Not every technology investment leads to innovation, but it should.
Welcome to Optimise to Innovate, the podcast from SoftwareOne for technology leaders who want to turn cloud, AI and software investments into measurable business value.
Join Alex Galbraith, Jason Gray and expert guests as they explore why well-intended technology programmes can sometimes become costly, complex or difficult to scale, and what organisations can do to get them back on track.
Across the series, we discuss cloud investment, AI adoption and Agentic AI, software estate management, SaaS sprawl, FinOps, cloud cost control and the practical decisions that help businesses move from optimisation to innovation.
Each episode brings honest conversation, real-world lessons and practical guidance for leaders who want technology to drive progress, not create more friction.
Have a topic you would like us to discuss? Email Alex and Jason at o2i@softwareone.com (mailto:o2i@softwareone.com).
Follow Optimise to Innovate on your favourite podcast platform to get the latest episodes first.
New to the show? Start with these three episodes
For AI leaders: Agentic AI Is Not Really About Agents
For CIOs/CFOs: FinOps, You Can’t Tool Your Way Out of Bad Cloud Habits
For IT and procurement leaders: Are You Oversubscribed?
Slop Grenades and Other Agentic AI Scaling Problems
Host Alex and guest Simon Tracy from AWS explore the challenges of scaling AI beyond experiments, focusing on outcome measurement and human accountability in this interview.
25 Sept 2026
Friends Don’t Let Friends Do AI Without Context
Host Alex and guest Ehsan Emamirad, a data and AI expert, explore how context, not just clean data, drives AI value in this insightful interview.
27 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT
Keep Calm and Carry On Sovereign
Host Alex and guest David Schneider, a digital sovereignty specialist, explore the meaning and importance of digital sovereignty for organizations and governments.
22 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT
Vibe Coding for Grown-Ups - AI in Professional Software Development
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! What happens when professional developers stop just writing code, and start leading teams of AI agents? In this episode, Alex and Jason are joined by Sebastian Brandt and Paweł Stuczyński to explore how AI is changing software development beyond the vibe-coding hype. From faster prototypes and AI-assisted reviews, to smaller pull requests, security scanning, QA, cognitive load, agent overload and token costs, this is a practical look at what happens when de...
1 Jul 2026
Agentic AI, Agentic AI, Agentic AI, and other things...
Get in touch with Alex & Jason! AI used to chat. Now it’s starting to do the work. In this episode of Optimise to Innovate, Alex and Jason step back from the agentic AI hype and ask what happens when organisations actually start running this stuff at scale, because one agent is interesting, but a thousand agents is an operating model... We explore the real-world challenges behind agentic AI, from governance, control planes and non-human identities, to trust, explainability, token costs an...
26 May 2026
Feeling the Vibe? How Non-Developers Are Building Apps
Vibe coding promises a tempting idea. Describe the app you want, let AI build it, and suddenly anyone can become a creator! Building something that works is one thing, but building something you can trust is another... In this episode, Alex and Jason are joined by Gio and Jacek to explore how non-developers are using AI to build apps, automate annoying tasks, and turn domain knowledge into working software. They unpack what vibe coding actually is, why “prompt and pray” only gets you so far, ...
22 Apr 2026
Are You Oversubscribed? The Hidden Costs of SaaS Sprawl
We're back with a question every business should be asking right now: Are you oversubscribed? We're joined by Julian Kuiper and Robert Whyte to unpack the increasing challenge of SaaS sprawl. Whether it's hidden subscriptions, shadow IT, overlapping tools, or a myriad of other reasons, the uncomfortable truth is that many organisations are paying for far more software than they realise. Subscription software can be both a huge advantage and a serious management headache. If you've ever looked...
24 Mar 2026
Agentic AI Is not really about agents
In this episode of Optimise to Innovate, we cut through the hype around agentic AI and ask the big question: is this the future of business process transformation, or just generative AI with a very enthusiastic to-do list? Expert guests Alex Waldhaus and Seva Shchepanskyi explore why agentic AI is not really about agents at all, but about better process design, stronger data foundations, sensible governance, and knowing when to keep humans firmly in the loop. From data platforms, governance, ...
23 Feb 2026
FinOps - You can't tool your way out of bad cloud habits
FinOps is not just spreadsheets and frowning, and this episode is proof! We dive into the people side of cloud cost control, the habits that actually work, and the common mistakes that quietly burn budget. This episode is very practical, with plenty to steal for your own teams. If your cloud bill has ever made you wince, this one will feel very familiar. Want to suggest a topic for discussion on a future episode? Simply email Alex and Jason on o2i@softwareone.com.
21 Jan 2026
Optimise to Innovate - What's coming up.
Not every tech investment leads to innovation, but it should... Join your hosts, Alex Galbraith and Jason Gray for the launch episode of the new Optimise to Innovate podcast from SoftwareOne. SoftwareOne helps organisations maximise the value from their investments in technology. In this launch episode, Alex and Jason share detail on what you can expect to experience during this series. A series that will focus on how technology investments, that are designed to solve business pro...
21 Jan 2026
Making Workplace AI work for you.
The brain in front of the computer is you... Join your hosts, Alex and Jason, and their guest Tomi Karafilov – expert in Workplace AI, as they discuss the value that AI can bring to your workplace. Enjoy a lively discussion on the value and pitfalls of investing in technology that can either supercharge efficiency if implemented and managed correctly, or the opposite if not. Understand how this technology can support and enable you – the brain in front of the computer… Want to suggest a topic...
Inside a recent episode
Slop Grenades and Other Agentic AI Scaling Problems
Published 22 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Yeah, I don't think this is a technology for technology's sake conversation in any way. I think this is a next or another evolution in the usage of this technology, but centering around return on investment for organizations, but also de-risking and reputational protection as well. We talked about the difference between SMEs and large organizations and then risk profile and public exposure earlier on. I think that feeds directly into it that you need to be able to stand by the elements that you're producing from AI. And by working on a semantic layer, you're increasing the speed to value again. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
