Across the Tech Pond

About Across the Tech Pond

Across the Tech Pond (ATP) is a collaboration between veteran technology journalists David Marshall, Antony Savvas, and Neil C. Hughes. Combining decades of experience across North America, the UK, and Europe, ATP provides business leaders with independent analysis, informed debate, and practical insight into the technologies influencing growth, competitiveness, and innovation. Rather than focusing on product announcements alone, ATP examines the business impact behind the headlines, helping executives understand where technology is creating real value and where risks, costs, and market realities deserve closer attention.

Publisher

Neil Hughes

Category

news · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Sept 2025

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   What an Autonomous Workspace Looks Like in Practice With Omnissa

   What happens when workplace technology can configure itself, repair problems, and respond to security risks before an employee opens a support ticket? In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, David Marshall from VMblog.com (http://VMblog.com), Antony Savvas from IT Europa, and I speak with Bharath Rangarajan, Chief Product Officer at Omnissa. We examine the company’s autonomous workspace vision and its three operating principles of self-configuring, self-healing, and self-securing endpoints. Bharath explains that Omnissa coined the term several years before the generative AI boom. Its development began with telemetry agents covering laptops, phones, servers, and infrastructure. Omnissa then created distributed operational storage, an analytics data lake, and machine learning models for anomaly detection and root cause analysis. That data foundation now supports automation and AI-driven workplace operations. The practical examples are particularly interesting. Bharath describes zero-touch PC provisioning across retail stores, automation supporting healthcare workflows, and over 10 billion workflows processed through Omnissa’s no-code Freestyle platform. He also discusses an organization that reduced help desk tickets by 50 percent and another managing hundreds of thousands of devices with two IT employees. We also consider the limits of autonomy. Desired State Management allows organizations to define an intended outcome and correct configuration drift, but AI governance now requires input from IT, security, legal, privacy, and compliance teams. The level of acceptable automation also depends on the task. Resolving a routine support request carries a very different risk from automatically deploying a software patch across thousands of devices. Bharath also explains Omnissa’s channel-first model, its relationships with Microsoft, Google, Apple, AWS, Azure, Nvidia, HP, and Dell, and what customers and partners can expect from Omnissa One in Orlando, Amsterdam, and Japan. The discussion closes with the growing problem of tool sprawl and Omnissa’s finding that a typical end-user computing team uses over 11 tools to manage its environment. Which workplace decisions would you allow AI to make autonomously, and which would always need human approval? We would love to hear your thoughts.

2. 

   29 Jul 2026

   Protecting the Last Line of Defense With ExaGrid

   What would happen if a ransomware attacker reached your backups before your security team realized an attack was underway? In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, David Marshall, Antony Savvas, and I are joined by Bill Andrews, President and CEO of ExaGrid, and Marc Crespi, Director of Business Development and Chief Evangelist. Together, we examine why backup storage has become an increasingly important part of enterprise cybersecurity, recovery planning, and long-term infrastructure economics. Bill begins by explaining the differences between primary storage, inline deduplication appliances, and ExaGrid’s tiered backup storage architecture. His argument is that storage designed for production applications may become expensive as retention requirements and data volumes grow. Inline deduplication can reduce storage consumption, but it may also affect backup and recovery performance because data is processed before being written and rehydrated during restoration. ExaGrid’s approach combines a front-end landing zone for recent backups with a separate repository tier. According to Bill, this design aims to preserve backup and restore speeds while reducing the storage required for longer retention periods. The repository tier is also intended to remain inaccessible to attackers operating through the production network. We discuss ExaGrid’s expanded support for Cohesity DataProtect and why compatibility across over 25 backup applications matters. Subscription licensing allows businesses to reconsider their backup software every few years, but changing the application should not automatically require another storage replacement. Supporting platforms including Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, Cohesity, NetBackup, and IBM Spectrum Protect can give customers greater flexibility. The conversation also examines consolidation across the backup market and the growing relationship between data protection and cybersecurity. Backup applications already have agents operating across business systems, while ransomware groups increasingly target recovery data before encrypting production environments. Marc describes how ExaGrid applies AI to abnormal deletion detection. The system learns the patterns created by routine backup retention and can respond when deletion activity falls outside normal behavior. Bill gives the example of a regular 30-terabyte purge suddenly becoming a request to delete 100 terabytes. Such a change could provide an early indication that an attacker is attempting to remove the company’s recovery options. We also discuss how much autonomy customers are prepared to give AI. Marc says organizations are interested in practical, governed applications but remain cautious about systems taking independent action. Detection and temporary protection may earn confidence faster than unrestricted automation. Bill and Marc finish with practical purchasing advice. Companies should map their workloads, recovery requirements, data growth, security needs, support expectations, and performance demands before selecting backup technology. Marc also urges buyers to assess the complete economic life of the platform rather than concentrating exclusively on the purchase price. Does your organization evaluate backup storage as part of its cybersecurity and business continuity strategy, or does it remain an afterthought behind the backup application? Listen to the conversation and share your thoughts with us.

