The Tech Blog Writer Podcast - Inspired Tech Startup Stories & Interviews With Tech Leaders, Entrepreneurs And Innovators

From drug and device discovery and development to regulatory approval, drug reimbursement to lifecycle management – they all need to make smart decisions that give you an advantage in a fast-changing market. The pharma and healthcare sector faces unparalleled upheaval: increasing pressures on research and development teams to show a better return on investment, difficulty keeping abreast of complex regulatory and pricing and reimbursement environments, and the race to get the best deal in a competitive business development arena. Informa's Pharma Intelligence is the trusted partner of all of the top 50 global pharmaceutical companies and the top 10 contract research organizations (CRO's) – providing timely intelligence and insight to make authoritative decisions. The pharma business model has worked for hundreds of years and was completely upended that because people are staying home, messaging people directly. How will tech help the industry adapt? I invited Katleen Richardson to learn more about how technol

Jason Du Preez, the CEO, and co-founder of data privacy provider Privitar joins me on Tech Talks Daily. Born in South Africa, he launched Privitar in London in 2014 and has since taken the company global, recently securing $87M in funding, including a $7M investment from Privitar customer HSBC bank which takes them to a grand total of $150 million. After witnessing the lack of consideration for data protection when adopting big data platforms firsthand, Jason shares his insights and experiences within the space. We discuss how CEOs can make data privacy part of their leadership roadmap. On the topic of HR and bias data, we explore what it means for leadership. We also talk about COVID-19 and its effect on how businesses approach data privacy, especially as we see an increase in contract tracing in the workplace and beyond. Finally we discuss the ethical concerns surrounding data privacy and how businesses can move forward without jeopardizing employees’/customers personal data or productivity.

The world order has changed overnight. The IT organization is under more pressure and scrutiny than ever before. In addition to ensuring security, there is a strong argument in favor of modernizing enterprise infrastructure. Trusted by leading managed service providers, Airgap’s patent-pending enterprise-grade Agentless Zero Trust Isolation platform addresses some of the fundamental security and networking challenges faced by the IT organizations. Ritesh Agrawal, CEO, Airgap, joins me on Tech Talks Daily and shares Airgap’s core capabilities, the roadmap, and their vision. I learn more about how Airgap’s Zero Trust Isolation Platform offers defense against cyber-threat propagation. Airgap’s patent-pending agentless solution works for any user and any device accessing business assets from any location and it can be installed in a few minutes without any forklift upgrades.

The big insurance carriers cover Telehealth, but due to the lack of set standards for private health insurance companies, billing has been haphazard, reimbursement spotty and confidence low. Now that telehealth appears to be the future of how we support our most at-risk, we must make sure that it is accessible both logistically and financially. However, there is a growing digital divide as elderly patients who do not have smartphones and wi-fi are slowly getting left behind. MedSign and Qortex are making this transition easier and much more affordable. The Qortex platform was specifically designed to focus on reducing ER visits and early readmissions from recently discharged or chronically ill patients by providing 24/7 virtual connectivity to their healthcare providers while recovering in the comfort of their homes and does not require expensive or complicated smartphones, tablets, or computers. Simply plug Qortex into a TV and receive healthcare services anytime. The Qortex system is currently available to

Sanjeev Sularia, serial entrepreneur and technology evangelist. He is currently the CEO & Co-Founder of Intelligence Node, a big data lab leveraging machine and deep learning to help the retail industry with pricing and merchandise optimization globally. Sanjeev started the retail intelligence company in 2012 as a small startup with a mission to empower retailers to grow in the Age of Amazon using data-driven competitive insights. Fast forward eight years later, and Intelligence Node has built the world’s largest retail product database, which feeds the growth of more than $600 billion in retail revenue globally. Sanjeev Sularia joins me on Tech Talks Daily to discuss how the global pandemic has created a permanent shift in the consumer shopping experience. The strategies retailers should implement to adapt to this new reality, and his predictions for what retail will look like in 2020 – and beyond. We also explore the key findings from the Intelligence Node’s consumer survey, which reveals that consumer

Clear is a blockchain-based settlement company transforming transactions for telcos. Last month, three of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, and Vodafone successfully finalized a trial automated settlement of roaming discount agreements using a solution developed by Clear. Eran Haggiag, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Clear blockchain technologies joins on today's episode. Eran understands the reconciliation of mobile roaming payments is a time-consuming, costly, manual process that results in major delays in revenue recognition, discrepancies between partners on invoices, and high costs in disputes that follow. The WEF estimates commercial disputes cost up to $870bn per year. I learn how Clear is changing the way telecoms operators interact with each other, moving from a manual paper-based process to algorithmic blockchain-based smart solutions, allowing them to interact seamlessly with less disputes and more time to focus on results. We discuss how the telec

