The Digital Decode

Ever since technology has advanced in the service industry, the question has been, “What does this mean for workers?”
There isn’t a simple answer. However, there are still aspects to service that no one has figured out how to emulate with AI yet.
So, how are tech and the human touch working together?
Today’s guest, Terry Jones, Founder of Travelocity, gives his insights on the changing landscape of data and AI technology—after founding six startups and working in IT for over 40 years, Terry knows his way around the field.
Join us as we discuss:
The future of travel data
The significance of cloud storage
How AI still struggles with human behavior


Let’s dive into the future of AI and travel data!
The future of travel data
The travel industry is late to the AI table, but they’re catching up. With each innovation around delivering information to customers and eager travelers comes new opportunities for crafting better user experiences.
Futuristic ideas around AI and its capabilities are coming into fruition, and Terry has a unique view to witness and shepherd what that looks like in the travel industry.
Struggles with AI integration
That doesn't mean AI is not without its hiccups.
“In my company, we are trying to recommend to travel agents the best hotel in Cancun. And we never could get the agents to agree.” Terry said, sharing a struggle with implementing AI.
“They would say, “well, that's not the best hotel. How do you know?” And we would say, “well, we looked at 100,000 consumer reviews, we looked at real reviews, we looked at the hotels that won awards, and we say that's the best hotel,” he continued.
Because of their natural personal bias that reigns in everyone, the agents insisted the algorithm had the incorrect results.
Consumers look at AI curated lists and top recommendations with more openness—theiry’re approach comes from needing answers, and they don’t believe they have them.
Whereas with the agents, they had pre-decided, based on previous experience, which hotel was the best.
The kinks in the tube for integrating AI into travel resources are tenacious, but people like Terry will straighten them out.
“You can't just recreate the app, you have to reimagine what it can do. Understand that moving it to the cloud doesn't relieve you of all the problems.” — Terry Jones
The significance of cloud storage
Cloud storage has changed how we store, collect, and maintain information. The idea that one can have stacks and stacks of data inside the Cloud is still relatively new. However, it’s not a golden ticket for success.
3 tips from Terry
Utilizing Cloud storage is a balance.
Here are a few tips from Terry about how to support overall data management:
Be the orchestrator — Data, no matter how it’s stored, needs to be managed and orchestrated at every endpoint.
AI and MI are your friends — They enable customers to ask harder questions and get faster results.
Train your people — Make sure your team knows the system inside and out to gain maximum impact from the technology at hand.


Implementing AI, MI, and the Cloud are game-changers from customer to CEO. Are you getting the most out of it that you could?
AI still struggles with human behavior
With the rapid ascent of AI, it would be easy to assume it would surpass human relevance in the service industry. That’s not the case.
Here’s why the human touch won’t be out of style in the service industry any time soon:
Is that a golf course or only a 12in flag on grass?


Terry shared a story of an AI system mistaking a little flag as a golf course and making an incorrect recommendation for a hotel to a customer.
People can track nuance better than artificial intelligence.
Teaching AI will take time


It may be a while yet until AI can successfully differentiate between unique language patterns, nuance, sarcasm, etc. with consistent results.
Our brains are built to process language and parrot it almost perfectly.
People still respond best to real people


A broad statement for a complicated reality. However, when it comes down to it, people still feel more at ease when speaking with a living, breathing person on the other side of the phone/screen/etc.
We are made for connection.
The service industry will always need people
With every advancement comes more insights into what makes a truly exceptional experience for customers and workers alike. Leveraging technology to support natural human touch is a balance we should strive for.
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Ransomware, attacks using machine learning — 2021 was a bad year for cybersecurity.

Sadly, the predictions have the trends accelerating in 2022.

But if you know what’s coming, it’s easier to be prepared.

To help you do just that, in this episode Dave Trader is joined by Dan Lohrmann, Field Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Public Sector at Presidio, to go over 2022’s cyber-forecast and the steps you should take to protect yourself.

Join us as we discuss:
The ongoing ransomware trend
Bad actors using machine learning and AI to conduct attacks
Security concerns for crypto and blockchain 



To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

Data only matters when you can use it.

So, while many organizations over the last decade have been clamoring for big data at every turn, others are now asking: 

How can we do more with less? 

Today’s guest, Rob Kim, Vice President of Technology Strategy at Presidio joins Raphael Meyerowitz on the show to answer that question — and everything else you should know about the seismic shifts in analytics in recent years.

Join us as we discuss:
Why Big Data is becoming Small Data
Why standardization and simplification are the keys to moving faster
The rise of ransomware and what it means for your organization




To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

Most people learned long ago not to trust their local weatherman…

But here’s one prediction even he can get right: Tomorrow will be filled with clouds. 