3. 

   14 May 2026

   HYCU Wakes Up Backup With aiR And Turns Data Into Cyber Intelligence

   What happens when backup data stops being a passive insurance policy and becomes an active intelligence engine for cybersecurity, compliance, and AI resilience? In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, we sit down with HYCU founder and CEO Simon Taylor to unpack one of the most ambitious product announcements we have heard in the data protection space for some time. HYCU has built its reputation on SaaS data protection through its rCloud platform, protecting more than 103 SaaS, cloud, and on-prem data sources for thousands of customers worldwide. But now the company is pushing far beyond backup and recovery. At the center of this conversation is the launch of HYCU aiR, a new AI-powered resiliency platform that lets organizations interact with their backup data using natural language. Simon explains how HYCU spent the last two years building a contextual AI engine capable of analyzing backup data across entire organizations to identify insider threats, data exposure risks, identity drift, compliance gaps, and operational vulnerabilities. Instead of having backup data sit untouched until disaster strikes, HYCU wants enterprises to actively interrogate and learn from it every day. Throughout the discussion, Simon explains why he believes the cybersecurity industry is entering a machine-speed era in which human-led defenses alone can no longer keep pace with AI-powered threats, ransomware automation, and rogue agents operating across SaaS ecosystems. The conversation also explores why mid-market companies are increasingly overwhelmed by fragmented security tooling and how HYCU sees an opportunity to consolidate visibility, compliance, and resilience into a single platform extension layered on top of existing backup investments. We also discuss early customer reactions to HYCU aiR, including examples of organizations uncovering previously invisible regulatory exposure and risky user behavior within days of testing the platform. Simon explains how channel partners are now reframing backup conversations around cybersecurity posture, governance, and AI readiness rather than focusing solely on recovery workflows. Elsewhere in the episode, the team explores the wider implications of AI within enterprise infrastructure, the growing importance of context-rich datasets, and why Simon believes the future of cybersecurity will depend on connecting protection, detection, visibility, and recovery into a single intelligent ecosystem. From Dell Tech World announcements to insider threat analysis and AI-native backup experiences, this episode offers a fascinating look at how one company is attempting to redefine the role of backup data in the AI era. If you enjoy conversations like this, remember to subscribe to Across the Tech Pond, leave a review, and connect with us on LinkedIn. And if you spot one of us at a tech conference somewhere around the world, come and say hello.

4. 