Tristan Pelligrino joins me in a conversation about the power of podcasts and how you or your business can launch a podcast with a helping hand. We also discuss how important it is for tech companies to be able to articulate their value to the world. Tristan is the Co-Founder of Motion, an agency that helps tech companies get noticed, engage their prospects, and become thought leaders in their industry. He is also the host of Tech Qualified - A Podcast for B2B Tech Marketers. With Motion, Tristan can combine his firsthand experience in technology with his marketing expertise to help tech companies develop unique content, position themselves as the choice in their industry, and ultimately show the world their value. Tristan shares how he helps tech companies use genuine conversations to generate business demand and talks about the power of conversation to fuel content marketing. Tristan also shares how they are helping tech companies get noticed, engage their prospects, and become thought leaders in their indu

Decentralized finance applications are currently being built on protocols that were not designed to meet the needs and requirements of DeFi services. Radix uses significant technology innovations to be the first layer 1 protocol specifically built to serve the rapidly growing DeFi industry. Radix focuses on the three drivers of DeFi growth: Access: Despite the rapid growth of cryptocurrency, it is difficult and expensive to get money in and out of the DeFi ecosystem. Radix’s user-centric, vertically integrated approach makes on-ramping and off-ramping simple, secure, and as frictionless as possible. Liquidity: Liquidity is the lifeblood of the global economy, yet most of the world’s tokens and assets have limited liquidity fragmented across platforms that do not effectively interoperate. Radix provides native functionality for projects, developers, and market makers to create and access liquidity pools at the call of an API. Choice: The network effects of a public ledger are based on both the number of users

There has been a lot of doom and gloom this year. But in Phoenix, rather than closing its borders, they are inviting tech companies to do business in what is affectionately called the connected place. As a result, Phoenix is thriving. Earlier this year, seven software-as-a-service (Saas) companies selected by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) participated in a virtual trade mission with designated experts from London and Greater Phoenix to discuss key market entry strategies in the UK as an initial starting point into Europe. Greater Phoenix is now home to more than 350 Saas companies and is one of the country’s fastest-growing software and IT hubs. The Metro Phoenix Export Alliance (MPEXA) Global RISE, a program of GPEC and funded by JPMorgan Chase, also supports Greater Phoenix-based companies seeking to grow their business by engaging in the global marketplace. RISE stands for Resources, Innovation, Strategies, and Execution. The local companies were selected earlier this year, and we’re schedul

At Cygilant, they are passionate about helping organizations of all sizes build a comprehensive enterprise-class security program. The company has an ambitious goal to be the #1 customer-centric organization in the IT Security industry. Acting as an extension of their customers’ IT teams, Cygilant, a pioneer in hybrid security as a service, provides continuous security operations based on best-of-breed technology at a fraction of the cost of alternate solutions. Cygilant is also a trusted advisor to organizations that need to improve their IT security and compliance posture and protect against cyber threats and vulnerabilities. However, there is an inspiring story at the heart of this company. Former Formula 1 race car driver, Rob Scott is president and CEO of cybersecurity provider Cygilant. But I wanted to learn more about how being a professional race car driver has impacted his career and share some of the lessons learned while racing that have shaped his career as a top executive. Rob joined Cygilant wit

There is currently a need for consolidation and convergence of cybersecurity solutions. Businesses are searching for a more scalable and flexible platform approach that delivers threat prediction, prevention, detection, and response in a single solution. Only then can IT untangle the number of point-solutions. A company called Netsurion has made a giant stride in leading this convergence by bringing AI-driven threat prevention into an already strong managed threat detection & response platform. Netsurion is a managed security service provider that converges network management, threat protection, and compliance readiness for SMBs and service providers. A.N. Ananth is the chief strategy officer of Netsurion. With an extensive background in product development and operations for telecom network management, he has consulted for many companies on their compliance strategy, audit policy and automated reporting processes. Ananth is a leading expert in IT security and compliance with over 25 years of experience i

During 2020 more than 50 million freelance workers will enter the workforce. By 2025 open talent systems are predicted to be the predominant employment model.  Re-source is a new consulting business run by Barry Matthews who has a track record of spotting disruptive trends and launching businesses that enable them. 2020 has seen the world of work transform before our eyes.  The global freelance workforce has been augmented by millions of skilled workers looking to engage in new, creative ways while businesses look to reduce their fixed costs and move to flexible, resilient, as-a-service delivery models.  A diverse range of technology platforms match this supply and demand, enabling immediate access to the best global talent and competitive advantage for those that get it right Sourcing models are being disrupted, intelligent automation is rapidly maturing and open talent eco-systems are accelerating fast.  Accessing the power of the crowd alongside more traditional internal, freelance, outsourced and automate

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking systems, services, and software company. They provide solutions that help its customers create the Adaptive Network™ in response to their users' constantly changing demands. By delivering networking technology through high-touch consultative relationships, the company prides itself on building the world's most agile networks with automation, openness, and scale. Craig Williams, Chief Information Officer at Ciena, joins me on today's Tech Talks Daily episode. Craig talks about the CIO's evolving role and how they need to focus more on connection with team members and less on dry technology. He also shares his insight into setting up a remote team and how Ciena had a large chunk of its staff remote even before COVID-19 hit. Craig has 25+ years in business and technology transformation spanning multiple industries in complex and varied environments, including High-Tech, Department of Defense (DoD), Commercial and Academic industries. As CIO, he seeks to level the employee/custo

