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Every chip in every device around you has at least one identity associated with it. Machine identities now outnumber human ones online. AI can replicate your face and voice with frightening accuracy. Welcome to the brave new world of identity security.

Jeff Reich, Executive Director of the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), brings over 45 years of security experience to this fascinating discussion about why identity has become ground zero in today's cybersecurity battles. The perimeter has shifted dramatically — from physical computer rooms to worldwide networks, and now to every connected device. With this expansion, traditional approaches to security have become dangerously inadequate.

Through vendor-neutral research and collaboration, IDSA is addressing critical gaps in our identity security practices. Their findings are sobering: 98% of organizations experienced identity-related security incidents. While most organizations have implemented basic protections like strong passwords, sophisticated threats like ransomware, identity theft, and deepfakes continue to evolve faster than our defenses.

Reich offers practical wisdom for security leaders navigating this landscape. He distinguishes between mere compliance and actual security, noting that "every major credit card breach occurred at organizations that were PCI compliant until the moment the breach occurred." For overwhelmed CISOs, he suggests focusing on communicating in executive language rather than technical terms, and accepting that sometimes the role functions as "Chief Scapegoat Officer" — concentrating on doing what's right rather than just protecting one's position.

As technology advances faster than our ability to adapt to it, non-human identities and AI-driven threats will dominate security concerns in the coming months. Organizations must look beyond checkbox compliance toward substantive, thoughtful approaches to identity security that can withstand the complex threats of tomorrow's digital landscape.

An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

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An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Unified visibility has transformed from a luxury into a business-critical imperative for enterprises navigating today's complex IT landscape. In this revealing conversation with Sunitha Rao, who leads Hitachi Vantara's hybrid cloud business unit, we explore why this shift has occurred and how their newly launched VSP360 platform delivers game-changing capabilities.

The driving forces behind unified visibility's rise are compelling - AI's acceleration, evolving regulatory landscapes across regions, and the pressing need for financial agility as we approach 2025. Organizations struggling with fragmented visibility across hybrid environments can no longer afford the inefficiencies of siloed approaches. As Sunitha explains, "You really have the AI that's allowing you to have data insights that are explainable, that allow you to give a cross-domain visibility across the board."

VSP360's visibility-driven architecture represents a fundamental rethinking of enterprise storage management. Rather than bolting on capabilities, Hitachi has built a unified control plane that provides intelligent insights through what Sunitha calls a "single pane of smart glass." The platform leverages AI-powered observability to deliver real-time performance telemetry, predictive analytics, and automated recommendations that help organizations optimize their entire storage fleet - whether on-premises, in the cloud, or at the edge.

Perhaps most impressive is how VSP360 addresses the ever-present challenge of shadow IT and cloud sprawl. Through comprehensive visibility and AI-driven recommendations, organizations gain the ability to detect idle resources, misaligned storage tiers, and potential cost optimizations. One beta customer reported freeing up 60% of their IT team's efforts by leveraging these capabilities - allowing valuable technical talent to focus on high-value strategic initiatives rather than routine management tasks.

For CIOs embarking on this journey toward unified visibility, Sunita offers practical advice: start by acknowledging fragmentation as both a technical and business requirement, conduct a comprehensive asset assessment, and seek platforms that provide unified control with built-in governance. As she notes, "Your visibility is basically building efficiency, and efficiency is basically building you to transform the way you manage your data environments."

Curious about how unified visibility could transform your organization's approach to data management? Explore how Hitachi's visibility-driven architecture might help you gain control of your diverse IT landscape while preparing for the AI-driven future.

An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

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An Acxiom podcast where we discuss marketing made better, bringing you real...

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

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Interested in being a guest? Email us at admin@evankirstel.com

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More at https://linktr.ee/EvanKirstel

Interested in being a guest? Email us at admin@evankirstel.com

Telecom procurement has remained stubbornly rooted in spreadsheets, emails, and manual workflows – even as enterprises spend millions on critical network infrastructure. But what happens when modern AI technology meets this arcane industry?