   6 Apr 2026

   From Recovery To Resilience: Inside IGEL’s New Approach To Endpoint Security

   How do you rethink endpoint security when the threat landscape keeps shifting faster than most organizations can respond? In this special episode of Across the Tech Pond, I sat down with Klaus Oestermann, CEO of IGEL, alongside co-host Anthony Savvas, live from IGEL Now and Next in Miami. With the backdrop of a fast-moving cybersecurity landscape, this conversation goes straight to the heart of a question many CIOs and CISOs are still grappling with. Are we solving the right problems, or simply reacting to them? Klaus introduces IGEL’s Adaptive Secure Endpoint Platform and explains why he believes the industry has been stuck in a cycle of monitor, detect, mitigate, and remediate for far too long. Instead, he makes the case for a prevention-first model built on an immutable operating system. It is a shift that challenges long-held assumptions about endpoint security, especially in a world where ransomware recovery times can stretch into weeks, while regulatory expectations are measured in hours. We also explore the real-world implications of this approach. From reducing endpoint costs by as much as 65 percent to enabling near-instant recovery through what IGEL calls its “911 moment,” the conversation moves beyond theory into practical outcomes. Klaus shares how this model is already being adopted across governments, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where downtime is measured in far more than lost revenue. There is also a broader discussion around Zero Trust, which many still see as complex and difficult to implement. Klaus argues that the missing piece has always been the endpoint, and that by addressing it properly, the rest of the architecture becomes far more achievable. It is a perspective that invites both agreement and skepticism, especially from organizations heavily invested in traditional security models. As the episode unfolds, one theme keeps surfacing. Endpoint security has often been treated as a secondary concern, even though it is where most attacks begin. That disconnect raises an uncomfortable question for many leaders. If the endpoint is the front door to your entire organization, why is it still so often left unlocked? So as you reflect on your own security strategy, are you still preparing to respond to attacks, or are you ready to prevent them in the first place?

5. 

   5 Feb 2026

   Dynatrace Perform: Making AI Observability Practical For Enterprises

   Across the Tech Pond is a transatlantic conversation shaped by what we see, hear, and question on the conference floors where enterprise technology decisions are taking shape. In this episode, we reflect on Dynatrace Perform in Las Vegas, one of the industry’s most closely watched gatherings for observability, AI, and security leaders, and unpack what it reveals about where modern IT operations are heading next. Recorded shortly after the event, the discussion brings together perspectives from the US and Europe to explore how observability has moved well beyond traditional monitoring. Our guest, Bob Wambach, Vice President of Portfolio and Strategy at Dynatrace, offers a grounded view of how causal AI, real-time context, and automated root cause analysis are shaping a new operational baseline for large, complex environments. Rather than focusing on abstract promise, the conversation stays rooted in how global organizations are already using these capabilities to reduce friction, respond faster, and connect technical signals directly to business outcomes. A central theme of the episode is trust in AI at scale. As enterprises experiment with agent-based systems and increasingly autonomous workflows, visibility into what those systems are doing, why they are acting, and what impact they create becomes non-negotiable. We examine how observability supports that confidence, particularly as AI introduces non-deterministic behavior that traditional tools were never designed to explain. The discussion also touches on why ecosystem partnerships with hyperscalers and platforms like ServiceNow are becoming more important as customers push for fewer handoffs and clearer accountability. The episode closes by looking ahead. As AI adoption accelerates and operational complexity continues to grow, the ability to understand systems in context, prioritize what matters, and act with clarity will separate progress from noise. Whether you attended Dynatrace Perform or followed the announcements from afar, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at what observability means in an AI-driven world, and why getting it right now will shape how organizations operate in the years ahead. Useful Links Connect with Bob Wambach on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobwambach/) Dynatrace Perform 2026 (https://www.dynatrace.com/perform/on-demand/perform-2026/) Learn more about Dynatrace (https://www.dynatrace.com/) Follow on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynatrace/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dynatrace/), Instagram, (https://www.instagram.com/dynatrace/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/Dynatrace)

6. 