ANote Music is the European marketplace for investing in music royalties and was founded in Luxembourg by Marzio F. Schena, Matteo Cernuschi, and Grégoire Mathonet in January 2018. ANote Music has identified the power of music as the next big investment opportunity and created a bridge between the music industry and the capital markets. It enables publishers, record labels, and artists to sell music rights, introducing them to a new system of financing, as well as offering users a new investment opportunity and the chance to own shares in promising artists. In January 2020, ANote Music closed a €500,000-plus funding round, led by the European music industry’s foremost players. ANote Music is also supported by Luxinnovation, the Luxembourg national innovation agency, providing access to government funding for the startup. They also recently announced it will officially launch to the public on 28th July, 2020. It will allow users to invest in music, own rights from content creators, and earn returns through the

Attention is the most limited resource in marketing. But what if you could see your design through the eyes of your customers and make data-driven decisions. A company called Attention Insight has created a first of its kind AI based platform for consumer attention monitoring. It is also a part of Google for the Startups spring cohort. Predict visual attention with eye tracker precision. Attention Insight is visual attention prediction algorithm based on deep learning. Within minutes it will accurately predict where people will look while engaging in your content. The AI-powered design analytics allows you to see websites through the eyes of users. Learn how users engage with designs, improve user experience, measure against your competitors and make data-driven decisions. It's also based on deep learning technology and trained with 30 800 eye-tracking studies data. Attention heatmaps are 90% accurate as compared with eye-tracking research studies. Kamilė Jokubaitė, CEO, Attention Insight, joins me on the Tec

My guest, Max Kirby is one of the thought-leaders in Digital Identity and Data Privacy, he leads Cloud Solutions at Publicis Groupe - that’s one of the big players in the agency world - and he is helping his clients adapt to new technologies and data privacy laws as they come out. He’s also a big believer in the next phase of the internet: the decentralized web. Max is an expert in Digital Identity, or who we “are” on the web. He speaks from his philosophy background and technology career to help make this complex topic simple. Advancements in technology are leaving everything else to catch up, and it can be messy and difficult to understand. The proliferation of sensors, biometrics (soon to be bionics), public cloud and AI are creating new gaps in our laws and political lives and shifting our moral principles along with who we are. Abstracting the underlying essence of technological concepts, Max helps the layperson understand advances in technology and how our principles might change as technology

After reading on Business Insider and USA TODAY the tech behind Fever Free and how it helped keep 2000+ WeeCare daycare businesses safe and open, I felt compelled to find out more. WeeCare Co-Founder, Matt Reilly, shares how they built the Fever Free app to help businesses, schools, and cities reopen. Fever Free allows organizations to verify all individuals are healthy before interacting each day through virtual fever and symptom checks, powered by its patent-pending AI. K-12 schools and preschool centers are signed up to implement Fever Free as part of their reopening plans, restaurants are using it to keep employees and customers safe, assisted living facilities are signing up to keep elderly patients and staff healthy; the list goes on. If you're not familiar WeeCare is the largest network of in-home childcare in the United States. They help parents and childcare providers find and provide childcare without all of the stress that normally comes along with it. We discuss how since the pandemic, they built

Technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in our day-to-day lives both at home and at work. As organizations shift operations to support more remote working, employees are finding that once where collaboration was face-to-face, technology has taken its place and their work-life is now predominantly digital. While technology plays a helpful and critical role in our daily work life, it can also distract us and become counterproductive. As our lives become more technology integrated, employers have a responsibility to ensure the products and systems they deploy to support the digital wellbeing of employees. Join us to discover how Citrix and Flexxible IT are taking on this new responsibility in these ever-changing times.

In the era of the post-lockdown, digital transformation will be crucial in enabling organizations to reopen safely. Enabling line managers to work remotely, staff to keep better track of new hygiene regimes, and sensors to monitor social distancing provisions in real-time will contribute to keeping both frontline workers and consumers safe. Digital transformation can be used by organizations to empower the frontline workforce. Enabling frontline staff to log incidents, communicate with their line managers, and digitally check-in when carrying out a task will help frontline morale and an organization's bottom line. But how? I invited Over-C CEO, Michael Elliott, on to the podcast to learn more. Over-C is a leading provider of workplace management and analytics. It is currently deployed across a number of sectors to help clients with frontline staff management, including Thomond Park (the home of Munster Rugby), ScotRail, and Southside Shopping Centre. From serving as a search-and-rescue pilot to founding Over-

EKI-Digital has helped large organizations identify and capture billions in revenue and cost efficiencies. Started in 1998, EKI-Digital has served clients around the globe specializing in government, retail, and financial services. I wanted to learn more about their unique combination of technology and industry expertise that allows EKI-Digital to offer solutions to help clients move from uncertainty to possibility. Mo Sahgal leads the Data Engineering practice at EKI-Digital. The practice brings AI-driven data solutions to help clients identify, build, and commercialize the value of data for competitive and strategic advantage. He is also spearheading EKI’s #ShiftHappens campaign to educate businesses on using their data to survive and thrive during these rapidly changing times. Mo has published many Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse articles in several industry journals, including DM Review, B-EYE Network, and BI Review. He is a communicator across all levels of an organization — adept at building de