TestGuild Devops Toolchain Podcast

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) has a reputation problem. It's noisy, slow, and often ignored by developers — especially in fast-moving CI/CD pipelines.

In this episode of the TestGuild Podcast, we explore developer-focused DAST and why traditional AppSec tools struggle to gain adoption in modern DevOps teams.

You'll learn:

• Why most DAST tools fail inside real-world CI/CD workflows
• What "shift-left security" actually means beyond marketing buzzwords
• How developer-first DAST reduces false positives and improves signal quality
• Where AI genuinely helps in security testing — and where it's mostly hype
• Practical steps QA, DevOps, and engineering leaders can take to reduce risk this quarter

Our guest, Gadi Bashvitz, CEO at Bright Security, shares lessons from decades in cybersecurity, including building security tools that developers actually use — without slowing delivery.

If you're responsible for test automation, DevSecOps, or application security, this episode will help you rethink how DAST should work in 2026 and beyond.

In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain podcast, Joe Colantonio sits down with Brad Groux, technologist, AI strategist, and CEO of Digital Meld, to explore what it really takes for businesses to adopt AI successfully.

Brad shares practical insights on:

• How to prepare your people, processes, and data before bringing in AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT

• Separating hype from reality when evaluating AI and automation solutions

• Building an AI stack on a budget that empowers mid-sized businesses to compete

• Why "start small, think big" is the winning mindset for sustainable digital transformation

• The role of responsible AI and how leaders can balance innovation with ethics

Whether you're a QA leader, automation engineer, or business exec, this episode will give you a grounded blueprint to cut through the noise and unlock the real value of AI in your organization.

Support the show - try out Insight Hub free for 14 days now: https://testguild.me/insighthub In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Patrick Quilter, CEO of Deploy360, to explore how AI is reshaping DevSecOps and what it means for testers, developers, and security engineers. Patrick shares his unique journey from automation engineer to founder to acquisition, and now leading a company working directly with the Department of Defense on secure, AI-powered development pipelines. You'll learn: Why automation engineers are perfectly positioned to move into security How agentic AI can transform DevOps workflows with specialized security agents Why AI won't replace skilled developers—but can supercharge them The role of local vs. cloud LLMs in security and supply chain protection Where DevSecOps and AI are headed in the next 1–3 years Patrick also reveals how Deploy360 is rolling out its next-gen DevSecOps platform and why small-to-medium businesses may benefit most from early access. Learn more about Patrick and Deploy360: Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review if you find this episode valuable for your testing or DevSecOps journey. Try out SmartBear's Bugsnag for free, today. No credit card required: https://testguild.me/bugsnagfree

In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, Joe Colantonio sits down with Matt DeBergalis, CEO of Apollo GraphQL, to explore how GraphQL is transforming the way teams build, ship, and scale applications. Matt shares his journey from open-source pioneer to leading one of the most widely adopted GraphQL platforms in the world—and why GraphQL is more relevant than ever in the age of AI, microservices, and agent-based applications. You'll discover: How GraphQL eliminates over-fetching, reduces technical debt, and accelerates feature delivery Why it's a natural fit for AI agents and future-ready architectures How it improves testing, observability, and security without forcing a backend rewrite Lessons from large-scale GraphQL implementations that every DevOps, QA, and platform engineering team should know Whether you're a developer, tester, or engineering leader, this conversation will give you practical insights to help you build faster, smarter, and with confidence. Try out SmartBear's Bugsnag for free, today. No credit card required: https://testguild.me/bugsnagfree

In this episode of the TestGuild DevOps Toolchain Podcast, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Jennifer Rahmani, Co-founder and COO of Thoras.ai, a company redefining how infrastructure scales with AI-driven predictive technology. Drawing from her years as a DevOps engineer in the defense tech sector, Jennifer shares how she and her twin sister turned real-world frustrations into a reliability-first platform that eliminates the guesswork from scaling.

We discuss how Thoras.ai integrates with Kubernetes to predict workload demand minutes—or even hours—in advance, allowing teams to maintain high availability without overspending. Jennifer explains why they use the right AI for the right use case, how their predictive autoscaling works in multi-cloud and hybrid environments, and how it helps SREs avoid downtime during unpredictable events like Black Friday or major product launches. Whether you're dealing with noisy data, high cloud bills, or sleepless nights worrying about reliability, this episode delivers practical insights for making smarter scaling decisions.