   18 Dec 2025

   Across the Tech Pond asks IGEL CEO Klaus Oestermann Where Endpoint Security Goes Next

   What happens when your cloud, identity, and zero trust strategy are sound, but the endpoint itself becomes the weakest link? In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, David Marshall, Anthony Savvas, and Neil C Hughes sit down with IGEL CEO Klaus Oestermann to examine a blind spot that many organizations still underestimate. Endpoint resilience. Recorded after the hosts attended IGEL’s major end user computing events in Miami and Frankfurt, the conversation cuts through conference noise to focus on what actually fails when ransomware strikes, and why recovery often stalls at the device level rather than in the data center. Klaus explains how cloud-first strategies have quietly shifted workloads away from traditional endpoints into VDI, DaaS, and SaaS environments, often accessed through secure browsers. Yet despite this shift, most security strategies still assume the endpoint will simply cope. Drawing on real-world examples and customer data, he outlines IGEL’s preventative security model and why locking down the operating system changes the economics, the risk profile, and the operational reality of end user computing. The discussion also covers IGEL’s latest announcements, from adaptive secure desktops and business continuity options for Windows environments, to AI Armor and the growing role of endpoints in securing decentralized AI workloads. The episode also explores the wider ecosystem behind IGEL’s approach. With a rapidly expanding network of technology alliance partners, Klaus describes why IGEL positions itself as a neutral platform that brings together application delivery, identity, security, and hardware vendors rather than trying to own the entire stack. The hosts challenge him on cost savings, analyst blind spots, and why endpoint resilience still receives so little attention compared to cloud and zero trust narratives. As organizations face Windows 10 end-of-support, rising compliance pressure, and increasingly targeted attacks, this conversation offers a grounded look at what actually keeps people working when things go wrong. If endpoint security has been an afterthought in your strategy, is it time to rethink where resilience really begins, and what happens when the endpoint fails?

7. 

   7 Dec 2025

   Why HYCU Sees SAAS Data Protection As The Next Enterprise Priority

   Why do so many enterprises assume their SaaS data is already protected when the evidence tells a very different story? That question sits at the center of this edition of Across the Tech Pond, where David Marshall, Neil C Hughes, and Anthony Savvas sit down with a guest who has been warning companies about this blind spot for years. This episode features a wide ranging conversation with Simon Taylor, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonjonathantaylor/) CEO and founder of HYCU. (https://www.hycu.com/) The three of us have crossed paths with HYCU at events across the US and Europe, including the recent IT Press Tour in New York, and their message continues to resonate. As organizations rushed toward SaaS, they trusted that the data inside those services was covered. Simon explains why that assumption has exposed companies to ransomware, compliance failures, and widespread outages, and why regulators such as those behind DORA are now calling attention to the problem. Simon walks through the story of HYCU’s R Cloud platform and how it is reshaping expectations in the SaaS ecosystem. He breaks down the shared responsibility model, the growth of insider threats, and the new legal and personal pressure on CISOs when recovery fails. He also discusses HYCU’s partnership with Dell, the rapid expansion of integrations across legal, HR, healthcare, public sector, and finance, and why SaaS vendors themselves are starting to build on HYCU to meet customer demands for protection. You will also hear real industry stories, including how a navy trial demonstrated the value of simplicity at scale, and why federal agencies have become one of HYCU’s strongest markets. Simon shares his perspective on what AI can genuinely solve today and hints at a significant HYCU announcement arriving in January. If your organization depends on SaaS, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about risk, resilience, and what true recovery really looks like. After listening, tell us what you want us to cover in 2026, and if you see us at a conference, come say hello.

8. 

   9 Nov 2025

   CTERA Data Intelligence: From File Systems to AI Readiness

   What happens when one of the longest-standing cloud storage innovators decides to reinvent data management for the AI era? In this episode of Across the Tech Pond, David Marshall, Neil C. Hughes, and Anthony Savvas are joined by CTERA CEO Oded Nagel, following their meeting with the CTERA team during the IT Press Tour in New York. The conversation explores how CTERA is reshaping enterprise data strategy from the ground up. Oded explains how CTERA’s Data Intelligence Platform unifies and secures the growing sprawl of unstructured data across cloud and edge environments, setting the foundation for enterprise AI success. He walks listeners through the company’s three waves of innovation: unified data access, data security, and data intelligence. The discussion also uncovers why 95 percent of AI pilots still fail due to poor data quality and how CTERA’s technology bridges traditional file systems with modern analytics and AI-driven insights. The episode also highlights CTERA’s 35 percent year-on-year growth, 60 percent expansion in the government sector, and a newly announced partnership with Cloudian. Oded reflects on the company’s journey from startup to global player, its 80 million dollar funding round, and the growing role of cybersecurity and AI in its roadmap. Can enterprises finally move past data chaos and harness the full potential of their information? And how far is CTERA willing to go as it scales globally and builds a future shaped by intelligent, secure, and connected data ecosystems? Tune in and share your thoughts.

