-Day — the day a quantum computer can break the encryption protecting the world's money — was once pegged for the late 2030s. Google now puts it closer to 2029. His advice for any CIO or IT director: start mapping which of your vendors (think Cisco, Fortinet, Cloudflare) already support post-quantum cryptography now, rather than waiting for the alarm to go off.

🎵 Music:

It's a Complex World by The Young Adults— the 1970s Rhode Island cult classic fronted by Rudy Cheeks that Marble said always comes to mind when he thinks about how complex the work has become. ▶️

Watch on YouTube: TheYoung Adults – Complex World

5. Connect with Us

✅ Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu

✅ Learn more about the amazing software we use to create these podcasts (Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7

✅ Want the same microphones we use?

Get a discount (use coupon code "MTMG" for 10% off): https://www.maono.com/?ref=ulcbmcjk

📧 Suggestions or want to appear on a future episode? Email: [email protected]

💡 Need expert help to maximize your IT investments? Reach out: [email protected]

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Cait Espe explains how her transition from female-led salon operations to the male-dominated tech sector served as a catalyst for her advocacy for women in STEM. She provides clear distinctions between mentors who talk to you, sponsors who talk about you, and allies who stand with you to ensure your voice is heard. The episode also dives into the risks of gender bias in AI and why women must take an active role in prompting humanistic and inclusive values into large language models.

Timeline:

🏢 01:12 Cait's 15-year background in salon and luxury spa operations💻 01:56 Transitioning into B2B Tech SaaS and facing culture shock🗣️ 04:58 Defining the differences between mentors, sponsors, and allies🤖 11:51 Addressing potential gender bias and human elements within AI📈 17:53 Advice for leveraging networks and embracing professional discomfort🎤 20:39 MTMG Questions

Cait emphasizes that women in leadership should actively seek out diverse support systems and be vocal about their needs to build confidence in new environments. This proactive approach ensures that women not only have a seat at the table but also the necessary advocacy to be heard.

Helpful Tip:

Don’t shy away from having uncomfortable conversations or seeking help and advice, as engaging in these meaningful interactions is incredibly valuable for career growth.

Music/Artists Mentioned:

Olivia Dean YouTube Link - Cait enjoys her jazzy R&B voice and strong stage presence.

🔗 Connect with Us:✅ Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu

✅ Learn more about the amazing software we use to create these podcasts (Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7

✅ Want the same microphones we use?

Get a discount (use coupon code “MTMG” for 10% off): https://www.maono.com/?ref=ulcbmcjk

📧 Suggestions or want to appear on a future episode?

Email: [email protected]

💡 Need expert help to maximize your IT investments?

Reach out: [email protected]

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Singer-songwriter Emma Langford joins the conversation tounpack how technology shapes modern music-making, why AI needs real guardrails, and what gets lost when we outsource human growth to machines. She shares whatit’s like building soundscapes for a stage adaptation of her partner’s novel Me, Myself and Them, and why studio experimentation is its own creative craft.

Emma also reflects on writing an overt, rage-fueled response to the Natasha O’Brien court case and what it means to keep breaking glass ceilings when it would be easier to stay quiet.

Key Events Timeline

🎭 00:00 New Stage Project: Turning A Novel Into A Dark, Musical Soundscape
🎛️03:00 How Studio Tech Becomes Part Of The Songwriting Process
🤖05:00 AI, Power, And Why Admin Should Be Automated—Not Art
⚡11:00 Writing A Protest Track In Real Time After The Natasha O’Brien Case
🧱16:00 The Seduction Of Eve, Glass Ceilings, And Choosing Not To Stay Small
 

Books Mentioned:

Me, Myself and Them by Dan Mooney — the novel Emma’spartner wrote (and that they’re now bringing to the stage).

https://www.amazon.com/Me-Myself-Them-Dan-Mooney/dp/0778307778

Music/Artists Mentioned:

Emma's Bandcamp site to find all of her music:

https://emmalangfordmusic.bandcamp.com/

Emma Langford — Boys Will Be Boys (F* That)** —

https://youtu.be/foHKwZSFt6w?si=9PIqMYrOFT5AYv8R
Emma Langford — The Seduction of Eve —

https://youtu.be/5Zs7Q26Nkjw?si=hXjaY7lF_cf_9F5U

Emma Langford — Birdsong -

https://youtu.be/HwcAzf9GUDo?si=tg9xogsWX5OQbgW-

Emma Langford — Goodbye Hawaii – the origin of the “mouth horn”

https://youtu.be/ZsgZQOGZqsM?si=3oqteXmx63egL2lF

🔗 Connect with Us:

✅ Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu
✅Learn more about the amazing software we use to create these podcasts(Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7
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📧Suggestions or want to appear on a future episode? Email: [email protected]
💡Need expert help to maximize your IT investments? Reach out: [email protected]
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Procurement leader Janice Marquardt shares how moderne-auction programs drive clarity, speed, and transparency—without devolving into “race to the bottom” pricing. She lays out the right order of buy-in (executives → procurement → technical teams → suppliers) and how language andexpectations shape outcomes. Janice also walks through a real rollout that delivered $2M in value within 12 weeks across ~60 auctions on ~$58M in spend, plus why municipalities can succeed when quality and safety are front-and-center.

Key Events Timeline

🟣 00:00:00 Janice’s path from engineering to procurement and launching her consultancy
📘00:04:00 E-auctions 101 and why she wrote Transform Procurement: The Value of E-Auctions
🚦00:07:00 Myth-busting: not a race to the bottom—scope clarity, speed, and market transparency
🧭00:11:00 Change management: the exact buy-in sequence that makes programs stick
🚀00:14:00 Fast start: 12-week rollout, ~$2M value, ~60 auctions on ~$58M spend
❓00:19:00 MTMG Questions

Helpful Tip: Secure executive buy-in first, thenalign your procurement team before looping in technical stakeholders and suppliers.

A smart e-auction program begins with executive alignmentand continues by equipping procurement to tell the value story—before engaging technical teams or suppliers. Done this way, e-auctions become a negotiation superpower rather than a blunt cost hammer. Notable ReferencesBooks Mentioned: Transform Procurement: The Value ofE-Auctions — Janice Marquardt (Amazon):https://www.amazon.ie/Transform-Procurement-Auctions-Janice-Marquardt/dp/B0F8BDR69X

Podcasts Mentioned: Dare to Lead — Brené Brown(Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/3oEPsPKDhPVoNNL7pH5db6
Dare to Lead — Emily & Amelia Nagoski on Burnout (Spotify episode): https://open.spotify.com/episode/5n3wvqU0Tt9eKWAZZX9Vww

Music/Artists Mentioned: “Into the Unknown” — IdinaMenzel & AURORA (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIOyB9ZXn8s

🔗 Connect with Us:
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Hospitality and telecom expert Melinda Kinney breaks down how hotels and small businesses can audit their current technology, eliminate waste, and redirect spend into future-proofed solutions. She explains why RFPs must look beyond the next three to five years, how AI is reshaping requirements, and where leaders commonly overspend on legacy services.

With nearly 30 years in telecom, Melinda outlines a simple three-step path: inventory what you have, align to business needs, then source smarter options—delivered with a “heart of hospitality.”

Helpful Tip:

A quick way to unlock savings is to map your invoices to actual usage, retire anything you no longer need, and replace outdated tools with modern equivalents that support where your business is headed.

Start with a line-by-line audit of telecom/IT invoices, cut unused legacy services, and reinvest the savings into future-proofed solutions.