Curious if AI will automate your contract testing—or wreck it?

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In this episode of the DevOps Toolchain Podcast, I sit down with Matt Fellows, co-founder of Pacflow and core maintainer of the PACT framework (now under SmartBear). We dive into the evolution of contract testing, how agentic AI tools like Copilot and Cursor are shaping testing workflows, and what the next 3–5 years might look like for API validation.

We also get real about:

• Why test quality matters more in an AI-driven pipeline
• How autonomous testing may reshape developer tooling
• Whether AI-generated tests are improving code or just spreading bugs faster

Whether you're leading a QA team, building APIs, or navigating the DevOps–AI intersection, this episode has hard-earned insights from someone shaping the tools used by teams around the world.

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Today, we're diving into a hot topic for many in the software industry: leaping testing to DevOps. Joining us is Maciek Konkolowicz, a senior DevOps manager at an AI-driven test automation platform, who brings more than a decade of experience ensuring software quality and accelerating delivery.

Checkout SmartBear InsightHub Now: https://testguild.me/insighthub

Maciek shares his journey from functional test automation to DevOps leadership, offering real-world insight into what motivated his career shift, the skills and mindset that helped him thrive, and how the lines between testing and DevOps continue to blur with today's continuous learning culture. Whether you're thinking about making a similar move or looking to support testers within your DevOps team better, this conversation is full of actionable advice and inspiration.

Stick around to hear Maciek's tips on upskilling, working at AI-powered companies, and why keeping your "sunglasses" on, rather than blinders, might be the smartest career move you make this year.

How do you go from idea to impact—without wasting time or overbuilding too early?

In this episode, Joe Colantonio is joined by Mac, CTO at Wednesday Solutions, to dive deep into what it really takes to scale software smartly and sustainably. They explore the mindset and systems needed to go from MVP to product-market fit, how to think about scaling for 3 years (not forever), and the biggest distribution mistakes startups make.

You'll also hear hard-earned lessons on using AI tools effectively, when to skip hyped tech (like serverless), and why building great software isn't enough—you need distribution and insight to win.

Try out Insight Hub free for 14 days now: https://testguild.me/insighthub. No credit card required.

On this episode host Joe Colantonio sits down with Jacek Marmuszewski of Let's Go DevOps, an expert with more than a decade of experience building and managing mission-critical cloud infrastructure for companies like Sabre and Oracle, as well as for numerous startups.

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Jacek shares his journey from a Java and C programmer to a cloud-native advocate and DevOps platform engineer, offering invaluable insights into what it truly takes to create scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud environments.

Together, they dig into the most common misconceptions about cloud scalability, why high performance and seamless user experience are critical for DevOps success, and how early architectural decisions can make or break your ability to scale.

Jacek explains how his company, Let's Go DevOps, helps organizations—especially startups—design cloud infrastructures with future growth, security, and compliance in mind. The conversation covers everything from balancing feature delivery and security in fast-paced environments to optimizing cloud costs, preparing for outages, and tackling the complexities of multi-cloud strategies.

If you're looking for actionable advice on cloud transformation, designing for scale, ensuring performance, and securing your applications, as well as a few best practices around AI and digital privacy-- Listen up!

In this episode of the DevOps Toolchain podcast, we dive deep into the evolving intersection of AI, IoT, and embedded systems with special guest Hariharan Ragothaman who's a seasoned technologist and DevSecOps expert.

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Hariharan shares how he went from programming in BASIC as a kid to leading cutting-edge AI server validation today. We explore the mindset shifts needed when moving from embedded systems to cloud-native architectures, and why having a security-first approach isn't just optional anymore — it's essential.

We also discuss: ✅ The growing role of AI in embedded systems and IoT — and what that means for testers and engineers. ✅ Practical strategies for building a security mindset (even if you don't think of yourself as a "security person"). ✅ Favorite tools and techniques for shifting security left, including real-world examples and open-source tips. ✅ The balance between technical depth and leadership skills in an AI-powered future. ✅ Hariharan's personal approach to staying ahead of the curve, from continuous learning habits to favorite books and tools.

Whether you're deep in DevSecOps, testing embedded devices, or just curious about where AI and IoT are taking us next, this episode is packed with actionable advice and fresh perspectives to help you stay ahead.