Dennis Thankachan founder and CEO of Lightyear, takes us on a fascinating journey from hedge fund investing to building what he calls "the telecom operating system for the enterprise." After becoming obsessed with the telecom sector's untapped potential, Dennis discovered large companies were managing tens or hundreds of millions in annual telecom spend with painfully outdated tools and processes. This revelation sparked the creation of Lightyear – a platform that digitizes and automates the entire telecom lifecycle.

The conversation explores how Lightyear's proprietary dataset, built from thousands of telecom RFPs, provides unprecedented visibility into market trends like bandwidth price inflation and the FCC-mandated replacement of traditional copper phone lines. We discuss the profound impact of AI on enterprise networking needs and management approaches, with Dennis revealing how Lightyear helps customers save over 20% on costs and 70% on time spent managing telecom services.

What makes this discussion particularly valuable is the rare window it provides into an industry that touches everything yet remains mysterious to most. Whether you're managing enterprise infrastructure, interested in AI's practical business applications, or simply curious about how the digital backbone of commerce is evolving, you'll come away with fresh insights into telecom's hidden complexities and emerging solutions. Check out Lightyear's State of Connectivity 2025 report on their website to learn more about the trends shaping enterprise networking.

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Data without context is just noise. Despite billions invested in data infrastructure, most Fortune 1000 companies struggle to extract meaningful value from their investments. Why? They've built complex, fragmented ecosystems focused on tools rather than outcomes.

Srujan Akula, founder of The Modern Data Company, shares how his frustration with this industry-wide problem led to a revolutionary approach. After witnessing global enterprises repeatedly fail to achieve ROI from massive data investments, he and co-founder Animesh Kumar developed an operating system for data that converges the entire management stack into a simplified, business-centric ecosystem.

What makes their approach unique is how they flip traditional data management on its head. Instead of starting with source systems and figuring out what to do later, they begin with business intent and work backward. This right-to-left paradigm dramatically improves efficiency and accelerates time-to-value. One $30 billion distribution company transformed their customer marketing capabilities in just six weeks after spending years and $70-80 million without success.

The timing couldn't be more critical as organizations rush toward AI adoption. Akula reveals that 75-80% of enterprises are "stuck at the starting line" with AI initiatives because their data lacks the context and business meaning AI requires to be effective. By positioning their operating system as the "brain" that provides this context, The Modern Data Company helps businesses move beyond experiments to embedding AI into decision-making processes.

Perhaps most refreshing is their business approach - founded on humility, empathy, accountability, and transparency, they measure success by time-to-ROI and charge based on value created rather than seats or data volume. As Akula looks toward a future where agent technologies will transform enterprise efficiency, The Modern Data Company continues expanding with federal partnerships and an upcoming SaaS offering that promises to be "an AWS for data."

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Imagine having a delete button for the internet. That's exactly what Loti offers—a groundbreaking service that literally downloads the entire web and runs sophisticated face and voice recognition across billions of pieces of content to find and remove unwanted digital traces.

Luke Arrigoni, Loti's founder, shares how the service evolved from combating non-consensual intimate imagery into a comprehensive digital protection platform now backed by major entertainment agencies and venture capital. What sets Loti apart is their extraordinary technical approach—they can identify as little as 15% of a face or voice, making them uniquely effective at finding content that's deliberately hidden or manipulated. The company processes takedown requests within 24 hours, dramatically faster than traditional DMCA requests that can take weeks.

Corporate executives have become major users of the platform as deepfake threats proliferate. Scammers create convincing impersonations of C-suite leaders to sell fake access to companies or release fraudulent financial information. Meanwhile, celebrities and public figures use Loti in surprisingly strategic ways. Rather than removing everything, most clients establish specific rules about what should remain online versus what should be taken down, understanding that their digital presence forms an important part of their public identity.

The conversation explores fascinating ethical dimensions of digital protection. Loti operates as a "strategy engine, not a morality engine," allowing clients to set their own boundaries. While they support child protection organizations and partner with major social platforms to streamline takedowns, they deliberately avoid providing "surveillance as a service" to law enforcement, recognizing the complex ethical questions such arrangements would raise.

Ready to protect your digital self? Visit Loti's website to explore their services, including a free option providing five takedowns monthly for individual users who need protection without the hefty price tag.

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