9. 

   25 Oct 2025

   Reporting Back from the IT Press Tour in New York

   In this lively episode of Across the Tech Pond, hosts David Marshall, Neil C. Hughes, and Anthony Savvas reunite after an eventful week in New York to share their insights from the 64th IT Press Tour. The trio swap stories and compare notes on the seven cloud and data management companies they met across Manhattan: Arcitecta, ExaGrid, HYCU, CTERA, AuriStor, TextQL, and Shade Inc. Across an engaging and often humorous discussion, the hosts unpack what is changing in the world of data infrastructure. David spotlights CTERA’s three-wave innovation strategy and its push into AI-ready data intelligence. Neil reflects on ExaGrid’s unapologetically pragmatic CEO, Bill Andrews, and how his company continues to prove that simplicity and reliability still matter in an era obsessed with AI. The group also explores HYCU’s growing partnership with Dell, Arcitecta’s remarkable claim of managing over a trillion files in a single namespace, and AuriStor’s unconventional pricing model that decouples cost from capacity. The tone shifts as they turn to two of New York’s most interesting startups. TextQL’s energetic founder shares his mission to break enterprise data lock-in with a Rosetta Stone approach to integration, while Shade Inc. impresses the team with its real-time streaming and AI-powered search for creative files. From tape storage to trillion-file namespaces, from backup resilience to AI data pipelines, this episode captures the evolving state of data technology and the personalities driving it. The conversation closes with the hosts previewing their upcoming travels: In the next few weeks, you can find David at KubeCon North America. Both Neil and Tony can be found at IGEL's Now & Next event in Frankfurt. But separately, Neil will be reporting from the Software Defined Space Conference (SDSC) in Estonia, and Anthony is preparing for OpenText World in Nashville. It is another cross-continental exchange full of insight, humour, and firsthand industry perspective, and a must-listen for anyone following the evolution of enterprise data and AI.

10. 

    6 Sept 2025

    Recap of VMware Explore 2025 in Las Vegas

    Across the Tech Pond launches with a frank debrief from the Venetian show floor in Las Vegas. David Marshall, Neil C. Hughes, and Antony Savvas compare notes on a pivotal year for VMware under Broadcom and ask the question on every attendee’s mind. Did Hock Tan’s keynote do enough to steady nerves among customers and partners, or did it simply sharpen the divide between those all-in on private cloud and those still weighing their next move? The conversation digs into VMware Cloud Foundation 9 as the center of gravity for Broadcom’s strategy. We look at why private cloud momentum is real for large enterprises, what mid-market buyers are actually adopting, and how the promised bundle of security, developer tooling, and Private AI could land in the data center. You will hear reactions to the Walmart spotlight, the Tesco dispute that set comment sections alight, and the Canonical and NVIDIA angles that could speed AI workloads without sending costs skyward. We also talk about the vibe. Attendance felt lighter, the expo was thinner, and several familiar backup and hardware names were missing. The closing party underwhelmed, yet the conversations were rich and the message was clear. If Broadcom wants everyone on this journey, it needs more proof, more voices beyond the Fortune 100, and a stronger signal to the partner ecosystem. We close with a look ahead to 2026 and a cheeky open question. If private cloud repatriation is the story, will hyperscalers still command the biggest booths next year? Tune in for the take you would have wanted if you could not make the trip.

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