Technology Now

As agentic AI becomes more commonplace, the way in which we interact with our technology is fundamentally changing.
 
Engineers are giving way to domain experts, as the role of IT in the workplace evolves faster than ever before. This week, Technology Now is joined by Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer HPE Networking to discuss:
 
• What AI looks like in 2026, traditional models, agentic AI, and more
• The surprising role of “bad” data in training models
• How businesses and organisations must respond to the new AI-first world
 
🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.
 
Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.
 
This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

About Bob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobfriday/

Sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t having enough data, it’s knowing what to do with it.
 
As agentic AI moves to real-world deployment, our cities and towns are becoming smarter. The mountain town of Vail, Colorado is just one such example of where artificial intelligence is helping streamline services, improve decision making and enhance experiences for residents and visitors alike. This week, Technology Now welcomes Robin Braun, VP, AI Business Development, Hybrid Cloud, to the show to find out:
 
• How AI has been successfully used in Vail to improve outcomes for staff and consumers
• Why breaking down silos helps instigate necessary communication between departments
• Why AI is more than just a productivity tool, it’s an essential part of modern day infrastructure
 
🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.
 
Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.
 
This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

About Robin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinbraun/

Zero Trust has transitioned from buzzword to basic necessity. As AI has transformed the cybersecurity landscape, becoming a tool for both attack and defence, organisations are being forced to rethink how thy protect themselves, their users, and their networks. Technology Now welcomes back friend of the show Jaye Tillson, CTO Security and HPE Distinguished Technologist to discuss:

• The impact of AI on cyber threats as well as cybersecurity
• How Zero Trust can contain breeches if they cannot be prevented entirely
• Why limited access is more important than ever in a distributed network

🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.

Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.

This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

About Jaye: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaye-tillson/

AI is making our technology smarter… but it’s also making it much, much hotter.

With higher demand for HPC and enterprise AI, data centres are having to adapt to meet the changing demands on the modern world. This week, Technology Now is joined by Jason Zeiler Principal Product Manager for Next Generation Infrastructure and HPC/AI Liquid Cooling at HPE to find out:

• The efficiency benefits of liquid cooling compared to air cooling and why that isn’t always enough to convince enterprises to switch
• Whether future data centres will be built from first principles around liquid cooling infrastructure
• How higher operating temperatures are feeding back into microchip manufacturers’ designs for the next generation of chips

🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.

Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.

This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

Sources:
https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/electricity-consumption-by-data-centres-2020-2035

Recorded in front of a live studio audience at HPE Discover 2026, Michael Bird talks to EVP, President and General Manager of HPE Networking, Rami Rahim, about the future of our network infrastructure. Key takeaways include:

• What self-driving networks really are, why they are important and how driving business impact
• How trust can be a barrier to the adoption of self-driving networks, and how this can be overcome
• Top ways AI in our networks benefit IT professionals around the world

🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.
 
Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.

This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

About Rami: https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/leadership-bios/rami-rahim.html

What’s changing in enterprise tech - and what should leaders be preparing for next?

Recorded live at HPE Discover 2026, Michael Bird takes HPE CEO Antonio Neri on a gondola ride the Venetian Resort Las Vegas to explore:

• How AI is reshaping infrastructure and operations
• The evolving role of networking in the AI era
• What organizations should prioritize in the next 12 months

🎧 Listen for a front-line view of where enterprise technology is headed.

Technology Now is HPE’s flagship, award winning, podcast that brings enterprise innovation to life - featuring real conversations with leaders, customers, and experts on how AI, cloud, and networking are shaping the future of business. Join hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell each Thursday for a new episode on how technology drives real change for companies and consumers, and why everyone should be invested in the conversation.

This episode is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts.

About Antonio Neri: https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/leadership-bios/antonio-neri.html

Are we prepared for the deployment of a functional quantum computer? This week, Technology Now is returning to the topic of post quantum cryptography. We ask why the deadline for migrating to PQC enabled systems has been moved up, we discover what a quantum computer actually needs to be cryptographically relevant, and we pose the question: when it comes to migrating your systems to quantum resistant forms of encryption, could it already be too late for some people to start?

This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations.

How is AI forcing our networks to change? This week, Technology Now is diving into the world of network architecture and asking how AI is forcing us to rethink what it looks like. We ask how AI requirements are different to regular computing, we explore why this makes cacheing obsolete, and we ask how our networks are going to continue changing into the future to cope with the demands of our new AI native world. AE Natarajan, SVP, general Manager for Routing Infrastructure Solutions, HPE networking, tells us more.

This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations.

About AE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ae-natarajan-b79202/

How much power does the UK’s fastest supercomputer use? This week, Technology Now returns to Isambard AI, the UK’s most powerful supercomputer to find out how you run such a machine. We will explore how much energy it uses, how the system stays cool, and we ask if there are any planned future developments which could increase efficiency. Dr Emma Rose, Centre Manager for the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, tells us more.

This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. This episode is available in both video and audio formats.

About Emma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-rose-7951768a/

Hidden in the corner of a carpark in Bristol lies Isambard AI, the UK’s fastest supercomputer. This week, Technology Now is visiting Isambard AI to find out how the system works, how it was designed and assembled in a modular way, and to discover what sort of projects it runs. Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, Director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, tells us more.

This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. This episode is available in both video and audio formats.

About Simon:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmcintoshsmith/

Sources:
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/research/centres/bristol-supercomputing/articles/2025/isambard-ai-launches-july-2025.html
https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/studies/broadband-speed-statistics/