Key Events Timeline🎙️ 00:00:00 Welcome & who Melinda helps (hospitality + small business). 🧭 00:03:00 RFPs and true future-proofing beyond 3–5 years. 🤖 00:05:00 AI’s rapid impact on tech planning and budgets. ✂️ 00:06:30 Immediate wins: cut unused legacy services to reduce spend. 📋 00:08:00 The three-step approach: audit → business needs → market options. ❓ 00:10:00 MTMG Questions

Notable References

Books Mentioned: How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera — self-help on meaningful change Podcasts Mentioned: Huberman Lab — science-based tools for health & performance Music/Artists Mentioned: “Home” by Michael Bublé — go-to mood boost

Connect with Us✅ Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu✅ Learn more about the amazing software we use to create these podcasts (Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7✅ Want the same microphones we use? Get a discount (use coupon code “MTMG” for 10% off): https://www.maono.com/?ref=ulcbmcjk

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Fractional CMO Anne Mitchell breaks down how small andmidsize B2B firms can stop doing random acts of marketing and build a simple, end-to-end system that actually produces pipeline. She explains why only a small slice of your market is ready to buy right now and how a nurturing engineturns the rest into future revenue. You’ll hear a practical framework for sharpening positioning (think: becoming the UCaaS leader in your city), keeping websites aligned to your message, and using AI without sounding like everyoneelse. Real, workable advice—no fluff—plus examples from the channel and growth-stage teams.

Key Events Timeline

🟢 00:00:00 Welcome + why “random acts of marketing” fail
🚀00:01:00 Founding ChannelSpring to serve underserved partners
💼00:03:00 Fractional CMO value: Fortune-100 expertise in ~10 hours/month
🔁00:05:00 Holistic system: 5% in-market, nurture the other 95%; fix the website first
🎯00:09:00 Nail the niche: one offering, multiple buyers; UCaaS-in-St. Louis example
❓00:16:00 MTMG Questions

Notable References

When in doubt, return to the buyer. Anne’s go-to move is the“So what?” test—ask it five times until the benefit is unmistakably clear for each decision-maker (CIO, CFO, CRO).

Books Mentioned: Well-Oiled Operations™: HowBusiness Owners Scale Up While Scaling Back — Stacy Tuschl (Amazon; practical systems for delegating). Amazon

Connect with Us

✅ Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu

✅ Learn more about the amazingsoftware we use to create these podcasts (Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7

✅ Want the same microphones we use?

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MTMG’s leadership looks back on a year of pivots, patience,and momentum—our first-ever year-end special digs into what worked, what didn’t, and how the team plans to scale in 2026.
From “pits & berries” (career transitions, sales slumps that turned into wins, and learning gnarly DNS/DA tooling) to a crisp articulation of what MTMG actually does—“Tinder for business” with eHarmony-level matching—this episodeis packed with practical takeaways.
You’ll hear the team’s one-word summaries—evolving, satisfying, educational, foundation, culture—and why those words matter.
Most importantly, we share a hard call to decline a potential partner who didn’t align with our core values—because putting misaligned vendors in front of clients isn’t an option.

Key Events Timeline

🎬 00:00:00 Kickoff & why a year-end retrospective
🍓00:02:00 “Pits & Berries” — transitions, sales frustration to wins, and DNS/DA lessons
🧭00:08:00 One word for 2025: evolving, satisfying, educational, foundation, culture
🐙00:11:00 If MTMG were an animal: phoenix, octopus, wolf, ant, sea dragon
🧱00:15:00 Core values in action—saying no to a misaligned partner

Notable References

A year that started uneven finished with repeatable momentum by focusing on fit, clarity, and values. The team distilled MTMG’s value prop and doubled down on partner alignment—practical guardrails any MSP or techleader can adopt.

Helpful Tip: Before adding a vendor to your partnerroster, require clear alignment to your core values—otherwise say no, even if the short-term revenue looks tempting.

Connect with Us
✅Check out our website: www.mtmg.eu
✅Learn more about the amazing software we use to create these podcasts(Descript): https://get.descript.com/mtu0tl2zr3g7
✅Want the same microphones we use? Get a discount (use coupon code “MTMG” for 10% off): https://www.maono.com/?ref=ulcbmcjk
📧Suggestions or want to appear on a future episode? Email: [email protected]
💡Need expert help to maximize your IT investments? Reach out: [email protected]
🔔Don’t forget to subscribe to the Podcast and follow us on LinkedIn!
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