Well, OK — the cloud. And maybe not tomorrow, but eventually everyone will move to it.

So, even if you aren’t migrating today, you better have a plan.

That’s just one of the keen insights today’s guests Bill Fix, Senior Consulting Architect-Team Lead, and Gaurav Singhal, Consulting Solutions Architect, at Presidio, share with host Raphael Meyerowitz in this episode as we discuss the future of work in light of new, post-pandemic innovations and expectations

We also discuss:
Why workforces are becoming more platform-agnostic with their collaboration tools (and the integrations they need to pull it off)
Why the pandemic has accelerated the shift to the cloud
The rise of video technology in healthcare
The technological demands of a hybrid, partially-distributed workforce 



To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

VMworld 2021 took place in early October and Presidio was on hand as a gold sponsor.

In today’s show, Raphael Meyerowitz, Vice President of Technology Solutions & Strategic Partnerships at Presidio, talks with two people who co-presented during the conference.

Matthew Ritchart, Enterprise Architect, and Mark Vaughn, Sr. Director, VMware Cloud Practice, both with Presidio, join host Raphael Meyerowitz to talk about what they presented at VMworld 2021 and the big takeaways from the event.

We discuss:
What multi-cloud actually means
Tanzu Community Edition and Mission Control Starter Edition
VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery
Project Arctic and Skyline Pro



Learn more about VMworld 2021 at vmware.com/vmworld.  

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The proliferation of ransomware attacks is a hot topic in the news lately.
But if you’ve never experienced one, you may not be properly prepared to respond to one — and you really need to be.
Because when it comes to ransomware, it’s not if, it’s when.
On today’s episode host, Andy Richter and guest, Dave Trader , Field CISO at Presidio, talk about who to call when you’re in the midst of a ransomware crisis. Andy and Dave join the show to share their expertise in ransomware recovery and help you prepare to weather any attack that comes your way.
In this episode, we discuss:
The technical aspects of ransomware recovery
Why communications are critical to successful ransomware recovery
The timeline you should expect from an attack to a successful recovery    


To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck many businesses needed to modernize quickly in order to stay on top of the ever-changing customer landscape. 

In this episode of The Digital Decode, host Rob Kim (VP Technology Strategy) got together with Richard Quinney (Director of Information Security and Infrastructure Engineering) and Matt Ritchart (Enterprise Architect) to discuss Radial’s ability to modernize to achieve business objectives and face the challenges presented by the pandemic. 
What We Covered:


Impact of Covid 19 in Peak Season
Supporting Customer Care Agents at scale (Flexibility)
Hybrid Cloud Environment Architecture
End User Compute High Availability and Scalability
Bridging the On-prem and Cloud Experience
Dealing with Technology Delays (on-prem Issues)
Cloud Security Considerations
Moving to the Cloud and how it changes the way you look at other services (vs on-prem)



Thanks for listening! Keep connected with The Digital Decode at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our website. 

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Hyperconvergence Infrastructure (HCI) is a revolutionary way to reduce data center complexity… 

But the topic itself can get, well, pretty complex. 

That’s why this week, we’re speaking with Brian Ethington, Solutions Architect at Presidio, and Robert Looney, Americas Enterprise Datacenter Sales & Marketing Manager at Intel Corporation, to break down HCI and help you understand its benefits.  

In this episode, we discuss:
Why HCI was developed and how it works
The evolution and benefits of HCI
Why and how Intel and Presidio are working together to improve HCI 

To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

When an issue arises with an application, the response time to deal with the issue is directly correlated to the end user experience. Reducing human error and identifying the different kinds of errors are being solved with observability & intelligent automation.


In Episode 11 of The Digital Decode, we spoke with Raj Revuru & Mladen Milanovic of Presidio. Raj is Director, AI & RPA, & Mladen is Vice President, Engineering, Automation.


What we talked about:
- Understanding Observability & Intelligent Automation
- Mobile VS. PC Application Dominance
- How Intelligent Automation Can Help IT
- How to Migrate Legacy Applications

To hear more interviews like this one, subscribe to The Digital Decode Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

As a worldwide pandemic shows signs of easing, companies all over the world are trying to figure out what a new hybrid work model looks like. The pandemic proved for a lot of companies that employees don’t need to be in the office full time.


But how do companies begin to navigate this hybrid model?

On this episode of The Digital Decode, Alex Duncan from Presidio and Robert Morris from Citrix sit down for a discussion all about:
- The hybrid work model, and what it means for companies moving forward
- Providing consistency in the hybrid work model
- Measuring productivity, and how it’s growing increasingly difficult in this WFH era
- Why you don’t need to be scared of automation


Thanks for listening! Keep connected with The Digital Decode at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our website.


Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for The Digital Decode in your favorite podcast player.